On my last day at CES2012, I spied an advertisement while riding the monorail to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Pictured above the heads of my fellow riders was Dotz, so named for the small circular cord identifiers. My thoughts immediately went to the multitude of cables and chargers I have for my various mobile devices.

As presented by the video above, many of the Dotz products are designed to snap on to the cord near its power plug, allowing you to quickly identify what power cord goes to which device. I actually envisioned using them the other way 'round. I have a lot of cables, all with micro USB tips. For me, it would be extremely useful to identify which cable plugs into my PlayBook, which cable plugs into my BlackBerry, which cable plugs into my Bluetooth headset(s), etc.

Dotz really does have a nice, colorful selection of cord identifiers. Each dot - if you will - includes a small disk with a picture printed on it so you can figure out what cord you're looking at. Flip the disc over and you can write your cords' names - "PlayBook", "Torch 9860", and "Moto Oasis" would be a few I would use. Dotz is such an amazingly simple idea, yet with a huge benefit to me and you.

At the show, we managed to snag a few sample packs to share with our readers - don't worry, I was very nice when I asked for them. If you'd like to win one, take a moment to leave a comment to this article. We'll pick five winners from the entrants; contest ends Sunday, January 29, 2012 at midnight PST. Good luck!

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Matias knows its accessories. The Canadian company makes all sorts of accessories for Smartphones and tablets. At CES2012, CrackBerry got a hands-on look at the Matias One Keyboard for BlackBerry & PC as well as their Folding Keyboard for BlackBerry. Both products performed well; and both products included a free miniRizer to support your BlackBerry while using the keyboards.

The miniRizer is a small, easily portable stand for your BlackBerry that allows the Smartphone to be supported at an angle of your choosing, instead of laying flat on a desk or table.  For two reasons, the stand comes in two pieces. One, the two parts allow you to easily switch between a 40 and 50 degree tilt to your Smartphone. Two, the two halves fit snugly together in their cloth carrying case; the whole package is about the size of a credit card. This makes the tiny BlackBerry stand highly portable.

Contest: The miniRizer may not be packed with circuits; chips; and LED's, but it is a very nice little product, a product that I find myself using day after day after day. The good people of Matias have given us 20 of these miniRizers for the CrackBerry Nation. To enter to win one, simply leave a comment to this article. The contest ends this Sunday at midnight PT. Good Luck!

Imagine this scenario - it shouldn't be too difficult: you're using your desktop or laptop computer, typing away on your full-sized keyboard when some sort of BlackBerry communication comes through. It might be an email, a Tweet, or even a BBM. You pick up your BlackBerry Smartphone and type out a response on that great, but small keyboard. Messaging done, you return to your work on the computer. That's all well and good, but it could be better.

Now imagine the same situation, but add in the Matias One Keyboard for BlackBerry & PC. As I've described it to so many people this week: Type-y; Type-y; Type-y on your computer, press a button, type-y; type-y; type-y on your BlackBerry, all while using the same full-sized keyboard for both. Once the keyboard is paired with the BlackBerry, it really is that easy to use.

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In a darkened room at the South Hall of CES 2012, an image springs to life. Gracefully, a sea turtle swims across the wall. A cityscape slowly pans by. A volcano erupts. I'm watching the BlackBerry PlayBook's HD Demo video, but I'm not watching it on the PlayBook itself. Attached to the BlackBerry tablet is a pocket-sized pico projector, the WOWee ONE VUE.

Don't let that "pocket-sized" designation fool you. Using a green light laser, the projector is able to create images up to 8 feet across at a resolution of 480p in full color. The device features an infinite focus ability that means no matter how close or far away the projector is from the screen/wall/ceiling, the video always stays in focus. While the VUE doesn't project video in 1080p, the bright, clear image; two hour battery life; and very small size are well worth the tradeoff. Weighing a mere 4.1 oz (117g), the projector is highly portable.

Right out of the box, the device is fully compatible with the BlackBerry PlayBook's microHDMI out port. All the connections you'll need are already included in the packaging; there's no need to go out and buy extra cables. The tiny projector also comes with a 30-pin connector for the iPad and supports MHL-HDMIconnected devices.

The WOWee ONE VUE is a great traveling companion for anyone making presentations with a PlayBook. Previously, you've seen just how well the PlayBook can make any presentation. With the WOWee ONE VUE, those presentations can happen just about anywhere. And when you're done, all your presentation tools fit in a pocket, ready for your next adventure. The WOWee ONE VUE isn't available quite yet, only listed as "coming soon." You can rest assured though, this projector will most probably fly off the shelves at a projected price of around $360. 

CES2012 was both exhilarating and exhausting. It was literally bursting with all sorts of new gadgets and gizmos that made my head spin. During the few moments I was able to wander around I stumbled upon a small little booth that turned out to be a whole new line of tablet holders for kids to make playing apps, watching videos, or carrying around their tablet both cute and ergonomic at the same time. While this may be designed for kids, it's geared for adults as well. So without further ado, click on the jump to find out more about these Tablet Teddy Bears by Dean Designs.

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CES 2012 in Las Vegas was great time for all of the Mobile Nations crew and we saw some awesome stuff on the way (or already here) from RIM and some third-party manufacturers. We got to check out loads of cool stuff coming in the PlayBook OS 2.0 update like BlackBerry Remote and native email, calendar and contacts, some sweet new games, spend some hands-on time with OS 7.1, BlackBerry Tag and much, much more. Keep reading to see what you missed from all of the CrackBerry coverage at CES 2012.

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When has this happened to you: you're on vacation or out for the day when suddenly your device runs out of juice. Texting, twittering, and playing games can be a huge drain on your battery. I realized this when I was packing for CES2012 and made the unfortunate mistake of not including a spare battery for my Bold 9900. Call it a senior moment, but we don't always think of these things. That's why Concord Keystone Trading announced their new battery pack for Micro-USB Smart Phones. The Keystone ECO Booster 2.0 extends the battery life of smart phones on-the-go and extends the usage time of the phone up to double capacity. It works through a built-in retractable USB cable and can be attached to the back of the phone with an adhesive gel pad incorporated into the unit.

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Going around the convention floor I've been seeing some awesome BlackBerry cases from different manufacturers. What struck my eye though was the unveiling of Trexta's new 2012 line of accessories for the new OS 7 devices and BlackBerry tablet. They are rolling out not one, not two, but five different types of cases for the new Bold 9900/30, Torch 9850/60, and Curve 9350/60/70. These are awesome cases that not only show off your sense of style (they come in a variety of colors to suit your tastes) but offer solid protection as well. More importantly they all come with the never leave home without magnet sleeper function. When trying out these cases the first thing I noticed was how solid they were and and how well they fit in your hands. They may look shiny but they are not slippery or bulky at all. These are well designed cases and a hands-on review of one of these babies is on the way. Click on the jump for more information.

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Yale Locks and Hardware was on hand at CES to talk about their new series of Real Living Locks. They are available as deadbolts or lever locks, and use Z-Wave or ZigBee technology. Now this is nothing new to me, as I have been using a Schlage LiNK system for several years now. What did impress me quite a bit is that these locks are available with a standard keypad, or a new sleek capacitive touchscreen. They also incorporate a motorized deadbolt, so you can remotely lock or unlock you door. Now just the touchscreen and the motorized deadbolt were impressing me, but what really peaked my interested was how Yale has built in NFC technology into each lock.

What does this mean for BlackBerry users? It means that soon you will be able to take advantage of your NFC capable BlackBerry device and be able to use it to unlock your front door just by holding it near the lock. Now that is cool! Yale is still working on a few details before releasing the NFC capable lock, but we should be seeing it this year.

Ford has quite the presence at CES 2012. From the slick Evos concept car to the upcoming Focus Electric (with nice mobile app integration) and 2013 Ford Fusion, Ford has a strong showing (which is impressive, when you consider that the Detroit Auto Show is also this week). In addition to the mobile integration going with the Focus Electric, Ford's moving forward full stream with their in-car infotainment system Sync. Powered by Microsoft's Windows Embedded Automotive operating system, Sync has been leading the in-car media game for a few years now, and the latest version naturally kicks things up another notch. Sync integrates with BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android devices, allowing a driver to control apps on the device with a combination of voice commands, steering wheel controls, and the center stack and touchscreen.

The bags were packed, hotel keycards dropped off in the lobby, and thousands of miles were flown as the CrackBerry crew - along with majority of our Mobile Nations team - returned home from the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show. The past six days have been great, but I think we're all at least a little glad that it's over.

Nearly 2 million square feet and 3,100 exhibitors have a certain way of taking up all of your time. With so much to see and do at the show, not everything we found at CES has hit the blog just yet. Personally, I have something like 5 articles left to write. And it's not like we spent all our time gambling and checking out the Blue Man Group. During CES, Vegas is for work, not play.

So even though the Twitterverse was filled with tales of CrackBerry bloggers heading home, we still had some nice stories to tell on the blog- and there's even more to come. Just give us a little time to recharge. 

A sit down with some of the Poynt team
HzO shows us how you really waterproof a device
First Look: X-mini KAI Capsule Speaker
The $500 Desktop Clock App for BlackBerry that I was dumb enough to buy...
CES 2012 - Samsung's Smart Window
First Look: Updated Video Chat Client on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0!
Ashley addresses the Crackberry Nation from CES 2012!
Sitting down at CES in the QNX-powered Porsche Concept Car... Crazy Awesome In-Car Infotainment That I Wantz to Have NAO!
WOWee ONE turns any surface into a subwoofer - sounds great and we've got one to give away!

The WOWee line of audio devices is one of those things you have to hear to believe. Even that video up there really doesn't do it justice. The WOWee folks have designed a small box - for lack of a better word - that makes great sounding music.

Holding the WOWee in your hand, you don't experience the full joy that is the WOWee ONE. When it's placed on a flat surface - preferably on a hollow object, but it's not required - the surface is transformed into a sort of sounding board. This drastically amplifies the sound; it's almost like the object is turned into a subwoofer for your music and other audio.

Music sounds great on this thing; absolutely great. Pair it up with the upcoming WOWee ONE VUE, and you've got yourself a mobile presentation kit. And a mobile movie watching kit. The rechargeable battery on the ONE is rated for an incredible 20 hours. There are two more versions of the WOWee, a slim and a Bluetooth enabled device. All three sound amazing, but the WOWee ONE Classic has the best of that low bass sound, down to 20 Hz.

The good people of WOWee set us up with a WOWee ONE Classic (the one with the really good bass) to give away to our CrackBerry Nation, so leave a comment this article to be entered to win. Contest ends this Sunday at midnight Pacific time. Good luck, you're really gonna want this.

Following up our initial walk through of native email, calendar and contacts on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 earlier this week, we followed up with Michael Clewley from the PlayBook team to get some better insight and understanding of exactly how everything is working on PlayBook OS 2 to deliver an uncompromising experience. With native email on the PlayBook using ActiveSync as a transport, we weren't quite clear as to what the ongoing need/role of RIM's famous NOC (Network Operating Center) would be going forward.

As you'll see in the video above, RIM is still leveraging the NOC throughout the BlackBerry experience. OTA updates, App World, etc. all leverage the NOC, and even the email experience relies on it, allowing for super easy setup - users just enter the email address and password and the NOC takes care of setting everything up on the backend (no having to figure out annoying SMTP blah blah blah stuff). And for enterprise users, RIM is still adding a layer of security and compression beyond ActiveSync.

As for performance, we finish up the walk through with a little test, and suffice to say the push email is as pushy as ever. I don't really care how it works, as long as it works well. Check out the video above. If you have questions on any of this stuff, Michael does a great job here of going through it all. The discussion has me thinking it might be time to rebrand the BlackBerry NOC to just be the BlackBerry Cloud Services (BBCS doesn't sound as cool as BBID though) or something like that. The NOC does a lot!

I'm seriously pi$$ed I spent $500 on that BlackBerry clock app yesterday as that money really needs to be going into my new car fund so I can pick up some new wheels when the QNX concepts being shown off at CES2012 hit the market. 

You'll want to definitely watch the video above as Mark from the QNX team walks me through all of the customizations they did to this sweet Porsche Carerra. The technology here is just awesome. There are NFC tags in the car for easy pairing between BlackBerry Smartphone and the Infotainment unit (which while not being broadcast you could tell was a PlayBook in the console that boots up to a new in-car UI). The main console PlayBook was connected to two more PlayBooks mounted on the headrests, which can be controlled by the main console machine (thank QNX's distributed OS and QNet for making that happen). The main infotainment console has all the features you'd expect of a connected car and some that you wouldn't expect, including AMAZING super high definition stereo telepathy which means you can have the best voice calls ever. There's no noise cancellation happening here, but literally sound that is true to life and even moves with you through the car (it's hard to explain in text, so jump to the 4 minute mark to see it and hear it). What's really cool is that this functionality is actually part of the PlayBook OS 2 update. 

I can go on and on here but have to start packing up to make my flight home from CES 2012, so do yourself a favor and sit back and watch the video. You'll be glad you did.

Hey guys, it's Ashley Esqueda, your Mobile Nations Monday Brief delegate. I took a tour of the RIM/BlackBerry booth this week at CES, and I've got some words to share about my experience there. As someone who's pretty skeptical of RIM, I feel oddly positive about 2012 for them. Check out the video so I can explain why!