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January 24, 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show 2007
Las Vegas, NV: The International Consumer Electronics Show 2007 (CES) filled the massive Las Vegas and Sands Convention Centers with the coolest and newest products. We were there (along with 140,000 other attendees and 2,700 exhibitors) to see what’s here and what’s coming. An overwhelming theme this year was Right Here, Right Now - take it all with you to use wherever and whenever you want. The convergence of media content (music, TV, video, movies, photos) and delivery (WiFi, Bluetooth, Cellular, Internet) is being fueled by technology (flat panel TVs, hand-held media players, cell phones, IPTV, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD). We saw movies and television on everything from a 103-inch impressive plasma screen to an array of bright LCD panels to small screens on hand-held devices and cell phones. New technology eliminates burn-in and extends screen life in plasma screens and minimizes motion blur and increases viewing angle in LCD screens.
Two companies offered solutions for helping consumers end the confusion between Blu-ray and HD DVD formats and disc players: LG Electronics announced a dual format player, the Super Multi Blue Player (available Q1 2007, $1,199) capable of playing both HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats as well as standard DVDs and audio CDs. LG’s companion product, the Super Multi Blue Drive installs in a computer and reads virtually any format and writes Blu-ray as well as standard formats. Warner Bros. offered another solution with their announcement of Total High Definition disc (THD), which has the HD DVD version of a movie recorded on one side and the Blu-ray version on the other side. Flip the disc to the proper side for your player. HDTV and collections of digital photos need large amounts of storage space, soon to be measured in terabytes, petabytes, and beyond. Hitachi and Iomega offered solutions for this problem by introducing Terabyte drives for $500 which can be used for backup or archiving.
On the camcorder side, JVC introduced the JVC HD Everio GZ-HD7 (available April 2007, $1,799), the world’s first full HD 1920 x 1080i hard drive camcorder incorporating 3CCD technology; it will also include a broadcast HD Fujinon lens for best resolution. Panasonic introduced the HDC-SD1 ($1,500) compact, rugged and shock-resistant HD 3CCD camcorder, which records video on high density SD memory cards. The camera incorporates 5 microphones for superb 5.1 stereo surround sound.
Cell phones are moving from simple communication devices to multimedia entertainment and information centers. Motorola MotoMing with Edge comes ready to play your favorite music or video clips and can directly download music from Edge music service. It’s Bluetooth, so it can be used with the new diminutive Motorola Bluetooth Stereo S9 Headset. And the new LG Electronics MediaFlow LG9400 cell phone can stream live TV. Motorola introduced the new Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 service, which allows you to search for almost anything from your cell phone, such as local weather, news, entertainment, traffic, lodging, restaurants, directions and more. We saw searches in action, and they’re fast, useful and easy to do.
Accessories for the iPod were everywhere: iPod docking stations for home music systems, TV sets, car radios, clock-radios and more. Of note is the Duracell Power FM dock ($80) which adds an FM transmitter for sending wireless sound to any FM radio, doubles the playing time using its incorporated battery, has a pass-thru iPod connector and adds a protective cover. Logitech introduced a new keyboard--the Bluetooth wireless diNovo Edge ($199). It’s 3/4 inch thin, incorporates a touch disc cursor pad and volume slider, runs 60 days on a three-hour charge, stores on edge in its charging base when not in use. And, it looks terrific.
HAI, Life-server and iControl companies demonstrated their home automation systems that allow you to on-site or remotely (via Internet) access lights, music and video in your home by using a variety of wireless or wall mounted controls. These systems can also remotely monitor a host of other items such as temperature, basement flooding, furnace operation, video surveillance cameras and more. The iControl system connects directly to your router and does not require your PC to be on (it uses a Web-based service from the company).
The American Red Cross Emergency Radio (FR400, $60), from Eton Corp, can be powered from a built-in power generator, AA batteries, dynamo crank or AC adapter. It tunes AM/FM/TV and NOAA weather channels and includes a built-in LED flashlight, siren and cell phone charger. Eton donates 70 cents to the Red Cross for each one sold.
Celestron showed their new VistaPix is70 Digital Spotting Scope ($480) incorporating a 3.1 MP digital camera in a 70mm spotting scope. The device features image stabilization and a 2-inch LCD screen as well as direct eyepiece viewing. We saw many other new and exciting products at CES. Stay tuned. |
