CES 2004: Picks and Pans

Fun and Games at CES

Yes, this counts as exercise: XaviX games actually get you out of your seat. In its baseball game, you swing an infrared-enabled bat at the video image of a ball coming at you. In bowling, you must take your full follow-through, though you never let go of the ball. The consoles connect to your TV; they'll cost about $80, and games will be between $50 and $60 when they arrive in June. But that's a small price to pay for computer games that exercise more than your thumbs. --Ed Albro

We need more evidence on this one: The biggest wait-and-see product of the show: Apex and Via's ApeXtreme PC gaming console. This new DVD player-like device plays PC games through an embedded Windows XP OS and sports a 20GB hard drive, an advanced S3 graphics chip, and Via motherboard and processor. It's certainly innovative, as their CES award attests, but will it sell? Apex's $299 console risks landing in no-man's land, stuck with a system too low-powered to attract PC gamers and too complex and demanding to attract console-gaming aficionados. --Eric Dahl

Not shying away: 321 Studios, which last year introduced controversial DVD X Copy movie-copying software, has done it again--this time shipping Games X Copy. The company says the software copies PC games onto CDs, DVDs, or hard drives despite copy protection on the original disc. It's expected to go on sale online by early February and cost about $70. --Ramon G. McLeod

Skip the garage: AutoExray's EZ-Scan automotive scanners connect to most modern automobiles to diagnose mysterious mechanical ills, and cost from $160 to $700. Shade-tree mechanics will be fine with the least expensive version, and it could help stave off the real mechanic's hefty bills. --Alan Stafford

Moving violation: When did the drive-in movie become the in-drive video? I have enough trouble with cell-phone-toting drivers nearly running me down. Now every car-audio manufacturer is touting pop-out LCD panels in the dashboard to play DVD video. That's not the way to improve your daily commute. --Tracey Capen

Dumb Product Award: JJ Communication's $200 microscope that looks like a USB-enabled toothbrush. Use the Digital MagniCam to shoot close-ups of coins or attach the Ear Cap to peek into your buddy's ear. --Steve Bass

Too Many Cooks?

Is this what life is like for the Jetsons? Salton's Beyond smart appliances communicate over radio frequencies. The coffeemaker can rat you out to your clock radio, warning that you haven't filled it with coffee and water for the next morning. In the past, such connected appliances haven't talked well to each other, let alone you, but these might have gotten it right. --Alan Stafford

What would Julia Child say? TMIO's schizophrenic oven/refrigerator may sound like a great idea--you stick a pot roast in it in the morning, and the in-wall appliance keeps it cold until it's time to cook. You can even turn the oven on remotely over the Internet. But you still need a separate refrigerator, and a single-oven appliance costs $2500 (a two-unit version costs $5000). --Alan Stafford

We don't think she'd approve: TMIO's promotions in the Microsoft partner pavilion tout "Internet-ready, refrigerated ovens." While these babies may be the first ovens you can control by cell phone, I could have sworn ovens were supposed to heat things up, not refrigerate them. --Eric Dahl

Scene and Heard

The rabbit that ate Vegas: Battery kingpin Energizer has a major presence at the show, including a gargantuan Energizer Bunny that towered over the activity near the convention center. Viewed at certain angles from the Strip, it looked like the bunny was peeking over nearby hotels and might sucker-punch the Circus Circus clown or climb the Eiffel Tower at any moment. --Harry McCracken

Size does matter: By my unofficial reckoning, Samsung is the clear winner in CES presence, with two mammoth booths. And the massive spaces were typically full of products and people. But the showstopper is Samsung's HLP5685W 56-inch Wide-Screen HDTV Monitor with DLP Technology, because of its innovative engineering and styling. The television's light engine is in the pedestal on which the monitor sits. This design makes the TV look like a flat panel, but it is a projection TV--and a very good one at that. It's expected to cost about $5000 when it hits stores this June. --Ramon G. McLeod

Worst marketing campaign? I can do without the tuxedo-clad men in sunglasses walking around the show floor whispering "Bluetooth." Now that's really going to make me want to investigate what they're talking about. --Kalpana Ettenson

X-tra hectic: If Vegas seems even more zoo-like than you'd expect during the always-bustling CES, maybe it's because another show is going on--one for the adult entertainment industry. With two concurrent expos, it's hard to tell which conventioneers are in town for which...no, actually, it couldn't be easier. --Harry McCracken

Didn't we learn this in grade school? A pan to the incredibly sadistic person at the Consumer Electronics Association who came up with the diabolically confusing booth-numbering system. It lacks any logic and has crowds literally going in circles. Why is booth 21528 followed by booth 21733, followed by booth 21547? Go figure. One vendor at an orphaned booth complained people came either a half-hour late for meetings or didn't show at all. --Michael Lasky and Rebecca Freed

Maybe Britney should have done this in Vegas: This year, the show floor has too many do-it-yourself karaoke devices demonstrated by people who really can't sing. I don't think I can bear to hear "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" again. --Kalpana Ettenson

No news ain't good news: The Consumer Electronics Show is first and foremost a trade show where dealers and vendors talk business. However, a vast number of media from all over the world come to cover new products. Many companies just can't resist throwing a news conference--even lacking any news. If I'm gonna show up on time for an 8 a.m. press conference, I'd sure appreciate hearing more than "We plan to have a very good year." --Tom Mainelli

SegNoWay: Last year, CES attendees could test-drive Segway personal transporters; I saw not a single Segway this year, but a scooter company is hawking Segway knockoffs outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. I didn't see anyone who seemed tempted to take one for a spin. --Harry McCracken

The name game: Roam around any electronics show, and you're bound to run into little-known companies and products with catchy, sometimes confusing names. Among my favorites: Trapezia, an oddball PC with a display spread over three to four flat-panel screens; and Edifier, a line of loudspeakers. --Harry McCracken

See PC World's ongoing CES coverage.