Jae C. Hong / Associated Press
Microsoft Surface
Dreamflyer
DreamFlyer
Verizon Wireless
LG Voyager phone
Fujitsu
Fujitsu LifeBook u810
Getty Images
Sony OLED TV
Business Wire
Dell Crystal
A flat-panel TV only three credit cards thick.
A device to wirelessly transfer digital photos to your personal computer.
A flight simulator to feed your dreams.
Those are only three of the highlights from the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.
CES didn't offer the biggest technological breakthroughs ever, but it did provide evidence of the steady march of the digital age.
More high-definition TVs and programming choices. Simpler ways to move content, such as from the Internet to your TV. Increasingly sophisticated GPS systems, including those that monitor traffic conditions.
Fun or wacky stuff, such as a robot that cleans gutters or an underwater digital camera mask.
It remains to be seen how many products unveiled during the show are consumer must-haves amid the country's softening economy. Even the industry trade group, the Consumer Electronics Association, predicts only a 6 percent increase in sales this year.
Here are 10 gadgets that caught my eye - but won't necessarily motivate me to empty my bank account.
Microsoft Surface
Quite the interactive experience on a computerized coffee tabletop. Surface was displayed at the CEDIA show in Denver last fall, but its wow factor continued during its CES debut. Bill Gates demonstrated a snowboard-designing application. I saw a Microsoft employee paint and manipulate digital photos. Surface recognized his digital camera on the table and transferred photos from the camera to the tabletop, where they could be moved around, enlarged or reduced and cropped. "Amazing," said a CES attendee standing next to me. It's unclear whether Surface will be a commercial success or a mass-market product. Surface is being marketed initially to the retail and hospitality industry, reportedly at a cost of around $10,000.
DreamFlyer
A flight simulator. Also won a CES innovations award. You almost feel you're behind the controls of a plane, thanks to simple gravitational movements of the chair/user in response to the virtual reality-like views on the screen. The basic unit costs $2,800 and includes the chassis, replica pilot seat, throttle, control stick and rudder pedals. Monitor isn't included.
Eye Fi
This device wirelessly transmits photos from your digital camera to your personal computer. My favorite from the show, and winner of Yahoo Tech's annual Last Gadget Standing. If you're like me, it's a hassle for you to upload photos from your digital camera. With Eye Fi's wireless memory card and software, you can set your digital camera near your personal computer and leave the room while the photos are automatically transferred into a folder of your choice. Cost: $100.
LG Voyager phone
This probably isn't a challenge for the Apple iPhone. But it might turn out to be the next best thing, with a similar touch screen on the outside, a full keyboard on the inside, and multimedia features such as music and video player, and Web browser. It also has a 2-megapixel camera, a navigation system and Bluetooth wireless. The cost is around $300.
Electric-Spin's Golf LaunchPad
The company's newest golf simulator, capable of working with any platform: PlayStation3, Xbox 360, even a Mac. The simulator consists of a golf ball on a cord and eight optical sensors to project the distance and direction of your golf shot. The device was demonstrated with the Tiger Woods '08 video game, which uses Pebble Beach as the course. The product, promised in the second quarter, is expected to cost $229 (monitor not included).
Fujitsu LifeBook u810
A miniature notebook computer. The guy demonstrating this computer portrayed a businessman weary of hauling a heavy pack from airport to airport around the world. There is certainly something appealing about traveling with this notebook, if you don't mind working on a smaller keyboard and only a 5.6-inch monitor. The notebook computer weighs in at just 1.5 pounds, yet includes good processing power, a touch screen, Bluetooth wireless, WiFi, a webcam and long battery life (rated up to 5.5 hours). You can attach the computer to a larger monitor. Costs about $1,000.
iRobot Looj
A robot that cleans gutters. This is from the company that makes the popular Roomba vacuum cleaner. The Looj was the second favorite at Yahoo Tech's Last Gadget Standing. I think it was the wackiest. The iRobot spokeswoman noted the thousands of people who are injured every year working on ladders to clean their gutters, and the time it takes to move a ladder from one spot to another. The Looj scoots along at 60 feet every 10 minutes, its auger turning and debris spitting out. At $99, she said, it will pay for itself after one use. My wife and I clean our gutters in about 30 to 45 minutes by going onto the roof and immediately bagging the stuff. It seems as if the Looj would just create another mess to clean up.
Dell Crystal
A sleek, 22-inch high-definition widescreen monitor made of tempered glass, with touch controls, built-in webcam, microphone and speakers. Ideal for gamers. Won a CES innovations award. Cost: Around $1,200.
Philips Eco TV
A 42-inch flat-screen TV. CES promoted itself as a green-friendly trade show, although that was a small part of the action. The Philips TV was one of the favorites of the C/NET folks for its power-saving features, which include an automatic backlight dimmer. The TV, which also is made with lead-free materials, is expected to be available in March at a cost of around $1,400.
Sony OLED TV
Sony displayed 11- and 27-inch ultra-thin TVs based on OLED, a technology made by applying an electrical current through a sandwich of thin carbon-based films. Bright light is emitted, so backlight isn't required. (OLED stands for organic light emitting diode). The result is a bright, thin, low-power display. Sony's TVs, in fact, are the width of about three credit cards. But the organic displays degrade after a certain amount of time, and production costs remain high. The 27-inch TV is impressive but just a prototype at this stage. The 11-inch versions recently went on sale at Sony Style stores for a pricey $2,500.
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