Gaggle of Gadgets Shows Promise

The catchphrase was "gadget" for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, where if it was digital, it could probably be found.

Some are still cardboard prototypes, and others are on the verge of release or already out the door. Their enthusiastic vendors, of course, describe them all as capable of making life easier and more enjoyable. (Stay tuned for the real-life word on that.)

Here, for their last chance at the CES spotlight, is a selection of the products and technologies announced at the show.

Converging, Cooperating

• Moxi Digital, founded by Web TV creator Steve Perlman, announced a home entertainment system that combines VCR functions with those of an Internet gateway, allowing users to download music, video, and e-mail from the Web and distribute it around the home. EchoStar Communications, a large U.S. satellite TV provider, said it will incorporate Moxi's software platform in its satellite receivers. The Moxi Media Center will support Macromedia's Flash animation player and Real Networks' RealOne player for streaming content. Moxi Digital was formerly named Rearden Steel Technologies.
  
  
• SanDisk announced Cruzer, a portable storage device that plugs into a PC's USB port and reads both Secure Digital Memory Cards and MultiMediaCards, two popular flash memory storage formats. The device allows users to load images, music, and other data from their memory cards to a PC, and comes with a removable memory card in one of four capacities: 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, and 256MB. Prices vary from $59.95 to $199.95 depending on the card capacity; the product is due to ship in April.
  
  

Alternate Input

• Plantronics showed off nine new computer headsets and microphones. Available now, these can be used for speech recognition programs, Internet phone calls, and the "talk" feature in Instant Messaging.

  Its new .Audio family of products features microphones starting at $9.95 for a basic stick-like mike (the .Audio 10), which you can also mount on your monitor. The price goes up to $29.95 for a full-on multimedia stereo PC headset (the .Audio 90) with mute and volume controls located on the headset wire.

  
  
  
• Olympus America announced two digital voice recorders due to go on sale in April. Both weigh two ounces including batteries and measure about 4 inches by 1.5 inches by 1 inch. The VN-900 stores 90 minutes of voice recordings and is priced at $59.99; the VN-180 stores three hours of voice recordings and will sell for $79.99.
  
  

Password Management

• If your Windows XP system has multiple accounts, and you'd like more than a password to keep the zones safe, U.are.U by DigitalPersona offers fingerprint security.

  The matchbox-size fingerprint sensor device plugs into your PC. You can register as many fingerprints as you'd like, then plunk your digit on the device to get access to your own desktop. And you don't have to wait for Windows to load.

  U.Are.U also can encrypt files and programs. It recognizes even dirty fingers, but not those covered by a glove or Band-Aid. Priced at $69, U.Are.U currently supports only Windows XP, but DigitalPersona is developing a personal version for other operating systems.

  
  
  
• Compaq launched a keyboard that holds a smart card on which users can store log-ons and passwords for up to 50 Web sites, saving the hassle of typing them in each time. The Netissimo smart card, made by Humetrix.com, will also dial a user's ISP and launch several Web sites automatically for faster browsing. The keyboard and smart card were launched Monday as a $40 option with Compaq's Presario 4000 and 8000 PCs.
  
  

Components, Parts Parade

• Benq unwrapped a 17-inch flat-panel LCD monitor with an 80 degree viewing angle, priced at $899. Due to ship worldwide in the second quarter, the FP 781 has a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels and sits on a swivel mount or can hang on a wall. Benq changed its name from Acer Communications in December.
  
  
• Intel showed prototype notebooks running its upcoming mobile Pentium 4 processor. The P4-based notebooks were from Toshiba, MicronPC, and Gateway. Intel confirms its new mobile processor is on track to launch in the first half of this year, starting with a 1.5-GHz version and moving to 2 GHz by year-end. The mobile P4 uses the power-saving SpeedStep and should ship in full-size and thin-and-light notebooks by the end of the year, says Don MacDonald, marketing director for the Intel Mobile Group.
  
  
• Sony introduced its newest super-slim notebook, the VAIO SRX77, which will be available in February for $1499. The inch-thick system is a bit smaller than its predecessor, the SR33, and at 2.75 pounds, it's Sony's lightest model yet. But Sony still managed to cram in an integrated 802.11b wireless network (along with the Ethernet port and modem found in earlier models) and a battery rated to last five to six hours. There's not much room for a keyboard, though: People with even average-size hands will have to scrunch their fingers together to use the keys.
  
  
• NVidia announced a new chip set, the nForce 415-D, designed to boost the performance of PCs based on Advanced Micro Devices' Athlon processor. The 415-D includes nForce's Media and Communications Processor and its new System Platform Processor, intended to improve memory, networking, audio, and general PC performance, the company said. The chip set will be available on motherboards later this month.