25 Hot Products To See in 2009
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| CES is known as the breeding ground for all things electronic. From the bold and bizarre to the shocking and necessary, manufacturers hock their wares in hopes of unveiling the next big technological feat. With hundreds upon hundreds of vendors making the trek to Las Vegas this week for CES 2009, we thought we'd shed some light on 25 products you shouldn't let slip through the cracks.
Read Your Car's Mind
Vehicle-related technology is always hot at CES and this year is no different.
Ever want to keep tabs on what your car is doing or how it's running? The CarChip Pro is sort of like a "black box" for your automobile.
About the size of a key fob, CarChip Pro helps you keep track of your vehicle and how you or others are driving it. It's easy to install, just plug it in, drive and download the information.
The CarChip Pro can store up to 300 hours of trip details, with new data recording over old information; it offers trip details including date, time, distance traveled and speed; it logs up to 4 of 23 engine parameters; provides individual graphs and summary reports; and records and illustrates extreme accelerating and braking. The device also lets users set thresholds with audible alarms for speed, acceleration and braking; features an automatic accident log with the last 20 seconds of data before impact; assigns trips as business, commute or personal; calculates gas mileage; views and resets engine diagnostics; and tests for preliminary emissions status.
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| All-In-One HDTV
If last years' CES was any indication, high-definition and flat-screen TVs will be all the rage again this year, if not more so.
One to check out is Silicon Mountain's all-in-one Allio 42" 1080p LCD HDTV. The set offers a 16:9 full screen aspect ratio; a 3D Y/C digital comb filter; 176 degree viewing angle; 2000:1 contrast; 400cd brightness; built-in 12Wx2 speakers with 7.11 Dolby home theatre surround sound; plus a whole lot more. The TV has an embedded 2X BD-ROM Blu-ray player, that plays and burns DVDs too; and also features an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400; 4 GB high-speed memory; 64-bit Microsoft Vista Home Premium; a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse; Gigabit Ethernet; 802.11b/g wireless; and more.
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| Keep Data Safe . . . From Anything
ioSafe will be demonstrating ioSafe Solo, an external hard drive that can withstand fire, temperatures up to 1,550 degrees, three days submersed 10 feet in fresh or salt water and pretty much anything else you or Mother Nature can throw its way. The drive connects via standard USB and is available in capacities of up to 1.5 TB, but starts at 500 GB for about $150.
ioSafe even offers a $1,000 data disaster recovery service with "no questions asked."
"Was your ioSafe Solo accidentally dropped in a vat of maple syrup? No problem. While welding your car, you accidentally blow torched your data? These things happen -- we understand," ioSafe says.
At CES, ioSafe has rented a facility a few blocks off the Las Vegas strip and plans to demonstrate the ioSafe solo's resilience with a 1,500-degree fireball and a 10,000-gallon water tank. Let's hope the data doesn't fry.
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| Double Your Pleasure
Lenovo has a lot of tricks up its sleeve for CES 2009. Most notably, however, is the ThinkPad W700ds notebook. The W700ds is a dual-screen mobile work station with a 17-inch primary screen with a 10.6-inch secondary screen that shoots out the side with just a gentle press and pull. The secondary screen can angle up to 30 degrees, just like a car's side mirror. The extra screen only adds a few millimeters of thickness.
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| Who Said Desktops Were Dead?
Along with a host of hot new notebook releases primed and ready for CES, Lenovo is also rolling out the IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one desktop. The sleek desktop offers a 21.5-inch frameless screen, which is 1.06 inches thin. For entertainment enthusiasts, it offers a high-definition 16:9 aspect ratio screen for cinema-like viewing and support for 1920x1080 full HD resolution. The integrated speaker system includes a booming bass sub-woofer and Dolby Home Theatre audio certification. The addition of an optional Blu-ray player completes the package.
Other specs include a choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Radeon graphics card with DirectX10 support, up to 4 GB of fast DDR3 memory and up to 1 TB of hard drive space. The IdeaCentre A600 also offers several connectivity options including Wi-Fi, a 6-in-1 media card reader, side-mounted USB and FireWire ports with additional USB ports at the rear of the panel. It also offers VeriFace facial recognition that lets users use their own grinning mug as the logon password.
Users can use the digital TV tuner for watching and recording television programs and users can include Microsoft Vista Media Center for TV recording and navigation between video, music and TV.
The A600 also boasts and optional 4-in-1 remote control that lets users play games using the "motion drive" feature which controls on-screen objects based on movement -- think of a Nintendo Wii controller on your PC. The remote also doubles as a VoIP handset to make and receive Internet calls, all while acting as a media center/TV remote to operate DVDs, movies and television. Lastly, the remote can be used as an air mouse to operate the cursor on the screen with no wires needed.
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| Bluetooth Strikes Again
Another big hit at last years' CES was anything and everything Bluetooth. This year is sure to not disappoint. For instance, Cobra will unveil the pioneering Deluxe Bluetooth Headset, designed for users who require extreme versatility with their wireless needs. The design ties in T5 Sonance Noise Cancellation Technology to block outside noises by counteracting any interfering sound frequencies, allowing for clear cellular transmission.
The Deluxe Bluetooth Headset, which is worn over the head and on either ear, features an adjustable boom arm so the microphone can be leveled at a comfortable position; an easy-access, one-touch on/off ****on with volume controls; 8 hours of talk time; and 250 hours of standby time.
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| Don't Sign On In 'Vein'
Fujitsu has a lot up its sleeve for CES. Among the many key product releases is the PalmSecure LOGONDIRECTOR Enterprise Edition. The Enterprise Edition integrates the Fujitsu PalmSecure palm vein authentication technology embedded into a PC mouse with the software that integrates with industry-leading single sign-on (SSO) solutions. The vascular pattern recognition and SSO mash up eliminates the need for users to remember passwords, ultimately saving the IT help desk time and money. The PalmSecure LOGONDIRECTOR Enterprise Edition integrates with Active Directory and other databases, enabling scalability and allowing users' palm vein templates to be stored on already existing servers.
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