CES 2006: Best Of Show

Dan Dubno On Devices For Work, Play, & Improving Your Life

(CBS) 

XM2GO Pioneer’s Inno

Though it’s not yet on store shelves, Pioneer has a portable XM satellite radio receiver that will surely be a hot seller when it comes out early this year. The Inno stores about 50 hours of radio content, plus receives XM’s excellent array of satellite broadcast stations while you're on the go. In addition, the onboard FM transmitter will let you "broadcast" your music from this device onto a nearby sound system.

Best of all, this tiny handheld lets you save and buy content that you enjoy. So if you hear a song you want to add to your permanent collection, push a button and buy the song on the fly. This neat little morsel was declared winner of “The Last Gadget Standing” contest at CES.

Web Exclusive: "Digital Dan" Dubno reveals his favorite winners of the “Last Gadget Standing” event at CES.

Slingbox’s Slingplayer Mobile Software

Only a few weeks ago, I demo-ed the astounding “Slingbox,” technology that allows you to stream video content over the web. My Slingbox controls my home Tivo, for example, so I can watch video content anywhere I have access to high-speed internet. This means we not only “time-shift” our tv viewing but now can “location-shift” as well. [Read Review] At CES, Slingbox also unveiled new “Slingplayer Mobile” software that will allow mobile phone users to control and watch video content on high-speed handheld devices. Wow!

Sanyo HD 1

Another hit at CES is Sanyo’s high-definition (720p) digital camera no bigger than a slice of toast. With a 10x optical zoom lens, the Sanyo HD1 has a 2.2-inch OLED display. The camera is lightweight and ultra-portable. Best of all, the projected price is under $800. What is still frightening is that you’re recording on SD cards.

Now, with SD cards coming at 1 Gig and 2 Gig varieties, I’m concerned that you’re not likely to get enough high-definition video recorded on this camera before the disk fills up. While there is talk that SD cards will go to 4 Gigs soon, I think the reliance on SD for high-def video seems to be this camera’s Achilles Heel.

Web Exclusive: "Digital Dan" Dubno attempts to abscond with Sanyo's new HD1 flyweight hi-def SD camera

We, Robots: AT CES, we’re beginning to see robots emerging from “toys” to become true “tools” for consumers. Here are a few of the robots we saw that we loved:

Web Exclusive: Robotic technologies in "Digital Dan" Dubno's video blog from CES