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Notes From CES

Notes From CES 2011:

* Thanks to Delta Airlines for a completely uneventful trip from Detroit Metro Airport to Las Vegas' McCarran International. As soon as we got west of Chicago the skies were crystal clear and smooth, and I got lots of fun pictures of the ice-covered Mississippi River and the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.

* I'm being environmentally conscious this trip -- unlike my last sojourn to Vegas, a pleasure trip in May with my wife for our anniversary. For the anniversary, the rental car was a dreamboat Camaro. This trip, I'm in a Chevy Aveo. Which is remarkably large inside for such a tiny car. What the heck, it's just me and a computer bag bopping around from hotel to hotel.

* After the 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific-time addresses on the state of the consumer electronics industry, CES moved into its opening press event -- "Unveiled," a completely crazy kickoff featuring more than 40 of the latest and greatest tech toys. The only company here with a Michigan tie was Parrot, the French tech company that concentrates on wireless applications for the automobile, whose United States headquarters is in Southfield. The theme at Parrot this year is Android, a whole bunch of tech toys that tie into the smartphone operating system. Available soon will be the Parrot Asteroid, a car receiver combining advanced hands-free telephony and connection to Web services through the car stereo -- including Internet radio, maps, traffic reports and more. Parrot also is showing off the Parrot Minikit Smart, a docking station for smartphones that allows hands-free telephony and access to geographic services on the phone by voice command. More at www.parrot.com.

*Oh, and that new 4G Verizon Wireless phone dongle I'm trialing out here for my Web access? A blazing fast 10.52 megabits per second download, and 2.86 mbps upload. Take that, $12 a day for Internet access at Bally's.

* Which is an OK hotel, by the way. The rooms are nice and big by modern standards, and scrupulously clean. The furniture is right out of 1978, but what the heck, the price is right, and it's directly on the Strip, with a nice view of same.

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