Steven's CES Gadget Picks

Amongst the thousands of Gadgets at the CES, my picks for most interesting Gadgets of the show are :-


S-XGen Ultra Mobile Portable Computer.


Pricey mini-PCs are supposed to be the next big thing in computing, and Seamless Internet's new mini-PC "for serious business users" aims to be a leader. The 450 gram device purportedly has an 8-hour battery life and a fold-out keyboard meant to silence two key criticisms of these ultra small computers: power drain and "dumb thumb." Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and tri-band cellular technology plus an Intel PXA 270 Xscale 520 MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, and Microsoft Windows CE 5.0.

HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC

Forget Post-It notes on the refrigerator. Hewlett-Packard is calling the TouchSmart the "perfect kitchen PC." Unveiled at CES, this desktop computer uses touch screen technology to help users manage schedules, TV, music, movies, photos and data. It also comes with Microsoft's new Vista operating system.









Nokia 6131 NFC
Goodbye cash, hello mobile payments. Unlike cell phone banking as we all know it is South Africa, when this Nokia phone launches later this year, users will be able to use it to buy coffee, exchange business cards, and collect data with a single push of a button. In essence instead of a swipe of your credit card, you just use your phone instead. That's because the 6131 NFC has a long-awaited technology called "near field communication," which allows two devices to transfer money or swap information. The 6131 NFC also has a built-in MP3 player and camera, among other standard features.








Sansa View

With mobile video the hot topic at CES, SanDisk chased headlines with its first portable video player. On top of its 4-inch colour screen, the Sansa View has 8GB of memory for storing up to 33 hours of video, 2,000 songs or thousands of photos. The device is also compatible with Microsoft's new Vista operating system. The picture quality was very good even compared to the iPod and other portable video players.





Sharp Aquos LCD TV

Sharp LCD TV’s are not well known in South Africa, but are the largest manufacturers of LCD panels in the world, débuted their 120HZ, or in Europe and South Africa 100HZ, LCD panels with sizes up to 65”. The 120 or 100HZ simply delivers crystal clarity, especially with fast motion, such as sport, and high contrast ratios that with HD, or high definition, delivered pictures that were simply breathtaking. The 65” panel is the largest commercially available LCD on the market. Expect to see more large and fast LCD’s this year.

Steven Ambrose