GADGETS, GIZMOS AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS OH MY!

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the marquee event in the world of technology each year. It is a trade show that brings the biggest names in consumer electronics together for four days of dazzling technology and impressive innovations. Beginning in 1967 with 200 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees, CES has increased 11 fold to 2,700 exhibitors and 130,000 attendees. Groundbreaking products such as the VCR, Camcorder, CD Player, the DVD and the Xbox have been unveiled at CES. The Consumer Electronics industry is one of the biggest in the world, grossing $173 billion globally. Even with a predicted 8 percent drop in attendance due to the economic hardships over the past year, the major players put their headlining products and services on display in Las Vegas.

This was a very important CES because it marked the beginning of the Wireless era. Gone are the days of cords and tangled messes. Technology is now made so that you don’t even need a charger to charge batteries. They are placed on a mat and wirelessly charged. Monitors are now able to wirelessly connect to a laptop, wireless USB is the next big thing not to mention USB 3.0, and televisions can access the Internet through your computer with no physical connection. That being said, it is no wonder why some of the products that received the most praise have wireless functionality. The CNET Best of CES awards are a blessing in terms of a products’ success. This year the Palm Pre, Palm’s new smartphone, took home the Best In Show award. The Pre became the first cell phone to win the Best In Show award since CNET joined with CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) in 2006. Not only does the Pre feature things like a full slide-out keyboard, eight gigabytes of memory and even a USB 2.0 port, it features Palm’s new operating system. The new OS incorporates animated features and smooth scrolling, which some might even say is in many ways reminiscent of the fluidity of Apple’s iPhone.

While the Pre did win the most prestigious award, many other award-winning gadgets and electronic paraphernalia also appeared in Vegas last week. Products such as the Gracenote CarStars in-dash onboard music center. CarStars lets you choose your favorite music from the easy to use operating system as well as speech mapping from your favorite music stars (Lil’ Wayne can recommend a song for you using Gracenote’s system).