New gadgets at show range from useful to amusing

May Wong

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

From a digital frying pan to a wrist watch with a camera, the gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas promise a future with more computer chirps and portable convenience than ever before.

Sales of consumer electronics devices such as DVD players, camcorders, MP3 players, and other mobile devices hit a record $90.1 billion last year in the United States, the Consumer Electronics Association said.

Sales are up 10 percent from 1999, and are expected to reach $95.6 billion in 2001.

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said consumer electronics are the online store's fastest-growing segment. Huge sales in devices such as the Palm IIIXE handheld digital assistant helped make electronics the company's second-highest revenue generator in 2000, he said.

It won't be long before electronics surpass books as the company's biggest draw, he predicted.

"They're perishable items," Bezos said. "The shelf life is short, and people have to keep getting the latest product."

Vendors spread out a plethora of new consumer products -- some useful, some amusing -- over more than 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at the trade show.

Here's a sampling of wares American consumers can expect this year: