Early in 2004, Sony’s Kaz Hirai, a young scientist (same name but not related to the present chairman) came into my apartment with a slew of technicians from Japan to do an experiment with a 12 inch TV that could bring you your favorite TV stations,

an Internet browser, email, streaming video content and several video games and productivity tools in one 12 inch package.

The Location Free TV (LFTV), priced at $800 to $1000, would provide this without any antenna or cable TV hookup, but would require an active Ethernet or WiFi connection. The unit weighs much less than a conventional TV of that size, has a decent screen…maybe not total HD but sharper than most TVs… about the same as a good computer monitor. In fact, there was a little heaver 23 inch model that was supposed to become the first all-around entertainment and computer center in one package

Once the very nervous (his superiors were monitoring his progress and lack of progress from Japan via cellphone) Hirai got the device working, I was able to take it from room to room and even down the hall from my apartment. The TV signal occasionally failed, as did the Internet WiFi connection. But once adjusted, it was a very useful device for viewing and listening to content anywhere in the house wirelessly.

When it was released to the public about a year later, the device was stripped of some of its features, and was called an immediate dud by retailers who couldn’t find a way to sell and market it …the same retailers who are now buying any and all Tablets no matter what quality or feature. The few consumers who purchased this device from Sony were extremely happy to be not just early adopters but to be able to use their entertainment content more easily and in more places, but eventual poor tech support and lack of commitment from Sony and its retailers killed the device, though various off shoots of it are still around today.

I liked the portability of having my content anywhere and anytime in my house. The Location Free TV’s presence in my home pretty much matches what I have configured now: Some high powered Tablets that my family members keep with them almost all the time…some budget models for kitchen and garage, and some new loaners I use for heavy use like Slingbox TV, Netflix and attached to TVs for bigger screen viewing..

One of my best techie friends augments this configuration with the award winning Logitech Squeezebox, ensuring that her home audio is synchronized music everywhere.

Only a few months after the Location Free launch, Microsoft and others had created a home network standard that allowed for content sharing including television, streaming video and audio content and other features. In addition, products came out only a year later that could transmit television, radio and digital pictures onto laptops and desktops from anywhere in the house to anywhere in the world. So the demise of that version of Location Free TV was swift. The technology remains as part of the Play Station portables and Play Station consoles and also as part of Sony and other Android based tablets.

And now, Tablets (other than Apple) are relatively cheap, starting at $100, and Internet enabled LCD TVs can be purchased for under $400, so Sony’s original ideas of all content everywhere has come to fruition….it’s just that there are many other brands sharing those spaces in your home.

Bytes and Pieces: At the recent Blue Tooth event in NYC, I had lots of fun playing with the next generation of Blue Tooth devices that provide wireless connectivity to everything from audio video products and toys to the newest innovation in Blue Tooth technology: health and medical devices. Ironically, the guy with some of the best products represented a not for profit group. Chuck Parker, executive director of the Continua Health Alliance, runs an international not-for-profit industry organization enabling end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity of personal health devices and services. I particularly liked the Omron Blood Pressure device that sends results directly to your computer or to your doctor’s office. “These services will empower information-driven health self-management and facilitate the incorporation of health and wellness into the day-to-day lives of consumers,” said Parker.

Continua Design Guidelines establish standards-based guidelines and security for connected health technologies such as smartphones, gateways and remote monitoring devices. With nearly 220 member companies worldwide, Continua is comprised of technology, medical device and healthcare industry leaders and service providers.

My Favorite Very affordable Digital Cameras

Samsung’s WiFi enabled DV300, is a Dual LCD 16MP so called Smart Camera that gives you a great bang for your money (under $150). Not only does it have a decent lens and very fast processor, it’s the only consumer-based model that enables you to send your pictures directly to your favorite web site, and/or send them to your PC or phone quickly and wirelessly. The DV300 also shoots video in HD and its 5 times zoom capability was more than adequate to shoot the dog, cat, and kids.

The GE Branded cameras, a division of General Imaging, that purchased the license to make and market a new line of digital cameras, is doing very well with the GE Power Pro series X500.

The X500 is a 16 megapixel Digital Camera that’s available for under $100. The X500 features an electronic view finder, 16-megapixel, optical image stabilization, a powerful 15X optical zoom and 27 mm wide angle lens that brings you closer to the action. An extremely easy to set up camera, the X500 has some very advanced modes for a budget camera, including shutter and aperture priority modes; high dynamic range and smile, blink and face detection.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZI

Last but not least in this week’s roundup of very affordable digital cameras, is the Lumix DMC-SZi. After tooling around with the others (including the Sony DSC 650, which we reviewed several months ago), the Lumix won our hearts for its speed, accuracy and seemingly faster zoom than its competitors. The DMC-SZ1 features a powerful 10x optical zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent: 25-250mm) and uses a proprietary recognition system that seems to be able to capture very natural expressions from people and animals in quality that you would expect from cameras costing five times the under $200 cost. It also lets you use 10 times optical zoom in video recording.

Skype Video goes to the next level on your TV

While the ever popular Skype has beaten off many challenges from good to great competitors in the online telephony and online home video business, until recently you had to have your computer or laptop or Tablet in the living room to experience the Skype video phenomenon or any other online video connection. Then Panasonic and a few other TV makers put a video cam in their higher end TVs. But the cost wasn’t worth getting a new TV for. Recently, Logitech lunched a high definition web (Logitech TV Cam HD ) cam that connects to any TV with an HDMI input. Its wide angle lens and high caliber video picture is absolutely terrific. For security reasons it should have an on/ off switch in case you decide on some hanky panky in the living room. (You can do a total disconnect by pulling out the AC adapter. It operates just like its computer driven cousin in that you can make phone calls with or without video (for free to other Skypers) or with very little cost to non Skypers. You have full control of where you zoom all without having to ever physically touch and move the lens. The two times zoom allows you to focus on any part of the room. You can pan and tilt with the remote digital pad arrow buttons. Show your granddaughter’s Halloween painted face or your son’s batting stance.

With “beam-forming” and unidirectional technologies, the microphones are optimized to help dampen ambient noise. The Logitech TV Cam HD even works under low light situations if you are monitoring the baby. The $199 web cam requires no software and uses the ubiquitous Skype interface.

Hisense: The next Vizio…or the next Panasonic?

Hisense, whose biggest successes to date, has been to make appliances for almost all the famous brand names, will be entering the U.S. market under its own TV name for the first time using a high powered high featured LED Smart TV as their stalking horse in the highly competitive higher end of the TV market.

Hisense, a Chinese OEM, now headquartered in Georgia, has been an original equipment manufacturer, making high quality, low cost TVs for Best Buy and Walmart. Hisense, the sixth largest TV maker in the world, will be adding to their budget conscious but full featured 60 megahertz (The model K20) with sizes ranging from 24 to 46 inches. “Anyone looking for solid performance at a reasonable price will be delighted with the K20,” said JoAnne Foist, Director of Marketing at Hisense USA. “This group of beautiful TVs checks all the boxes for at-home entertainment, whether it be games, movies or live TV.

But Hisense will be going head to head with the market leaders in the 2160 and 4K (next generation HD) pixel arena, launching models from 50 to 65 inches. In addition to the standard 3D and Smart TV capabilities powering a variety of 3D movies, live TV, streamed content, web browsing and search, social networking, games and apps, the WiFi-enabled model XT880 features a detachable camera that supports facial recognition, gesture control and services such as Skype calling.

“This XT880 series brings together all of the latest features available on high-end televisions today,” said Foist.