Whiz-bang gadgetry is moving beyond the PC

  • May Wong / Associated Press
  • Saturday, January 12, 2002 9:00pm
  • Business

By May Wong

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A key theme of this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show was adding reliability and versatility to the digital devices we use most, such as DVD and music players.

But there was also the usual cornucopia of gadgetry at the massive expo, from gizmos that block telemarketers to devices that use global positioning satellites to track stray children.

Some of the best breakthroughs in the 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center were related to size: Products are getting smaller and thinner as they get better.

For example, Panasonic’s new four-in-one audio and video digital recorder with a 2-inch flip-out LCD screen is about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

It records and plays video and still photos, plays MP3 songs, and has 64 megabytes of flash memory that can hold approximately 30 minutes of MPEG-4 video or about 880 photos.

Also in the name of versatility, Apex Digital showed off a five-disc DVD player that lets consumers pop in some movies, a slide show and music CDs, so "you may never have to leave the couch," said Colton Manley, the company’s advertising director.

Another Apex DVD player incorporates a digital photo editing system that lets users create albums. It includes a USB attachment for a printer, so photos can be printed right there next to the television.

"The whole idea is to bring everything into the living room, away from the PC," Manley said.

Other companies unveiled new digital entertainment hubs for the home that store, play, and stream music, video and photo files from a single box, including Pioneer’s new Digital Library and Samsung’s Home Media Center.

SONICblue showcased its Rio Advanced Digital Audio Center, which stores more than 650 CDs, can record music onto a CD and stream the music collection to other Rio receiver units in the home — using existing phone lines or a networking adapter.

Motorola’s new Home Theater System combines a DVD/CD changer, a digital audio/video receiver and an interactive digital cable TV receiver in one box.

And dozens of thinner and sharper flat-panel TV monitors were on display, as were flatter, smaller DVD players for homes, cars and portable use.

"People are running out of space and these very, very flat products are the answer," said Mike Aguilar, a Panasonic executive.

Other new high-tech gizmos included:

  • The TeleZapper by Privacy Technologies, a small box that attaches to a phone, reduces annoying telemarketer calls by emitting a special tone to tell automated dialing computers that your number is disconnected.

  • A GPS Personal Locator by Wherify, worn like a wristwatch, uses global positioning satellite technology to help a worried parent locate the child who has it on.

  • The Micro Trac Mouse by Fellowes, worn on the index finger and controlled by thumb movements over a trackball.

  • A new Memorex cordless phone system lets users to switch between land line and cellular services by simply placing a cell phone into a docking station. A "tel/cel" button allows users to talk on either line using the cordless phone.

  • An external hard drive by Maxtor has a whopping 160-gigabyte capacity and a Firewire port to allow for faster transfers of data files.

  • Philips’ Photo eXpanium is the first portable picture CD viewer that doubles as a music CD player. Philips also introduced a micro audio system that offers online music services via a broadband Internet connection. If connected to a home network, it could also play recorded MP3 songs stored on a PC.

  • Pioneer has a car DVD player and DVD-based navigation system that responds to voice commands.

  • Sony’s pocket-sized MICROMV, touted as the world’s smallest and lightest digital camcorder, uses tape cassettes that are 70 percent smaller than MiniDV tapes.

  • Samsung’s ultra-slim portable DVD player is the first to be compatible with Memory Stick media, which means it can be used to play MP3s and show digital photos and video clips.

    Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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