My CES Diary ... Day Two

Without even spending much time on the CES floor (don't worry, that's what my days will consist of today and tomorrow), I've already seen a lot of rad stuff.

Yesterday, James Park and I met up with Kensington--quick shout out to Tanya and our friends at Kensington: You guys rock! If you're not familiar with the company--you should be--it makes all kinds of nifty computer peripherals and accessories, USB gadgets, and some cell phone and iPod accessories. James and I were like kids in a candy store yesterday when checking out all the products, both old and new.

The engineers at Kensington know what consumers are looking for. The new Slimblade Trackball is a great tool for those of you who work with graphic arts and do a lot of designing, and it looks freakin' cool, too. They also came up with a handy Hands-free Visor Car Kit for Bluetooth phones. I swear they made this product for me: No longer do I have to rig my cell phone from my visor to use the speaker phone while I'm driving. And in the Kensington bag line, watch for new back-to-basics laptop bags that are TSA-ready for easy business travel.

Something else I've added to my consumer electronics wishlist--and totally think you should get your hands on, too--is a netbook. I have seen so many of these in the day we've been here. From what folks at these netbook companies have been telling me, there are a lot of things at play in the netbook's new popularity:

• The low pricepoint is appealing in today's cost-conscious economy.
• There's been an increase in the number of business travelers and mobile entrepreneurs.
• More and more business travelers are seeing the benefits of their compact size and tools for business on the road.

James made a good point, too: A netbook would make a good computer for his parents, who don't need much besides internet and storing photos and documents.

Though I love my MacBook, I wouldn't mind having a netbook. And it'd be especially nice to have trekking around CES. Until Lenovo or Hewlett-Packard decides to give me one to "review," the computers in the Press Room will have to do. But you, on the other hand, should watch for all the netbook entries on the scene this year. I can't wait to get back to Entrepreneur to write about them.

--Lindsay Holloway