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LAS VEGAS : The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opened here on Thursday with exhibitors displaying gadgetry ranging from snazzy new smartphones to envelope-sized computers to 3D high-definition television sets.
Despite the recession, some 2,700 manufacturers of high-tech products from around the globe have turned up for this year's edition of the world's largest consumer technology trade show.
The show floor of the Sands Expo and Convention Center morphed into a giant electronic amusement park as visitors, buyers, vendors and journalists shuffled from booth to booth checking out the latest in hardware and software.
Lending glamour to the affair was Hollywood movie star Tom Hanks, who turned up to help pitch Sony's new products, which include a P Series Vaio notebook computer small enough to fit in a suit jacket and glasses with a video screen.
Singer Stevie Wonder was also on hand to lend support to a line of "vision-free" products for the blind.
With laptop sales now surpassing desktop sales, providing one of the rare bright spots for the industry, Sony wasn't the only computer maker showing off lightweight pocket-sized "netbook" computers.
Taiwan-based MSI unveiled a unique "hybrid" netbook that combines solid state and conventional disk drives in a tough, mini-laptop designed for simple computer tasks and getting on the Internet.
"It's unbelievably light," spokesman Mark Olson said as he balanced one of the MSI U115 netbooks on his palm.
Palm, the company struggling to regain market share from rivals such as Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion, made a comeback of sorts with a new operating system and well-received new smartphone, the Pre.
Television manufacturers, as usual, accounted for much of the buzz with much of the focus on the move towards developing Internet-enabled TV.
Sony, LG Electronics, Toshiba, Samsung and Vizio are all showing off new flat-screen television models in Las Vegas embedded with Yahoo! "TV widget" software offering links to popular websites.
A YouTube widget allows videos from the website to be streamed to television sets. A MySpace widget allows members to watch TV while connecting with online profiles and friends.
Thin is still in when it comes to TV, with LG Electronics saying it was making a 55-inch high-definition LHX flat-screen television that may be less than an inch thick in its final design.
"This may be the thinnest LCD television on the market when it comes out," said LG's US marketing head Marc Sorkin. "We are trying to achieve this piece of art that really blends on a wall."
Panasonic Corp. for its part is bringing 3D high-definition television into homes and enlisted "Titanic" director James Cameron to make the case for its 3D home theater system.
The 3D Full HD Plasma (3D FHD) system made its debut at October's CEATEC exhibition in Japan but was displayed in the United States for the first time at CES.
Panasonic also unveiled the first portable Blu-ray disc player.
On the software front, Microsoft chose CES as the venue to announce that a test version of its Windows 7 operating system will be available worldwide on Friday.
"We are on track to deliver the best version of Windows ever," Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in the opening CES keynote speech.
"We are putting in all the right ingredients: simplicity, reliability and speed."
Besides the major consumer items, hundreds of other products are on display here tailored to people such as seniors or those with disabilities.
Others are simply fun, such as a Minoru 3D webcam or sunglasses from TriSpecs with ear buds and Bluetooth circuitry that can relay music or conversations wirelessly from MP3 players.
Environmentally friendly products are also a major theme and consumer electronics titans Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba announced an initiative to recycle the TVs and other gadgets they sell in the United States.
Motorola, also seeking to capitalize on the green trend, unveiled the first mobile phone made from recycled water bottles, the MOTO W233 Renew.
- AFP/sf
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