EEbeat

Last night the annual Digital Experience media event (hosted by Pepcom) was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion  in New York City.   There were about 45 exhibitors offering the latest and greatest consumer electronics and software products.  Some of the exhibitors that I visited offered some really cool technologies and features in their products. I hope that my product write up below, will give you an idea on what will be available for this holiday season.  Yes, I know it is only June , but it is known that some of you like to start you holiday shopping early.  Here goes:

Marvel (www.marvell.com) showcased its plug computing products. Unlike other networking products, a plug computer is designed to offer PC-like performance. The company’s SheevaPlug  is a plug computer — an embedded computer that plugs into the wall socket and can run network-based services that normally require a dedicated personal computer. Featuring a 1.2 GHz Marvell Sheeva CPU with 512 MB of flash memory and 512 MB of DDR2 memory, the SheevaPlug provides ample processing power and resources to run any embedded computing application.

As shown below, one of the products the company Energizer (www.energizer.com) showcased, was , the Energi To Go line, which currently features the Energi To Go Portable Power for Cell Phones. It is expanding to include rechargeable power packs that use lithium polymer battery technology to power a wide variety of mobile electronic devices including smart and cell phones, iPhone, iPod and MP3 players, GPS units, digital cameras and camcorders, netbooks and laptops.

The company Wi-Ex (www.wi-ex.com) showcased its zBoost cell phone signal boosters. zBoost Your Life Holiday Profiles products included zBoost-ONE PCS, zBoost-ONE UMTS, and zBoost International.  According to the company  zBoost devices reduce dropped calls and improve cell phone signal indoors, as well as increases signal and speed of aircards, EDGE and 3G technology.

Plantronics www.plantronics.com displayed its latest wireless headsets for unified communications, PC multimedia and mobile use. Shown at their booth was the Savi Office and Savi Go wireless headsets for office workers and provides a single wireless headset for mixing desk phone calls with PC audio and softphone calls. I personally liked the Savi Office which gives you the freedom to talk hands-free and work without the hassles of a cord, up to 350-feet away from the desk. Very impressive! In addition Savi Office is built on digitally encrypted, voice-dedicated DECT 6.0 technology. What I liked about The Savi Go headset is that it allows users to switch between their mobile phone and PC calls with the touch of a button (multipoint technology). Both headsets feature PerSono Suite software to help manage PC audio and calling.

HTC (www.htc.com) showed  its newest range of Android and Windows Mobile smartphones that are available now and for this year’s upcoming holiday season.

HP ( www.hp.com/personal) showcased the TouchSmart IQ800 series PC, which will officially be available on June 28, 2008.  I played around with this PC.  With just a touch of a finger it is very easy to use.   Pricing starts at $1,649. 

One of the products Kingston Technology (www.kingston.com) displayed was the SSDNow V Series.  It is available in 128 GB and 64 GB capacities.

MWV showed me the Natralock security packaging (www.natralock), a paperboard-based alternative to plastic clamshells that combines sustainability and protection into one environment-friendly packaging solution for the consumer electronics industry.

NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com) showcased how its Tegra and ION technologies bring the power of advanced visual computing to a broad range of handheld and mobile platforms—from smartphones, MP3 players, and PNDs to mobile internet devices (MIDs), notebooks, and netbooks. Shown below is the Tegra module. Tegra-based devices deliver desktop-class Internet browsing with Flash video and animation acceleration, and up to 1080p video playback.

If you are looking for a unique holiday gift, I recommend the ioDIGITAL vertical spa from Moen (www. moen.com/iodigital). It features simple dials (one for temperature/one for flow) – allowing you to quickly and accurately set the preferred combination of temperature, flow and spray outlets.  It also features easy-to-read LED indicators which alert the user when the shower matches the settings.

Amongst the phones Blackberry (www.blackberry.com/tour) displayed was the recently introduced BlackBerry Tour Smartphone.

Just in time for summer fun, DeLorme (www.delmore.com) showcased the new handheld GPS models (with support for Navionics lake and coastal charts). The Earthmate PN-30 handheld GPS receiver (see image) offers top-end GPS capabilities, plus the PN-Series’ exclusive aerial imagery display features, but it’s also affordably priced and easy to use.The PN-Series topographic map DVDS are included for transfers to the device; users can load the maps they need and be ready to go within minutes of opening the package.  In the field, users will discover lightning-quick satellite acquisition, thanks to the high-sensitivity 32-channel Cartesio chipset. Signal retention is ultra-reliable even in dense forests. A powerful dual-core processor renders map and imagery screen views with instantaneous speed.  The PN-30 is waterproof and WAAS-enabled for superior accuracy, and has a bright-color TFT screen for readability in any light conditions. With all those features, the PN-30 is offered for $299.95 (suggested retail price-available in July)