Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. Compared to CES 2011 , which featured an explosion of tablets and high-powered smartphones poised to jump on emerging 4G networks , this year’s edition of Gear and Gloating in Las Vegas was a more muted affair when it came to mobile devices. Sure, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile trotted out a few devices and there were even a few standouts, such as the Transformer Primesque Lenovo IdeaTab S2 with its its docking keyboard as well as the heavily promoted Galaxy Note, coming soon the U.S.

Buried within the pile of gadgets at Oregon Scientific’s CES booth were these two Time & Wireless Charging Stations. On the left we have the entry-level clock that’s already out in the market, whereas the bigger ” plus ” model on the right made its debut at the show, boasting the extra clock projection and weather forecast feature. Also shown along side were the customized iPhone 4 Qi sleeves that Oregon Scientific will be offering online, and they actually had pretty high quality finish, too, especially with the texture coating on top of them

Buried within the pile of gadgets at Oregon Scientific’s CES booth were these two Time & Wireless Charging Stations. On the left we have the entry-level clock that’s already out in the market, whereas the bigger ” plus ” model on the right made its debut at the show, boasting the extra clock projection and weather forecast feature

The Consumer Electronics Show is always a big deal for HDTVs and the devices that plug into them, and the 2012 edition was no different. With the majority of households already owning an HDTV, manufacturers are pressed to convince you to upgrade, and are pulling out all the stops. We’ve got new display technologies like OLED, 4K and Super Hi-Vision, plus more 3D and internet connected features than ever

CES 2012 . It’s over, but it’ll leave a lasting impression on us all. And by “lasting,” we mean “eternal.” It’ll also go down as the most attended CES ever , with more exhibitors and more product launches than ever before

It’s hard to tell whether CES 2012 beat out last years show for tablet numbers, but there were plenty of slabs less likely to throttle your wallet in 2012. Coby has leapt onto that very bandwagon, with a whole slew of tablets

Turtle Beach announced a duo of new XBOX 360 and PS3 gaming headsets on day one of CES , and we were able to spend a bit of time with one of them, the XP400 , on the show floor.

We felt compelled to get our hands onto JVC’s 4K-resolution-shooting camcorder . Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) the company wasn’t letting us take footage with the kit, but we were allowed plenty of unsupervised time with the device.

Audi is back at CES for the second year in a row, complete with a retina-searing, biggie-sized booth, its next-gen Audi Command interface and a prototype heads-up display that combines three displays with gesture controls. The setup uses one HUD in front of the driver, another in front of the passenger and yet another display in the middle that’s viewable by both people in the front seats

As we continued to explore deeper and deeper into the underbelly of CES , something sparkled in the corner of our jaded eyes as we flitted between rows and rows of anonymous stalls. Already festooned with engineering awards, this animated laser display works by beaming a laser generated image onto glass planes containing a film of nanoparticles.