Gadgets

After proving itself as a capable work horse, the Treo was showing a bit more of its fun side at this week's CTIA cell phone industry trade show.

Palm's smart phone took center stage in several spots on the show floor. Over at the MobiTV booth, the Treo was seen playing live television, while Audible was showing the Treo downloading audiobooks over the air. The Treo has long been able to play Audible content, but being able to grab new books on the go is a new twist announced this week. Meanwhile, Speck Products, a company best known … Read more

Ever stood outside on a freezing cold night rifling through a big ol' overstuffed purse for a pen, a cell phone, a spare quarter, a life-saving safety pin?

Rosanna Kilfedder, a 24-year-old design student at London's Brunel University, has. As is the case with true inventors, she didn't just fret about it, she designed a solution: the Sun Trap handbag, which has an electroluminescent interior light that goes on automatically when you unzip the bag.

"I had the idea for the Sun Trap handbag after seeing so many friends frantically searching their bags for house keys, usually … Read more

Love digital photo slide shows but hate having to lug your PC around to show friends?

The minds at Wellex have produced the Digital Photo Frame (DPF) 1040. The 10.4-inch LCD display weighs 1.6 pounds and comes with built-in internal speakers and an audio jack so you can view digital photos of that trip to the Grand Canyon or that birthday party along with a a sound track.

The frame comes in silver, piano black or redwood and is available at the company's online store. It retails for an introductory price of $279 with shipping and handling. … Read more

For those consumers who get particularly creeped out by the idea of bacteria, Samsung has added to its line of Jetsons-worthy home appliances with a new range of front-loader washing machines that utilize nano-size silver ions to kill the microbes. The company says machines with Silver Wash technology destroy 99.99 percent of bacteria in the wash load and coat clothes with antibacterial protection lasting up to 30 days.

The Silver Wash machines are part of the Korean company's Silver Nano Health System, a group of appliances (refrigerators, microwaves, air conditioners) that use silver ions to slay disease-causing molds, … Read more

Demofall One of the amazing things about the Demofall show, which ended on Wednesday in Huntington Beach, Calif., was just how many compelling technologies were showcased.

The idea was to cover as many of them as possible during the show, but there just wasn't time. But good technology deserves a hearing, and it would have been a shame to ignore the innovation that is Streamload's MediaMax media center.

Designed to give consumers a one-stop shop for handling, collecting and sharing all manner of digital media, the Web-based software seems like something that could appeal to just about anyone. … Read more

Babyhugs is looking out for exhausted parents. The Australian company has come up with a remote-controlled crib that rocks your infant to sleep.

The Lullabub consists of four modules placed under each leg of a crib. The modules produce a gentle rocking motion that emulates the suspension in a car. The product has four settings and an automatic timer, so it can be shut off after a certain amount of time. It will be available for purchase online later this year.

SanDisk is preparing to launch a new flash-based storage device at next week's CTIA Wireless trade show in San Francisco, according to a partner of the company.

Click&Buy, a New York company that makes e-commerce software, sent out an advisory Wednesday saying it is an exclusive partner with SanDisk and will unveil its own secure mobile payment software for SanDisk's new Trusted Flash Card on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

If Trusted Flash is a name you've not heard before, don't worry. You will.

Apparently, Click&Buy's software lets consumers purchase songs … Read more

Demofall HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--There are so many digital choices for music today that if you're on an Internet-connected computer, just about any song in the world is a click or two away.

But the folks at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Roku think digital music shouldn't be trapped on computers or MP3 players. They feel consumers know and love their radios and that a tabletop radio-like device that can play digital tunes of all kinds is sure to be a hit.

Thus, they've rolled out their SoundBridge Radio Wi-Fi music system, and showed it off at the … Read more

Tim Campbell, winner of "The Apprentice" in the U.K., is getting into the beauty biz. On Tuesday, the reality TV star from across the pond unveiled the Integra Face Care System, a micro-current treatment unit that uses small pulses of electricity to isolate specific facial muscles. The resulting contractions purportedly promote better circulation and yield a more youthful appearance.

Infomercial fans probably know that such devices aren't new, but the Integra is getting special attention because of the man behind it. Campbell, a 26-year-old former transport manager with the London Underground, has been developing the product … Read more