Tech gadgets for 2002 wearable and wireless

From Ann Kellan
CNN Sci-Tech

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Gadgets that listen and talk back. Digital music players you wear on your wrist. Cell phones linked to hand-held computers. And new ways to keep track of the kids.

They're just a few of the tech developments for 2002 in which the key buzzwords are likely to be portable, wearable and wireless.

"It's about not having to run wires into every room," said Carl Howe of Forrester Research. "It's about being able to bring in a little device that you attach to your phone line that basically takes your Internet access and makes it available to every room in your house without wires."

Look for more security products this year, too, such as the GPS Personal Locator by Wherify Wireless. Strap it on children and track their whereabouts on a computer.

Tim McNamara and Stephen Gates of the Consumer Electronics Association loaded up a car with a few of the latest gadgets on their way to a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

VIDEO CNN's Ann Kellan takes a look at tech trends in 2002 (January 5) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

"Two people in a car, driving 2,200 miles -- things need to be small or entertaining or keep us in touch," Gates explained, citing the PDA cell phones as one example.

"You can use the phone, you can use the PDA, and it also serves as your modem to the wireless connection," Gates said.

On another front, hard drives are increasing capacity of portable music devices. One MP3 player by Nomad holds 1,000 hours of CD-quality music in its hard drive. Of course, all the music has to be downloaded from a computer.

Access from anywhere

And digital video cameras continue to shrink. There's even one, a $2,000 Hitachi, that records on a disc so there is no need for videotape.

DVD players are still the rage, and now they're outselling VCRs in the United States, which could spell trouble for tape.

"DVDs are going to push them out of the way," said Howe of Forrester. "And even DVDs themselves, I think are on their way to being eclipsed by even fancier DVDs."

Among other trends, 3-D graphics and video on hand-held computers could happen this year, according to chipmaker NeoMagic Corp.

And if consumers want more variety on a car or home stereo, satellite radio is an option. Pay a monthly fee and access a variety of stations and formats -- many more than now available on the radio.

Experts also predict more people will store information at data centers instead of on their personal computers. They can access that information anywhere from any computer.