I’m a bit of a tech junkie so whenever I see or hear of something new I like to blog it up! I wasn’t able to attend the 2009 CES this year but I’ve watched pretty much every video they have available on their web site to make sure I didn’t miss anything. After many hours of wows, oohs and ahhs, I narrowed down my list of Fab-5.
Samsung HDTV: The new Samsung LED HDTV’s get internet connectivity. Samsung will supply a wireless, WiFi dongle to attach to one of the television’s USB ports. Once connected, the 7000 Series and the 8000 Series will have their new INFOLINK feature built in. INFOLINK will provide an interactive, connected experience, with a focus on RSS-like access to feeds, as well as the ability to run standard widgets on the TV itself. The most predictable widgets will be available from an online gallery, including weather widgets and stock reporting widgets, but with third-party developer support, I’d expect to see widgets for Twitter, MySpace and plenty of other popular Web destinations as well. So this all means that I will be able to check the weather, my emails and update my status via Ping.fm all while still in bed – nice. I personally would connect a PC to the TV in addition to using the INFOLINK feature, but that’s just me…
Peek: Looking at the cellphone bill over the last few months this one may be the most practical. I see it becoming very popular with teenagers (and their parents) in the very near future. Especially with tax time looming. The gist of this cool little gadget is that you get unlimited email AND text communication on it for $19.95 a month. The device itself runs $49.95 and there is NO CONTRACT. The only drawback in my opinion is the fact that you can only set up 3 email accounts max on it. For a real techie like myself that has over 30 email addresses (no joke) it wouldn’t benefit me to carry around my Palm Treo AND this device.
Logitech Harmony 1100: I have about 12 remote controls for the various pieces of electronic equipment in my home entertainment center. One for the TV, DVD player, PS3, A/V receiver, DirecTV box, sub-woofer, PC, CD Jukebox, ceiling fans and the list goes on. It gets to be a pain when you are on the couch with the remote to turn the receiver for the surround sound up or down and you want to change the actual channel and you realize that the DirecTV remote is still on the coffee table… Grrr! Well this little gadget not only will save me the pain of having to get up off the couch BUT it will also save me money on batteries (since the 1100 has a recharging base stand), electricity (since it is back-lit and I can control the lights on the ceiling fans with it) and time (it is programmable to complete many tasks with the push of one button). With a child in the house this is a good thing to have – keeping one remote out of sight is better than trying to hide 12 that you need!
What if you didn’t need those pesky USB cables for your digital camera or even a card reader for that matter? What if your camera had built in WiFi? WOW! Ok, so I’m really kicking myself right now because 3 years ago I thought about this very concept while digging through a box of USB cables looking for the right one for my digital camera. Don’t believe me? It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not because Sony beat me to the invention table anyway. That’s right the Sony DSC-G3 has built in WiFi so there’s no need to even take the SD card out of the camera or even connecting it to your computer via USB. This is going to change the game. I’ve always loved Sony because they are always daring to be different. Two thumbs up in my book.
Of course, I saved the best for last! If you are still going to the local Blockbuster or fiddling around with scratched up DVD’s from Netflix then you need to really consider getting yourself a Vudu Box. Don’t let the name fool you, it is far from evil! The bells and whistles on this thing will wow you to no end so I will only highlight the most important and, in my opinion, the most impressive!
In a nutshell, the Vudu Box is a video store in a set top box. It houses over 13,000 built-in movies AND TV shows. You ever heard of HBO OnDemand? Well this is Movies OnDemand, but in your living room. No monthly fees and you can rent OR buy the movies. Rent standard definition movies from 99¢ to $3.99, high definition and HDX movies from $3.99 to $5.99. Purchase TV episodes for $1.99. Purchase movies from $4.99 to $19.99. No monthly subscriptions or contracts.
You probably thought that I made a typo with the “HDX” reference above. That was no mistake my friend! HDX is Vudu’s groundbreaking new video format that delivers the highest quality true High Definition 1080p content available from any Internet, broadcast or satellite OnDemand service. Vudu’s technology optimizes the encoding, transmission and display of HDX movies on 40-inch HDTVs and larger Home Theater screens. If your screen isn’t 40 inches don’t be discouraged. As long as you have an HDTV you will not lose quality. Oh, there is one thing you will need to enjoy the Vudu box to the fullest and that’s a really high speed internet connection. VUDU requires a minimum available bandwidth of 4.0 Mbps for instant HD (High Definition) playback of movies, or a minimum bandwidth of 2.0 Mbps for instant playback of SD (Standard Definition) movies. Before you go pick one up I suggest running the bandwidth test they have on their website.
Ok, well there’s my list. What do you think? If you have your own list you can post it in a comment or post a trackback or link to it.
