2008 PC preview

At CES 2007, mega media storage with easy tools to share photos, videos, and messages throughout the home was a big computing theme. The HP/Microsoft media server and HP's bulky TouchSmart PC for the family kitchen come to mind, both on the market now. This year, look for computers that do all of that with an emphasis on design and simplicity.

Lighter, sleeker, more stylish laptops and smaller, efficient, better-looking desktops will be featured throughout the jam-packed CES halls.

Small and simple: Chris Null already has taken the Asus Eee PC for a spin, but many will get a first look at the pint-sized, well-loaded 4G Linux PC that provides just about everything a new PC user needs for $400. Along with the Intel Classmate and OLPC XO Laptop, both designed to bring easy-to-use Wi-Fi-enabled computers to more kids throughout the world, the Eee PC marks a new direction in personal computing.

Asus also is showcasing an even smaller ultra-mobile PC, the R50A Notebook, which has a 4.8-inch LCD, a built-in TV tuner, and GPS. Oh, and it handles most office apps and with its InfoPen software, so users can record and edit on the small notebook's 1024 x 600 screen like writing on a piece of paper.

The Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium combines a 7-inch LCD screen with a less-than-2-pound ultra-mobile PC, a joint project of Samsung, Intel, and Microsoft.

Design. Gateway's One has been making some good pre-CES impressions for its all-in-one, simplified design. Ben and Robin were both impressed by the lack of wires and its power brick that also houses Ethernet and USB ports.

Dell, which added color to its Inspiron lineup this year, has made design a key new element of it thinned-down XPS M1330. The Sony Vaio TZ series also offers high design as one of its best features. Toshiba will be showing off its Portege R500, a thin 12.1-inch-screen notebook that weighs less than 2 pounds.

Desktops have slimmed down, too, and PC makers will be showcasing less bulky hard drives and sleeker monitors. Not all are as svelte as the Gateway One, but Apple's successful emphasis on design will be evident throughout the CES halls, where Apple, as usual, will not be present.

HP has shrunken the conventional PC tower to a third of the size in the Pavilion Slimline s3220n PC. The Dell XPS 420 is not reduced in size, but its tower features buttons to quickly access stored media, incuding songs, photos, and videos, without using the keyboard, mouse, or monitor display.

That's a quick preview. We'll be on the lookout at CES to bring you the latest PC unveilings.