I’d like to apologize for the lack of updates as I’m afraid I took the holiday vacation to heart and it took reading some of the latest gadgetry news from CES to get me back in the game.  As you may have noticed from the previous posting, the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show took place [...]]]>

I’d like to apologize for the lack of updates as I’m afraid I took the holiday vacation to heart and it took reading some of the latest gadgetry news from CES to get me back in the game.  As you may have noticed from the previous posting, the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show took place from January 7th to the 10th.

There appears to have been some interesting stuff at CES this year, including the Pocket Radar (which is a lot like it sounds) and the Eye-Fi, a wireless SD card for use with digital cameras.  On the environmentally conscious front were two prominent products: the Picowatt and the Airnergy.

• The Picowatt won its manufacturer, Tenrehte Technologies, an award for “Best of CES” this year.  Tenrehte was founded in 2009 and specializes in Wi-Fi enabled platforms.  The Picowatt is a Wi-Fi enabled Smart Plug that allows home owners to monitor and manage the electricity use of devices connected to the plug.  The device information is accessible via webpage or a Facebook app which will display current and historical electrical usage, as well as allow the user to control power to the device.  The Picowatt is stated to be available to consumers in April for $79.  Your can read our previous post on SmartGrids for more information about Smart energy management.
• The Airnergy is the latest effort in the arena of “free energy” battery rechargers, such as kinetic chargers and solar powered chargers.  In this case, the Airnergy draws its power from Wi-Fi signals and charges devices through a USB port.  This product raises some interesting questions in terms of how much and how quickly the  Airnergy can build up charge from Wi-Fi signals since the amount will vary based on proximity to the wireless source, and how is this going to impact the free Wi-Fi offered by eateries and tea houses?   The product is made by RCA and is expected to be available this year for $40.

That’s just a little news from the 2010 CES.  Coming up next month is the Greener Gadgets Conference on February 25th!