CES 2008: Peripherals

WowWee had a whole new family of robots here in Vegas.

The FlyTech Bladestar is the newest addition to the robot company’s indoor flying robot line and it sure did make the security guards in the Sands pretty angry. Designed to be crash resistant, the Bladestar glides through the air with two wings that spin with helicopter-like movement. Built-in infrared sensors allow the Bladestar flyer to detect and avoid obstacles. I got to fly the guy around a bit, but then an angry Sands guard scolded me. More hot robots after the jump…

Iogear’s Mobile Pocket Power has welcomed some new brothers and sisters to its GearJuice family. The new chargers, which have nothing to do with Gatorade, include the GearJuice – Slim Charger, GearJuice – Rescue Charger and Battery Tester.

The Slim Charger ($29.95) is being touted as thin and lightweight. Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse it can power a cell phone twice before requiring a refresh from an external energy source. The Slim Charger is compatible with mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets and MP3 players that are powered by a USB connection.

The GearJuice – Rescue Charger ($11.95) is powered by a single AA battery and provides instant power to mobile devices with a mini-USB connection.

IOGEAR also introduced its Battery Tester ($6.95). The device allows individuals to gauge how much power is left in 1.5V, AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V types of regular or rechargeable batteries with an easy-to-read meter.

Belkin is hitting CES with lots of new products. Of the most interesting are the new laptop cases, the RockStar, and its wireless HD FlyWire device.

For laptop travelers, the Ceylon Messenger Bag ($49.99) for laptops looks stylish and comfortable. We like the idea that you also don’t have to worry about your bag falling down as you get ready to slide your laptop in since it stands upright on its own. The Laptop Hideway ($49.99), on the other hand, doesn’t look like it’s meant for taking out in public. The storage bag is supposed to keep your laptop and accessories out of the way. Those having to move their laptop from room to room and not in favor of carrying with their hands will find the Hideway useful.

Don’t plan the funeral of wired headsets anytime soon. Bang & Olufsen, the provider of very high end audio and video products, launched the EarSet 3 today. The $250 priced set of headphones bridges your cell phone headset and MP3 player earphones in one. The company’s first stereo headset with a built-in microphone is compatible with the Apple iPhone.

For the price we are betting that the EarSet 3 is full of acoustical excellence. The 1.09 oz set has been developed to closely match the contours and curves of each ear, ensuring that no sound escapes. The ear buds include foam rubber covers and should stay firmly and comfortably in place. We are happy to hear that a specially designed leather carrying case is included to keep the puppies safe.

Zean Nielsen, President of Bang & Olufsen America says the EarSet 3 “is quite a revolutionary idea.” The product looks pretty nifty but, Mr. Nielsen, we are going to say that a wired headset with a microphone isn’t all that revolutionary here at CES.

We are happy to see that not all announcements at the show have to do with fancy HDTVs. Hauppauge announced today its WinTV-HVR-1950, a new high performance USB based TV tuner that will work with your laptop. The WinTV-HVR-1950 allows laptop users to watch, pause and record NTSC, ATSC or clear QAM digital TV onto their hard drive. We are also happy to hear that the WinTV-HVR-1950 supports NTSC analog cable TV, over the air ATSC high definition digital TV plus clear QAM digital cable TV.

To improve the performance of analog cable TV recording in Vista Media Center, the WinTV-HVR-1950 also has a built-in MPEG-2 encoder. The WinTV-HVR-1950 can also use the built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder to record video from S-Video or composite A/V inputs from cable TV or satellite set top boxes. WinTV-HVR-1950 will be available in February 2008 for $149.

Gamers can rejoice today (though maybe only male gamers). Sandio launched its 3D Game O2 Mouse that is specifically designed to provide a completely 3D experience. Users of Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth and Second Life residents can breezily fly through the worlds.

Though not wireless, the mouse has 16 programmable commands and players can control camera views just with the mouse. Glow lights on the mouse allow for adjusting different dpi level setting. Even better, the mouse comes with a removable ergonomic wrist support. The Sandio 3D Game O2 mouse is now available in the U.S for $79.99.

Kensington announced today LiquidAUX, a line of car audio kits that use the auxiliary or AUX port found in most new cars to deliver sound from an iPod or music phone through the car stereo. Each product has a dock for your music player or phone and uses an auxiliary port connection to send the audio through the car stereo. Also included is a remote control that attaches to the car’s steering wheel to let drivers keep their eyes on the road, while still controlling what they’re listening to.  We got to see a bunch of the products this morning and they look sleek as well as very functional. The Kensington LiquidAUX for iPod will retail for $79.99 while the Kensington LiquidAUX Bluetooth for Music Phones is priced at $99.99.

Also released were two new car chargers for the iPhone and iPod along and a Bluetooth stereo headset. The Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones with Microphone has a behind-the-head design and easy-to-access buttons which control audio playback and volume while also allowing users to answer calls.

Although we consider ourselves experts in the consumer tech field, it’s impossible to make a judgment call on a doohickey unless we have the device in hand. Such is the problem with the Asus XG Station, one of our Best of CES 2007 award winners.

The Asus XG Station was a truly ambitious and marvelous idea. Potential gamers who wanted to play high-end games like World of Warcraft, but were limited to low-end graphics cards would plug in the Asus XG Station - an external graphics card - into their ExpressCard slots in order to transform their Clark Kent-like notebooks into super gaming rigs. Besides adding a shot of graphics muscle, the Asus XG Station served up an HDMI port (for exporting the sweet visuals to a big screen), and Dolby Headphone technology with 5.1surround sound for hearing every boom and cry of defeat as you war with other cyber-soldiers.