Gadgets get the good times rolling

In spite of slow economic growth, a potential war against Iraq and the ongoing fear of terrorism, there is one part of the USA where the feel-good factor is back with a vengeance. Namely the Las Vegas Convention Centre, home to the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (ICES), which kicked off on Wednesday.

After a disastrous 2001, the American consumer electronics industry bounced back last year with record sales of almost $100 billion. And as the nation's electronics dealers pore over the gadgets, big screens and internet appliances in the show's gargantuan halls they positively radiate optimism.

Many believe that after years of talk of the convergence of the PC and consumer electronics worlds, the products that will finally bring them together have arrived. It is reflected in the fact that ICES, once a mere sideshow in Vegas, has now become the hottest technology ticket in town, eclipsing the long-standing Comdex computer-based show.

In an opening keynote speech on Wednesday Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, set the tone for the show, unveiling products and technologies that deliver homes where electronic devices are networked together and can be controlled remotely.

He cited the growth of broadband internet connections along with improvements in connectivity, services and devices as the key to a digital future. Gates also highlighted how Microsoft plans to extend its reach beyond PCs and even mobile devices by creating intelligent wristwatches. These use recently developed software called Spot (Smart Personal Object Technology) to enable the timepieces to display basic information such as traffic reports, sports news and basic messages.

Earlier in the day the major consumer electronics manufacturers had underlined their commitment to home networking by unveiling a slew of new products designed to take PC style content into other rooms in the home.

Philips displayed the second generation of its Streamium hi-fi system that connects wirelessly to a PC to enable the user to listen to MP3s stored on a computer's hard disk and internet radios stations away from the computer. It is due in the UK in the next few months retailing for around £400.

In a similar vein British company PDT debuted a portable Internet radio system - the InTune 200. Via a wireless transmitter that connects to a PC, the system transmits MP3 music or Internet radio stations from a PC using RF to anywhere up to 300 metres away. It is expected to retail for around £180 when it goes on sale in the spring.

French manufacturer RCA Thomson unveiled a home cinema system complete with a DVD player and five speakers that can also integrate within a home network to access music stored on a PC. The RCA DT750 also features a 20 gigabyte hard drive so owners can rip and store music from CDs. It is available in the USA in the spring with a very competitive price of $700. No news yet on a UK launch.

After 20 years of audio on the move, it will soon be possible to view video outside of the home. Panasonic unveiled the SV-AV30, a tiny gadget that boasts video playback via a swivelling two inch screen. It is expected to arrive in the UK in the summer accompanied by a docking station that enables users to record programmes from their TV, which are converted into the MPEG4 video standard, which they can then view on their device.

While the Panasonic gadget uses a Secure Digital flash memory card for storage, Thomson's video-on-the-move gadget - the RD2780 - has an integrated 20 gigabyte hard disk enabling users to take entire series of TV programmes with them as they go. Recognising what is sure to be a key trend for the coming years Microsoft also got in the portable video act by unveiling software for these devices it calls Media2Go.

After giving the show a miss last year Sony returned with a wide range of products. Highlights include its first DVD recorder, the RDR-GX7 which can use disc from either the DVD+RW or DVD-RW competing recording formats, and a Clie Palm-OS based PDA, the PEG NZ90 which includes a two mega pixel camera (previous PDAs have featured low-res VGA cameras), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless capacities.

It also joined Hitachi and Panasonic in debuting a camcorder that records on to a DVD. As ever the periphery of the show delivered some real highlights. Those hailed as showstoppers include an entertainment PC from the kitchen from Icebox, the first ever Bluetooth enabled cordless phone for the home from Wave Industries.

Other hot products included a solar-power pack for the Gameboy Advance, the OrbitTouch PC keyboard which has no keys, just sculpted domes and the I-Rock 730i MP3 player that comes with software to enable users to customise the display on the gadget's screen.