Last night we attended the annual Holiday Spectacular in NYC in Key-West style. After gulping down Red Velvet Martinis, munching on salmon and salsa, and rolling cigars, we made our rounds around the show floor to see what companies had in store for us.
The highlights for me were the Micro Mosquito, Zvue PMP, and iFroz iPod cases.
The Micro Mosquito ($70, RadioShack) is an indoor R/C helicopter that flies in all directions with a 3-channel digital control going up, down, forward, reverse, left, right--and it even hovers!! I walked right under it at one point and didn't even realize it was hovering over me! It measures 6.5-inches and is recommended for ages 12 and up. It includes an R/C transmitter and charging station. I think it's going to be a hot item for the holidays! Of course we at Gearlog want to play with them, so the company will be sending us a review unit.
Handheld Entertainment's Zvue (pretty close to Microsoft's branded Zune name) is a portable media player that plays music and video. It's already available at Walmart and Amazon for just $99. I held it in my hands and couldn't believe how light it was (4.2 ounces)! Its 2.5-inch screen was playing Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" video, and somehow the company rep and I got on the subject of NSync and Backstreet Boys! What I liked about it is that there are 2 headphone jacks so that you and your friend can listen or watch video together. You can purchase music and video from the company's content site, Zvue.com, where there are more than 10,000 videos available for download. And the company is currently developing an open platform, meaning any player with Windows Media Video standard and DRM support can download content from the site, not just to the Zvue player. Look for three more models of the Zvue player to launch this year, one of which will feature wireless, and another that will record and playback to and from TVs.
iFrogz (who were also present at the DigitalLife Press Preview but I never had the chance to get to their booth) are customizable cases for your iPod! Each case is 100% polished silicon and protects your iPod's screen, body, and click wheel. You can customize the back and front of the case, as well as choose a design for the click wheel! I think they're pretty cool, and Blogging Molly and I are going to create cases and let you know how it went!
PCMag.com also took some photos of the show. Check out their slide show!
Updated 9/21 3:35pm with PCMag.com's slideshow.
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September 21, 2006 12:35 PM
I've heard good things about that helicopter as well-very very nice. And at 70 bucks, that's way too much fun to not pick up just for a little office amusement. I dig the customizable iPod cases as well-if that picture is any indication, it's a really cool way to protect your iPod and express yourself a little at the same time. The thing I never liked about iPod skins and tattoos were that they adhered to the device-these look easy to remove and customize to your own preferences, and around 20-odd bucks, you won't cry if you want a new one. :)
September 21, 2006 12:48 PM
IFrogz really ROCKS! Their cases are really well built and superb quality. And their customer service is one of the best I've seen in my entire life! I'm really anxious to see that you think about their cases ;)
October 5, 2006 5:55 PM
ifrogz are nice cases. The only bad part is it does not hold my headphone jack properly. (too thick case) I personaaly prefer Zofunk. Just wnated to let you know..