Just as we expected, the first of what I’m sure will be plenty of ultrabooks has just showed itself at the CES International show in Las Vegas. Acer just announced what they’re calling the world’s thinnest ultrabook: the Acer Aspire S5.

Just 15mm thick at its thickest point, the 13.3-inch ultrabook sports a magnesium alloy cover, with all of the same requirements were seeing out of ultrabooks like InstantOn technology. There’s also a creative use of space on the S5 with a bevy of ports including HDMI, USB 3.0, and Thunderbolt ports along with an SSD.

Shipping is expected to begin in Q2.

Sonos stopped by our office in San Francisco today to show off their newest toy: the iPad controller app. Those familiar with the iPhone/iPod touch version of the controller will feel at home here, though obviously the larger screen allows Sonos to do some more creative music management things with the UI. It looks to be a pretty killer way to manage multiple Sonos systems throughout your home (it can manage up to 32 separate zones).

While the app looks polished and ready to go, Sonos says it’s still pre-beta. The plan is to have it ready to submit to Apple’s App Store by mid-August. Once approved, it will be available as a free download.

They see the iPad version of the app as the most social Sonos controller yet — great for parties. As to why you would buy a CR200 — their dedicated remote that costs $350 — instead of an iPad with this app, they note that the CR200 is still faster to use if you want to access your systems instantly. And the dedicated remote is going to stay in your home, if someone leaves with the iPad, you’ll have no remote.

Watch a video of it in action below. As you can see, it seamlessly runs two Sonos S5s (including the new black one), in two different rooms. Below that, find a video of Sonos telling us a bit more about the strategy behind these apps. Of note, they’re completely focused on Apple’s mobile platforms for the time being (meaning, sadly, no Android app is in the works just yet). And while they may be hesitant to say it, they’d clearly love for their systems to be available in Apple Stores.

For those who can’t wait for the iPad version, check out the iPhone version (which will work on the iPad) here in the App Store.

Viliv went all official on the S7 a couple of weeks ago. The hot convertible tablet definitely sparked my interest, especially the 4700mAh lithium polymer batter that is said to have up to 9.5 hours. That’s hot. Well, some folks in Korea got their hands on the portable and put that battery to the test. The results really aren’t that surprising.

Lazion.com tested the S7′s battery life and couldn’t get over 8 hours. Now, 8 hours is still good in my book, but that’s an hour and a half off the claimed battery life. The benchmark didn’t squash its appeal so much. It’s still hot and I hope that Viliv and Dynamism team up once again to import the S7 to the States like they did with the S5 and X70.

Lazion via Pocketables.net

Rumors from la France point to a Samsung S5 firmware update that will enable FLAC playback. I know that a grand total of seven of you have so much as seen an S5, but I bring it up merely to point out that, you know, there are other portable players out there beyond the iPod family. And for some people, the lack of FLAC support—no, Apple lossless doesn’t cut it—makes the iPod an alotogether less attractive option.

As I twittered earlier, FLAC is so, so fine. What.cd is currently on FLAC freeleech; I should have more invites available later in the week, so one or two (I guess) lucky readers will get to join the party.

via DAPreview.net