If the 40 - bit time lag for a hack at McCarran International Airport does n’t furnish a spacious enough hint , a gander at the number of multitude wander the Las Vegas Strip with badges dangling round their necks should — Las Vegas ’ Consumer Electronics Show is massive .
Because of that unmanageable size , organizers go under up showcase events to give the media a close look at some of the more interesting products offer by major vendors . The first such event was Wednesday night ’s Digital Experience .
More than 100 vendors packed themselves into the Bellagio ’s Grand Ballroom to hawk their latest and great consumer wares . Included in that numeral were such recognisable companies as Epson , HP , Panasonic , Toshiba , Samsung , SanDisk , and Sony along with names intimate to many iPod users — Altec - Lansing , Belkin , DLO , M - Audio , and Sonos . Our tour around the floor revealed more than the martini bar and deep brown fountains .
Altec Lansingwas on hand with a number of new ware , the most interesting of which to iPod owners will be the newiM9andiM11mobile speaker systems .
The $ 200 inMotion iM9 ( image below ) is designed with out-of-door living in mind . Splash- and shock - repellent , the talker offer big sound ( and a retractable wharfage ) in a cool black software program . Like previous inMotion speaker unit systems , the iM9s can pass off AC or battery . A backpack is included with the speakers .
The $ 100 inMotion iM11 ( below ) is Altec Lansing ’s most affordable iPod portable talker system . The social unit we saw seemed solidly built and its output was goodish for an cheap loudspeaker arrangement . It , too , operates with either bombardment or AC power , and includes an extra audio remark .
Belkinoffered a peep at a identification number of novel iPod product . First among them is the $ 80TuneBase FM for iPod , an machine courser / FM sender that mounts from your car ’s cigarette lighter port and allows you to put in up to four stations . The TuneBase FM work with all wharfage connective iPods include the newfifth - propagation iPod . The smallerTuneBase FM for iPod nano(pictured right ) offers the same feature . Both will embark in January .
Belkin also showed off its new $ 50TuneFM for iPod and iPod nano(pictured left ) . This is a small FM sender that attaches to the iPod ’s loading dock connector and offers four station presets . LikeGriffin Technology ’s iTrip for iPod nanobefore it , the TuneFM display stations on the iPod ’s screen . The TuneFM for iPod nano will ship in January , and the TuneFM for iPod will ship in March .
iPod owners will also be interested in Belkin ’s $ 80TuneCommand AV(pictured below ) , a small tying up station that permit you see and listen to your iPod through your home amusement center while charging the iPod . The TuneCommand AV includes a wireless rutherfordium remote . The equipment will embark in April .
Belkin example hinted that they are skinny to unveiling a microphone attachment for 5 constant of gravitation iPods that take advatage of that iPod ’s higher recording resolution . The adapter will include both a progress - in microphone and a microphone porthole for connecting an external mic .
Podcasters seeking an all - in - one podcasting production studio may like to exploreM - Audio’snew $ 300Podcast Factory Deluxe . Included in the outfit is a two - channel USB mic preamp ( supporting phantom powerfulness ) , two of the company’sNova studio condenser microphones , XLR cable’s length and desktop stand for each microphone , and a software CD that includes cock for transcription , redaction , and posting podcasts . Also included is an audio equipment driver that allows you to easily record VoIP speech sound interview through the software system .
Sonoswas also on hand , showing off its new $ 349Sonos ZonePlayer ZP80 . Like its larger sibling , theSonos ZonePlayer ZP100 , the ZP80 permit you to act medicine throughout your house by wirelessly gang up together multiple ZonePlayers and controlling them all through a undivided hand-held wireless Sonos Controller . Unlike the original ZP100 , the ZonePlayer ZP80 does n’t include an amplifier — you must bind it to an existing amplifier such as your home stereo , AV recipient , or mesa - top wireless . As with the more expensive ZP100 you may use a motley of audio sources — an iPod , cadmium or DVD role player , satellite radio .
Sonos also touted the gain of bread and butter for Audible.com and Apple Lossless file cabinet for all its organisation . ( FairPlay , Apple ’s digital rights direction scheme for euphony purchased from the iTunes Music Store , remains unsupported . )
One other declaration that was music to our ears : TiVorepeated its assurance that its TiVoToGo service would be descend to the Macintosh in mid-2006 . Claiming that the company had some difficulty exploit with QuickTime ’s implementation of MPEG-2 , TiVo ’s engineers have made enough progression to have a demonstration of the system go on a Mac . We hope to see that demo before we will Las Vegas .
Thursday night bring ShowStoppers , another vendor - pile effect we go for will reveal some of the cooler digital medicine products on exhibit at CES . We ’ll permit you know what we find oneself .
