Ford's Sync in-car connectivity system enjoyed quite a prosperous little 2011. Last January, installations of the service topped the three million mark. Now, almost exactly a year later, Sync has come to a full four million vehicles, and it's looking to expand its reach even further. Ford announced the milestone at CES yesterday, projecting that the voice-activated, Microsoft-powered software will clear the nine million hurdle by as early as 2015. It may sound like a bold prediction, but considering that Sync is slated to roll out to markets in Asia and Europe this year, it certainly seems realistic. For more details and back-patting, check out the full PR after the break.

Orange has decided to branch out from its branded handset range with a Huawei-made tablet. Running Honeycomb on a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, it appears to be the equivalent of the T-Mobile Springboard, otherwise known as Huawei MediaPad. Pricing is £70 on a £25 per month, with a smartphone bundle including the San Francisco II for free on a £41 per month tariff. Check the PR after the break, or head to your nearest Orange Shop -- it's available from today.

Contour is planning to bring the thrills of POV camera footing to live-streaming fans everywhere. Undercutting the live setups of professional broadcasters. The setup involves connecting the mini-HDMI port on its Contour+ helmet-mounted camera and Cerevo's LiveShell which then directs the footage to USTREAM. Settings can be tinkered with through a web browser, so you can leave your PC behind when you go off-piste. We've also been told that you'll be able to manage settings through your smartphone. Paired together, expect to eke out at least three hours of 1080p footage. While the Contour+ is out now, a new bundle with the LiveShell will be up for grabs from Contour's online store starting January 21st, priced at $300.

As Google presses forward with its social network initiative, it only makes sense that company famed for comprehensive search results would naturally bring Google+ along for the ride. That day is now upon us, as the juggernaut from Mountain View has officially unveiled Your World -- an addition to its search results that prioritizes content generated by you and those in your circles. Now, the company hopes it'll be much easier to find relevant photos, blog posts and contacts from the Google search bar, which includes content both public and private. In effort to keep security in check, all searches will be performed by default over SSL. Additionally, skeptics may opt-out of Your World at any time. For those looking for the best of both worlds, a toggle at the top-right of the page allows users to choose on-the-fly whether to include personalized results. It all looks quite slick -- in fact, we wouldn't be too surprised if another social networking company just threw up a little.

While we've been bamboozled by both a Sony and Sony Ericsson-branded Xperia S, the soon-to-be-divorced company still has a few handsets left to belt out of its once happy home. Alongside its new HD flagship and the LTE-powered Xperia Ion, Japan is getting treated to its own two slabs of smartphone magic. The Xperia acro HD will match Japan-centric features like mobile wallet and TV tuner found in the original, but present it all with the same 720p Reality Display we admired on the Xperia S. It'll arrive in four guises: aqua, black, sakura (that'll be pink, then) and ceramic (read; off-white). It's joined over in Nihon by the Xperia NX, which is apparently a Japanese-flavored Xperia S and keeps with the monochromatic flavors we've seen at CES. Sadly, we'll have to admire from a distance -- these Japanese market customization jobs are very unlikely to arrive elsewhere. Get the full Xperia 2012 story in the English press release after the break, or decipher the Google-translated source below for the full nitty-gritty.

Nyko may be hitting Sin City's premier electronics trade show with a Yo Gabba Gabba! alarm clock in tow, but the outfit's PS Vita and Kindle Fire accessories are just a hair more enticing. First up is a Vita flavored follow up to Nyko's line of portable gaming battery packs, the PS Vita Power Grip. This $25 rechargeable battery pack promises to triple the battery life of your pocket PlayStation, and tacks on a pair of ergonomic controller grips, to boot. The outfit is also launching an accessory rich "Armor Kit" for the new handheld, an iPod-like speaker stand and a slew of assorted accessories ranging from USB chargers to game card holders.

Kindle Fire owners will be happy to hear that their lightweight tablet is getting hit with the same assortment of accessories, including a speaker stand, an assortment of charging accessories and even its very own battery life-extending Power Case. You'll find the full press release after the break -- in case you really need to know more about that Yo Gabba Gabba! clock radio / charging dock.

It might not be quite as satisfying as pulling down that orange arm and watching as the one three-dimensional image is replaced with another slightly washed-out pic with rounded corners, but Fisher Price is ushering its beloved View-Master brand into the 21st century. Later this quarter the company will be launching ViewMasterDigital3D.com, a content shop that will sell packages of stereoscopic images for $1.99. While you will be able to view those photos on any 3D-capable device -- like say that new LG TV you just picked up -- there will also be branded iPhone and laptop accessories from Spatial View who partnered with Fisher Price on this project. Check out the complete PR after the break.

Between your tablet, phone, GPS and whatever else, keeping powered up on the move is a challenge for us all. Innergie wants to crush that problem with its PocketCell battery pack. Yep, it's a power cell, yes it fits in your pocket, but here's what you might not have worked out from the name: it has a 3,000 mAh capacity, mini / micro USB connectors built-in along with an Apple 30 pin adapter (as it's based on its Magic Cable design we loved so much) and a fast "Smart Charge" function for the impatient. There's five built in protections against unstable voltage, so you can be confident your digital world won't burn out in your hand. The makers reckon you can get an extra 4.5 hours of iPad usage and about 15 more hours on the horn to mom -- though, we're sure your mileage may vary. You can get charging from today for $79.99, which includes the Magic Cable, or touch up the PR after the jump for more info.

It turns out Vizio's plans for Android don't stop at just tablets and TVs, as it's list of accessories being announced for 2012 are two Google TV powered set-top boxes. The VAP430 Stream player picks up where the Revue left off (and directly competes with Sony's NSZ-GS7 network player) adding the Google TV experience and access ot streaming media in any existing setup. Meanwhile, the VBR430 Blu-ray player adds discs to the mix of a VIA platform (standard and Plus) that stands to benefit from a new VOD app, M-Go from Technicolor that should bring first-run movies streaming directly to TVs. There's a few other add-ons mentioned in the PR (after the break) including a Skype webcam, iPad dock and soundbar, but all of those are available now. Like the other products Vizio has announced at CES, shipping dates and prices are still TBD.

What happens when a computer accessory manufacturer and a Bluetooth-savvy app developer team up? iNotebook, that's what. Targus has been working with iDevices to create the aforementioned writing recognition app / pen combo for the iPad. Making use of a rechargeable Bluetooth receiver, the pair utilizes a special pen to transfer the slate owner's haiku from paper directly to their mobile device. So long as you mind the 9.5-inch x 7.5-inch notepad size restriction, you shouldn't have any trouble getting that grocery list transferred quickly. Available in June, the only question is if you'll drop $149.99 on this bad boy. Even though an iPad case is included, we might have to pass.

Like many of you, we couldn't wait to serve our Transformer Prime Google's latest dessert, so we took a brief respite from the CES grind to enjoy our upgraded (and suddenly dated) tablet. Yes, our Prime is now rocking Ice Cream Sandwich, and although its only been sporting the update for a few scant hours, we're already pleased. Read on to find out why.

The man in the phone shop says you're gonna need some accessories to go with that brand new smartphone and he has some fresh stock to choose from. Sony Ericsson's SmartTags use NFC to flip your handset into a specific pre-configured profile depending on its location: leave a tag near your dash, for example, and it'll switch your phone into sat nav mode, or leave one by your bed for alarm clock mode. Smart Wireless Headset Pro does slightly more than your average wireless cans, giving you access to calendar notifications and even acting as a standalone MP3 player and radio when detached from the phone. And here's the final head-turner: the Xperia SmartWatch, which uses Bluetooth to act as a secondary display, showing texts and other notifications while also letting you manage basic phone functions from your wrist. These Smart Extra accessories will actually work with any NFC- or Bluetooth-equipped Android phone, not just Sony's latest, which ought make the shop guy even happier. You'll find a lot more detail at the source link, although no pricing or availability just yet.

After lighting things up with new PCs and a 10-inch tablet, Vizio is returning to its roots by unveiling a series of new HDTVs during CES, along with a few old ones. Among its more conventional sets, the E3D series has been bringing value priced passive 3D since last year, but it will be joined by the M3D series in a 47- and 55-inch model, the latter of which includes a Bluetooth QWERTY remote. If that's not enough, users can step up to the R3D series which come in the same sizes and have better backlighting.


The more interesting news however, is that the 65-inch versions of both M- and R- lines feature VIA Plus, which is Vizio's customized spin on Google TV. We first got a peek at it last year, however the delayed introduction of Honeycomb and adoption of ARM processors likely doomed any chance of a release. In another blast from the past, Vizio has also queued up three 21:9 "CinemaWide" ultrawidescreen WFHD (2560x1080) models (above), in sizes of 50-, 58- and 71-inches with 3D and Yahoo! Widgets. We were heartbroken when we never saw these come home in 2011, although in all fairness no one else brought an ultrawidescreen flat-panel to us either so there's still an extremely rectangular space on our wall that needs filling. Prices and ship dates for all the new TVs are still TBD, and those without Google TV include Yahoo TV widgets. Check the press release after the break for the available details, before we check out the new models and try to find out if they'll actually arrive this time around.

We'll never get over how odd it seems that Toshiba makes Blu-ray players, but nonetheless they do and have four new ones for 2012. By the looks of them, they all fit the new Aero family design, feature streaming options like Netflix, VUDU and MediaShare (a DLNA interface). The main differentiator is that the BDX3300 and BDX5300 include built-in WiFi while the BDX2300 and BDX4300 are simply WiFi ready -- only the 4300 and 5300 output 3D. None of them have prices yet, according to the press release after the break, but they are all due in April, with the exception of the BDX330, which is due in May.

It's not often that speakerphones grace Engadget's pages, but Plantronics' Clarity division has created a new such device tailored to the needs of folks with mobility issues and difficulties using their hands. Called the Fortissimo, it's got an outsized LCD touchscreen for easy viewing and prodigious voice command capabilities courtesy of Plantronics' Vocalyst technology. Vocalyst lets users send emails and texts, update social networks, and access other phone functions with the spoken word, and can connect with headsets via Bluetooth. Physical phone interaction's on tap too courtesy of air switches activated by blowing on them and oversized pillow switches that are as easily hit with arms and legs as they are heads and shoulders. Lastly, there's ClarityLogic customer service that gives company reps the ability to adjust settings and upgrade Fortissimo remotely. Clarity's showing it off this week at CES, and the Fortissimo will be released this summer. PR's after the break.

Back in October, BlueStacks unveiled an alpha version of its App Player, bringing a slew of Android apps to Windows PCs, tablets and desktops. Today, the company expanded its reach with a new, Windows 8-compatible version of its software, integrating more than 400,000 Android apps into Microsoft's latest OS. The latest App Player, which will support both standard desktop and Metro UI modes, effectively allows Windows 8 users to run "most every app" from the Android catalog, without having to conduct any porting magic. BlueStacks demonstrated its new virtualization tool on a Windows 8 Ultrabook at CES today, and plans to bring the App Player to a brand new device this March, when Taiwanese manufacturer InHon releases its first Ultrabook, with the software pre-loaded. Head past the break for the full PR, along with a demo video.

Intel's betting the farm on Ultrabook PCs with its biggest-budget advertising campaign since 2003. April will see the start of a massive advertising campaign designed to convey the benefits of thin and light notebooks to the masses. Kevin Sellers, Santa Clara's head of advertising was boasting ahead of Tuesday's Intel press conference where we're expecting plenty of juicy revelations about the company's Medfield smartphone platform. We'd say "keep your eyes peeled" for the adverts, but given how deeply ingrained the Intel bunnies are on our subconscious, we'll just wait for the PR onslaught to begin.