CES 2009 sneak preview

Budgets are down, exhibitors have bowed out, and attendees could be scarce, but don't count CES out. Some cool stuff is definitely going to be unveiled at the essential industry showcase, which formally gets underway on Thursday. (In fact, I know about a lot of it but am sadly sworn to secrecy for another day or two. Stay tuned.)

Still, there's plenty I can write about. Here's a sneak peek at some of the coolest and most anticipated technologies and products that we're psyched to check out once we hit the ground in Vegas later this week.

Incredibly Thin TVs - The television size war has been called off. The new battleground: Thickness, with JVC and Samsung both set to exhibit televisions just 7mm thick. (Samsung actually claims its TV is 6.5mm thick.) JVC's prototype is 32 inches diagonally and weighs just 11 pounds. That's it pictured above.

Incredibly Fast TVs - After screen size, thickness, and weight, companies have to turn to less obviously visible technologies to generate buzz. 120Hz TVs, which refresh at double the rate of traditional sets, are hot right now. So how about a 480Hz TV? LG says it's got one for us all to check out come CES time.

Incredibly Green TVs - Everyone's got a power-conscious story this year, including the ubiquitous promise of zero-usage when the set is turned off. Plasma TVs are notorious for their electricity consumption vs. CRTs and LCDs -- so expect some announcements of this energy hog's hunger finally being curbed.

Incredibly 3D TVs - Panasonic, Viewsonic, and Texas Instruments are all showing technologies that create stereoscopic images, sans glasses. This was tried several years ago in the notebook world, with pitiful results. Is the technology finally ready for prime time? We'll get our eyes on it to see for ourselves.

Sony's Secret Netbook - Sony's been making ultralights since Steve Jobs was still dreaming of the original iPod, and its latest entry, the "Sony New Mobile," has tongues a-wagging. But what exactly it is, no one knows. It's about the size of a netbook... just probably super-stuffed with features. We'll find out for sure on January 9, when it launches.

Palm Nova - Word has leaked widely about what the new Palm will look like: A slider with a QWERTY keyboard that runs the company's new Nova OS, complete with app store and media features. Everyone has kind of written Palm off as an also-ran since its last major OS update was in 2002... but there's a surprising amount of positive buzz over Nova. Could this be the second coming of Palm? Fingers crossed.

Windows 7 For Everyone - Rumor has it that Microsoft will release Windows 7 as a public beta at CES to start the hype a-building. Zune phone? Not so much.

HD DVD Returns from the Dead! - Ha, just kidding!

We'll have plenty more to report on -- from electric bikes and full-size Guitar Hero guitars to digital microsopes and camera+MP3 player combos -- once we hit the show. So check back often all week long for our latest dispatches!