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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opened here on Thursday with
exhibitors displaying gadgetry ranging from snazzy new smartphones
to envelope-sized computers to 3D high-definition television sets.
Despite the recession, some 2,700
manufacturers of high-tech products from around the globe have
turned up for this year's edition of the world's largest consumer
technology trade show.
The show floor of the Sands Expo and
Convention Center morphed into a giant electronic amusement park as
visitors, buyers, vendors and journalists shuffled from booth to
booth checking out the latest in hardware and software.
Lending glamour to the affair was Hollywood
movie star Tom Hanks, who turned up to help pitch Sony's new
products, which include a P Series Vaio notebook computer small
enough to fit in a suit jacket and glasses with a video screen.
Singer Stevie Wonder was also on hand to
lend support to a line of "vision-free" products for the
blind.
With laptop sales now surpassing desktop
sales, providing one of the rare bright spots for the industry, Sony
wasn't the only computer maker showing off lightweight pocket-sized
"netbook" computers.
Taiwan-based MSI unveiled a unique
"hybrid" netbook that combines solid state and
conventional disk drives in a tough, mini-laptop designed for simple
computer tasks and getting on the Internet.
"It's unbelievably light,"
spokesman Mark Olson said as he balanced one of the MSI U115
netbooks on his palm.
Palm, the company struggling to regain
market share from rivals such as Apple, Nokia and Research in
Motion, made a comeback of sorts with a new operating system and
well-received new smartphone, the Pre.
Television manufacturers, as usual,
accounted for much of the buzz with much of the focus on the move
towards developing Internet-enabled TV.
Sony, LG Electronics, Toshiba, Samsung and
Vizio are all showing off new flat-screen television models in Las
Vegas embedded with Yahoo! "TV widget" software offering
links to popular websites.
A YouTube widget allows videos from the
website to be streamed to television sets. A MySpace widget allows
members to watch TV while connecting with online profiles and
friends.
Thin is still in when it comes to TV, with
LG Electronics saying it was making a 55-inch high-definition LHX
flat-screen television that may be less than an inch thick in its
final design.
"This may be the thinnest LCD
television on the market when it comes out," said LG's US
marketing head Marc Sorkin. "We are trying to achieve this
piece of art that really blends on a wall."
Panasonic Corp. for its part is bringing 3D
high-definition television into homes and enlisted
"Titanic" director James Cameron to make the case for its
3D home theater system.
The 3D Full HD Plasma (3D FHD) system made
its debut at October's CEATEC exhibition in Japan but was displayed
in the United States for the first time at CES.
Panasonic also unveiled the first portable
Blu-ray disc player.
On the software front, Microsoft chose CES
as the venue to announce that a test version of its Windows 7
operating system will be available worldwide on Friday.
"We are on track to deliver the best
version of Windows ever," Microsoft chief executive Steve
Ballmer said in the opening CES keynote speech.
"We are putting in all the right
ingredients: simplicity, reliability and speed."
Besides the major consumer items, hundreds
of other products are on display here tailored to people such as
seniors or those with disabilities.
Others are simply fun, such as a Minoru 3D
webcam or sunglasses from TriSpecs with ear buds and Bluetooth
circuitry that can relay music or conversations wirelessly from MP3
players.
Environmentally friendly products are also a
major theme and consumer electronics titans Panasonic, Sharp and
Toshiba announced an initiative to recycle the TVs and other gadgets
they sell in the United States.
Motorola, also seeking to capitalize on the
green trend, unveiled the first mobile phone made from recycled
water bottles, the MOTO W233 Renew.
-- AFP
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