Holiday gadgets: small wonders

By Steve Alexander

Last update: December 4, 2004 - 10:00 PM

This year, holiday gadgets are smaller or smarter -- and sometimes both.

Smaller smart phones are wireless and part camera, computer, jukebox and video player. Smaller keyboards are on smart phones and on the tiny UQO (about 5 by 3Â½ inches), the world's smallest Windows XP computer.

Most smart phones are aimed at mobile professionals. But T-Mobile is going after younger customers with the $199.99 Sidekick II (the price is after a $100 rebate and requires the activation of a new account.) The rectangular, camera-equipped unit has a screen that rotates to reveal a tiny keyboard only a thumb-typist could love - but typing with both thumbs is common among young people sending instant messages.

Some gadgets are so smart they talk, like the global positioning system (GPS) units for cars that give directions in a pleasant feminine voice. But GPS manufacturers face a serious problem, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. Detroit automakers are likely to begin including GPS units in new cars, eliminating the need for after-market GPS devices.

Others gadgets are just smart ideas, like the TiVo digital video recorder that includes a DVD burner for permanently archiving favorite TV shows. (A TiVo normally records programs on a computer hard drive, but erases old shows as new ones are captured.) Fewer than 5 percent of U.S. households have a digital video recorder, said Michael Greeson, president of the Diffusion Group of Plano, Texas. But sales will grow this year and next as prices decline and consumers have a better understanding of the product, he predicted.

Steve Alexander is at alex@startribune.com.

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