| Consumer Electronics Show Wrap-up
By Conrad Melancon
Well gang, it’s a brand
new year and just like in many
years past, it is time to ring
out the old and ring in the
new. The year’s Consumer
Electronic Show (CES) was everything
it promised to be. Innovative
products, prominent members
of the industry delivering
keynote speeches, the glitz
and glamour of Las Vegas, and
lots of people.
With more than 2,500 exhibitors
spread out over more than 1.5
million square feet of exhibit
space and showing off products
ranging from wireless communications
to kitchen appliances, if you
like electronics then this
show is one you cant’ afford
to miss. Proof of that lies
in the fact the this year CES
exhibits attracted more than
145,000 attendees and showcased
products that are expected
to generate revenues in excess
of $135 billion in sales this
year.
While I did not see many “new” things
being introduced in the wireless
arena, I did notice major improvements
and advancements on existing
products. These included improvements
in Bluetooth products, continuing
trends in product integration
(such as MP3 and cell phones),
cellular backup systems, and
new styling.
Both Motorola and Nokia introduced
new Bluetooth headsets with
a decidedly different look.
Gone are the days when users
strap on their Bluetooth headset
and take on a look that resembles
a futuristic cyborg from the
Star Trek series. Both products,
are extremely small, lightweight
and have very sleek styling.
Motorola's H5 Miniblue is
an extremely small unit with
measurements of 33 x 41mm.
However, it appears as though
you will sacrifice talk time
for size and portability. The
unit is rated as only being
able to give you 1.5 hours
between each charge. Voice
is transmitted via vibrations
in your ear canal which the
built in microphone will pick
up, meaning external noise
is reduced making calls in
more noisy locations less of
a problem.
Motorola states that you can
extend your talk time up to
approximately 7.5 hours using
the included portable charging
base. We’re not quite
sure how you'll be able to
charge your earpiece while
it's in your ear but I’m
sure that details will soon
be forthcoming.
Nokia's BH-800 weighs only
9 grams, is reported to give
users a talk time of up to
6 hours, with 160 hours of
standby time. This is Nokia’s
first headset with Bluetooth
2.0 specification and Enhanced
Data Rate. I tried this unit
on and it was comfortable to
wear, not heavy and does deliver
good call clarity.
Bluespoon™ 5G is a
small and discrete Bluetooth
headset with a weight of 5,85
grams. It is 30 mm long and
17 mm wide. The size and weight
make this device the smallest
and lightest headset in the
world. Bluespoon™ 5G
is designed to be used both
for the right and left ear.
It has a talk time of about
2 hours and up to 100 hours
standby time.
Also introduced at the show
were numerous Bluetooth car
kits. These are specially designed
to be used in the car so that
you can concentrate on your
driving and have phone conversations
without holding your phone.Simply
plug the car kit into the car
cigarette lighter and pair
it up with your mobile phone.
Then just answer and end calls,
activate voice and adjust the
volume with the press of a
button.
Another item which recently
hit the market is Backup-Pal.
This is the first easy-to-use,
cellular phonebook back-up
solution that does NOT require
the use of a PC. This portable,
wireless accessory connects
to a user’s cellular
phone and at the touch of a
button makes a permanent back-up
copy of the stored contact
information. Restoring information
is just as easy – simply
attach Backup-Pal to virtually
any cellular phone and click “restore”.
The device makes backing-up
and transferring information
between phones a snap!!! Backup-Pal:
a simple, portable, and innovative
device that backs up cellular
phone data at the touch of
a button.
As far as technology convergence,
we now nave the manufacturers
producing MP3 Phone with additional
features as well. Some units
include: cell phone, MP3 Player,
USB Flash Drive, Voice Recorder,
FM Recorder, FM Radio, Direct
Encoding, Built-in Speaker,
Bluetooth technology.
I’m not sure how many
more features we can pack into
a cell phone (or have they
really become MP3 players with
the cell phone as a feature),
but one thing is for sure,
technology continues to advance
at an astounding rate and whatever
this year brings in new product,
next year will certainly bring
additional surprises.
Well, that’s
all for me. Just remember, the
folks in the consumer electronic
industry are working hard to
ensure that you can easily integrate
technological advances into your
everyday life. All it takes is
money and imagination – by
looking at all the products showcased
at CES it appears as though there
is no shortage of either one.
Conrad
Melancon is the President of RMS
Communications Group, Inc. He joined the company
in November of 2004 as the Director of Business Development and assumed
his current position in December of last year.
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