High-Tech Wonders

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 30, 1999 / 5:02 PM EDT / CBS

Always on the lookout for fun new products, CBS News Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum enlisted his family and friends to try out some of the high-tech gadgets he found.

Email without a computer: An easy way to join the email generation on the cheap is with the MailStation from CIDCO, a $99 email machine. That's all it does. You don't need need to know anything about computers or event need to have one.

Just plug the MailStation into your phone line and you're ready to go. The unit dials out when you want to send a message or check if you have one. It automatically downloads any incoming correspondence and then gets off the line.

My wife, who tried the MailStation and liked it, says it's very easy to use. To get that $99 price, you'll need to sign up for one year's email service, for another $99.

For more information, go to www.cidco.com or www.vtechworld.com, another company that makes email stations.

Digital picture frames: Picture frames comes in all shapes and sizes. But the old-fashioned frames won't do you any good if you're taking digital snapshots. For that you need the CyberFrame from Sony.

The CyberFrame displays digital shots taken with a Sony digital camera. Just take the memory stick, slip it into the slot, and the CyberFrame comes to life. And the CyberFrame can provide a slide show by changing shots every few seconds.

State-of-the-art is never cheap. The Sony CyberFrame costs $900. For more information, go to www.sony.com.

Remote control device: My neighbor Gene volunteered to try out another new gadget for me. Since he broke his leg and is in a wheelchair now, the SuperREMOTE Home Control Kit was just what the doctor ordered.

The SuperREMOTE not only controls your TV, VCR, cable box or satellite, it also runs anything plugged into these special control modules. So with just the push of a few buttons, Gene can start anything within 100 feet, such as the fan across the room, a light or the coffeemaker.

The SuperREMOTE Home Control, created by a Seattle company, has a starter kit selling for $20. For more information, go to www.x10.com.

Digital personal audio players, from left to right: RCA's NOMAD, the Lyra and RIO 500

Digital music products: These tiny, lightweight personal audio players deliver digital-quality music from CDs o downloaded from the Internet. Transfer a three minute and 30 second song in just seven seconds! Create your own play lists. No moving parts mean no skips. And one AA battery will power these devices for about 10 hours.

Products range from RCA's Lyra, for $200; learn more at www.lyrazone.com.

The RIO 500 is available for $270; learn more at www.diamondmm.com.

Also Creative Lab's NOMAD can be had for $250; visit www.nomadworld.com.

Digital grand piano: Yamaha Disklavier GranTouch with SmartKey is a supersmart digital grand piano that can operate as fully automated player piano.

But the SmartKey gives a unique interactive experience. The piano actually signals which key you should push by wiggling it. Then, it accompanies you! It costs $16,695; to find a store that sells it, go to www.yamaha.com.

For more Products With High-Tech Twists, click here.