A Taste of What’s Next in Consumer Electronics

By Tamara Chuang, The Orange County Register, Calif.

Jan. 16–Bigger big TVs, higher-definition HD video and Microsoft Vista were big themes at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But you already know all that, especially if you’ve been following my stories, such as LG Electronics releasing the world’s first DVD player that can play the dueling high-definition DVD formats. Or the first external graphics card from ASUS.

But here are a few other cool things that you may not have heard of:

–The Vista messenger bag

Windows Vista offers a new feature called SideShow that lets a computer use a second screen to display information. The most practical implementation has to be from Eleksen Group, a British developer of smart fabric. By building the 2.5-inch Eleksen Wearable Display Module right on the outer flap of a messenger bag, users can check e-mail, view photos and see calendar items on the small screen without having to open the computer itself. Controls for the screen are also built into the bag’s fabric. Eleksen doesn’t make the bags but will sell the technology to bag manufacturers. Watch the video online at gadgetress.com.

–The next GPS

Dash Navigation’s in-car navigation device looks pretty ordinary. But it’s built with fast, cellular Internet service to get the latest traffic snarls and reroute the driver. But wait! That’s not all. Dash also lets other people e-mail addresses to the unit so the driver doesn’t have to input them. And ultimately, the Mountain View company will use its network of Dash drivers to anonymously gather traffic congestion reports to help its subscribers drive better. Trials are starting this spring in the Los Angeles area, which could include Orange County.

While you’re waiting, Fujitsu Ten’s Eclipse brand will start selling the AVN2210p in the spring. This in-car GPS device comes with Bluetooth, a USB port and options to plug in an iPod. But it can be used outside of the car as well. The 3.5-inch display pops out of its frame and runs on rechargeable batteries. Available in the spring at Circuit City for $899.

–Hands-free help

Qool Labs’ Bluetooth rearview mirror will come in handy when California’s hands-free law goes into effect in July 2008. The mirror syncs to a Bluetooth cell phone. Its reflective surface is a screen that displays the phone number (i.e. Caller ID) of an incoming call. Push a button to talk, redial a number or record up to 30 seconds of a message. And there are three ways to listen to calls: speakers built into the back, an FM transmitter to listen over the car’s speaker system, or an ear piece that pops out on the side. While the QBC100 is in production overseas, it’s not yet available in the U.S. The Singapore company is looking for a U.S. distributor.

–Samsung’s sweet cell phones

While Steve Jobs was busy announcing the iPhone, Samsung offered plenty of fun phones for CES attendees. The Ultra Music F300 is super skinny, yet it has screens and buttons on both sides — one side for music and video, the other for phone calls. The SCH-B600 is the world’s first 10-megapixel camera phone, and it’s also satellite TV capable. And the icing on the doughnut? Three limited-edition, Bart Simpson yellow cell phones that will launch in time for “The Simpsons Movie,” in theaters in July.

–Biggest hard drive ever

Hitachi Storage Technologies beat everybody else and released a hard drive that holds 1 terabyte of data. That’s 1,000 gigabytes on a single drive. It uses perpendicular magnetic recording and stores data on five platters. Amazingly, the price for this internal drive is just $399, or 40 cents per gigabyte. Rival Seagate’s largest drive, at 750 GB, is hard to find for under $400. Hitachi’s Deskstar 7K1000 will arrive in stores this quarter. Next quarter, expect their 1 TB CinemaStar drive, targeting digital video recorder manufacturers. One terabyte stores about 250 hours of HD video.

–Modern-day telephone

GE never gave up hope on the traditional telephone after the cell phone invasion. At CES, it introduced the GE InfoLink cordless phone, which makes regular calls and gets the latest stock prices, weather reports and sports news. Owners can subscribe to various RSS feeds for free as long as they plug the phone into a broadband Internet line (and a telephone line for regular calls). Available in the second quarter for $180.

–Living room computers

With Windows Vista coming out later this month, computer makers are punching up their designs and pushing their way into every room of the house. The Sony Vaio TP1 is white, round and doesn’t look very computer-like. Sure, it’s missing a Blu-ray DVD drive, but it does have an IntelCore 2 Duo processor, 300 GB hard drive and multiformat DVD burner. Available in March at Sony Style stores and online for $1,600.

–Immersion gaming

At CES, Philips celebrated the sale of its millionth Ambilight TV, which casts a glow around the frame that matches the video on screen. Ambilight’s success has spawned amBX, a speaker and lighting system for computer gamers. Lights change colors during game play while a pair of desk fans will send a chill up your spine to simulate acceleration or collision impact. Right now, only a few games are amBX-enhanced. The amBX line launches this quarter and is priced between $199 and $399. More details at ambx.com.

–Updated digital camcorder

The RCA Small Wonder EZ201 improves on last year’s point-and-shoot camcorder. This second generation includes a flip-out 1.5-inch LCD screen and SD memory card slot. The best part? It’s still at last year’s price of $129 and will be available in the spring. RCA also announced an easier way to save videos to a DVD. The RCA Memory Maker, a docking station with a built-in DVD burner, comes out later this year. Place the Small Wonder on the dock and, with one touch, burn videos straight to DVD.Cell-phone buddy

If you have a ton of contacts inside your cell phone and you have no idea how to back them up or move them to another phone, then Backup Pal from Advanced Wireless Solutions in Los Angeles, could become your best friend. Just plug the simple gadget into your cell phone, hit the “Backup” button and watch it save all those numbers. Hit “restore” when switching to a new phone. But only one Pal per phone, please. The gadget, priced between $39 and $49 depending on the phone tip, works with most phones except smart phones, though the company is working on that. Available soon. More details at www.Backup-Pal.com.

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