The Year Of The Gizmo?
Whether it was telephones that receive e-mail, new MP3 players — devices that allow you to record music from the Internet and store it on a memory chip the size of a quarter — or Microchip showgirls and giant robots, 2001 looks like the year of the gadget and gizmo.
At least, that's how high-tech giant Microsoft Corp. wants it to look. It unveiled its latest consumer products at an electronics show Saturday, moving a step away from personal computers toward personal entertainment, CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports.
There were enough of them to fill two football fields. Throughout all of it, the buzz word is "convergence," as demonstrated by a DVD player that can also download music and movies from the Internet.
"We're now using the technology not only to give us better sound and better pictures and better connections but also using the technology to make this stuff easier to use," said Jim Barry of the Consumer Electronics Association.
In the past, software giant Microsoft rolled out big new computers programs like Windows. This year, it's trying something completely new.
The year 2001 will be a shake-out for technology. Last year stocks tanked, some high-tech companies couldn't make it past Christmas, and sales of personal computers were off 25 percent.
"I don't think 2001 is going to be a gangbusters year but not a gangbuster year for electronic industry," said Peter Fassel of Goldman Sachs.
Consumers still want electronics, they've just realized they don't necessarily need a computer to stay connected. They can use personal organizers like Palm Pilots.
One of this year's hottest ideas is e-ware: a computer screen in eyeglasses; a digital camera in a wristwatch; digital music the size of a matchbook or in a portable boom box.
Not all these products will be top sellers, and without one huge new technology to unveil, companies at this year's consumer electronics show are hoping that small and connected will sell big.
MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed