e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

[ijgarcia]

today's zdnet re:dataplay -

David Carnoy
Executive Editor
My first scheduled appointment at this year's show is with Microsoft's Ed Suwanjindar on Tuesday morning, just after Bill Gates makes his keynote speech. In the past, Suwanjindar, who's from Microsoft's Mobility Division, has shown us Pocket PC devices and earlier versions of the company's Stinger smart phone (where is that phone anyway?). But the mysterious device he'll have on Tuesday is supposedly not a Pocket PC and isn't Stinger-related, either. Hmm, could it be some new, integrated wireless device, or does it have something to do with Microsoft's eHome division, which was formed after last year's CES with the mission of extending Windows beyond the desktop computer? Either way, it's a good bet that whatever that thing is, it'll be handheld and portable.

What else am I looking forward to seeing? Everything from smaller, more powerful digital still and movie cameras to upcoming affordable, HD-ready TVs to newfangled digital audio players to reasonably priced (well, under $1,000, anyway) home DVD-R decks designed to replace the VCR and take on TiVo and ReplayTV devices.

Good or bad, early reports indicate that convergence will retain its buzzword status at this year's show, and I expect to see more digital-entertainment boxes that tie together the home stereo, TV, and broadband Internet access. Bill Gates will be talking about all that; as, most likely, will be a start-up called Rearden Steel, which was founded by WebTV founder Steve Perlman.

And then, of course, there will be the ghosts of CES past--those products that made a splash at last year's CES but haven't quite made their way into the real world yet. DataPlay, the start-up that makes tiny CD-R-like discs that can store 500MB of data and are supposed to cost between just $5-$10, promises to announce new partnerships, and we may even see a working device or two that uses its product. Wouldn't that be nice?



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