Electronic Equipment

The latest in television technology is on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, with super-thin screens, three-dimensional imagery, wireless connections and ultra-sharp picture quality. Too bad you can't afford it. All of this state-of-the-art TV tech -- much of it not yet available -- is extremely expensive, which is even more of a consideration for buyers in these recessionary times. But it's fun to dream.

Sony Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a pocket-size electronic book reader for less than $200, which the electronics giant touted as the "most affordable dedicated reading device on the market." Dubbed the Sony Reader Pocket Edition, the new device has enough internal memory to hold about 350 books, comes in three colors -- blue, rose and silver -- and has a 5-inch "electronic ink" display, which shows dark gray text on a lighter gray background.

Only a few years ago, bigger guns, badder enemies and louder explosives mattered most in video games. Now, small is beautiful, and Apple Inc.'s iPhone is largely responsible. The surprising emergence of the iPhone and its phone-less sibling, the iPod Touch, as hand-held game consoles has started to change the dynamics of the $40-billion game software industry.

Could this be the end of electric power cords? A Massachusetts company said that within 18 months it will have on the market a wireless electricity system to power -- through the air -- lights, computers, televisions and even the chargers for electric cars. The announcement was made at the TEDGlobal conference, a gathering of technologists and scientists, that wrapped up Friday in Oxford, England. The company, WiTricity of Watertown, Mass.

Trying to expand its book sales, Amazon.com Inc. released a free application Wednesday that lets iPhone and iPod Touch users read electronic books purchased at the e-commerce giant's Kindle online bookstore. The software performs many of the same functions featured on Amazon's $359 Kindle 2 reading device released last month, including bookmarking, noting, highlighting and adjusting the font size, the company said.

With the iPod getting to be old hat, Apple Inc. has frantically piled on extras in an attempt to make the player seem fresh again. The new version of the iPod Nano, unveiled this week at a company event, crams into the little player a video camera, FM radio, microphone, speaker and even a pedometer. Is this a sign of desperation? Well, if it is, bring it on. The new Nano is an astonishing triumph of engineering and design that has managed to pack all these new features -- along with the old ones -- into a sleek, elegant device that's a pleasure to use. None of the new features -- with the exception of the dorky pedometer -- seem like gratuitous add-ons.

Jam band Phish isn't forgetting about fans who can't attend any of its sold-out reunion shows this weekend in Hampton, Va. The group will make high-quality MP3 downloads of each performance available free the following day. "We really wanted to show our gratitude to all the Phish fans for their support and the overwhelming response they've had to these shows," lead guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio said in a statement issued Wednesday. "We only wish everybody could be there."

Google Inc.'s hot new software enables users to make cheap international calls, consolidate multiple phone numbers into one voice mail account and get e-mailed transcripts of their voice messages. But on Tuesday, Apple Inc. declined to make the call for its iPhone users. The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant refused to allow Google to distribute its Google Voice application on iTunes, shutting out iPhone users from easily tapping into the much-anticipated service.

Children and seniors demand many of the same things from their technology: They want it to work right away. They don't want it to do a million things. And they need it to be secure. "Both groups need simple things with less functionality and more protection," said Robin Raskin, a former PC Magazine editor who founded twin conference sessions on technology for the two age groups at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.

Will digital books catch fire this holiday? According to an online survey, 1 in 5 shoppers said they planned to buy an electronic book reader such as a Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle this year. When asked what they would like to get as a gift, about 1 in 10 cited a digital book reader. Portable music players, once the hot holiday ticket, got just 3.4% of the vote, while game consoles came in at 6%, according to the survey commissioned by Retrevo, a gadget review website. Likely buyers tend to be men under 35 years old who are living in the Northeast, where more people use public transportation, with an average annual household income of more than $100,000, according to the survey of 771 respondents.