High-tech machines are mini but mighty

PS device? Check. Camera? Check. Camcorder? Check. MP3 player? Telephone? Personal computer? Check, check, check.

For Jim Barry, those are all in the bag.

One bag.

That's how much of today's tech gadgetry will fit in a single satchel, just like the one carried by the Consumer Electronics Association's spokesman during his annual nationwide media tour. What once could accommodate only a laptop computer now can tote a whole lot more, emblematic of an industry looking to pack power, productivity and flexibility into tiny devices.

"I have a bunch of things that can do just about anything you want to do," Barry said as he emptied the bag of its gadget gold.

"In this little package here, you can make calls, you can take pictures, you can take high-definition pictures, you can get on the Internet, check your e-mails and send letters. ... When you look at what you have here, which is in this case a briefcase or backpack, you have everything you need to carry on the road with you for either entertainment or information. So if you're out on vacation or a business trip, you can put all this stuff in it."

Most of the mini-but-mighty machines Barry carries epitomize some type of technology trend, often involving size, simplicity, inexpensiveness or style.

"And what allows that to happen is digital technology," he said. "It lets these get smaller, lets them get better, lets them get more power. We're into really the absolute warp speed of digital transition."

So, let's travel with Barry. Warp Factor Five should do.

• Decades ago, computer geeks bragged about a single computer taking up the space of a building. Well, the OQO "ultra personal" computer is the next step toward computers virtually vanishing because they're so small.

The OQO, which is the name of both the computer and the company producing it, is a full-featured, palm-sized Windows XP computer priced at about $1,800. It's got a 30-gigabyte hard drive and 512 megabytes of RAM packed in a 14-ounce, 4.9-by-3.4-by-0.9-inch body.

A tiny keyboard slides out, but "full-fingered" folks might find a stylus or touch screen easier to use. A tiny trackball helps. And the OQO — with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities — can connect to full-size keyboards, monitors, projectors, optical drives, printers and speakers.

"I put speeches on one of these, and with PowerPoint you're in business," Barry said.

• The TomTom One portable GPS system ($499) can direct you anywhere in North America.

"It's thin, light, mobile," Barry explained. But the device can speak for itself, literally, letting the user know: "You have reached your destination."