BY EVAN KOBLENTZ
Technology Editor, TMC Labs™

Gadgetman Reports From CES In Las Vegas

As TMC's resident SOHO maven, I travel every January to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. As I write this, the show is concluding the opening day, and so I've toured only one-half of the floor. Luckily, it was the half with all of the CTI-related technology. Without further delay, here are some highlights:

CyberGenie, from the Cygnion Corp. Think of it as Wildfire married to a SOHO PBX: Not only does CyberGenie serve as a multiline phone system, it manages messages, appointments, and has other "personal assistant" features.

GN Netcom, Inc. showed off their Voice Array microphone. Designed the sit atop your computer monitor, the microphone -- bearing resemblance to a rocket ship -- effectively solves the problems associated with stick microphones and headsets. But such high-end technology is not cheap: Expect it to retail for nearly $100.

HomeAccess, from HomeAccess MicroWeb Inc., is an Internet appliance that is essentially a smaller, less expensive version of InfoGear's I-Phone. Look for reviews of both products in upcoming issues of Communications Solutions™ magazine.

The Paxphil Corp. offers the SPM3000 speakerphone mouse -- yes, a real speakerphone built into a real mouse. It's a very clever space saver.

Siemens designed the ID Mouse: it looks like a regular mouse, except that is has a fingertip sensor in the center. Never enter a Windows password again: simply tap your finger to identify yourself. No one can enter your system without hacking off your hand first! Siemens also showed off the T-View ISDN videophone. The system is currently only available in Europe, but their demonstration was impressive, so I hope to see it enter the U.S. market soon.

Net2Phone has many new products. Among them are a USB handset; the "I-Fone" (a PC-less Internet telephony appliance like Innomedia's InfoTalk or Aplio's Aplio/Phone); the "I-Wired" appliance (for connecting any standard phone to a computer for VoIP calls); and the IP Max system, which is an actual IP-PBX for the SOHO!

Another PC-less Internet telephony appliance player is DialDigital. They offer the IPStar 700 (analog connection) and IPStar 800 (network connection) phones. They also developed the IG-9000 iGate, a 2-port voice and fax gateway, plus the BMG-8000 G-Phone, a single-port gateway. DialDigital also has the NX208 PBX system, plus their excellent SOHO gadget, the PhoneRider card.

VoiceLogic offers three interesting products. The most impressive is the SuperGate, a voice mail system for small- to medium-sized companies, which includes an Internet router. The other two products on display are the VoicePro, which is a SOHO voice mail system, and the Amigo, which lets you add voice mail to existing SOHO PBXs.

Finally, Vox2.com has built two interesting products, vox.net and vox.link. Vox.net allows you to have your cell phone calls come through any phone in your SOHO with a distinctive ring, combined with a virtual receptionist feature. Vox.link is the cell phone-only portion.

Conversa has partnered with Samsung to add speech recognition features to a telephone-enabled wristwatch, la Michael Knight of Knight Rider fame. Conversa also has a new product called the Conversation Server, which is basically an app gen for enabling Web sites for use with audio ISPs.

Another wristwatch endeavor comes from Matsucom. It's a wristwatch-based PDA (unfortunately without any Internet, e-mail, or telephony functions) called OnHand. This one goes beyond Knight Rider, into Inspector Gadget territory. Fortunately, I talked them into giving me an evaluation unit!

Netpliance demonstrated their iOpener, Microsoft demonstrated their Web Companion, and Intel discussed strategies for their own Internet appliance. As a basic test, I browsed to TMCnet.com on the Netpliance and Microsoft devices, and neither could handle the basic Java feature of our scrolling news marquee. No Internet appliance that I've seen to date has been able to handle Java, and I don't understand why. Feel free to flame me, or to cheer me on, if you have an opinion about why proprietary browsers can't do Java (or if yours does and you haven't told me yet).

The good news is that nearly the moment after I started complaining about this, I found the CyberFone booth. Their Internet appliance doesn't just handle Java, it lets you run your choice of Windows CE or 9x, and it can do voice over IP! This is the product that TMC Labs dreams are made of, and of course, we'll have the review as soon as we can. This product does begin to blur the line between a computer and Internet appliance, though.

Iqorder.com lets you comparison shop and buy products over the Web. What's the big deal about that, you ask? Simple -- they do it over any wireless browser, from the Palm VII to mobile telephones. Very cool.

A final note: Taiwan Kentaur makes a pen that blinks an LED when you have an incoming call on your mobile telephone. Don't ask me why, though!

Of all the products here, I have one favorite, and one dream. The favorite is Net2Phone's IP MAX -- if you read this column regularly, you'll recall that I've written before about the need for just such a product. IP MAX brings the power of VoIP-enabled PBXs to the SOHO, where companies can't afford systems like 3Com's NBX 100 or Cisco's CallManager (formerly Selsius).

The second point -- my dream -- is to see the wristwatch phone merge with the technology of the wristwatch PDA. The possibilities are startling. Meanwhile, try to restrain yourselves until we in TMC Labs actually get some of these products for review -- and if there's not enough for you here, I still have half of the show to cover! Check back in two weeks for lots of follow-up information.

Evan Koblentz welcomes your comments at ekoblentz@tmcnet.com.