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10 Cool Tech Gadgets Spotted at CE Week 2011

Meet 2011's hottest new gear, from wearable camcorders to iPad covers that double as speakers to pocket-size wireless hard drives for your smartphone and tablet.

By Ed Oswald, PCWorld

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CE Week: The Line Show

From the same folks that bring you the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas each January, CE Week in New York has become a midyear stop for many companies seeking to show off their tech wares to a more-intimate crowd. I attended the event; here are just a few of the neat gadgets I spotted.

For more tech news and commentary, follow Ed Oswald on Twitter and on Facebook.

Speck CandyShell for iPad

Speck's cases, especially the CandyShell case, have become quite popular among smartphone and tablet users. The company has now made a version for the iPad 2, complete with a detachable front cover. Initially, the cover will be available only in black.

Price: $55

Availability: July-August 2011

Toshiba Thrive: Tablet With a 16:9-Ratio Screen

Toshiba's entrant into the tablet arena caught my eye at the show because it's a bit different from the rest. The first thing you'll notice is that it has a 16:9 screen--obviously harkening to Toshiba's background in television. This Android Honeycomb tablet also offers a laptop-style feature: Pop the case off the back, and you'll be able to change the battery on the go.

Other features include HDMI-out, a full-size USB port, and an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. The device will come in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities.

See: What to Look Forward to in the Toshiba Thrive Android Tablet

Price: $430 and up

Availability: Preorders available now at select retailers

G-Connect: Mobile and Wireless Storage

Hitachi's new G-Connect is just the latest in a line of wireless storage devices, but this model is intended to interface with mobile devices. You can access files through your mobile device's Web browser, or, if you're on iOS, via a mobile app available through the App Store. Hitachi says it expects to release an Android app by the fall. The initial G-Connect unit will have a capacity of 500GB, with bigger capacities to come in the future.

Price: $200

Availability: July 2011

Looxcie Wearable Bluetooth Camcorder

With Bluetooth earpieces becoming an ever more common sight, there was bound to be a company that would try to capitalize on the fact that people are accustomed to wearing them all the time. Enter the Looxcie.

The Looxcie resembles a traditional Bluetooth headset, but integrates a camera that is constantly recording the last 30 seconds of video. If you see something you want to save, doing so is as easy as pushing a button.

Price: $180 and up

Availability: On sale now

DeLorme InReach

Intrepid adventurers will like DeLorme's InReach, which when paired with an Android phone will allow for GPS location plus two-way text communications from anywhere the device can pick up a satellite signal. It even includes an ‘SOS' button to alert public-safety officials in the event of an emergency.

Subscription plans for service will begin at $10 per month. That's certainly a whole lot cheaper than satellite phone service.

Price: $250

Availability: October 2011

Pioneer AppRadio

The Pioneer AppRadio is quite the departure from the car-electronics maker's typical in-dash car radio. If you want to get technical, it may even be hard to call the device a car radio: It's an iPod Touch/iPhone accessory.

Pioneer has created an API built into several apps (initially Pandora, Rdio, MotionX-GPS, and INRIX Traffic) that will use the AppRadio as their primary screen and allow navigation through it. Other features, such as hands-free calling, are also available.

Price: $399

Availability: On sale now

LG Thrill 4G: Smartphone Sports 3D Display

The LG Thrill 4G is the Korean electronics maker's first 3D-capable phone for the United States market. It includes a 4.3-inch glasses-free 3D touchscreen, a 1GHz processor, 8GB on-board memory, and "4G" support. It will debut on the AT&T network. You might be familiar with the Optimus 3D phone in Europe; LG says that this is essentially the U.S. version of that phone.

See: LG Thrill for AT&T: First Look

Price: Undisclosed

Availability: Late summer 2011

TouchTec Gloves for Tablets

You're probably thinking, "What the heck are gloves doing in a slideshow on hot high-tech gadgets?" Well, these gloves are special: A San Jose, California-based company called TouchTec has patented technology to put fibers that mimic human skin into gloves. This means that capacitive touchscreens will no longer require you to take your gloves off. Several companies, including Burton, Celtek, Fownes Brothers, and Gaspar, have already signed on to use the technology. The gloves will carry the "TouchTec" branding.

Price: Varies

Availability: Late 2011

D-Link Amplifi Router: Smart and Brawny

D-Link is introducing a whole new line of networking products under the Amplifi brand. The products are built for high-demand networking environments within the home, such as media streaming and "whole home" coverage. Special software accompanying the router will optimize traffic based on bandwidth needs. The routers are said to support speeds up to 300 megabits per second.

Price: $100-$200

Availability: On sale now

iLuv Portable Speaker Case

iLuv Creative Technology was showing a number of innovative cases for Apple's iPad 2, including this one. The iSP210 iLuv Portable Speaker Case sports a built-in volume knob and two speakers.

Price: $60

Availability: Sometime in 2011