Seven Top Gadgets/Tech at CES

Let's say you're in the market for an Android smartphone in the U.S. You don't need a keyboard, and you don't need it to be SIM-unlocked or have international GSM capability. You will now have two optimal choices:

A. If you want the best hardware, the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is clearly it. No other Android device can beat it in terms of hardware, given the superior battery life and overall near-top specs for the other hardware components.

B. If you want the best software, the only Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich", or ICE) smartphone thus far is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

3. From Research In Motion:(RIMM): the new Bridge software for controlling the company's PlayBook tablet. A key reason BlackBerry still sells devices in the U.S., where bandwidth is cheap and plentiful, is its superior keyboard. But people also want to use tablets, and some of them also want to use keyboards, at least on occasion. As a result, you can use third-party keyboards such as Zagg.

However, with the new Bridge software, someone who has both a BlackBerry smartphone and a PlayBook tablet can now use the BlackBerry to type on the PlayBook. The devices connect wirelessly, over Bluetooth, just like Zagg, and you can control the cursor from the BlackBerry, and, of course, type.

BlackBerry was already the only company offering free cellular data connectivity to the tablet. Offering the ability to control it and type on it from the BlackBerry differentiates it from all the other tablets I've seen. Now, if people would only start buying PlayBooks, this might start to matter in the market.

4. Novatel's(NVTL) new WiFi hotspot on Verizon, which improves on the previous version in a couple of important ways. First, and most importantly, it offers an optional larger battery, much overdue. I don't know the exact capacity, but it looks to be approximately twice the current version's 1500 mAh.

The new Verizon MiFi also offers HSPA+ for global roaming. The only downside to the new device appears to be that the password is now found in the display, so anyone who manages to see it, even temporarily.... Well, I guess this bug will be fixed soon enough. This newest MiFi on Verizon should be available in the next few weeks.