Digital Trends

Every year, companies spend millions of dollars preparing for four days in January: the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Years worth of research and design are laid out on the table, photographed, written about, and analyzed from every angle. And while most of these concepts are closely guarded company secrets new to even the savviest of techies, a handful always manage to escape early – intentionally or otherwise. We’ve rounded up a few of the coolest early prospects from the upcoming 2009 CES, and while we promise the best is yet to come, these early peeks are definitely worth checking out.

Touch-Based MSI Wind Netbook

We fondly remember MSI’s Wind U100 as one of the best netbooks of 2008, and if rumors hold true, the line is set to become even better in 2009. According to LaptopMag’s interview with MSI’s U.S. sales director, Andy Tung, the company will show off a touch-enabled version of the Wind at CES this year, along with a a larger 16-inch touch notebook. At the moment, the company isn’t certain if either will reach production, but other non-touch Wind models, including a U110, U115, and U120, should follow the show in January. Among them, we think the U115, which uses a new version of Intel’s Atom processor to produce a claimed 10 hours of battery life, is among the most promising.