High-Tech Heaven in Hanover

Kunitake Ando, President of Sony, unveils the Japanese company's contribution to artificial intelligence: a dancing robot. Called QRIO, the mini figures were the smash sensation at the CeBIT opening on March 17. Traditionally, robotic automation has served to perform tasks in place of humans, but Sony decided to create a "partner" that plays with people instead. The entertainment robot is a toy that talks, walks, reacts to outside influences like voices and facial expressions, and has a limited ability to think for itself.

With so many mobile phones to select from, it's hard to know which one is right. The U.S. telecommunications company Motorola makes it a bit easier for its customers at CeBIT. A console set up in the corner of its display area allows visitors to test mobile phones for ease of use and quality of connection. In other areas, the American firm is taking the lead in the development of "push-to-talk" technology that offers mobile phone users connections similar to those of walkie talkies. With just the push of a button, several users can be hooked up to a chat at one time. The feature is designed with young audiences in mind.

As mobile phones become more advanced, their key pads become smaller and more numerous. For seniors, navigating through a menu of several small clicks can be a tiresome and difficult process. Vitaphone, a German company pioneering mobile medical technology, has come out with a cell phone designed for seniors. Called the Mobi-Click Senior-Tel, the device has three large key pads. Two of the numbers can be pre-programmed, the third is an automatic emergency number which connects the caller to the Vitaphone service center. Whether in need of medical assistance or simply locked out of the house, the service center is prepared to give round-the-clock help to callers.

A worker puts a final gloss on an " Internet-globe" at the CeBIT computer technology fair in Hanover. In recent years, the interest in information technology has moved away from the PC and Internet to mobile telecommunications. Miniature cell phones combining the latest in multimedia and high-speed connections are all the rage this year.

German company Siemens introduced its latest contribution to the mini phone rage: the PenPhone. Hardly bigger than a fountain pen, and not much heavier, the ultra-small cell phone is something any smart business person can carry around in a pocket. But the PenPhone offers more than just size. Thanks to the phone's integrated handwriting recognition facility, users can jot down a telephone number or a short message on any flat surface and it will be recorded digitally for transmission. The PenPhone interprets hand movements as written words and translates them directly into the SMS editor where they appear on the LCD display. With the device, Siemens has made a big breakthrough in replacing keypads for entering mobile phone texts.

Not all the latest technology is for those on the go. Siemens' Gigaset SL740 telephone is the first-ever home phone with fixed-line MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Combining a high-resolution color display and an integrated digital camera, the sleek cordless phone borrows technology from the company's mobile phone department. From sofa to sofa, callers can snap a photo, record a sound byte and send it friends and relatives. The telephone's extensive memory allows for saving up to 200 names and numbers, and for those who have difficulty matching a name to a face, the phone offers picture CLIP for personalizing the phone book with photos.

Why have two or more screens when you can make do with just one? Exentia from the German electronics company DK Digital takes watching television to a whole new dimension. With a high-speed computer, radio, DVD player, digital photo archive and stereo all rolled into one compact modern design, today's couch potato only needs one remote control. The owner of the €2,800 multi-purpose screen can save up to 400 hours of film, an entire CD collection or 100 digital photo albums on the product's hard drive.

It's got everything from a toothpick to a bottle opener and screw driver, so it's about time the traditional Victorinox Swiss Army Knife entered the 21st century outfitted with modern information technology. Unpacked at the CeBIT, the pocket knife reveals a cleverly integrated USB flash memory stick created in association with the IT company Swissbit AG. The "Swissmemory USB Victorinox" is available with 64MB or 128MB memory, plus all the usual extras. There will be two versions on the market: one with a knife, scissors, nail file and screw driver along with a mini flashlight; and one with just the light and pen for frequent airline travelers. The handy gadget with the portable memory hook-up starts at €55.

The world's largest computer technology trade fair officially opens in Germany on March 17. One day later, the high-tech heaven rolls out the digital carpet for the public. For an entire week Hanover in northern Germany is the place to be for IT junkies. More than 6,000 exhibitors will unveil their newest products, showing everything from miniature pen phones to dancing robots.

Despite CeBIT's claim to be the world's largest computer technology fair in the world, a vast number of exhibitors and visitors come to see the newest in mobile telecommunications. Cell phones and the coming of UMTS or third generation mobile phone services are the hot topics at this year's fair. French company Sagem is just one of many foreign companies looking to capture a piece of the seemingly insatiable market for mobile phone technology by offering its myx-series of high-resolution color screens, built-in digital cameras, and -- soon to come -- myx-7 with video player/recorder and JAVA applications.

"LAKS Memory Music“ with an integrated MP3 Player and voice recorder allows people on the go to while away the hours with their favorite tunes close at hand -- literally. The wrist watch enables the wearer to download up to 60 songs, corresponding to a playing time of 4 to 5 hours. The battery is charged via the built-in USB cable. The multi-functional time keeper also offers a digital recording device and a miniature hard disk for saving important voice messages for later transfer to a computer.

Not all the technology on display at CeBIT is intended for the individual consumer. The topic of security, for instance, has given way to a whole new branch of technology related to the processing of biometric data for government authorities. Germany's Chancellor Schröder shows how a combination of digital cameras, electronic fingerprinting and eye-scans can be incorporated into passports of the future.

Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, visiting the CeBIT during its opening day, is a big promoter of "Made in Germany" technology. One of his favorite gadgets at the technology fair was the PenPhone by Siemens. In the next few months, the German government plans to introduce an initiative to establish standards for allowing digital signatures for financial and legal documents. If that happens, the Siemens device could come in hand.

A woman adjusts flat screens at the stand of Korean company LG Electronics. The company is one of the many foreign exhibitors from 64 countries at CeBIT. While most of the companies at the fair display products and services directed at corporate clients, many are discovering a sexier side in tune with the emergence of the private consumer high-tech market. In just the last two years, sales for flat screens and digital projectors has tripled. Many hope that by the time World Cup 2006 comes to Germany, a vast majority of Europeans will be watching the games on high resolution digital TV.

Not only are cell phones getting smaller; digital cameras are rapidly shrinking in size. The Sony Cybershot DSC T-1 is no bigger than a check card and only 2.1 centimeters deep. But packed into its sleekly designed compact case is a 5 million pixel chip for highest quality resolution. The camera also features a 3x optical zoom lens that completely retracts inside the camera's body.