Do Dad proud and go high-tech on the doodads

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 20, 2004 | by Brice Wallace Deseret Morning News

Pssst! There's still time. Ditch that ol' necktie and get Dad what he really wants: tech toys.

That's assuming, of course, that the necktie isn't somehow digital.

As absurd as that might sound, many of today's tech toys have extras you wouldn't expect from a particular device.

The "but also" category includes a digital camera that takes normal shots but also is water-resistant up to 3 feet for up to a half-hour; a personal video player that shows recorded TV

programs but also has an attachment to turn it into a digital camera; and a digital camera that takes photos but also converts to a voice recorder, MP3 player and camcorder.

"It has been building for a number of years, but because digital technology and battery technology have progressed so far, you now have the possibility of smaller items, so you get more power in smaller spaces with new battery technologies," said Jim Barry, spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association, during a recent stop in Salt Lake City.

"You may recall that the early wireless phones were like a brick, with much of the size and weight due to batteries. Now they're smaller, last longer, are lighter and do more things."

The latest and greatest gadgets on the market not only dazzle, but many are poster children for some tech trends that have mushroomed in recent years. For example:

On-the-go video. The Archos AV320 and RCA Lyra A/V Jukebox feature 20-gigabyte hard drives. The AV320 ($500) has a snap-on attachment to convert it to a camera and camcorder. The Lyra costs $400. Each is about the size of a paperback novel.

"You just plug it into a TV to get the programming. It's like a portable TiVo," Barry said. "It can record more than 40 hours of video. You could put 80 episodes of 'The Simpsons' on there, or 'Friends' or whatever you like.

"Just over 20 years ago, you'd see people on the bus or train with a headset on, listening to their Walkman. Now what you may see are people on the train or plane or bus watching last night's television show."

Wireless connectivity. The Dell Inspiron 600 is a $1,100 laptop with built-in Wi-Fi, enabling a user to camp out by the pool or on the deck and still access the Net with nary a cord in sight. It also has a built-in DVD player.

Multitasking capability. The Panasonic D-snap ($400) is about the same size as a typical cell phone, but it is a combo voice recorder, MP3 player, 2-megapixel camera and camcorder. Fold-out screens bring the activities to life. Content for the four-in-one D-snap is crammed onto a 1-gigabyte SD storage card that's only huge when storage is considered: The card is about the size of a postage stamp.

Puny but powerful. Philips has both an MP3 player and separate 1.5- megapixel digital camera in its "Key" product line. Each is about the size of a highlighter marker. Both fit on key rings or a neck strap, and the MP3 player's controls are imbedded in its strap. Both plug directly into a computer's USB port and cost $100 to $150.

Satellite positioning. The Garmin Forerunner ($110 to $150) is worn on a belt or wrist via Velcro straps. It uses GPS to help users determine how far they have run or whether they're going faster or slower than their desired pace. An added feature is an on-screen icon that represents an opponent or companion, providing the user with a virtual buddy to outrun.

Protection against klutziness. The Pentax Optio 33WR ($300) features rubberized corners and water-resistance.

"I could've used this last year," Barry said. "My wife and kids and I went on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. We actually lost the camera because it got soaked."

The 3.2-megapixel camera is water-resistant up to 3 feet for up to 30 minutes. "None of that is recommended, but how many times has somebody dropped the camera in the kiddie pool or gotten caught in a rainstorm?" Barry asked.

Disc devices. Sony's newest Handycam camcorder ($900) records directly to a video disc. Depending on the type of disc, shooters can then drop it directly into a DVD player or plug it into a computer or TV to see the glory of their work.

Combination devices, like a camera phone, are part of a sleek evolution. Sure, text-messaging may be a fad, "but phones now are really smart," Barry said.

"They're handheld devices that some years from now will really be communicators. They are now, and they're really getting easier to use. And there are more elegant designs for the combination products that have been around for a half-dozen years but were real kludgy and hard to use. A PDA could be used as a phone and a phone as a PDA, but they were not good as either because they were too big or had some other problems."

Digital technology has prompted the sleeker, more powerful stuff. Consumers have switched from VCRs to DVDs, and recordable DVDs are around the corner. Digital cable and satellite signals pour in to digital TVs. Wireless phones and music players? Digital.

And that also has served to quicken the pace of change, which can be dizzying.

Barry recalls showing off small cell phones at TV stations a half- dozen years ago. "And everyone would say, 'Wow, look at the size of that,' and then I'd say it's a pager and Web browser and blah blah blah. Now, not only do half of the employees at the stations I go into have them, but their kids have them. It really is a remarkable transition. These things happen while we're living," he said.