Of Gadgets & Gee-Whiz

The pick of the pluck at CES 2006

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA is one of the mightiest consumer tech expositions in world. Held every January, it provides a product launchpad for nearly 2,500 technology and consumer companies from all over the globe and therefore attracts a lot of eyeballs. Little wonder then that the recently concluded CES 2006 had a gigantic number of gee-whiz gadgets to gawk at and gush over. From the trivial to the tectonic, it is all there. Here’s a pick of the pluck…

Toshiba Gigabeat S Series
A wannabe iPod killer, it is a 30/60 GB portable media center and FM radio tuner with a 2.4-inch QVGA color display. You can watch downloaded recorded TV shows from TiVo Series2 or feature-length movies from movie websites. It is compatible with .WMA, .WMV, .WAV, JPEG, and MP3 etc. media file formats. And its battery holds for 20 hours of audio or 5 hours of video on the trot.

Panasonic 103-inch 1080p PDP
At 103-inches, this is currently the world largest plasma flat display panel. Still in prototype, it is capable of showing video in 1920x1080 (2.07 million pixels) progressive HDTV resolutions with a contrast of 3000:1. This monster has an effective viewing area of 2,269.4 x 1,276.6; diagonally it is 2,603.8 mm.

Pioneer Inno
A dimunitive, portable XM satellite radio receiver for listening to satellite broadcast stations on the move! Not just that, the

Inno can record up to 50 hours of XM programming and playback MP3s. And an onboard FM transmitter lets you "broadcast" your music to a nearby sound system. Like a song you are listening to on the radio and want to keep it? Hit a button and buy the song on the fly…

MobiBLU Cube MP3 Player
You got see this little wonder: It’s a one-inch-square, ultra-light, 1GB MP3 player with an in-built microphone, voice recorder, and FM radio with a 20-station preset and FM recording. It has an OLED screen, dime-sized click wheel controls, supports MP3 and WMA (including Windows DRM) files and lets you set up playlists.

iRobot Scooba
Believe it or not, it is a Frisbee-sized personal floor cleaning robotic vacuum cleaner that scoops dirt, applies cleanser, scrubs, sucks, and dries.

Garmin Nuvi
A pack-of-cards-sized, lightweight, touchscreen GPS and navigation tool that is also an MP3 player, photo viewer, language translator, and currency conversion calculator.

Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote
This is a remote that allows you to control your audio-video electronics without being in direct line of sight---yeah even those located in other rooms and floors.

Exkate Raptor 4.0
Ever wanted is a remote-controlled electric skateboard? This is it. And it can whiz at speeds in excess of 20 kmph in 3 seconds. Brakes? Obviously, remote-controlled as well.

Sony E-Book
Moving up to the second generation of electronic books, this Sony is a book-sized portable “E-Ink” display reader that stores over 80 books onboard, and accesses hundreds via Memory Stick or SD card.

Celestron SkyScout
Star-seekers, here’s a personal handheld planetarium device with an onboard GPS that locates, identifies, and teaches you about celestial objects.

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