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Digital gear: Power and money saving technologies

24.12.2008
A number of cool and weird items will be on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show next month, including a money-saving surge protector and a pair of goggles that double as a mobile TV. Also on display: Silicon Mountain's Allio high-definition LCD TV, which doubles up as an all-in-one PC, and Meade's ETX-LS, a smart telescope that takes novice star-gazers on an audio-visual tour of the night sky. Here's a snapshot of some of the cool gadgets and electronics that you'll be able to check out on the CES show floor.

Save money on power

Finding a way to save on energy bills? Monster Cable is showing the GreenPower MDP 900 surge protector, which automatically cuts off energy supply to electronics like PCs and peripherals when they're not in use. Users can keep devices plugged into the power, but not worry about wasting kilowatts whenever they go into sleep mode.

The surge protector is particularly effective for PCs. If a PC is shut off or goes to sleep, the surge protectors cuts power supply to connected PC peripherals like printers and monitors. When a PC is switched on, the power supply to peripherals is activated. The power strip isn't visually pretty, but it can pay for itself if you use a lot of consumer electronics.

Depending on the connected equipment, using the GreenPower MDP 900 can return as much as $100 to $130 annually, a Monster Cable spokesperson said. That's pretty close to its $129.95 pricetag.

Mobile TV goggles