NOT ALL of these products were launched at CES but they were all on display and many will be introduced to the Irish market in 2010. With over 20,000 products on show it is, of necessity, a subjective list but one that captures the breadth of CES.
SONY READER DAILY EDITION
With so many e-books readers on display, and the product category set for huge growth outside the US this year, Sony had a novel take on where these products are heading. The Reader Daily Edition which comes with exclusive content from the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, whose newspaper content updates daily over a wireless connection. Your daily newspaper – just digital.
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KLIPSCH LIGHTSPEAKER
Wouldn’t it be great if you could wire your home for sound simply by replacing or installing recessed lighting in your ceiling? The Klipsch LightSpeaker, comes complete with a dimmable LED bulb and full-range speaker and fits 5 and 6-inch recessed light fixtures, with plans for hanging light fixtures and floor and table lamps in the future. Klipsch claims the LED lights last for 40,000 hours of usage which means in most homes they won’t have to be replaced for 15 years. For $599 you’ll get two LightSpeakers, a transmitter and a wireless remote control, with additional speakers priced at $249.
LENOVO IDEAPAD U1
Before the show I wouldn’t have expected a notebook to make this list but the hybrid Lenovo IdeaPad U1 is a potential game changer. Two computers for the price of one – you get a Windows 7 notebook with a 128GB solid state hard drive, but pull off the touchscreen and it operates as a standalone tablet that has its own processor and memory running a touch-enabled version of Linux. Although international pricing has yet to be confirmed, it will sell for a reasonable $999 in the US.
PARROT AR.DRONE
French start-up Parrot generated huge amounts of buzz at a preview event for the press when it showed off the AR.Drone, an iPhone controlled four-propeller flying helicopter which blurs the lines between video games and reality. You fly the futuristic helicopter in the real world but on your screen could be any kind of futuristic computer game developed by third parties. The company has set the bar high with its “When video games become reality” catchline but on first evidence this hitherto unheard of outfit may just deliver.
BOXEE
Boxee is the first ‘‘social’’ media centre, whose free, open source, downloadable software is changing the way people interact with internet-enabled TVs. Up to now, Boxee’s open source software was strictly for the technically competent, but at CES it was showing off a cool-looking dedicated set-top box designed for it by D-Link as well as a remote control which looks perfectly normal on one side but flips over to reveal a full “Qwerty” remote. The Boxee box supports a range of video formats, comes with services such as Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Picasa, and Flickr baked in and will sell in the US for less than $200.
CASE-MATE HUG
Products that charge your phone, MP3 player or games console wirelessly by simply dropping them onto a mat that is plugged into the mains are all the rage at CES. Case-mate’s Hug, a combination case and charging device for the iPhone, gets the nod because it is one of the first products to support the Wireless Power Consortium’s new standard for wireless charging. Fulton Innovation, the company behind Case-Mate’s eCoupled technology even showed household devices like food blenders being powered without wires. Runner up spot in this category goes to Powermat which now has an extensive range of wireless charging products but which are not standards compliant.
ZOMM
Never lose your mobile phone again is the promise of Zomm, the world’s first wireless leash for mobile phones. Fittingly for a product launched in Las Vegas, Zomm is the size of a poker chip, attaches to your key ring and communicates with your phone via Bluetooth. Wander away from your phone and the Zoom sets off an audible alarm. It also doubles up as a panic alarm and a Bluetooth headset to answer calls. Launching in the US this summer.
TOSHIBA CELL TV
Toshiba is not a name normally associated with televisions but its decision to embed a Cell procesor, the super-powerful chip that also runs the PlayStation 3 could change all that. Putting such a powerful processor in the TV means it can convert 2D content to 3D, give you high definition video conferencing in the home and access all the content on the internet over Wi-Fi. As a bonus you get a built in Blu-ray player and a 1TByte hard drive.
