Expansionary Institute

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

By MAY WONG
.c The Associated Press

 
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Interested in a gadget that can tell if your spouse is lying to you? How about a skillet that tells you when it's reached the proper temperature? Or an electronically sealed box that accepts deliveries for you?

From satellite car radios to a digital camera wrist watch, products on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas promise a future with more beeps, chirps and portable convenience than ever before.

The annual trade show that opened Saturday and runs through Tuesday has more than 1,800 exhibitors, and 110,000 people are expected to attend, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

Manufacturers and dealers are banking on consumers continuing to gobble up electronic products.

Sales of DVD players, camcorders, MP3 players and other mobile electronic devices hit a record $90.1 billion last year in the United States, the association said. Sales were up 10 percent from 1999, and are expected to reach $95.6 billion in 2001.

Amazon.com Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said consumer electronics is the online store's fastest-growing segment. Strong sales of such devices, including digital assistants, helped make electronics the company's second-highest revenue generator in 2000, he said.

Electronics items are soon expected to surpass books as the company's biggest draw, he said.

``They're perishable items,'' Bezos said. ``The shelf life is short, and people have to keep getting the latest product.''

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates kicked off the show on Saturday by unveiling his company's new gaming console, the Xbox, which promises graphics more real and real-time than anything that's come before it.

Among the other products consumers can expect to see this year:

Ultra fancy wristwear: Samsung's Watch Phone tells time, saves voice memos and is a mobile cell phone that can be dialed by voice command. A new Casio wrist watch is touted as the first wearable digital camera and holds up to 100 images.

Super Audio CD (SACD) players: Pioneer's Elite Services DV-AX10 is a combination CD and DVD player. Philips is also entering the market with its SACD-1000 product.

MP3 music players for cars: Rio claims its car stereo can store enough digital music files so that someone could drive from Los Angeles to New York City more than 10 times without listening to the same song twice. Visteon says its MP3 car radio can store up to 10 hours of music.

Web appliances: These devices are designed to fit under a kitchen counter or to be carried around the house to provide wireless Internet access. One offering is Sony's Airboard, a touch-screen tablet that allows users access to the Web and e-mail while they watch TV from almost anywhere inside their homes.

Satellite car radios: More than 18 models of car radios feature AM and FM radio as well as up to 100 radio channels via satellite, according to XM Satellite Radio.

SmartMedia's DDL Player: A combined receiver for Internet radio stations and a CD player for home stereo systems.

Nokia's Media Terminal: A ``home infotainment'' set-top box that receives digital TV and video-on-demand, plays MP3 files or connects to a digital camera, and offers Internet access.

Harman Kardon's DMC100 Digital Media Center: A product with high-speed Web ability for streaming video and audio, a built-in DVD/CD player and a 30-gigabyte hard drive that can store up to 10,000 songs in the compressed MP3 format.

The Truster: A small, portable lie detector that uses voice recognition technology to sense when a person is telling a lie.

A digital French skillet by Digital Cookware Inc. The display on the pan handle beeps to alert the cook when the pan's target temperature is reached. A digital recipe book is included.

SmartBox by Brivo: A washing-machine-sized container that acts like a 24-hour doorman to receive packages. Delivery persons punch in a product-specific code to open the digitally locked box, which automatically e-mails or pages the owner about the arrival.

An electronic towel dispenser from Bens Electric Appliance of China that provides moist towels, either hot or room temperature.

On the Net:

www.cesweb.org

A dancer performs at the Sharp exhibit during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sunday. (AP/Laura Rauch) (CP)

AP-NY-01-07-01 1946EST

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

A dancer performs at the Sharp exhibit during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sunday. (AP/Laura Rauch) (CP)