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Technology Investing: The world’s newest tech toys

Posted January 8, 2008

“One of the major factors for the technology industry is strong semiconductor growth and other smaller components for gaming technology, personal devices, mobile phones, MP3 players and so on..” – Ann Sosnowski.

Blogger’s note: Our friend Ann Sosnowski from the Taipan Publishing Group and our very own Krista Das are currently researching the latest technological advances at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They’ll be sending us videos of their trip soon. In the meantime, we thought you’d enjoy an update straight from Ann.

by Ann Sosnowski

Baltimore and Las Vegas – (TFN): The International Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas is by far the world’s largest annual trade show for consumer electronics.

And what a good year for consumer electronics it’s expected to be! According to Gary Shapiro, the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, $171 billion will most likely be spent on consumer electronics this year, an increase of 6%, better than any other industry’s projection for the new year.

Additionally, $220 billion-worth of American high-tech products are bought by other countries around the world, accounting for one-fifth of total United States exports.

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On the plane ride here to Las Vegas, I was reading an article in SFO (Stock, Futures and Options Magazine) that forecast 20% profit growth in the technology industry, larger growth than any other industry. The only other sector that even touches SFO’s forecast for the technology industry is the intricately linked aerospace industry, with expected profit growth between 12% to 20%.

One of the major factors for the technology industry is strong semiconductor growth and other smaller components for gaming technology, personal devices, mobile phones, MP3 players and so on.

Technology Investing: Banking on successful devices

Smaller and smaller consumer electronics are all the rage here in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show. In fact, there seems to be an entire section of the exhibit floor dedicated to different kinds of docking stations for Apple’s newest iPods and iPhones. You start wondering how many docking stations could actually be designed.

Granted, a lot of the things at the Consumer Electronics Show are frivolous but cute luxuries: different sizes and styles of webcams, cases for your MP3 players and camcorders, and mini gadgets that, after minutes of staring at them, (case in point: a wing-flapping wireless mosquito that flies around the air for 12 minutes on a ten-minute charge) beg the question: Why would anyone buy that darn thing?

But there are some interesting technologies we came across today. With my trusty camera crew from Today’s Financial News (Krista Das and Andrew Robinson), I scoured the floor of the smallest exhibit area today at the Sands Expo.

We started off with a small on-camera interview with Griffin Technology, a private company that makes a lot of its money on the coattails of other innovators. For instance, Griffin has struck success by making personal accessories for Apple Inc.’s (AAPL:NASDAQ) iPods and Microsoft Inc.’s (MSFT:NASDAQ) Zune easier to use.

In fact, I have one of their products and didn’t even know it: the iTrip, which allows me to plug my iPod into the charger of my car and wirelessly play music through my radio from my music library.

In essence, the company makes technology that enhances the use of your major consumer electronics.

While Griffin is not publicly traded, it does show the trickle-down effect available to innovators in different technology sectors. Any new device can have countless other uses if someone only puts their mind to it. For instance, Griffin’s major product these days is its Evolve sound system. It’s wireless and rechargeable and works up to 150 feet away from the dock system where you place your mp3 player, for either outside or inside use.

That’s definitely the big trend of this year’s CES: Cutting the cords from all our devices and making all products integrated, wireless, and as mobile as possible.

Technology Investing: Taking time out for fun

Some other big, and self-gratifying highlights for me today at the Consumer Electronics Show included:

— Comfy massage chairs with patented and proprietary technology that scan your body for the more tense parts of your back, shoulders and neck to personalize your relaxing experience…

— Playing the new Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker gadget from Jada Toys, a pick that when strummed over a belt buckle device lets you play some of the most famous guitar rifts in rock and roll.

— 3DV Systems’ ZCAM, a depth-sensing 3D PC camera that senses you in real-time, and places your image outline overtop of the screen in front of which you’re standing. This could very well give the Nintendo’s (NTDOY.PK) Wii gaming system a run for its money, as we played a boxing game using just our hands in front of the camera. It doesn’t seem to have the location and body aware problems that the Nintendo Wii has, and the company expects going forward to strike some partnerships with content companies for more game options.

By visiting the Consumer Electronics Show website you can get access to news about companies showcasing at the CES. If you have any questions for specific companies, or any technologies you want me to check out, drop me a note at :taipan [at] taipanfinancialnews [dot] com, and I’ll try my best to get in contact with them during the week.

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Posted by Ann Sosnowski · Filed Under News that Matters 

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