Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was a much more upbeat place this year than last. Phil Baker reports on travel-friendly tech for 2010.
With the consumer electronics business taking a downturn in 2009, many companies hunkered down and focused on how they could better compete in 2010.
This year, the focus seemed to be on products designed to stand out and offer more value rather than to compete solely on price.
For the traveler, Lenovo showed off a slew of new notebooks under its ThinkPad brand, including the ThinkPad X100e, a low-cost ($500) model in an ultra-portable size. It’s nearly the same size as some netbooks, but is powerful enough to be a primary computer. And for the first time, it’s a ThinkPad available in a color other than black: this one is bright red.
Also introduced was The Edge line which marries a sleek design with a great ThinkPad keyboard and performance.
But the most unusual Lenovo product is the IdeaPad U1, which is an 11.6-inch notebook with a removable multi-touch screen. As a notebook it runs Windows 7 using an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. But when the screen is removed it contains a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs Lenovo’s Linux. It will be available in June for $1,000.
Qualcomm and Mophie, the maker of iPod accessories, announced a new iPhone add-on to receive Qualcomm’s MediaFlo TV broadcasts over the iPhone. It’s a further example of how companies are making an end-run around the carrier’s control over what you do with your phone.
Don’t miss Phil Baker’s picks for the Top Travel Gadgets & Gizmos of 2009.
Now we can watch TV while waiting for our delayed flights. Another boon to travelers are e-books that allow us to travel with multiple books all in a device that weighs less than a pound. E-readers were shown by a number of companies including Samsung, Barnes and Noble, Sony and more than a half-dozen Asian companies with little name recognition and no content.
Also on display was Plastic Logic’s Que at $649 and $799 (with 3G wireless delivery), a lightweight, letter-size reader design for reading business documents, newspapers and books. It’s a niche product designed for the business executive to read documents, email attachments, and reports instead of printing them out or using their computer.
Google showed its Nexus One Android phone, a sleek smartphone that’s slimmer than the iPhone with a gorgeous OLED display. It’s the company’s first phone and will be sold directly unlocked or through T-Mobile, subsidized with a plan. One nice feature about all the Android phones is that by using Google Voice it’s possible lower your cell phone bill by designating the phone number calls are routed through as one of your “friends and family free” numbers.
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Companies including Dell, HP, Compal, and Archos showed concepts of tablets with touch screens ranging from 5 to 10 inches in size. Most were running Android, which makes them useful primarily as an Internet browser and a device to run Android apps. Tablets have been around for years, once called UMPCs, without having much success, but what’s driving their interest now is the anticipation of Apple’s forthcoming tablet.
Speaking of Apple, while it was not at CES, the Central Hall of the convention center was filled with companies showing accessories for the iPhone. Pong Research showed a $60 patented rubber case for the iPhone that is certified to reduce cell phone SAR radiation by 60 percent.
But probably the most outlandish product was a baseball cap featuring a long brim with a magnifying lens and a transparent pocket to hold an iPhone. It lets you watch movies on your iPhone hands-free ($20 at AsSeenonTVhat.com).
But a warning: if you use it while waiting for a plane, you could just be a target of TSA looking for suspicious-looking travelers!
By Phil Baker for PeterGreenberg.com. Visit Phil on the Web at https://blog.philipgbaker.com, and check out his book, From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas into Money.
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