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09/17/2009 02:13 PM

Fall Expo Shows Off Must-Have Christmas Gadgets

By: Adam Balkin

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The holiday season begins early this year with expositions showing off high-tech gifts. NY1's Technology reporter Adam Balkin filed the following report.

At events in mid-September like the recent Showstoppers Mini-Expo in Downtown Manhattan, a dozen or so technology manufacturers are already start showing off gadgets that will hit the shelves and feature prominently on this year's holiday shopping lists.

Hewlett-Packard is offering a new category of device called "Dream Screens." If a digital photo frame and a laptop got together and had offspring, a dream screen might be the result.

"These are wireless-connected screens, and the whole idea is you can put these screens, 10.2 inch and 13.3 inch, anywhere in the home," says Ameer Karim of Hewlett-Packard. "[It] enables you to play photos, music, videos, stay connected with your friends on Facebook, listen to your favorite artists through Pandora."

The screens are out this week for $250 and $300.

For higher-fidelity audio, check out the ZVOX IncrediBase System. Unlike other so-called "soundbar" systems, where all the speakers are in one box, the ZVOX system is designed to be easy enough for even self-declared Luddites to install and use.

"You need one connecting wire and it has a one-page owners' manual, yet it sounds terrific, with high quality sound," says Thomas Hannaher of ZVOX Audio. "Our virtual surround sound system fools your ear into thinking sound is coming from around you when actually it's all coming from this box."

The smaller version is out now for $400, when the bigger version is available in October for $800.

Finally, for those who don't know which Bluetooth headset is better than the next, the MoGo Talk is trying to be the hardest one to lose and the easiest to find.

"It's the world's first Bluetooth headset to fully integrate into iPhones, BlackBerries and other iconic high-end smartphones," says Stuart Nixdorff of Newton Peripherals. "Through the patented folding boom makes a flat low-profile design that lets us build it into the backs of devices.

"With the iPhone blends in through a black invisible case, as you can see it blends in perfectly," continues Nixdorff. "With the BlackBerry versions, it's actually more fully integrated, where you can pop off your old battery door, put on the new battery door that stores it and charges the headset."

Out in October, the MoGo Talk may also have put too many eggs in one basket. Lose your phone and you also lose your $130 Bluetooth headset.