Cool Products Coming Soon To Retailers

Seven emerging vendors showed off their latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos to technology-craving retailers attending RetailVision 2008; giving retailers a sneak peak at new gear before their competition during the Fresh: A First Look At New Technology showcase.

These 'Fresh' vendors showcased everything from software that can translate any language through a PDA to a device that enables Apple iPods to be manipulated through voice commands.

Here we chronicle the seven Fresh vendors and talk a little bit about the products they highlighted at RetailVision 2008.

The Fresh: A First Look At New Technology program was spearheaded by Fred Brown (right) and Ray Robidoux (left) from the Sightline Group, a group that works with manufacturers, products, channels and messaging to get the word out about products and help close deals. Sightline Group is bent on giving innovative technology vendors a platform to demonstrate their latest wares.

"We're showing you new technologies before they really come to market," Brown said.

SpeechGear highlighted intelligent language translation software that runs on a PDA. SpeechGear CEO Robert Palmquist (shown here with Sightline Group's Fred Brown) said the software, designed for the "linguistically challenged," takes anything written, typed or spoken and translates it.

"Say goodbye to your dictionary," Palmquist said, after a short video showing the software's use in China, translating English into Mandarin Chinese to help visitors find a good restaurant or a bottle of water. Each language costs about $1 million to develop and the system can currently translate most language throughout Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East, along with English, of course.



The SpeechGear system, which has been under development since 2001, is ready now. Shown here is the software running on a PDA.

For those in search of a productivity boost, KeyScan debuted its new product: The KS810, a keyboard integrating a full-color auto scanner that can drop scanned images into any application, be it email, a document or a searchable PDF. Pictured here is the KS810.

Attaching the scanner to the keyboard tops walking back and forth from a PC to the scanner, said KeyScan CEO Dov Aharonson (pictured with Sightline Group's Ray Robidoux. The KS810 can scan up to 600 DPI and comes with software to manipulate and use the images with 15 different settings. One feature allows a scanned document to be embedded directly into an open document, wherever the cursor is placed.



The keyboard-scanner combo is available now for $159.

If a scanner-keyboard hybrid isn't enough, Lifeworks Technology Group showed off its keyboard with a built-in iPod dock, which offers touch sensitive media keys to increase volume and manipulate iPod controls. The dock can charge an iPod and sync with both the iPod and iTunes application. It also features two additional USB ports and a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack for private listening.

Amin Adjmi, Lifeworks vice president (pictured with Sightline Group's Ray Robidoux), said the keyboard falls into Lifeworks' iHome product line.

Amin Adjmi, Lifeworks vice president, also showed off an iHome notebook stand (pictured) with an integrated iPod dock and speakers, which comes bundled with keyboard and mouse. Adjmi said the speakers offer three times to five times better sound than standard laptop speakers. The dock also features a built-in cable management system and allows air to circulate through so notebooks don't overheat.



The two Lifeworks products should hit retailers in the first quarter 2009.

If you're the type that doesn't sit in front of a computer when rocking out, Innotech Systems dropped its Accenda Voice Control for iPod, a product that enables the popular Apple music player to be manipulated with voice commands like "start music," "next track," "volume up," "volume down," "previous track" and so on.



Innotech application engineer Chris Griswold (shown here pointing out the Accenda Voice Control for iPod) said users plug earbuds into the gadget, which sits at chest level, and plug the device into an iPod. Griswold said it's perfect for biking, running or any other situation where accessing the clickwheel is a hassle, like when wearing gloves or just relaxing in the old easy chair.



"Tell your iPod what to do without lifting a finger," he said.



The device is in production and expected to be available in September for $99.95.

Retailers and users looking to play big brother need look no further than Gilsson Technologies, which unveiled what it calls the "world's smallest" GPS tracking device.

About the size of small pager, the AlwaysFind Mini Personal GPS Tracking System weighs 2 ounces and runs on a standard cell phone battery.

Ming Ho (pictured here with the device), Gilsson's sales director, said it's for folks who want to "track anything" -- a car, a person or a fat bag of cash. Just activate the device, place it wherever and the system feeds location coordinates to a mobile device, which can be used to pinpoint the location using Google Maps.

It holds a charge for 72 hours and also features a panic button that text messages up a user's location to five people if there's trouble. The GPS tracking device retails for $395 with up to a 50 percent wholesale discount. It can also be placed into a vehicle to alert the owner if it travels a certain distance outside of a pre-determined, geo-fenced area.

"This is some scary stuff," Sightline Group's Fred Brown joked.

Keeping with the big brother theme, DMTech (Digital Media Technology) vice president of sales and marketing, Kevin Gabriel, unveiled a wireless, spherical, golf ball-sized camera which can record video and audio or broadcast live footage. The wireless camera, which can record up to six hours of video, features a motion sensor, has a microSD slot for up to 8 Gig of expandable memory and connects to a computer though USB for playback.

To demonstrate the camera, Gabriel recorded a portion of the presentation and played it back on the big screen.

Pictured here is Gabriel showing off DMTech's latest wireless camera.

Targeting those who forget cell phone chargers, Michelle Rush, vice president of marketing for Medis Technologies, demonstrated the new 24-7 Power Pack (pictured), a fuel cell to charge portable devices.



Just pull the strip and squeeze the box to activate the fuel cell. Plug in a device for a fast, on-the-go charge. Once squeezed, the charger lasts up to three months and has a pre-activation shelf-life of years.

Medis Technologies' 24-7 Power Pack is also DOT permitted, so while you can't bring a bottle of water past airport security, up to three of the fuel cells can be carried onto a plane.

For about $39.99 retailers can stock a starter kit which includes the cable, various charger tip adapters and a fuel cell. After that, standalone fuel cell chargers are $19.99.

Pictured here Medis' Michelle Rush demonstrates the 24-7 Power Pack.