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From flat-panel TVs to cooler computers, electronics show unveils what's hot in 2006

Darrell Proctor, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 16, 2006 at midnight

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LAS VEGAS - A whirlwind.

That's one way to describe the recent International Consumer Electronics Show, which organizers say was the largest ever.

An estimated 150,000 people attended the four-day show Jan. 5-8. There were about 2,500 exhibitors spread over five venues and several hundred more "unofficial" exhibitors who secured space at events held at Vegas hotels.

Sean Wargo, director of industry analysis for the sponsoring Consumer Electronics Association, said 20,000 products were introduced - and that doesn't include accessories (as in, what can't you buy for your -iPod?).

The Consumer Electronics Association expects U.S. sales of consumer gadgets to hit $135.4 billion this year, up from $126 billion in 2005, even as Wargo says "growth will slow."

"We had 11.3 percent sales growth in U.S. shipments of con- sumer electronics in 2005," Wargo said. "We're looking at about 7.5 percent growth in 2006."

"The real growth is coming in flat-panel television," Wargo said, noting the proliferation of plasma and LCD models on the show floor.

He also said items such as portable music and video players, digital cameras and laptop computers will remain hot since their prices continue to drop.

He noted pressure is high on TV makers to lower the cost of their high-definition sets.

"There's a continued TV upgrade cycle," Wargo said. "Flat-panel TVs will be more than 50 percent of TV (sales) revenue in 2006. People will be paying more for fewer sets as they replace their CRTs (cathode ray tube sets).

"By 2007, virtually everything on the market will have a digital tuner."

That bodes well for TV sellers, but plenty of other trends emerged at CES:

• Multiroom audio/video systems, a wireless network making your audio and video available throughout your home.

• In-vehicle entertainment, from satellite and digital radio, to iPod integration, to navigation systems - even wireless Internet access on the move.

• Wireless handsets, everything from whiz-bang cell phones with movies and music to portable gaming and Internet devices. The PDA? So yesterday.

• Faster, quieter and cooler computers. Cooler, as in better fans, and in the way they look. Even Dell got in the act, introducing its XPS 600 Renegade with a hand-painted, flame-red case.

But the Renegade wasn't the coolest computer this tech guy saw at CES. That honor went to a machine made by a company based right in Las Vegas .

And that leads us to the top gadgets we found at CES 2006:

Spotlight on electronic devices

KickButt Computers

Out of the thousands of gadgets to see at CES, these custom-made computers drew some of the biggest crowds at the ShowStoppers event at The Wynn hotel.

The company - based in Las Vegas - makes "themed" computers. There's a guitar theme with a one-eighth-scale Fender Stratocaster mounted in the front panel; a music theme with a lighted jukebox design and a spinning disco ball inside; and a skull-and-crossbones (with a cool, if not real, skull), among others.

Then there's the Copperhead, done in conjunction with Razer, a company that provides computer hardware for gamers. Razer provided the mouse, with its neon lights, and its intertwined snakes logo is on the mouse and the cabinet (KickButt founder Jeremiah Plummer said he just saw the logo two weeks before CES and talked to Razer about incorporating it in the Copperhead). In the hard-drive cabinet is the real head of a copperhead, which Plummer said came "from a reptilian taxidermist in West Virginia."

"We wanted to build a computer that was eye-catching and memorable," said Plummer, who's been in the computer-building business for more than a decade. "There are a lot of people who've done (custom PCs), but we wanted to bring it to a world-class level.

"This can give a gamer bragging rights with other gamers. It's a way to impress your buddies."

Kick Butt uses components from Microsoft, Intel, Sony, Nvidia and SoundBlaster (Creative Labs), among others.

• units start at $1,400

HANNspree televisions

How about a TV inside an apple? Or one that looks like a baseball, complete with stitching? Hannspree, a Taiwanese company with its U.S. headquarters in Fremont, Calif., has created televisions in all shapes and sizes.

The Bugsy has ladybugs crawling up the front and back and has a ladybug remote. You can order a monitor for any major league baseball team (the Sandlot line), or the NBA (the HANNSxxl) - or one that looks like a basketball going through a hoop.

A favorite? How about the firetruck, which includes a 9.6-inch LCD screen. It even comes with a ladder on top. The remote looks like a firefighter. It's part of the "Fantasy" line; there are also lines for "Style" and "Sports."

• $399.99 and up

MoGo Mouse

We love wireless laser mouses. And here's one from West Newton, Mass.-based Newton Peripherals that fits into your laptop's PC card slot when it's not being used.

The MoGo is business-card- sized, Bluetooth-enabled and recharges itself (in under an hour) inside the slot. There are no batteries to replace.

It's designed specifically for "road warriors," those people for whom portability is important.

Newton says the Mouse will be available March 1.

• $69.95

Carry-a-Tune Singing Coach

There are all manner of machines that promise to make you better at karaoke, many of them displayed at CES. But this software from Tampa, Fla.-based Carry-a-Tune Technologies promises it can teach you to sing.

Hook the software into your PC, and visual cues help you learn to sing on pitch and in rhythm.

The SingingCoach Unlimited version ($99.95) includes a microphone and headset, a compose mode, a library of practice songs, and the ability to import other MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) files. It determines your vocal range (the range of notes, high to low, you can sing comfortably), and keeps things interesting by using animated characters.

• $29.99 and up

Gibson Digital Guitar

It carries the name Les Paul, but this is not your father's Les Paul. This Gibson follows tradition with a quarter-inch plug, but it also has an Ethernet port. There are some 1,000 extra components behind the jack plate.

The Hex pickup in the digital guitar captures a separate signal for each string. That signal is sent to the onboard digital converter, which uses Gibson's MaGIC digital transport technology (that's media-accelerated global information carrier).

The breakout box with eight outputs assigns strings to different amps. And the MaGIC technology provides multichannel, low-latency transmission of the digital audio signal.

• available this month

SkyScout Personal Planetarium

Newstips.com, at its "Cherry Picks" event, gave this handheld astrology device its "Best of Show" award. It also received a "Best of Innovations" award at CES in the Personal Electronics category.

Manufactured by Torrance, Calif.-based Celestron, the SkyScout is simple to use. Point it at any star or planet in the sky, click the "target" button, and the unit will tell you what you're looking at. To find a specific planet or star, select its name from the menu and follow the directional arrows in the viewfinder. SkyScout will tell you when you hit the target.

It has an updated database of some 6,000 objects.

• $399; available in March

Oyster Wi-Fi Loudspeaker System

These speakers from Avega Systems, a Sydney, Australia-based company founded in March 2004, are the world's first audiophile grade 802.11-based wireless speakers. The system provides wireless access to music from a PC or media server and from CD and DVD players - even an iPod.

These speakers were a CNet "Best of CES 2006" finalist. They provide for a wireless surround system, simply by connecting an optical digital cable from your A/V receiver or DVD player to any of the speakers. The system handles the rest, so the only wires are the digital connection to one speaker and the power cord for each speaker.

• available by the end of March; pricing not yet announced

I-Sonic Entertainment System

The stylish design only adds to this product. It's a self-contained entertainment system, and the first unit to include an HD Radio receiver, with XM Satellite Radio-ready technology (with an optional $50 Connect & Play antenna and a subscription to XM), and a DVD/CD player.

It's small (14.5 inches by 9.75 inches by 4.75 inches) enough to keep on a desk or even on a corner shelf if space is an issue.

The DVD player has S-video and composite outputs. It has 30 radio presets; headphone jack; a text screen; and is also a full-function alarm clock radio. The I-Sonic, from Baltimore-based Polk Audio, was a CES "Best of Innovations" winner for Audio Components.

• $599; available in March

Babble

You're sitting at your desk having a phone conversation, and you know the folks in the cubicle around you are eavesdropping.

Enter the Babble, by Chicago-based Sonare Technologies, winner of a CES "Best of Innovations" in the Mobile/Home Office category. You connect it to your telephone, and it "rearranges the phonemes of your voice" - surrounding your work space with a scrambled version of your words, preventing others from understanding your conversation.

The Babble is about the size of a tape dispenser, compatible with nearly all office telephone systems, and can be plugged into any standard power outlet. And it can be turned off when it's not needed.

• $395

SpeedRay 3000

The SpeedRay is billed as the world's first vehicle-based satellite antenna that provides in-motion high-speed Internet access as well as live satellite TV to cars, trucks, motor homes, etc.

Vienna, Va.-based RaySat says the 3000 - basically a large dish (slightly larger than a pub table) that rotates inside a protective canopy - will be available in the second quarter of this year. They say it creates a "rolling hot spot" for vehicles.

The SpeedRay 3000 system includes an outdoor antenna unit for satellite signal reception for both Internet and TV, an indoor antenna controller, satellite modem (for Internet access), WiFi router and a DBS satellite receiver (for live satellite TV). The antenna mounts to the cross bars of a vehicle roof rack, or RaySat manufactures special brackets for RV and truck installations.

The 3000 was a CES "Best of Innovations" winner in the Vehicle/Mobile Electronics category.

• $6,995

Piano Wizard

Your kids will love this. You probably will too.

This music-learning video game from Seffner, Fla.-based Allegro Multimedia comes with 100 MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) songs and can also play any MIDI song you download. It enables a user to instantly play piano, with progressive learning that "eases players into an easy way to learn to read musical notation."

The notes scroll on the PC screen, showing a user the right moment to hit a particular key. It's designed for ages 3 and up and comes with change-out backgrounds that include child favorites such as dinosaurs and bugs.

Said marketing manager Gerry Stefanko: "You can play Beethoven in under a minute." (An aside - this writer was playing, albeit slowly, in 45 seconds.)

• Piano Wizard Premier 49e Bundle w/Quickstart Music Mentor, $199.95

Nethrone

Looking like a cross between a dentist's chair and a torture device (and some who saw it thought it should be part of the Adult Entertainment Expo across town), the Nethrone is designed to create a relaxing environment for the hard-core gamer or the computer user who would just like to recline while working or surfing the Web.

It has an adjustable reclining vibrating seat, adjustable head rest and neck support, adjustable armrests, along with a keyboard, mouse, joystick and writing platform.

It comes with an adjustable frame support for a monitor, along with a frame support for a VGA (video graphics array) box. Frame supports for Apple's Mac mini and the Sony Playstation2 are available; manufacturer EMA Innovation LLC says a support for the Xbox 360 is coming soon.

The unit weighs 132 pounds. And one drawback for many adults - the company says its maximum weight capacity is 200 pounds.

• $2,495; available in March

EPOS Digital Pen and USB Flash Drive

EPOS, a provider of digital-positioning technologies based in Israel, showed off one of the smallest yet most productive gadgets at CES. The Digital Pen enables users to capture, write and store handwritten notes wirelessly and in real time, because the pen has flash memory capabilities.

It would be great for home, school and office - and especially useful for journalists who suddenly find they can take notes and then transmit those notes to text on their laptops.

Said Oded Eliashiv, the company's CEO: "(The pen) provides a far more efficient and convenient solution to consumers, students and businesspeople everywhere who are continuously carrying bulky laptops and tablet PCs to meetings and classrooms."

The unit also can be used as regular flash memory to store music, image, video and other files.

• www.epos-ps.com, available in the third quarter 2006

LG Electronics 50-inch wireless plasma display

Another "Best of Innovations" honoree in the Digital Displays category.

Imagine a television with no wires or cords (save for a power cord) - this is it. A separate transmitter unit provides pictures from any source wirelessly. Connect the transmitter to your DVD player, or gaming unit, or PC - voila, the pictures show up on the screen without wires.

The unit can stand alone or be mounted on a wall.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based LG had 11 products honored at CES, including its TV refrigerator and its Remote Monitoring Laundry System.

• available in first quarter 2006

Creative Zen Vision:M

Winner of CNet's 2006 Best in Show at CES, it's a great alternative to the iPod.

The 2.5-inch screen has a bright display, capable of showing 262,144 colors (the iPod can give you about 65,000).

Features? FM tuner and recorder. Voice recorder. Video support. Simultaneous music playback with photo viewing.

Several video formats: WMV 9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and Motion-JPEG. And it will sync with your Microsoft Outlook!

This 30-gigabyte model has a battery life rated at four hours.

Creative's worldwide corporate headquarters, Creative Resource, is based in Singapore. Its U.S. subsidiary, Creative Labs Inc., is located in Milpitas, Calif.

• $330

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