On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Microsoft might not have an official presence at CES 2013 (it has no stand and left Qualcomm with keynote duties) but it did not decline from making an announcement at the show-- the next Surface tablet, the Surface Pro.

Shown to the press in pre-production form, the Surface Pro is Surface on steroids. Display resolution is up from 1366 x 768 to 1920 x 1080, and the touchpanel handles active pen input via included stylus (which magnetically snaps on the side of the tablet when not in use).

Pen input is pressure sensitive and reportedly feels rather natural.

Hardware is somewhat rejigged from the regular Surface-- the Pro is thicker (13.5mm instead of 9.4mm) and heavier thanks to beefed up hardware (Core i5 processor, x2 fans and a 42.5Wh battery). Even the kickstand is slightly different, angling the device at 26 degrees instead of 22 degrees.

Half Life and online game merchant Steam developer Valve confirms its long rumoured "Steam Box" hardware plans with Piston, a home theatre PC (HTPC) from mini-PC maker Xi3.

Seen in prototype form at CES 2013, according to Xi3 the Valve-sponsored Piston is "designed specifically to support both Steam and its Big Picture mode for residential and LAN party computer gaming on larger HD screens.”

The PC itself is based on Xi3's high-end offering, the X7A, and packs up to a 3.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, with a full complement of x8 USB slots (four 2.0, four 3.0), x4 eSATA slots, x2 Mini DisplayPorts and HDMI port, all within a modular design.

The OS of choice is Linux, together with Valve's Steam games marketplace.

The Samsung CES 2013 keynote gives a glimpse of a more flexible future as it reveals the "Youm" flexible OLED series through a variety of prototypes.

One prototype visitors can test out at the show has a 5-inch display curving over right-hand edge of the device, providing a little bit of extra real estate to display text messages, stock tickers and other notifications. Lacking a radio or even an OS, the prototype is little more than a cool demo of the technology, and we doubt it will be available as an actual product in the future

Meanwhile a quick concept video from the Samsung keynote shows further applications of the technology, through renders of a foldable phone and another with a rollable display turning it into a tablet.

Vendors have been toying with flexible display technology for a while-- Samsung had a flexible OLED prototype at CES 2011, and actually owns the technology's developer, Liquivista. Other companies showing flexible devices throughout the years include LG Display, Nokia, Sony and Plastic Logic.

Go Samsung Highlights Innovations in CES Keynote

Go WSJ: Samsung Bets on Flexibility

Henge Docks reveals two docking stations ideal for Apple customers at CES 2013-- the Horizontal Dock for MacBook laptops and the Gravitas Dock for iDevices.

Designed for use with either MacBook Pro or Air models, the Horizontal Dock expands laptop connectivity options to x3 external displays, x6 USB 3.0 ports, x2 audio devices, Ethernet, SD card and FireWire 800 port. It also adds further physical security through a Kensington lock.

Docking laptops involves a 4-point positioning system for properly alignmen with the device, while a simple button press takes care of undocking.

The dock weighs 2.5kg with an Apple-style solid metal chassis and should be available from Q3 2013, with a Thunderbolt version set for a Q4 release.

Meanwhile the Gravitas Dock is an all-metal device with 7.6cm diameter and 5cm height. All-metal construction makes it weigh nearly 1kg, providing stability to docked devices and single-handed undocking.

Available in either Lightning or 30-pin connector versions, the Gravitas features a USB port and audio line-out as well as 3 interchangeable inserts handling different iDevices and 3rd party cases. It should be available from Q2 2013.

Go Henge Docks