The Polaroid Pic-300 seems like an odd product to introduce in the digital age, but I'm not sure people will flock to buy this new version of an old favorite. I wish Polaroid success and I hope I’m proven wrong. The company says their new Pic-300 is ideal for your wedding, anniversary, birthday or other big event! Like the original Polaroid camera, this one takes and develops pictures in about a minute. Unlike the original Polaroid, this one prints much smaller photos. They’re about the size of a business card: 1.8 inches x 2.4 inches. The camera uses PoGo Zink Photo Paper and you get full-color glossy prints without a printer. Each photo print is dry-to-the-touch, water resistant and features an adhesive back so you can stick it and display it anywhere you like. The original Polaroid had a new battery in every pack of film. The Pic-300 uses four AA alkaline batteries. Cost of the Pic-300 is $89.95 and it’s available in three colors. Film is $9.99 a pack, which prints 10 photos. So even though they’re quite small, they still cost about $1 each. You can knock the cost down a little by buying film in 3 and 10 packs.

http://www.polaroid.com/en/products/classic-instant/polaroid-300-classic-instant-camera

Expand the memory of your iPad, iPhone, etc.

The GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage device allows you to carry your media library with you while on the go. Then you can wirelessly stream movies, photos, music and documents to your iPad, tablet or smartphone via WiFi. The GoFlex Satellite provides both a fast USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connection. The downloadable Media Sync software makes it easy to transfer media and documents from your PC or Mac computer. The 500 GB GoFlex Satellite device can store over 300 HD movies, so you'll never have to worry about running out of space on your iPad or tablet. At the demo I went to I saw an two iPads and a smart phone displaying three different videos all being feed wirelessly from a single GoFlex Satellite. It was pretty impressive. With a full charge you should get up to five hours of wireless streaming. Now there’s no more worrying about running out of space on your iPad or Smart Phone. Price is $199.99.

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-

A very high tech way to explore the sky - without a sky-high price tag.

The Celestron SkyProdigy is a revolutionary line of three new telescopes, recognized as an Innovations Honoree at the 2011 CES. They’re designed for people without any prior knowledge of astronomy or telescopes. All you have to do is turn any of three telescopes on and watch as the SkyProdigy “looks” up to the nighttime sky to get its bearings. In less than three minutes you can take an exciting tour of outer space using SkyProdigy’s internal database of over 4,000 celestial objects. (The built in digital camera is for internal use only and there’s no digital output. I thought about that too and got the answer.) The integrated imaging camera and patented StarSense Technology to automatically align with the night sky and determine where the telescope is currently pointing. The camera automatically captures an image of the sky, which is processed internally to positively identify the stars in the image. Once a positive match is found, SkyProdigy determines the coordinates of the center of the captured image. The process is automatically repeated two more times so that the system has three known alignment points that can be used to make an accurate model of the night sky. From this information the user can select any celestial object in the hand controller’s database, and SkyProdigy will automatically move itself to the correct position. 3 models from $699.00 to $799.

Ben from Celestron explains what this amazing telescope can do:

http://youtu.be/9_gTltZ-31Q

http://www.celestron.com/c3/category.php?CatID=122

A really versatile LED light.

The INOVA 24/7 has been around for a while, but the folks at Niteize have given it a great makeover. It’s a multi-functional LED flashlight and emergency light combined with a system of accessories that provide an almost infinite number of uses and applications. The rugged polymer case is water resistant and can endure temperatures from -20° to +50°C (That's -4 to +122 F.) Utilizing advanced LED technology it provides eight steady and signaling functions. The base is stable enough to make the INOVA 24/7 a freestanding flashlight. There's a built-in stainless steel clip for attaching to clothes or gear. The included accessory kit adds a neck lanyard, headband, magnetic mount and four wall mounting brackets with the options of mounting screws and foam adhesive strips. The eight high-output, lifetime-guaranteed, LEDs include 4 White, 2 Red and 2 Yellow. The LEDS change as your rotate the bezel switch. There’s Low intensity white, High intensity white, White strobe, White "SOS", Red & Yellow flashing, Red and Yellow strobe, Red, and finally – if you set the bezel between any of the regular settings, you get the “find me” mode. That’s where the two red LEDs flicker briefly every 5 seconds. That’s so you can find it in the dark. Prices are all over the place, from about $42 to $60. At the link below it’s $42 at Amazon. (I have not bought anything from this web retailer, however:)

http://tinyurl.com/4y7g8hh

Company website: www.inovalight.com

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1314

I find weird stuff at trade shows. This is right up there with the weirdest.

They were giving away product samples of a new product at CES 2011 called StickiDigits. People spend a lot of money to rent a booth at CES and then they need to spend four days manning it. One person told me they estimated that they spent somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000 to set up and man a booth for the run of the show. Since folks go there with high hopes of having come up 'the next big thing' I don't like to put down their dreams. With that said, sometimes I don't have high hopes for a new product I might find on display. Take for example, StickiDigits. They are 'custom designed finger mitts' -- inch and a half long pieces of rubber with a hole in the middle and a sticky back. The object is to put them on your fingers and then hold one of your electronic devices that you hope you'll never drop. You mark where your fingers are placed and then  peel the backing off the StickiDigits. Now the next time you pick up that device, you slide your fingers into the StickiDigits feeling secure that it won't slip out of your hands. They flyer says they will arrest the development of Carpal and Ulnar Tunnel Syndromes. I have no idea about that, but I see one major drawback. Once the StickiDigits are in place, you won't be able to put in down on a flat surface. And with a StickiDigit in place, I don't see how a cell phone would fits in a standard case. Others may have felt that too. It's 5 months since CES and the company website is not up and running. It's registered - but ads from Go Daddy come up, along with an offer to sell the web address, so I guess that the reception at CES didn't warrant going away with a full scale roll-out. But next year they could be back with a winner!

www.stickidigits.com

See or Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1314