3. Looking For: Super Watch, Sunlight Display, Sony Ultraportable

Dick Tracy-Style Watch

We’re always on the hunt for sci-fi technology that manages to make itself real. A Dick Tracy-style videophone watch is high on our list of “bound to happen” devices, and here it is—finally! We’re not sure LG has plans to bring the GD910 watch to the U.S. any time soon (it will probably show up in Europe and Asia in the first part of 2009), but maybe it will arrive stateside eventually. This videophone watch has a 1.43-inch touchscreen LCD, 3G and HSDPA data, text-to-speech, Bluetooth, and storage for Mp3s.

Sunlight Notebook Display

Living in sunny Southern California, we’re very interested in technologies designed for use out of doors. Unfortunately, there aren’t many. That’s why hints about LG’s special display for use in sunlight caught our eyes (looks like we’re going to be spending quite a bit of time lurking around the LG booth this year). This 14.1-inch LCD uses adaptive backlighting to allow optimum visibility. It switches from a “transmissive” mode to a “reflective”mode when it senses the sun’s rays, then uses those rays to brighten itself up. This has the added benefit of conserving battery life, according to the company. Can’t wait to check this one out—but will LG let us take it outside for a test drive?

Sony’s New Ultra-Ultraportable

We were so impressed with Sony’s 2008 lineup of ultraportable high-end machines, including the Vaio TT and Z, that we can’t wait to check out what’s next. Rumor has it that Sony will show off a new seriously small ultraportable called the P—for Pocket. It is likely to sport a low-powered processor, but an 8-inch LED backlit screen with a 1600x768 resolution and 128 GB solid state drive. This thing could pack more punch per square inch than any other ultraportable we’ve seen—and it will probably sport a price to match.