The best of CES 2009

As expected, CES was a quieter show this year than usual -- but that's not such a bad thing. Cab lines have been short. There's less pushing and shoving. You can get a seat in the press room (miracle!). And you can actually see stuff in the booths instead of just the backs of other people's heads.

But ask around -- or just ask me -- and some clear favorites have emerged as the "best" of CES 2009. In fact, though there are fewer people doing the buzzing, they're buzzing louder than ever about some really impressive gear. To wit: Here are my picks for the must-see gadgets on the CES show floor 2009.

Palm Pre - The clear winner of the "best of show," it's the gizmo that's on the tip of everybody's tongue. We've written a lot about the Pre already so I won't rehash it here, but I'll add that this is a smart phone that's really going to give Apple a run for its money... provided Palm and Sprint don't screw up in the 9th inning and price it way above what people are willing and able to pay.

Sony Lifestyle PC - "Don't call it a netbook!" is a phrase that's jokingly being bandied about around the show, but Sony is mostly serious about its category-busting super-slim PC. Pictures don't do it justice. This $899 laptop has a nearly full keyboard (key pitch is 16.5mm), performance is reasonably snappy, and it was thin and light enough (1.4 pounds) to fit in the inside pocket of my blazer. Yes, it's more expensive than your average $499 netbook, but most CES attendees figure it's probably worth it.

LG Touch Watch Phone - More of a curiosity than a must-have, LG's wrist-wearable phone may be the best hope for those who've been waiting patiently for more than a decade to finally get their hands on a phone that they can literally wear on their sleeve. Pictures don't do it justice.

Super-Slim TVs - No one's showing off giant TVs any more. In fact, most exhibitors didn't even bother bringing their old 120-inches-and-bigger models to the show. Instead, it's all about super-slimness. Mounted on swiveling displays, it's mind-boggling how thin televisions from Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic are getting. Panasonic touts its new LCD at 1/3-inch thick, and even plasmas are shrinking to anorexic proportions: Samsung's 58-inch plasma is just 1.1 inches thick, making sets from even a year ago look morbidly obese.

3D TV - Sony, LG, and Panasonic are all pushing into this space, giving you an amazing 3D experience just like you'd get with a high-end 3D movie. You wear glasses, but they're the gray lenses, not the cheesy red and blue ones. The look? Amazing, reminding me of the last time I hit up a 3D IMAX theatrical film... and right in the comfort of your own home.

Windows 7 - You know, it doesn't look dramatically different than Windows Vista from across the room, but up close, Windows 7 is more polished, refined, and prettier than Vista ever dreamed of. Demo booths in the surprisingly cozy Microsoft booth have been jam-packed with people wanting to see more of the upcoming OS. The Zune listening stations... not so much.

SanDisk slotRadio - A sleeper, and a product that is garnering either big love or abject hate across the show. Tech geeks decry the severe DRM and stripped-down player, while music fans are genuinely taken with the device. The consensus? If you just want to listen to a whole lot of advertising-free music all day and not mess around with playlists, syncing, and the like, the $100 price tag of slotRadio is a compelling deal.

HP Firebird - The desktop PC is well on its way to the grave, but a few companies keep innovating and pushing the boundaries out with higher performance and lower prices. HP's Firebird takes its design and engineering cues from the gaming PC wizards at Voodoo (including liquid cooling and virtually silent operation) and puts it all in a streamlined chassis about the size of a phone book. Performance is impressive. Price: About $2,000.