Welcome to the fabulous consumer electronics show

Businesses hope their products turn heads, generate orders

The Rocky

Published January 7, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated January 9, 2008 at 3:38 p.m.

LAS VEGAS — WEDNESDAY

1:53 p.m.

As I leave Las Vegas this afternoon, I’ll unfortunately remember the frustration of trying to get around and see stuff at sprawling CES. I overheard one veteran attendee saying it had become “helter-skelter” and more difficult to find things than in the past.

If I were to pick a cool gadget I might buy, it would be the Eye-Fi wireless memory card that automatically transfers photos from your digital camera to your PC or Mac, and saves those photos in any folder you choose.

If you’re like our family, uploading photos from the digital camera to the computer is a hassle and we never seem to have the time.

With Eye-Fi, all you have to do is set your digital camera near your personal computer, and have your computer run the Eye-Fi software. You can walk away while the photos are being transmitted.

“That’s awesome,” said one man who watched the same demonstration I did.

The price of the Eye-Fi card is steep, however, with a suggested retail of $99.99. A number of retailers including Costco, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com are carrying the product, according to the company's Web site.

--Jeff Smith

8:27 a.m.

Best Buy Inc.'s chief executive says he is "very nervous" about being able to supply customers with the millions of digital TV converter boxes needed ahead of the shutdown of most analog TV transmissions in 13 months.

"I think it's one of the biggest risks our industry has," vice chairman and CEO Brad Anderson told an industry audience at the CES.

Full-power television stations will turn off their analog signal on Feb. 17, 2009, after which they will broadcast in digital only.

Viewers who receive their signals through an antenna instead of cable or satellite and don't have a digital-ready TV will have to buy a converter.

Apart from the supply issue, customer education looms as a problem for the retailers. Speaking on the same panel, Phil Schoonover, the CEO of Circuit City Stores Inc. said Anderson's caution was appropriate. He contrasted the digital TV transition to the introduction of high-definition television sets, which mainly attracted the well-heeled and technically savvy.

"I think it will feel very different in this next round of TVs, because we're through the early adopters," Schoonover said.

Steve Eastman, the Target Corp.'s vice president and general merchandising manager for consumer electronics, was less apprehensive about the digital transition.

"From a category standpoint, I think it's great — it's getting people to talk a lot about HD and what technology they have in their home," he said.

The converter boxes are expected to cost between $40 and $70.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has begun accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes.

--Associated Press

8:26 a.m.

With just a few months to go before the launch of its next-generation wireless network, Sprint Nextel Corp. has a distinctly modest lineup of compatible devices.

At the CES this week, Sprint showed only two computer modems that will definitely be available in April, when its WiMax network becomes available outside current trials in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington.

One of the promises of WiMax, a service Sprint will be providing under the Xohm brand, is that receivers for it can be built into a variety of devices like cameras and Web tablets that usually don't have a built-in Internet connection or rely on Wi-Fi, a short-range technology.

The relative dearth of early WiMax gadgets isn't necessarily a sign of trouble for Sprint. Gemma Tedesco, an analyst at In-Stat, said the coverage area will be relatively small this year anyway, and Sprint's main task will be to build out the network.

--Associated Press

6:46 a.m.

CES featured a new event this year – “Sandbox Summit,” a series of conferences examining the way children play, learn and connect with technology.

The seminars yestereday were jammed, often with standing-room only at the 150-seat venue. A thrilled Claire Green, president of the Parents’ Choice Foundation, one of the event’s sponsors, said some people told her the Sandbox Summit was the only reason they came to CES this year.

I asked Green after the seminars if she was optimistic about where society is headed.

“It’ s not an ‘either or’ world but an ‘and’ world, “ she said. Green added that as “adults it’s incumbent on us” to understand how our children are learning and playing with technology.

She has said previously that it’s important to encourage learning and thinking but examine what’s “age appropriate.”

An executive from TiVo was by her side, and Green praised TiVo as an example of a company that isn’t just blocking sites, but also putting out a “welcome mat for kids’ choices.”

TiVo’s KidZone offers TV programming recommendations from top children’s organizations. It encourages parents to preapprove programming lists, then give their children the remote control.

--Jeff Smith

6:43 a.m.

Jennifer Smart is the youngest broadcaster at CES, as she has been for the past four years. And she’s still just 11 years old.

With her parents Victoria and Maxwell Smart (I’m not kidding), Jennifer is doing a live broadcast of Online Tonight every night this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, sitting in for David Lawrence. The nationally syndicated show focuses on popular culture and technology.

Jennifer Smart ‘s broadcast background has included Jenniradio, a music channel for kids, in which she produced short segments including celebrity interviews.

Last year, the Smart family went on a 48-state tour of the country in an RV, sponsored by HP, Skype and Rand McNally (www.smartfamilytour.com). In case you haven’t guessed it, she’s home schooled.

I asked Jennifer about her technology tastes. She likes the Club Penguin website, used an iPod Shuffle but now favors her Barbie Girl MP3 player.

Her family has a tradition of picking their favorite and their wackiest gadget at the show.

Jennifer said she liked the Panasonic 150-inch plasma TV, but hasn’t settled on a wacky one yet.

Said her dad: “One year it was the MP3 toothbrush.”

--Jeff Smith

TUESDAY

5:32 p.m.

The International Consumer Electronics Show is such a glitzy celebration of technology that it was striking to see a set of panel discussions here today exploring whether electronic connectedness is valuable for children.

Are computers and electronic toys providing creative new outlets for kids to play, socialize and learn? Or does staring at screens all day addle the developing mind and hinder critical thinking skills? It's a little of both, judging by the commentary at this first "Sandbox Summit" at CES. The trick, participants said, is for parents to intelligently monitor their children's use of computers and communication devices.

One panelist, Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Technology Review, said parents should think of technology as another material that children have to learn to explore, much like a sandbox.

There's good reason to ban PCs from children's bedrooms. But arbitrary rules may be counterproductive.

For example, limiting play on some complex and deeply involved video games to an hour daily might be the equivalent of banning the game entirely. Parents may find it's better to loosen such rules and find more time to play complex games with their kids, said John Davison, president of What They Like Inc. The company helps parents review their children's entertainment choices.

George Cigale, CEO of the online homework-help service Tutor.com, said parents should be mindful that many children enjoy playing and communicating on computers because they offer such a contrast to the regimens of the school day.

"There's so little control a child has in their daily life," he said. "So much of the way they use technology today is a desire to take back control."

--Associated Press

5:15 p.m.

Stateside beer lovers craving freshly poured draft brews at home will soon have a high-tech option — the BeerTender, a beer storing-and-pouring product from brewer Heineken and appliance manufacturer Krups.

The device, which looks like a glossy black keg with an LCD display and is available already in Europe, is meant to house a 5-liter Heineken keg and keep the beer inside tasting fresh for 30 days at a proper temperature.

Users can read the contents' temperature on the display, which also indicates when the beer is running low.

San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma Inc. will begin offering the BeerTender March 1, and other stores nationwide will have it April 1, Erica Messing, an associate brand manager with Heineken USA Inc., said at CES.

Krups is a brand of France-based SEB SA.

The suggested retail price is $400.

--Associated Press

5:05 p.m.

How many more gadgets do we need to help us pretend to play guitar? At least one, apparently.

The makers of the "Guitar Hero" video game have licensed their name to a $30 toy called Guitar Hero Air Rocker that combines a magnetic guitar pick and a belt buckle with a mini-amplifier.

After the player chooses one of 10 included riffs — from songs like "Smoke on the Water" and "More than a Feeling" — the toy captures the rhythm of the player moving the pick past magnetic coils in the buckle, without ever actually touching it, and broadcasts the riff.

Wearing a T-shirt and sunglasses, toy director Brandon Giraldez of Jada Toys in City of Industry, Calif., drew cameras and large crowds with his emphatic air guitar playing at the ShowStoppers media event outside the CES.

Giraldez said Air Rocker is intended to latch onto "the air guitar phenomenon." The product will be available at major retailers in March.

Expansion packs with more songs will be sold later, Giraldez said.

--Associated Press

2:54 p.m.

A new technology unveiled today would show what's being said on the radio using a receiver with a screen that would scroll text much like closed captions roll by on TV.

No manufacturer has yet committed to bring the technology to market. It is backed by National Public Radio and Harris Corp., a major supplier of broadcasting equipment, as well as a new research center at Towson University near Baltimore.

NPR and its partners displayed a prototype text radio today at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mike Starling, NPR's chief technology officer, said by phone that the group hoped to bring in commercial broadcasters, radio manufacturers and other industry players.

Starling said he hoped text-based broadcasts would become a new standard in radio, just as digital broadcasting — known as HD Radio — did several years ago.

The text service will rely on HD Radio technology, which allows broadcasters to split their signal into multiple transmissions.

Some stations use the extra capacity to broadcast additional music or talk radio channels, which can be heard on HD Radio receivers.

The new scrolling-text service would also use the extra capacity made available through HD Radio, but instead of broadcasting music it would send out streams of data that would be converted to scrolling text by the receivers and then displayed on the screen.

--Associated Press

2:37 p.m.

The latest global positioning system devices on display at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show are roving information portals — well beyond the first turn-by-turn GPS guides with maps and directions.

Now practically taken for granted, GPS technology is available for tracking hikers, boaters and pilots and it's routine in cars, sports watches and cell phones. As a result, plain vanilla portable navigation devices have plunged below $200, forcing manufacturers to fight for ways to continue commanding premium prices. Their response: to cram as many extra features on the devices as possible.

At CES, Garmin Ltd. announced the Nuvi 880, which debuts in the second quarter for $1,000, and the 780, out next month for $800.

Both get real-time information from Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Direct system, which requires a subscription of $50 per year or $130 for the life of the device. The more expensive model has speech-recognition so drivers can bark their commands.

As useful as the Microsoft system is, it provides one-way communication only, from the Internet to the device. Other new navigation units are harnessing cellular networks to let users send information back upstream.

For example, the French company Mobile Devices showed a unit that helps drivers find a nearby parking lot and query whether it has an open spot.

The upcoming Dash Express GPS device will let users conduct Web searches for locations or products, movie times, or the cheapest gas — and then it will direct them to the destination.

The $600 gadget by Dash Navigation Inc., created in partnership with Yahoo Inc., also makes the ambitious promise that it can combine data from conventional traffic-monitoring systems with the power of user-based intelligence. The Dash Express will send its users' speed and location data over the Internet, allowing the company to calculate up-to-the-minute traffic conditions and suggest alternate routes. Monthly service fees starting at $10 will be required for the connected features.

Magellan Navigation Inc., which is partnering with Google Inc. to provide local business listings on a $1,300 car-navigation unit, expects to eventually let users send contacts and calendars to their devices. The systems could automatically route you to your 9 a.m. appointment, or understand where to direct you when you say, "Tim Jones' home."

--Associated Press

2:08 p.m.

Cars and automotive technologies from startups and established aftermarket makers are abundant at this gadget show.

They're coming in such variety that they encapsulate many of the advances seen elsewhere at CES in cell phones, TVs, video games and wireless Internet networking.

For example, one theme at CES is the development of touch-screen and voice-activated controls for portable devices. Cars are showing that off, too, with systems that let people make phone calls, navigate, choose music and have e-mails read to them without dangerously fumbling for manual controls.

Or look how CES overall is highlighting the widening availability of Internet content. Autonet Mobile Inc. offers a small box for car trunks that takes a cellular broadband signal and uses Wi-Fi to relay it to portable computers in the car, so people can browse the Internet in the vehicle. And while the car is parked near a home wireless network, people can beam music and video content to it for enjoyment on upcoming road trips.

Automobiles have had technological accouterments ever since the advent of the car radio. In-vehicle technologies are already a $10 billion market, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

But the auto and the electronics industries have not been closely linked. Attempts in the 1990s at connecting cars to the Internet flopped.

One complicating factor has been that car makers design for a much longer future than gadget makers, which expect buyers to dig back into their pockets virtually every year. So automakers that select particular electronics might get locked into formats or functions that are obsolete when the car is still young, or even by the time it finally makes it to showroom floors. Aftermarket vendors have often filled the gap.

Now, though, factory-installed technologies are getting more powerful. One example is the way Ford Motor Co. has teamed with Microsoft Corp. on Sync, a voice-activated communication and entertainment system.

One reason for automakers' increasing comfort is that powerful computers now found in cars can get software updates fired in by wireless networks, letting vendors fix bugs and keep features up to date, said Erik Goldman, president of Hughes Telematics Inc. His company is expected to begin outfitting Chrysler and Mercedes cars with a navigation, entertainment and diagnostics service in 2009.

Another change is that car makers have often sought to differentiate themselves with proprietary electronic systems, like General Motors Corp.'s OnStar, that operate independently from gadgets people regularly use outside the car.

But these days automotive electronics are being more closely integrated with standard Web technologies.

For example, the Hughes Telematics system will include a personal Web portal that lets people remotely lock and unlock their car doors, plan routes, check their auto's emissions and engine status, select music playlists and even monitor their vehicle's location.

Increasing ties to the Web could broaden the field of automotive-tech vendors beyond traditional players. Last year, OnStar began working with MapQuest.com, part of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL LLC, so drivers could plan their routes online and send them to the car.

At a CES panel on the interplay between cars and electronics, Eckhard Steinmeier, general manager of BMW's "Connected Drive" initiative, showed a commercial in which a woman says she wants to investigate sushi options. So she heads out of her house, in the rain, to do a Google search from her Beemer's dashboard.

Car technology might be catching up to the state of gadgetry today, but it's not quite yet at the vanguard. The electronics industry "is still developing technology faster than the automaker can adapt," said Chris Cook, a vice president with Mitek Corp., a maker of car audio equipment.

--Associated Press

12:33 p.m.

What gadgets are cool this year at CES?

I ran into Noah Ouellette, new products editor of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, at a shuttle stop this morning, and asked for his initial impressions.

Ouellette said it was a blur after seeing so many new products Monday. But he mentioned the Dell Crystal screen for 3-D gamers and high-definition viewing, a sleek 22-inch widescreen monitor that won an innovation award at the show.

At the same shuttle stop, I ran into Martha Blanchfield of Renegade Public Relations in California. She is representing Media Street’s Beyond.fm, which is trying to promote the content of independent artists. One project is to sell albums on a 1-gigabyte flash drive for $27.99. In addition to the album, a consumer could transfer some of their favorite music onto the drive.

--Jeff Smith

11:38 a.m.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts calls it Project Infinity.

For consumers, it means more and more programming on demand.

For example, Comcast currently offers about 250 titles in high definition. By the end of this year, it plans to offer 1,000.

And by 2009 – 3,000 high-definition movie and TV titles.

There’s also standard definition movies, music videos, and children’s programming, all of which will increase into the thousands as well.

Derek Harrar, Comcast senior vice president of video services, noted Comcast nationally already is getting 275 million “views” a month from its on-demand services, equivalent to more than 100 views a second. Comcast has 25 million cable TV subscribers nationwide.

“We’re not talking about early adoption, but a mass market,” he said.

Much of the current programming is free or included in other cable packages. Some movies are pay-per-view at $3.99 or $4.99.

--Jeff Smith

7:46 a.m.

General Motors Corp. will unveil a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Cadillac crossover concept vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show today.

GM envisions the five-passenger Provoq going 300 miles on a single fill-up of hydrogen, getting 280 miles from hydrogen power and 20 miles from batteries.

It would go from zero to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds and have a top speed of 100 mph.

The aerodynamic Provoq's hydrogen fuel cell would charge lithium-ion batteries to power one electric motor for the front wheels and another for the rear.

The vehicle could also be the basis of a replacement for the SRX, a larger crossover vehicle powered by V-8 and V-6 engines, Cadillac officials said.

The Provoq has a solar panel in its roof to power accessories such as the interior lights and audio system, the company said.

No date has been set to bring the Provoq to showrooms, nor has pricing been discussed, the company said.

--Associated Press

7:11 a.m.

HDTV manufacturers are trying to make the task of buying an HDTV set much more difficult than just choosing between LCD and plasma, 42 inches or 46 inches.

To stand out amid fierce competition, they're adding exotic features, and even a little bit of color to the plain black bezels that have been de rigueur. They're also chasing each other to zero — zero thickness, that is. Apparently, you can't be too thin if you're a TV.

All the major Asian brands revealed new sets at CES, which started Monday. Most of the innovation comes from the prestigious names, like Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic and Toshiba, which are trying to keep HDTVs from becoming a commodity product. If one 42-inch LCD is the same as another, the buyer is going to be looking mostly at price, and that kills the manufacturer's margins.

This happened to DVD players years ago: when unknown Asian manufacturers were able to slap together players and sell them for $50, Sony couldn't make money in the category.

"The goal is to break away from the commoditized market," said Ken Shioda, general manager of display products for Pioneer.

Pioneer Corp. is one of the companies working to put its sets on a diet: it demonstrated a plasma TV with a thickness of just 9 millimeters, or three-eighths of an inch, claiming it is the thinnest 50-inch set ever. It's just a prototype, however. Pioneer said sets that thin would not be on the market this year, but possibly next.

Hitachi Ltd. is showing off an LCD display that is twice as thick: three-fourths of an inch. That's also a prototype, but the company is bringing LCDs that are 1.5 inches thick to the U.S. market in the second quarter after launching them in Japan in December. U.S. prices were not announced.

The ultimate in thinness is achievable with a completely different screen technology: organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. Sony Corp. announced it will soon start selling the first OLED screen in the U.S. It's just 3 millimeters, or one-eighth of an inch thick. The catch — actually, the first of two catches — is that the screen area is also minimal, at 11 inches diagonally. The second catch is the price tag: about $2,500.

--Associated Press

6:28 a.m.

The distinctions between flash memory and hard disk drives are fading rapidly as the two storage mediums encroach one another's territory — including marked advances announced at the CES.

Makers of flash memory — known for its ruggedness, compact size and power efficiency — are introducing new, higher-capacity "solid state drives" for computers this week.

Meanwhile, makers of hard drives — known more for monster capacity than portability — are touting new models about the size of a CompactFlash memory card.

Flash drives have typically been used in portable gadgets like media players, cell phones and digital cameras.

Samsung Electronics Co. showed off a slim, solid-state drive designed for laptops and desktops that has a capacity of 128 gigabytes. It'll be one of the beefiest — if not the beefiest — model when it becomes available the first half of this year.

And flash-memory maker SanDisk Corp. unveiled a laptop drive with a 72 GB capacity that weighs about 30 percent less than a hard drive of the same dimensions.

Neither company disclosed a prices. But the drives are being targeted at high-end ultra-lightweight computers because since solid state drives are still relatively novel and expensive.

The developments sparked speculation among bloggers that Apple Inc. might announce a new, smaller notebook using Samsung's solid-state drive at next week's Macworld trade show in San Francisco.

Samsung also unveiled 30 GB and 40 GB versions of a 1.3-inch hard disk that fits in a CompactFlash drive. That's a record-breaking capacity for a storage component that size, Samsung said.

--Associated Press

MONDAY

4:21 p.m.

It's hard enough to sift through the glutton's feast of product news from the Consumer Electronics Show, but let's see if you can stomach this one.

USB key chain drives already come in wacky shapes like sushi or mini hamburgers, but at this year's CES, one company hyped its gizmos as "tasty" storage without the plastic food accouterments.

A new "delicious" line of Signature Mini USB 2.0 Portable Drives by Fabrik Inc.'s SimpleTech brand comes in "blueberry, black cherry, cool mint, kiwi, marshmallow, bubblegum and espresso" colors in a sleek, "scrumptious" package by Ferrari-designer Pininfarina.

The "velvety smooth" enclosure will create a "savory addition" to retail storage aisles or make consumers "crave" to get one, Fabrik said.

The mini drive also hits a "sweet spot" as one of the first portable storage products to come with an automatic online backup service. Users get up to 2 gigabytes of online storage for free or an unlimited amount of storage for $4.95 a month. The drive will be available in February in capacities ranging from 120 gigabytes for $119.99 to 320 gigabytes for $229.99.

SanDisk Corp. also showed off at CES an automatic online backup service for its new 4 GB Cruzer Titanium Plus USB keychain drive — but its marketing folks skipped the gastronomic plugs.

--Associated Press

4:15 p.m.

Everyone knows refrigerator magnets are old school, but so are the photo prints they hold up and the radio and TV you hear when you're looking at them.

Several devices appearing this year compatible with Whirlpool Corp.'s centralpark Connection fridge take over those functions: a digital photo frame, an iPod speaker system and a Wi-Fi-equipped touch-screen tablet computer that shows movies and lets users look up recipes online.

The fridge is available at Best Buy and hhgregg for $1,999, Whirlpool said today at the CES.

The Ceiva digital photo frame, available now, costs an extra $249.

Coming later this year are an iPod dock and speakers from Brandmotion, a tempered-glass message center and the Clio Vu Wi-Fi-equipped removable computer, which comes with Cozi, a free organizational software and Web service.

The Quartet Qnote message center, by Acco Brands, sounds like a high-end dry-erase board. It features surface lighting, a digital clock and a sliding storage drawer.

--Associated Press

4:10 p.m.

A handy new holster from Taser International Inc. holds not only your stun gun but a music player too.

Taser's latest foray into consumer products was introduced today at the CES. The holster costs $72.99 on the company's Web site and includes a 1-gigabyte MP3 player.

The company, which also sells its electronic weapons to law enforcement agencies and the military, has been stepping up its consumer product offerings with Tasers in new colors like "red-hot" and "fashion pink." The latest Taser — in a leopard print and costing $379.99 — "provides a personal protection option for women who want fashion with a bite," said Chief Executive Rick Smith.

--Associated Press

4:07 p.m.

"CSI: Miami" star David Caruso visited the press room at the Las Vegas Convention Center around lunchtime, and immediately was surrounded by photographers and other journalists.

--Jeff Smith

4:05 p.m.

Ironically, the journalists at this techiest of high-tech shows had to be patient today: The wireline high-speed Internet in the press room went down for about an hour, and wireless signals in the building were too weak for most to efficiently use.

--Jeff Smith

3:34 p.m.

The International Consumer Electronics Show is turning out to be a celebration party for Blu-ray, the high-definition format that Sony Corp. backed, and a wake for a rival movie disc technology pushed by Toshiba Corp.

Just two months ago, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said the fight between Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD was at a "stalemate," and expressed a wish to travel back in time to avert it.

The impasse was broken Friday by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the last major studio to put out movies in both formats. It announced it was ditching HD DVD, and from May on, would only publish on Blu-ray and traditional DVD.

The decision puts a strong majority of the major studios, five versus two, in the Blu-ray camp.

Asked Monday at the show if the Warner announcement decides the format war, Stringer said: "I never put up banners that say 'Mission Accomplished."' But his cheerful delivery belied his words.

By contrast, the main media event scheduled for the show by the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which includes Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., was canceled because of Warner's defection.

"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said in a statement.

The shift in the format struggle isn't a reason to run out and buy Blu-ray players, however: today's players can't take advantage of the features planned for future Blu-ray discs.

--Associated Press

2:08 p.m.

It took about 30 minutes this morning to take a free shuttle between the two main venues of CES.

Attendees were almost able to walk as fast, given the line to get on the buses and the heavy traffic.

While we were waiting in line, a woman handed out fliers promoting the BMW Formula 1 "Pit Lane Park" at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The exhibit includes a driver simulator, a tire-change challenge and, of course, BMW race cars.

The woman joked that she had 10 boxes of fliers in her car. Her backpack was full, and that represented only about a third of a box.

-- Jeff Smith

2:07 p.m.

There was a lot of grumbling in the convention center press room at lunch.

The press room has some 100 Dell laptops with high-speed Internet connections. But, inexplicably, CES isn't supporting wireless in the press room. And, as of 1 p.m., there was hardly a spare seat in the house.

--Jeff Smith

2:05 p.m.

Douglas County-based Dish Network/EchoStar Holding made a number of announcements at CES today.

But, take it from CEO Charlie Ergen, one of the most dramatic is the company’s plan to offer a digital-to-analog TV converter for $39.99.

Dramatic, because the government is offering a $40 coupon (www.dtv2009.gov) to help as many as 14 million U.S. consumers outfit their old analog TV with the technology needed to receive digital signals.

Such converters typically are selling for around $60. So EchoStar is taking a lead role in essentially offering consumers the converter for free.

Ergen said EchoStar’s program shows that there’s no reason the transition can’t take place by February 2009 “and it won’t cost a consumer a dime.”

EchoStar actually will lose money on the program, Ergen said, but hopes to reach new customers through the offer.

The transition to all digital broadcast signals is scheduled to take place Feb. 17, 2009, although many expect delays.

Dish also announced today a prize freeze for most of its programming packages, and plans to increase the number of national high-definition channels from 76 to 100 this year. The company said it also plans to add local high definition channels in 65 new markets, bringing its local market total to 100.

More than 50 media members and analysts attended Dish Network’s press conference, which covered a wide range of topics including the company’s operational difficulties in the third quarter. There also were some operational difficulties at the press conference, with the slide show initially flashing on and off, much to the displeasure of the company's first presenter, company President Carl Vogel.

--Jeff Smith

1:45 p.m.

Intel Corp. is betting on a big expansion of "ultra-mobile" computing, an idea that depends on people being willing to tote around a portable device beyond their ubiquitous cell phones.

In an interview today at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said energy-efficient, Web-connected computers with full keyboards and screens in the 4-inch neighborhood can give people more of what they want from the Internet than cell phones can.

To help stimulate development of the technology, Intel plans in the next few months to begin shipping processors and associated "chipsets" that demand relatively little power and are smaller than standard PC processors, allowing them to be crammed into tinier devices, which would be built by other companies.

So-called ultra-mobile computers, smaller than average laptops but bigger and more fully featured than most cell phones, have so far found a tepid response.

Many potential buyers have found little reason either to scale down from notebook computers or up from cell phones that have been improving their Web browsing experience, especially when the price often tops $1,000.

"How do you make people realize that this is something advantageous to them and different from the notebook experience?" said Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC, a market research firm.

"That's the trick. Nobody's been very good at that yet. ... It's not as widely compelling as it needs to be if they want it to compete on the level of a phone or a PC." But Otellini said such distinctions will cease to matter, especially since smaller Web devices can incorporate cell phone functions. And he said Apple Inc.'s iPhone showed that combination devices can be elegant.

--Associated Press

12:08 p.m.

Comcast Corp. and Panasonic will market digital cable products including high-definition televisions and portable digital-video recorders that will work with any cable network.

The products will use the tru2way technology that is being adopted by U.S. cable providers, Comcast and Panasonic said in a statement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today.

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, is selling higher-priced digital cable subscriptions and services as it competes with telephone companies that are offering TV service. The U.S. government has mandated that all TV service switch to the digital format by next year.

The portable DVR, available in 2009, will let Comcast customers record programming at home and carry it with them, the companies said.

Panasonic, a consumer electronics maker owned by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., said it will introduce a plasma high-definition TV with the tru2way technology later this year. These products will allow consumers to use interactive features such as video on demand without a set-top box, according to the statement.

-- Bloomberg News

10:50 a.m.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the maker of Panasonic-branded products, is unveiling a prototype of a 150-inch plasma television in a keynote speech today. The TV, which is so big that the company alleges it can fit a full-scale image of an elephant, will be aimed at the ultra-wealthy and businesses.

-- Dow Jones Newswires

10:32 a.m.

Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, passionately pitched this morning for the United States to embrace free trade and resist efforts by some to be more protectionist.

“Free trade is critical to our industry and technological leadership,”

Shapiro said during a keynote, while criticizing pundits and “demogogues” who are saying otherwise.

He drew partly on personal experience. He said his wife is an eye surgeon whose work is possible because her parents fled communist Poland.

Shapiro also said he recently visited Cambodia and Vietnam, where he saw people use car batteries to power their cell phones and televisions. The point, he said: There’s a powerful force among people to stay connected technologically to the world.

Shapiro said CEA has made a formal request to Congress to approve pending free trade agreements, and seek a separate agreement for consumer electronics.

Free trade builds bridges among people and countries worldwide and creates "remedies" for what divides us, Shapiro said. He maintained the issue is about “our national soul,” and what kind of world we want our children to inherit.

-- Jeff Smith

10:15 a.m.

Once celebrated for cameras that made their own prints, Polaroid Corp. plans to update the concept this year by selling a portable printer for images on cell phones and digital cameras.

And like those old Polaroid instant-film cameras, the new printers should have a wow factor: they require no ink, because they employ a thermal printing technology from startup Zink Imaging Inc.

The 8-ounce printers, a bit bigger than a deck of cards, are due to go on sale around back-to-school time for about $150, Polaroid and Zink announced Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Once connected to a phone or camera by Bluetooth wireless or the USB port, the printers need less than a minute to churn out 2-inch-by-3-inch pictures, which can be peeled off a backing and used as stickers. Sheets of paper for the device will cost about 40 cents each, less if bought in bulk.

The Zink technology, which uses heat to activate minuscule dye crystals embedded in the photo paper, won raves at the influential Demo conference a year ago. But until the CES announcement, Zink had not lined up any partners who would bring its technology to market.

Polaroid is a natural fit, and not just because of its photo-printing history. Zink was founded in 2005 by private investors who bought many technologies from Polaroid as it was coming out of bankruptcy. Now Zink and Polaroid are based in the same complex in Waltham, Mass.

Zink also announced that Tomy Co. would be its partner in Japan.

Prices and availability dates were not disclosed.

-- Associated Press

6:25 a.m.

After losing some of its luster on the personal computer, embattled Internet icon Yahoo Inc. is hoping to outshine Google and other rivals on the mobile phone.

In a move to be announced today, Yahoo will open up its mobile platform so outside programmers can develop new applications that can be planted on Yahoo pages accessed on mobile handsets. Yahoo hopes the mini-applications, known as "widgets," will help attract more on-the-go users so it can make more money from advertising.

The Sunnyvale-based company also will unveil a redesigned home page for mobile phones that will include more content and enable visitors to designate the material that they want highlighted. To top it off, Yahoo is releasing an upgrade to its "Go" software that is supposed to make it easier to surf the Web on mobile phones.

Jerry Yang, a Yahoo co-founder who took over as chief executive nearly seven months ago as part of the company's turnaround efforts, will discuss the latest changes this morning during an address at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

-- Associated Press

SUNDAY

10:10 p.m.

Microsoft Corp. might not be the unbeatable giant it once seemed to be, but Chairman Bill Gates made the case Sunday night that its technologies are becoming even more flexible and powerful as they seep into automobiles, Internet-based TV networks and living rooms.

Gates used his traditional kickoff keynote at the International Consumer Electronics Show to highlight how Microsoft is extending the reach of its software beyond desktops and servers, and incorporating alternative inputs like voice and touch.

"The first digital decade has been a great success," he said. "This is just the beginning. There's nothing holding us back from going much faster and much further in the second digital decade."

Traditional PC programs got less airtime than in previous keynotes. That contrast stood out considering not only the tepid response for Microsoft's year-old Windows Vista operating system but also the way that Web-based applications are threatening Microsoft's hold on desktop computing.

Instead Gates bounced from cars — Microsoft's Sync technology for playing music and making phone calls should be available in all Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles in the 2009 model year — to the living room. Gates and Robbie Bach, who heads Microsoft's entertainment division, announced an expansion of the high-definition Hollywood movies and TV shows that can be downloaded through the Xbox video game console's online service.

Those include shows from ABC television and other properties of Walt Disney Co. (which, by the way, counts Microsoft uber-rival and Apple Inc. chief Steve Jobs as its biggest individual shareholder).

Gates also explained how Mediaroom, the Internet-based television platform that Microsoft created for telecommunications companies to sell, will work with TNT and Showtime to let users select their own camera angles when viewing sports. For example, a Nascar fan could maintain a constant view from his favorite driver's car, or plug into a certain ringside shot in a boxing match. For now, though, Mediaroom is mainly used for TV services in other countries.

Microsoft will have another chance to show its video talents this summer, when it runs NBC's online Olympics portal, which is designed to let people zero in on specific events that interest them.

"Building great connected TV experiences is not just a hobby for Microsoft," Bach said.

-- Associated Press

7 p.m. Sunday

Buzz.

That's what two dozen Colorado exhibitors hope to create at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

In exchange for the expense - and it's costly to rent space, ship products and set up a booth - the companies want potential partners, distributors and buyers to leave CES talking about them.

"You're trying to create a buzz about your product," said Gary Mulder, manager of North American sales and marketing for Boulder- based Avalon Acoustics, a high-end audio-speaker manufacturer.

CES, produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, is the world's largest annual trade show for consumer technology. It runs through Thursday.

The show has gotten so big that it sprawls over 1.8 million square feet in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas Hilton, the Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian.

More than 140,000 industry attendees are expected from dozens of countries. Some 2,700 exhibits, 200 conferences and 300 speakers are on tap.

This year's keynote speakers include Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Topics range from digital imaging to home theater systems to the latest wireless applications.

Of course, big companies such as Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications and Comcast will be there. But many of the most innovative products will come from smaller companies trying to make a bigger name for themselves.

Take the 20-employee Avalon Acoustics. It uses the show to meet with dealers and prospective buyers.

"It's very expensive and important," Mulder said of CES. "It's a great way to take orders for the upcoming year" and sign new dealers.

The show is a balancing act between booking a "ton of appointments" and leaving some time open for random contacts with attendees, he said.

Avalon Acoustics makes speakers that range in price from $1,500 a pair to $100,000 and ships them worldwide, with Asia and Western Europe among the hot markets.

One new feature at CES this year is the "Sandbox Summit," a series of conferences exploring the changing ways kids play, learn and connect with technology.

Boulder-based Hopscotch Technology has been invited to participate in the summit and will feature "BOB," a $99 TV, computer and video-game time-management device. It enables parents to set limits on their children's use of electronics and blame it on the bad guy BOB.

Brian Baker, Hopscotch's chief executive, said he sees CES as a way to get industry validation. Hopscotch's first CES foray was two years ago, when it was invited to present at the popular Newstips Cherry Picks event, at which companies are allowed a manic 60 seconds to promote their product.

Baker said Hopscotch has found CES valuable for forming partnerships.

"We put together two licensing deals out of CES, so it's a great opportunity for (exhibitors) if they have the cash" to participate.

Hopscotch has licensed its technology to Minneapolis- based Griffin International Cos., which will sell a parental control device under its own design this summer in Circuit City and Toys "R" Us.

Baker said Hopscotch couldn't afford the cost to go into those retail chains solo, so the licensing deals make a lot of sense. And "they loved our product," he added.

Another Colorado exhibitor, Fort Collins-based OtterBox, which makes rugged and water- resistant cases for electronic devices, already has been getting quite a bit of attention on technology blogs for its new $49 iPhone case.

OtterBox has attended CES for several years now, and hopes to generate even more buzz about its new Apple iPhone and iPod cases at the CES show.

"It's a great way to do the face-to-face connections," said Kristin Golliher, OtterBox's public relations manager. "It's fun to show (a product) off and have people test it in our booth. We really do take (consumer reaction) into consideration with our present and future products."

-- Jeff Smith

Who's coming

Colorado exhibitors at the International Consumer Electronics Show:

* Aaudio Imports, Parker: Distributor of high-end audio equipment

* Able Planet Inc., Fort Collins: Amplifiers for the hearing-impaired

* ARC Wireless Solutions Inc., Wheat Ridge: Wireless network components and services

* Avalon Acoustics, Boulder: High-end audio speakers

* Ayre Acoustics Inc., Boulder: High-performance audio and video equipment

* Boulder Amplifiers, Boulder: High-end audio and home theater equipment

* Case Logic Inc., Longmont: Audio and computer accessories

* Comcast Media Center, Douglas County: Digital media content services

* DALI Loudspeakers, Broomfield: U.S. distributor of Danish high-performance loudspeakers

* EchoStar Communications, Douglas County: Satellite-TV company

* Epilog Laser, Golden: Desktop laser systems for engraving

* Etilize Inc., Denver: Product information management systems

* Grand Prix Audio, Durango: Stands that eliminate vibration from high-performance audio and video systems

* Hopscotch Technology, Boulder: BOB, a TV and computer parental control device

* iTi Corp. (Imaging Technology International), Boulder: Inkjet technologies for industrial applications

* Jeff Rowland Design Group, Colorado Springs: High-performance stereo equipment

* Music Wizard Group (Allegro Multimedia Inc.), Longmont: Music video-game/teaching software

* Nite Ize Inc., Boulder: Flashlight, cell-phone accessories and carajbiners

* Otter Products Inc., Fort Collins: Rugged and water-resistant cases for electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs and iPods

* Pentax Imaging, Golden: U.S. sales and marketing arm for Toyko-based Pentax, a camera maker

* PS Audio Int'l, Boulder: Home audio and video products

* Subliminal Entertainment Inc., Lakewood: Sleek, hardwood furniture for audio-video equipment

* World Communication, Denver: Distributor of Cricket wireless accessories under MyWirelessSupply.com

* YG Acoustics LLC, Arvada: High-end loudspeakers

smithje@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5155

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