Doin' Vegas ...

Rick's take on the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show by Rick Castellini, MCP Nationally syndicated computer consultant special to PRIME This year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES) produced a whole new set of ideas for me to think about in 2006. It amazes me to see how much innovation can occur in just one year. I attend this mammoth show each year because of the innovation that I get to witness in Las Vegas. The three themes that I want to focus on for you in this article are converged devices, MP3 players, and big TV's. Convergence catches on After last year's show, I wrote that a major trend was developing that brought technologies together in one device. This year's show pounded home that idea with a huge exclamation point. GPS:The most prominent technology that I saw this year was the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) device. You will start to see GPS devices that you can jog with, bike with, walk with, drive with and fly with from many companies starting this year. With screen technologies decreasing in price and improving in resolution, GPS devices have dramatically improved in ease of use and functionality. Not only has the GPS improved, but now they can perform multiple functions like connect to the Internet, play MP3 music and even act as a viewer for digital pictures. The major players in this space are Garmin (garmin.com), Delorme (delorme.com), and Magellan (magellan.com). Cell phones: Another area where convergence is just getting crazier is cell phones. I predict that by 2010, we will all carry phones that can keep us in constant contact with the email, Internet and more. This year Motorola (motorala.com), Samsung (samsung.com), Nokia (nokia.com), LG Electronics (lge.com), and Palm (palm.com) all showed off new phones that are smaller and more powerful than ever. Cell phone companies are offering speedier networks that connect cell phones to the Internet at speeds faster than DSL. And of course these phones can take pictures, movies, and play MP3 music. MP3s there's more than iPod Next to GPS units at the show this year, MP3 players were everywhere. MP3 players are small, lightweight devices that allow you to carry hundreds of hours of music or audio books in a device as small as a cube of sugar and no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. When most people think MP3 players, they think iPod from Apple. The iPod is a nice unit with some slick marketing and sex appeal, but if you are shopping for a MP3 device, I encourage you to strongly consider other units. Apple created the iPod to be much like the Apple computer ... well designed, but extremely proprietary. For less money and with more features and flexibility than an iPod, look for MP3 players from Creative (creative.com), SanDisk (sandisk.com), iRiver (iriver.com) and Samsung (samsung.com) if you are shopping for a player. SanDisk announced a wonderful player (the e200) at the show and will release it sometime in March. It should give iPods a run for their money. Beyond those plasma TVs Last year, I wrote about big TV's. CES this year was again overflowing with large screen TV's. Samsung and LG Electronics both showed off prototype 105" Plasma TV's. These behemoth's weigh nearly half a ton and will cost upwards of $100,000!! Think LCD or DPL :If you have been thinking about a big screen TV, I want to point you in a slightly different direction ... LCD or DLP projectors. These units weigh between 2 and 20 pounds and can be set on a coffee table or hung from the ceiling. If you have a room that you can make reasonably dark during the day and it has a wall that you can project to, then you can own a big screen TV for less than a $1000. Projectors take the signal from your DVD or TV (high definition works better for these units) and projects them to your wall (or pull down screen) in sizes up to 150" for a fraction of the price of heavy and expensive LCD or plasma TV's. The players in this market are Optoma (optomausa.com), InFocus (infoucs.com), Canon (canon.com), and BenQ (benq.com). Projectors range in price from $500 to $10,000), but the sweet spot is between $1000-1500. See one of these babies in action and you will never think about plasma or flat screen TV again. For more on the Vegas showRick Castellini is an author, computer consultant, and hosts a nationally syndicated computer radio show. Visit his web site at www.HelpMeRick.com for new tips every week and sign up for his free weekly email newsletter.