Incredible Shrinking Tech

Consumer tech devices like camcorders, digital cameras, cell phones, GPS, and MP3 players that once required large cases to haul them from place to place have increasingly gotten smaller and continue to offer multi-functionality to the point that the Lilliputians from “Gulliver’s Travels” fame may feel more at ease with these tiny tech trends than Gulliver himself. Here is a sampling of the more consumer friendly shrinking tech products that are changing the way we live our tech centered lives.

Tech devices are not only getting smaller they also are integrating more than one function in their operation. Here are two different examples of devices that do the work of many:

Panasonic D-Snap SV-AV50 Multi A/V Device
The SV-AV50 is a camcorder, 2 megapixel digital camera, MP3 player, and digital voice recorder—all in one device! The D-Snap syncs up to your TV or camcorder and allows you to transfer video to watch your favorite shows when you’re on the go. $399. www.panasonic.com

ARCHOS AV-320 Personal Entertainment Center
The AV-320 allows the user to play up to 80 hours of DVD quality video, record from another video source, and take and store over 100,000 digital photos. This innovation replaces the portable DVD/TV combo. $550. www.archos.com.

I never thought I would see the day that camcorders would hang on keychains or cellular phones would take the shape of a ballpoint pen -- that day has arrived.

KEY019 by Philips
It's a 2 megapixel camera, video recorder key ring --the size of a lipstick case AND it records 24 minutes of video. Available May 2004. $250. www.philipselectronics.com

Siemens PenPhone
Besides operating on Bluetooth Wireless Technology, it also allows the user to write with the pen and sync it up with a computer to save your handwritten document! (the PenPhone is presently being used in Europe and will be available in the US in the future.) www.siemens.com

Magellan Roadmate 700
Global Positioning System Technology has really shrunken over the last year. The Magellan Roadmate 700 is a hand held driving navigation device that speaks, has a touch screen and has over 2,000,000 points of interest pre-programmed into it negating the need to upload maps or information from your computer into the device.$ 1300. www.magellangps.com

Rio Nitrus
The main MP3 music device we hear about today is the Apple iPod, but there are other devices on the market that are smaller, less expensive and offers us the option of not having to manage an encyclopedia of music. The Rio Nitrus can store up to 375 MP3 music files (25+hours) and gets an amazing 16 hours of playback on its battery. The perfect music device for your workouts. $199. www.rioaudio.com

Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Wireless Headset MP3 Player
This digital music player doesn’t just play, it communicates – to your phone, via Bluetooth, so you can dance 30 feet away – to your CD player, with the recording cable, so you can carry your collection with you – and to any compatible devices using the Memory Stick Duo adaptor. A 64MB MagicGate Memory Stick Duo gives you storage space for plenty of playback and quick sharing of files, making this a very well connected little performer. Not only does the HBM-30 offer wireless connectivity, but the music (10 hours play time) gets automatically muted when you are receiving an incoming call through your Bluetooth wireless earpiece. $149. www.sonyericsson.com

Canon SD10
Mini-tech stuff has become synonymous with making fashion statements about our personal style. Until recently it has been reserved for cellular phones and MP3 players. However, a new line of digital cameras has entered the fashion fray. The Canon SD10 is a thin, sleek, cool looking 4 megapixel camera. The SD10 features 4 individual “flavors”-iridescent white, piano black, bronze, and silver. The SD10 has many features: 4 megapixels, movie mode, 5.7x digital zoom, lens-pict bridge ready, built in flash. $399. www.usa.canon.com