TOM-TOM GO 740 LIVE

By M.S.Welles

A fully connected personal navigation device, the Tom-Tom Go 740 Live uses a SIM card and GPRS signals to bring the driver the most up-to-date information.

Google can be searched for local points of interest. Because it uses Google, the Go 740 Live has unlimited points of interest that are always up to date.

Using traffic data and its IQ Routes, the system will analyze the driver's route and create the most efficient trip depending on time of day and historic traffic conditions. Traffic information is provided by both Inrix and historic traffic data from other Tom Tom devices.

It's also possible to place phone calls using its integrated stereo Bluetooth support or by using its voice support the driver can search by speaking the destination.

D-LINK SIDESTAGE NOTEBOOK ACCESSORY

By J.C.Bishope

This is a new product category so we're still not certain what the commercial possibilities are at this point. D-Link has created a 1.3-pound secondary display that can be used with any notebook.

The display has a 7-inch bight, sharp screen which works equally well for movies as for IM conversations. Being USB powered it's low maintenance.

Not everyone will want to carry an extra display around, but D-Link has managed to bring crystal clear visual portability to an external display that is easily portable.

SONY VAIO P SERIES NETBOOK

By M.S.Welles

Although a bit more expensive starting at $899 than most netbooks, the Sony VAIO P offers more and improved features.

The 1.4-inch deep, ultra-wide chassis will fit in a clutch purse or coat pocket. A 1600x768 8-inch screen offers beautiful visuals. Built-in GPS, integrated mobile broadband, a power brick that doubles as a port replicator, a button that opens windows side-by-side, a pointing stick and an instant-on mode all combine to produce the most sophisticated netbook currently on the market.

The $899 is the low end price. The price increases to $1499 with the 128GB solid state drive and it runs Vista (not our favorite operating system).

However, for a netbook this size, the functionality blows away the competition while providing a beautiful high resolution screen and a comfortable keyboard.

HP PAVILION DV2

By D.E.Levine

This 12-inch notebook starts at just $699 making it affordable as well as ultra portable. It's weighs just 3.8 pounds and is less-than-an-inch thick. Available in both glossy black and white, it has sturdy construction and doesn't look liker a budget notebook.

One of the reason's for the low price is the use of the AMD Yukon Platform or Athlon Neo processor which was designed to make notebooks extremely thin. By pairing the 1.6-GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics, the notebook can handle high definition content a large amount of multitasking.

In addition the notebook has SRS premium sound, integrated web cam, support for up to 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drives and mobile broadband options.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7

By D.E.Levine

Long anticipated, Windows 7 is the follow up to Vista. However, this system starts up quickly, has drivers already in it for peripherals, and does a lot more than Vista's predecessor XP.

One of the new features is the "Homegroup" which allows you to group together many different types of devices from computers to MP3 players. As soon as you join a network you can instantly see everything from music to films to files.

While the idea isn't new, the advancement is in the simplification of the sharing process to accommodate the huge number of music albums, videos, and digital pictures that people now have and use.

This simplification also means that in the future touchscreens, television applications, and the Internet will all be easily incorporated. Similar integration applies to online services.

Icons are bigger in Windows 7 lending themselves to use with the touchscreen and fingers. By shaking individual windows one can also activate certain features.

Windows 7 also runs on a variety of machines from low-powered netbooks to high-powered desktops. Microsoft anticipates replacing Linux with Windows 7 on many netbooks

Power management has also been improved with ports shutting down when not in use. If it actually saves power batteries will last longer.

Overall, Windows 7 is sleek and should give Apple some competition. However, the security products made for Vista don't fun properly on Windows 7 and getting the alert messages to turn off is a problem and quite annoying. Additionally, Internet Explorer sometimes crashes in just the same manner as it does with Vista, so that doesn't seem to have been improved.

Windows 7 still has a long way to go. In short, to be most effective it needs to make everything easier and at the moment it doesn't quite accomplish that feat.

INADA SOGNO MASSAGE CHAIR

By D.E.Levine

Pricey but luxurious is how I'd describe this chair. In the current economic climate it may be hard to sell a $6,499 chair. On the other hand, if you are spending a lot of money on massages, if your body needs stress relief, you may be willing to invest in this model.

Having tried it I can say that it gives a real massage. One thing that you must be careful of is that if you're not seated correctly, the pressure from the leg "casts" closing around your legs will be very painful. If you are seated correctly, the result can be wonderful.

I was told it has customized massage sessions for 106 body types and offers 1,200 square inches of massage coverage. This massage chair is not for the faint of heart because the massage exerts a lot of pressure on the body. When I asked whether individuals who didn't like that amount of pressure could lessen it I was told "no."

Whether or not sales will be high for a high end luxury product like this remains to be seen.

CES 2009

By D.E.Levine

The 42nd annual Consumers Electronics show which was held in Las Vegas January 7-11 was more successful than initially predicted.

Despite the economic gloom and the lower attendance by both exhibitors and visitors, there was still plenty of excitement and activity around the conference center and exhibition halls. Manufacturers were busy unveiling their cutting edge gadgets for 2009 and beyond.

Keynote speakers, including Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, were bullish about the industry's ability to ride out the economic storm relatively intact. They called on companies to continue to invest in developing new technology in order to fend off the credit crunch.

It's true that there were a lot of clever gadgets at the show this year. All of these were in development long before the show and there were several trends to be seen.

Smaller is better, according to notebook developers. While sophisticated laptops were introduced, the highly touted netbooks were being heavily pushed by not only Asus, an originator, but also Leveno, Sony, and numerous other manufacturers. With 8inch screens and now capable of running windows and having up to 160 GB hard drives, they were small, light and powerful.

Everything shown seemed to be Internet enabled. All the netbooks came with wireless built in and didn't even include modems. Additionally many cameras, MP3 players, smartphones and TVs were automatically web enabled.

Speaking of televisions, there were many new, large and HD televisions, but the most highly touted and advertised were the 3D TVs. Almost every manufacturer had a 3D TV to show off and although they do require wearing special 3D glasses, executives seemed convinced that every home would welcome a 3D TV within the next 2 years.

One of the most amazing but not unexpected concepts was the wire-less home. Tech companies showed off a wide range of home audio system and televisions that could communicate wirelessly with one an other to stream high definition audio and images smoothly between devices. As wires and cables become increasingly obsolete, as televisions become thinner, and as customers acquire more and more devices, it becomes difficult to plug everything in. This is where the manufacturers believe the future will lead for wireless streaming, and where viewers can put their DVD, CD and Blu-Ray machines away out of sight.