CES 2014 - Kingston displayed a prototype of a new type of USB flash drive for mobile phones. A study concluded that the maajority of phone users actually email pictures from thier phones to transfeer them to thier PC or laptop.

The concept is pretty simpe, one end of the USB drive connects to the micro-USB connector on the phone, allowing quick and easy access to the contents of the drive.

The other end of the drive is a standard USB 3.0 connector, which can be plugged into any typical laptop or computer. This allows the user to add or remove files on the computer, and then one can transfer files to or from the phone easily.

CES 2014 - We visited Plextor's CES showroom yesterday and found a broad range of new products that span several markets. Over the years, Plextor's image changed from optical products to consumer SSDs and now the company looks to just make it all SSDs.

First up is the new M6e, a PCIe 2.0 m.2 SSD that uses two lanes to outperform SATA based storage products. The M6e drives we saw at the booth include an adapter for desktop use. This makes the M6e the ultimate performance SSD since end users keep TRIM and avoid the hassles of RAID.

Moving closer to the mainstream consumer level, the M.2 form factor could dominate the notebook market with both SATA and PCIe based drives. M.2 products will cost less to manufacture when the economics of scale catch up.

CES 2014 -Seagate displayed it's new 5mm HDD's that stick with the standard SATA connection. For a complete view of the performance capabilities of the drive feel free to take a look at the Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD Review by our very own Tyler Bernath.

To give some perspective, I took a snap of the HDD next to my Samsung Galaxy Note 3. This thin profile allows this HDD to be deployed into just about any thin device.

The thin HDD's from Seagate's competitors feature a new edge connector, which hasn't made much headway in terms of mass adoption. The slow uptake, or lack thereof, of the edge connector has led Seagate to forgo use of the spec, since it is much more financially viable for companies to use existing standards at this point. Of course that could be subject to change in the future as devices shrink, but selling relevant products for today's market is Seagate's focus.

CES 2014 - During our visit with Lenovo, we got the chance to check out one of the coolest pieces of PC tech on display at CES. The Lenovo Horizon 2 is a 27-inch monster-sized tablet that when paired up with an optional stand, becomes what Lenovo is calling a Table PC.

As you can see in the video, the Horizon features a screen with either a 1920 x 1080 resolution, or a 2560 x 1440 resolution depending on the customer's budget, but unfortunately the stand will have to be purchased separately. The tablet / table PC runs on an Intel Core i7, NVIDIA graphics, and a battery large enough to keep the device running for 4 hours of continuous use. As you can see in the video, things like image manipulation, gaming, and everything else is quite fun on the device! Lenovo says that the Horizon 2 retails for $1499 and will hit shelves in June.

As Google edges closer to the consumer release of its Glass headset, the search giant has unveiled some brand guidelines for developers. Google is trying to maintain control over the way Glass is treated by third-party companies, in the way of its marketing and branding.

For example, Google wants the "G" in Glass to be capitalized, and that the term is never possessive or plural. This means that the search giant won't allow "Glasses" or "Glass's", which might get annoying, fast. Apple has been here, done that, where it removed "the" before its iPhone, iPad, and iPod products. Another example of walking the fine wearable walk with Glass, is that you should never have the word "Glass" in its name.

It provide an example, "Glass Cat Facts" and "Glassy Cat Photos" are not accepted, but "Cat Facts for Glass" is acceptable. Google also wants to see developers using #throughglass when sharing Glass content, which it says is for better "discoverability and aggregation". As for e-mails, it wants to see users use "Sent through Glass".

CES 2014 - Oculus VR unveiled its latest prototype Rift headset at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 a few days ago, with a new 1920x1080-resolution, AMOLED-based display on-board. Not only that, but it had positional tracking abilities, which lifts it to an entire new category.

The new codenamed Crystal Cove headset took out the 2014 Best of CES prize, and rightly so, it sounds like a kick-ass upgrade to the already awesome product. It should only be success for Oculus from here on out, which has secured Doom and Quake god John Carmack, nearly $100 million in funding, with its latest funding round securing $75 million.

The machine to machine (M2M) industry will grow from a $45 billion market last year to an estimated $242 billion in 2022, according to the Strategy Analytics research group. The healthcare industry, consumer electronics, utilities and vehicles, and emergency all services will quickly control the M2M industry, with companies driving towards better efficiency. M2M helps enable data flow in both wired and wireless systems, with advanced frameworks available for industry specialists needing a customized service.

Healthcare, CE, Utilities and vehicles are areas that will see major revenue growth, through the driving out of inefficiency in existing processes as well as the creation of new service opportunities," said Andrew Brown, Strategy Analytics Executive Director of Enterprise and M2M research at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.

M2M is still in its infancy when compared to the tech market as a whole, but security, mobility, and cost containment are three major concerns. M2M operators need to carefully identify strategic partners and have an appropriate plan to reach newer customers unfamiliar with the benefits of M2M adoption.

Wireless carrier T-Mobile wants to poach subscribers from AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint, and now is focusing on family plan subscribers. A recent survey revealed only 11 percent of AT&T and Verizon Wireless subscribers with shared data plans would be willing to switch in 2014, according to Strategy Analytics. As the battle in the booming 4G LTE market in 2014 increases, "cut-throat promotions" are expected to hit consumers later this year.

"Las Vegas has seen its share of famous fights, and this week at CES heavy weight defending champion AT&T (which shares the title with Verizon Wireless) dukes it out with mid-weight challengers T-Mobile and Sprint in the battle for the family plan," said Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Strategy Analytics Director of Wireless Operator Strategies, in a blog post. "Sprint and T-Mobile are attacking the core source of scale at Verizon Wireless and AT&T - the family plan subscribers."

Mobile devices were on full display during CES 2014, as many companies showed off smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots, and other cordless technologies. AT&T and Verizon might control the U.S. market, but constant pressure from T-Mobile, Sprint, and smaller carriers has steadily increased. Family plans are lucrative due to the number of wireless lines in the account, so consumers should see even better deals later this year. (Image: AP)

Mobile company OpenPeak is building relationships with AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, and other major wireless carriers seeking next-generation mobile security platforms. The SAMBA! (Safe Mobile Business Apps) will roll out as a managed software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering for Deutsche Telekom, providing secure Internet browsing, enterprise app store, and data security protocols.

"We're proud to provide carriers like Deutsche Telekom with a white-label enterprise mobility solution that they can brand, customize and sell directly to their customers," said Dan Gittleman, OpenPeak CEO, in a statement. "As a cloud-based solution, SAMBA! will evolve with our own efforts to improve the OpenPeak suite. We're committed to providing Deutsche Telekom and its customers with a solution that can meet the mobility challenges of the present and future."

There is a strong need for enterprise mobility solutions, as more employees and companies carefully embrace the 'bring your own device' craze.

CES 2014 - BenQ has announced a new monitor that will have serious gamers interested, the new RL2460HT. BenQ's RL2460HT monitor features the company's RevolutionEyes technology, which helps gamers' eyes during massive gaming sessions.

The new display is specifically optimized for real-time strategy (RTS), and first-person shooters (FPS). BenQ specifically mentions Call of Duty: Ghosts, MOBA-style games like StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, League of Legends, and of course, Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), and even Mortal Kombat. Let's move onto specs, with the BenQ RL2460HT starting off as 24-inch monitor, which comes courtesy of its TN-based panel with "virtually no input lag" and "industry-leading 1 ms response time".

We have integrated speakers, two HDMI inputs, DVI, VGA, and SmartScaling for pro-gamers, which allows them to customize their screen viewing area for optimal viewing performance. BenQ has an ETA of Q1 2014 for its new RL2460HT, and a retail price of $249.