PC manufacturer Alienware is set to electrify the 2007 International CES by showcasing an array of entertainment-enhancing new systems, including the Hangar18: HD Entertainment Center, the definitive solution for the digital living room. With up to 1.5 terabytes of storage space and four-tuner DVR functionality, the Hangar18 is a visual and audio powerhouse, perfect for recording and playing back high-definition content as well as pumping out 1,000 pulsating watts of sound with a built-in D2Audio amplifier that takes full advantage of Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Vista Premium and Ultimate Editions. For mobile users, Alienware is previewing the all-new processor-overclocked Area-51 m9750 and Area-51 m5790 Special Edition notebooks. The Area-51 m9750 offers dual 512MB SLI graphics cards and up to 400GB of hard drive space while providing blistering performance via overclocked Intel Core 2 Duo processor support.

Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs made the company’s long-awaited jump into the mobile phone business, unveiling a gadget that’s controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. The iPhone, which starts at $499, will “reinvent” the telecommunications sector and “leapfrog” past the current generation of hard-to-use smart phones, Jobs said.

Apple Computer faces some tough hurdles if it decides to launch a mobile phone built around its popular iPod music player, Microsoft’s entertainment chief said. Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, said Monday that it too is considering a mobile phone integrated with its Zune digital music player, but launching such a device is not at top of its priority list.

AT&T’s mobile phone unit, Cingular Wireless, is expected to provide a service for a phone from Apple Computer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple watchers had seen Cingular as a top candidate for an iPod phone deal. Some Cingular phones already work with Apple’s iTunes music service.

Cisco Systems sued Apple in federal court Wednesday, saying the computer maker’s new iPhone violates its trademark. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, came just a day after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPhone in dramatic fashion at a trade show in San Francisco. But even while Jobs was trumpeting the product during his keynote address to Apple faithful, the matter of the product’s naming had not been resolved behind the scenes between two of the biggest names in Silicon Valley.

Lexar announced its Platinum II and Standard line Secure Digital High Capacity flash memory cards. These cards are ideal for storing and sharing digital images, video, and music and are offered at varying price and performance levels. Lexar’s SDHC cards directly address the much needed performance and capacity that users require for a superior digital experience. SDHC cards from both Lexar product lines will be available next month in 4GB, and later in 2007 in 8GB.

SanDisk introduced USBTV, a new, industry-wide initiative that is expected to enable consumers to easily move digital content from their PCs to their televisions for viewing in full, big-screen comfort. USBTV is a powerful and innovative new platform that will enable consumers to transport downloaded digital content from a personal computer, by using a small flash memory-enabled media player, and plug-and-play it directly on virtually any TV. Once they’ve taken the time to download and store personal videos and movies on their PC, consumers often want to enjoy that content with others in the living room. Today this process requires burning blank DVD optical media so that it can be played back on the DVD player attached to the TV, a cumbersome and time-consuming proposition. A USBTV player can tackle the problem by plugging directly into the USB port of virtually any personal computer, where it acts as a USB storage device for a rapid “drag and drop” of any desired file. The first pocket-sized players, expected to be available this spring, allow consumers to access an on-screen guide where they can pick and choose from content they’ve stored on the USBTV player and play it on a TV. No wireless set-up or complex networking equipment is required.

SanDisk introduced its first widescreen portable media player dubbed the Sansa View. The flash-based Sansa View is a sleek, yet simple video player that supports a wide array of content formats and comes equipped with a flash memory expansion slot. The Sansa View has 8GB of internal flash memory to store up to 33 video hours or 2,000 songs or thousands of photos. Its flash memory expansion slot allows for additional memory capacity and playback of content found on SD and SDHC cards, such as Disney Max Clips.

SanDisk unveiled an affordable cable-less, flash-based MP3 player: the 1GB Sansa Express. Designed for the value-conscious consumer, the compact Sansa Express stands out amongst the competition as an affordably priced device with many high-end features, including a microSD expansion slot, FM tuner, recording capabilities, data storage and a direct connection to a consumer’s computer–no USB cable required.

SanDisk announced the Sansa Connect, a Wi-Fi enabled MP3 player that lets consumers enjoy and recommend music from almost anywhere. The Sansa Connect un-tethers consumers from their PCs allowing them to connect to music and online photos through any open wireless “hot spot” Internet connection.