THE HOT ITEMS:FROM A charger that generates power as you walk to vacuum packs for your iPhone, CES 2011 was replete with various devices to thrill the curious and uninitiated.
While the major firms concentrated on tablets, 3D TVs and smartphones, other firms put their faith in more offbeat ideas they believe will appeal to consumers. Who wouldn’t want to sound like a rapper, for example?
Following an iPhone app that performs a similar function, a new microphone shown off at CES makes users sound like T-Pain. Like countless TV shows and music studios before it, the microphone uses the wonder of auto-tune to create the rapper effect.
If something a little more useful is more to your taste, the nPower PEG’s passive kinetic energy charger allows you to harness the energy of your own movement to power a rechargeable battery. Walking, running, cycling – all power the battery that can then be used to charge your personal electronics when you need it most. The device is set to go on sale later this year in the US.
Wearable TV screens also made an appearance at the show, thanks to Recom. The company showed off wearable name tags, which are about the size of a business card, and a hat that was covered in the OLED screens, all in the name of proving that using the technology gets you noticed.
For those who can’t bear to let go of their phone or tablet device for a second, the DryCase means they won’t have to – not even when bringing it to places that electronics would usually be best kept away from. Water, snow, sand; all used to be a problem. Now you can just vacuum pack your device and bring it along.
The Dry Case seals your iPhone, iPod, Mp3 player or tablet device inside an airtight bag. You can still use the device should you need to; it has a microphone and headphone jack that attaches to your device.
It even has a buoyant armband, so your device won’t sink should it break free.
On the more serious side of things was a portable scanner that will fit in your wallet.
Planon showed off the SlimScan SS100, a credit card sized scanner useful for scanning important information.
Optical character reader software automatically converts scanned images into editable form enabling you to import the contact information into Outlook, Microsoft Word or Excel spreadsheets.
