CES wish list

The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is drawing to a close. David Woodward selects his five favourite gadgets

Asus Eee PC with WiMax
For product developers working on laptops, the ultimate ergonomic sacrifice is usability for portability—or vice versa, of course. At last year's CES, the £200 Asus Eee PC appeared to have solved that dilemma, superficially at least. The product's one blemish (at that price, anyway) was its 7-inch screen, a mite too mini for most tastes. Now Asus has announced new 7-, 8- and 9-inch versions, making it just about big enough for most tasks without sacrificing any of its innate portability. OK so the Asus might look a bit basic, but at just under one kg light, with over three hours of battery life, and a decent bundle of packages that includes Skype and WiMax (www.wimaxforum.org) compatibility—this little machine is well worth a look. WiMax (essentially wi-fi for people who actually like to move around) is still being trialled around the world, but is already standard in the US. If it takes off in this country, just watch the Asus go.

WowWee Rovio
This roaming robot looks like fun. The Rovio is made by the same people (www.wowee.com) that brought you Robosapien, but it's streets ahead in terms of capability. Rovio is controlled remotely by Web browser, via a GPS system that enables you to direct it straight to the target. It can even find its way back to the charger to power itself up. If you're at work and you want to surprise the cleaner, just log in and tell it to go to the bathroom. Rovio then consults a special mini GPS grid before setting off on its mission. An onboard camera lets you know when it arrives. Quite why you'd want to do that is unclear, but progress would be quite dull if all the reasons were printed in the instruction manual.

Sony Ericsson W350
Sony Ericsson's CES press conference was an overcrowded affair, with the world's media keen to eyeball the newest and juiciest releases. The company's first ever flip-phone is a real gem. At just 10mm thick, the W350 is one of the sleekest phones on the market. All the key Walkman controls sit on its minimalist cover, giving you access to around 40 albums worth of music without having to flip it open. Sony Ericsson is banking on music becoming the main sales draw (the W350's camera offers only 1.3 megapixels) and this model features TrackID, a clever device that allows you to record a few seconds of any song you hear in a bar or club in order to find out the name of the track and artist, or even the album it appears on.

Westinghouse Wireless HDMI HDTV
True wireless set-up couldn't come soon enough for gadget freaks. Even when you manage to hide those pesky cables behind neat wall-mounted boxes, they always seem to tumble out the ends like black-ink spaghetti, ruining the aesthetics of any self-respecting home cinema set-up. Westinghouse reckons it has at least part of the solution: the "world's first" integrated wireless HDTV, launched officially in Las Vegas. This 47-inch beauty has an in-built receiver that accepts a signal from any content source, for example a high definition DVD player, without having to plug it in. There is no discernable lag and the system can stream a variety of high-def formats, including 1080p (full high definition). Now they just need to work out how to lose the power cable.

Sony OLED XEL TV
As far as technology's concerned, going slim doesn't feel very 2008. In fact, most of the best TV manufacturers slimmed down ages ago—that's why they invented wall mounts, remember? But there's slim, and there's slim. And Sony's biggest effort at CES falls into the latter category. Its new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) XEL TV is a real head-turner. The screen measures a mere 11 inches, but this TV is no wider than a couple of credit cards—a truly astounding piece of electrical engineering. You can pick it up across the Pond for around £1,200, but it's probably best to wait until Sony figures out a way to increase the screen size.