From the EDge

The internet radio market now has numerous entrants. I stopped at the Myine Electronics booth to see a useful entry level variation. I like that they have created a versatile but low cost radio that works without any PC interaction. They displayed another variation that was entered into the last gadget standing competition. The Abbee product mines FM radio and reduces songs to MP3 format while removing ads and DJ talk. DRM has been messing with users long enough. It is time to respect fair use and get on with the future of digital media.

While I confess to not following mobile innovations too closely I did talk to the representatives for Peek who have a text-only device with unlimited mobile email and text messaging. Seemingly a bit off the mainstream, the rationale is that for $20/month unlimited text and email has a very strong appeal. I can’t argue with the premise, but I could not readily identify the target market. Also in crossing the North Hall (one place I did not cover completely, saving myself from every megawatt booming car audio system) I discovered StepLabs with some impressive hands-free mobile phone audio solutions. They have a great implementation of DSP technology in a visor mounted mic that blocks out audio not coming from the driver. It was also good to see Voiceonthego.com who offer email by voice to mobile users.

I have been aware of the value of bone conduction for hearing, but never experienced it personally. AudioBone offered demo units to appreciate the technology. Since it enables hearing below the ear drum, it has great value for the hearing impaired. They were promoting bone conduction headsets for outdoor activities such as bike riding. It also is remarkable in underwater uses. The virtue for bike riders is that your ears are open for hearing your environment. All those virtues aside I found the volume with modest amplification was quite low. Only in covering my ears did the audio seem of adequate volume, which undermines a main virtue.

Casio drafted the UNLV Cheer Leaders to present a fast moving show for visitors to experiment with their new cameras with burst mode feature that allows up to 60 frames per second. This will certainly allow you to find the photo that you wanted for that action shot. More interesting was a brand new feature they call Dynamic Photo. There were only prototypes and pricing is not announced. Better than a blue screen in some ways, you can use this feature to insert action into alternative scenes. A photo they were showing, for example, showed your little leaguer batting in a major league stadium. It is a clever Photoshop feature in your camera. Point and shoot seems so yesterday.

A trend that seemed more real than prior renditions was the movement toward every variation of file backup. I think that so many users have seen the risks up close, the market may be ready. With the numerous alternatives available there must be something that works for almost any user. I am going to try the goclickfree.com DVD-only backup which looks like a very clever concept. I talked to CMS Products with quite a line-up of solutions, but wherever you turned at the show someone was promoting a backup methodology.

One of the few booths with frequent crowding was the Road Mice booth (redliointeractive.com) where they showed remarkably accurate (and licensed) wireless car model mice. A pricy but interesting concept was shown with the nPower PEG which will charge your portable battery device using the energy generating by walking.

Greening of Technology
We have been talking about green and making steps for years. As a people we are still finding our way, but I see evidence of real utility. Now we can find real green products. One of my Intel conversations was about the latest wake mechanism called Remote Wake Technology. This will allow PCs to shift into a lowest power mode yet be able to wake up to incoming events. I don’t know if it will be widely implemented and adopted but I hope so—check it out.

The whole question of what to do is still the biggest green/carbon issue as far as I am concerned. I had some good conversations that lead me to think we are beginning to come to grips with reality. I enjoyed speaking with Engaged Recycling, best known for the website http://myboneyard.com/. I was impresssed talking about modeling in this world of social responsibility with Planet Metrics who are clearly expert in the segment.

Even the expanded use of netbooks should reduce power consumption by personal computing devices. I saw some smart power strips that make practical good sense, coming soon from Tricklestar. The Ecobutton is also a great concept to click when you walk away to set power down.

In closing I should add I appreciated Koss showing the football playoff game and providing wireless headsets for all to listen as well. As attendees and the show ran out of energy on the last day (Sunday) it was a welcome respite for feet and mind. That is more than enough of my public rambling on CES 2009. You will have to track me down for any more stories from Las Vegas.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 1:12 am and is filed under Tech Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.