The Revolution Will Not Be Digitized : Gadgets

The Wu Tang Clan--nay, the Voltron!--of Gadgets

Brian Braiker — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:38:28 GMT

What is it?
The BUG.

How much will it cost me?
$349 (although there is an "early adopter" price of $299)

Who makes it?
Bug Labs

Why should I care?
You can invent your own gadget. How cool is that?

How would you describe it?
BUG is a collection of palm-sized modules that snap together to build any gadget you can imagine--like Voltron. Each module is it's own individual gadget: there's a BUG camera, a GPS device, a keyboard, video output and so on. Where it gets mindbendingly neato is that you can attach up to four of them at a time onto the "BUGbase," which is essentially a programmable computer (Linux, for those of you keeping score at home). The individual modules now work in concert. So if, for example, you plug the GPS device and the camera into the base, you have created a toy that can automatically publish geo-tagged photos online (think Google Street View). Swap out the GPS device for the LCD screen and you have a web cam or can publish photos live to Flickr. Stick on a motion detector and you have programmable home security -- it senses movement, snaps a pic and e-mails it to you. The list of various permutations goes on.

When can I get my hands on it?
January 21

Your verdict?
Manna of the geeks

I, For One, Welcome My New Robot Overlords

Brian Braiker — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:11:31 GMT

What is it?
A new line of interactive robots

How much will it cost me?
$100-$300, depending on the model.

Who makes it?
WowWee

Why should I care?
Because they're robots! Befriend them now before they enslave us all.

How would you describe it?
Mr. Personality has a color LCD screen where his face ought to be. It tells jokes, plays games, and has a personality you can reprogram through a USB connection. If the writer's strike is still underway by the time Mr. Personality hits the market this summer, you'll be happy to plunk down the $250.

The three-wheeling Tri-Bot also yukks it up--at half the price ($100)--with eyebrows that jag up and down as he tells his goofy jokes. He also plays games that require you to maneuver him in certain patterns. The Tri-Bot takes a page out of the Wii playbook: you steer him with a motion-sensitive remote control that that you simply tilt from side to side.

Also slated for release this summer is the Femisapien, the voluptuous fembot. At just $100, she'll be marketed to women and girls--especially women and girls who dig wicked bellbottoms, platform shoes and Daft Punk. She responds to voice commands and even dances when she hears music.

Slightly more sinister looking--and definitely much cooler--is the Rovio ($300), a surveillance bot with a video camera, microphone, and Wi-Fi capabilities. The three-wheeled Rovio can stream video from its camera to remote locations with a broadband-connected Windows PC or smartphone. Unfortunately it's not invisible, so it's unlikely your mark won't notice he's being spied on.

When can I get my hands on it?
The full line of robots will be on sale by late summer.

What's your verdict?
Good clean pointless fun.

A Fridge That's Super Cool

Brian Braiker — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:57:11 GMT

What is it?

The Central Park Refrigerator.

How much will it cost me?

1,999, not including accessories.

Who makes it?

Whirlpool

Why should I care?

Because this fridge stores much more than food.

How would you describe it?

The stainless steel fridge comes equipped with an accessory port hidden on top of the freezer door. Whirlpool has teamed with partners to make gizmos that slide stylishly onto the face of the fridge. On display at CES was a digital picture frame ($249), an iPod dock, a back-lit white board that doesn't stain, and a fully-functioning tablet PC (pricing not yet available on these items). Each accessory is about the size of an atlas and is powered by the fridge.

The Clio Vu, the touchscreen 512 MG tablet PC made by Data Evolution, is super cool -- it pops out of its docking station and folds open to reveal a keyboard. It syncs with Outlook and connects wireless to the Web so it can stream videos and access e-mails. Perfect for storing recipes, grocery lists and your calendar. The Ceiva snap-on picture frame is great because magnets don't work on stainless steel fridges and ... well, when was the last time you printed out a photo anyway? Now you can slide a memory stick into the frame and treat yourself to a slide show of your latest pictures. Better yet: post a photo of yourself in your fat pants to dissuade you from that midnight snack.

When can I get my hands on it?

Now.

What's your verdict?

Very, very cool. But at two grand per fridge, not counting the cost of accessories, it might make sense wait until the technology is refined--and proves that it's here to stay.

Provoqative

Brian Braiker — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:56:11 GMT

"We believe the future of automobiles is bright and electronic." So said GM CEO Rick Wagoner last night at his keynote address, the first such speech delivered by a Detroit chief at CES. To prove his point, he unveiled its new hydrogen-powered Cadillac Provoq--certainly one of the biggest pieces of hardware to debut in Vegas this week. Good thing there are so many hydrogen refueling stations in this country! Oh, wait ...

Like the Chevy Volt, the Provoq would run on GM's new "E-Flex" architecture. It won't be ready for several years, but the Provoq, with its fuel cell stacks and lithium ion battery pack, is certainly an exciting prospect as fuel prices hover at the $100-per-barrel mark. It could also be the first zero-emission luxury car, running up to about 100 mph and emitting only water vapor. And yet. What Wagoner neglected to mention is that hydrogen fuel is made by reforming natural gas, a process which releases CO². Not so efficient ... or, for that matter, green.

Wall of Sound and Fury

Brian Braiker — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:53:26 GMT

Yesterday, the first official day of CES, kicked off with a bunch of announcements from Panasonic President Toshihiro Sakamoto. Chief among them is the 150-inch plasma--which the company is calling the "Life Screen," probably because that sounds better than the "Life Savings Screen"--the largest plasma screen in the world. Although there was no official word from Panasonic, analysts have predicted the TV could go for as much as $100,000. For those of you keeping score at home (and actually know what this stuff means), the TV has 2,000-by-4,000 pixel resolution. It is 11 feet wide. Which is the size of nine 50-inch plasma TVs.

I finally got a look at it today. Here you go:

I included the guy standing in front of the TV in order to give you some perspective as to how freakishly large this thing is. He's 15 feet tall. That cocked thumb alone is the size of a VW Beetle. And yet he is dwarfed--dwarfed!--by the Monster TV. If, for some reason, the screen were to topple over it would kill everyone in Las Vegas. Let us pray that it does not.

As I mentioned in passing before, the only TV I own is a 30 year-old cathode ray dinosaur that runs on diesel fuel. It's sitting on the floor in my house, not even plugged in. I can't lift it up to put it on our coffee table. Years of not watching TV, I've concluded, have made me a better person than you. And yet. Looking at this plasma leviathan, I have only one thought: Daddy want.

I'm Sorry, Dave, I'm Afraid I Can't Let You (Directly) Buy That: D.A.V.E. Portable Media Server

N'Gai Croal — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:28:39 GMT

Seagate's D.A.V.E., pictured on the right

What is it?

D.A.V.E. (Digital Audio Video Experience) Platform

How much will it cost me?

To be announced, but the rumor mill claims under $200.

Who makes it?

Seagate.

Why should I care?

It's a portable hard drive that connects wirelessly to a slew of devices--perfect for those memory-starved iPhones.

How would you describe it?

When I first saw D.A.V.E. at hard drive manufacturer Seagate's fall press tour in New York City, they didn't have a working model to show me. Now they do, and it's one of the subtly coolest things we've seen at CES 2008. It's a 60 gigabyte hard drive with built-in Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi, a Web server, and DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) support. What that means in plain English is that you can store a vast amount of content on the drive--data, photos, music, movies--then easily access it on your mobile phone, iPhone, PDA, laptop, TV or Playstation 3 that supports Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The demo I saw showed D.A.V.E. working in conjunction with both an iPod Touch (pictured above) and a car stereo, and it was sweet to be able to play a movie or listen to a song stored on a separate device without needing a wire (though if necessary, there is a mini-USB connector). Even better, multiple devices can access different files--or the same file--simultaneously.

What's confusing me is that Seagate currently has no plans to offer D.A.V.E. directly to consumers, even through its own Web site. Instead, it will be teaming up with companies like Harman/Becker for car stereo systems; PortoMedia for selling digital movies, TV and music at kiosks; and Sanyo for use with its camcorders. I can't for the life of me believe that retailers would turn away this product or that it couldn't at least sell D.A.V.E. directly through its site, because all it would take is a couple of video clips of this gadget in action and geeks would be lining up to score one--especially iPhone users. Nevertheless, Seagate execs are sticking to their guns on this strategy, but I hope they'll change their minds.

When can I get my hands on it?

Last quarter of 2008.

What's your verdict?

Buy...if only Seagate would sell it to you directly.

All Thumbs In the Living Room: The Logitech diNovo Mini Wireless Keyboard

N'Gai Croal — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:50:15 GMT

diNovo Mini wireless keyboard from Logitech

What is it?

diNovo Mini wireless keyboard.

How much will it cost me?

$150.

Who makes it?

Logitech.

Why should I care?

If you've got a Windows Media Center PC or a Playstation 3 in your living room, and you want to get the most out of it, this is a clever-but-somewhat-pricey solution.

How would you describe it?

Windows Media Center PCs and PS3s may not quite be brothers from another mother, but they do share a similar urge to be the all-singing, all-dancing set top box for the living room by letting you you navigate photos, listen to music, watch video and browse the Internet. To do all of those things well requires a few more buttons than your typical remote, which is where Logitech's diNovo Mini wireless keyboard comes in. It connects to your PC or PS3 via Bluetooth 2.0 wireless, with a range of roughly thirty feet. The media controls allow you to easily adjust volume or switch channels; the keypad lets you perform text searches or fill out forms more quickly than would an onscreen keyboard; and the subtle backlighting means you won't have to whip out a flashlight to see what you're doing. The ClickPad, which you can see pictured in the upper-right corner of the device, works both as a D-pad for navigating menus and as a touchpad like you'd find on a laptop, which comes in particularly handy for Web browsing.

When can I get my hands on it?

February 2008.

What's your verdict?

Try. We like it...but we're reluctant to spend more than $100 for what's essentially a remote control.