Pepcom’s Digital Experience is like a small, tame version of the full CES, and yet it’s still overwhelming. My strategy this year was to hone in on a couple of companies and see what I could learn. First stop: GiiNii.

I targeted GiiNii because of the company’s new Wi-Fi photo frame. My experience with eStarling’s early wireless frame was ill-fated. It refused to work any farther than five feet from a router, the screen was smaall, and the troubleshooting process was less than satisfying. GiiNii and several other companies this year are looking to take Wi-Fi frames to the next level. The GiiNii product I saw at Digital Experience, part of the new Pixplus line due out in mid-2009, sported a large 10.1″ display with touch panel at the bottom, and offered up RSS content in addition to photos. This may be the future of the widget station. Buy an Internet-connected device to show off photos, and use it secondarily as a display for other non-TV, Internet content. The GiiNii frame shows streams of content from FrameChannel.com and HowStuffWorks.com - from weather, to sports scores, to stocks, and more.

Meanwhile, the PixPlus digital frames weren’t even the highlight of GiiNii’s portfolio. The company had an iPod Touch knock-off called the Movit Mini with a 4.3″ touch screen. Engadget dug it and its apparent Android platform. I imagine we’ll see several variations of this theme at cheaper-than-iPod prices in the coming year.

Plus, GiiNii had a patent-pending add-on for cameras letting amateur photographers set up reasonable self-portraits. This is one of those innovations that seems beyond obvious when you see it. The picture below shows how the camera reflects the photo it is taking for the objects of the picture to view. Wonder what your picture will look like before it snaps? GiiNii can help you out with C-U-C-Me technology.

I had never heard of GiiNii before this evening, but I’ll be keeping an eye on them. The company has an impressive line-up… if it can survive the economic woes of the CE market in 2009.

Following Dave by about 24 hours, I arrived in Vegas this afternoon after losing one connecting flight to a cancellation and then boarding another earlier flight in Phoenix for the final leg of the trip. Miraculously my checked luggage even made the transfer successfully, and now I’m here in time to see the hottest porn stars, er, gadgets on the strip. (Like days of old, the Adult Entertainment Expo is riding the coattails of CES.)

Even though it was up in the air whether all of my clothes would make it with me, I, of course, kept all of my gadgets close at hand throughout the travel experience. Pictured below are my new Asus Eee and Slacker G2. Both were perfect for the flight. The Asus maintained a charge most of the way and fit nicely on my tray table. Unlike Dave’s experience with the MSI Wind, I’m finding that my ever-so-dainty fingers do quite well with a netbook. And the Slacker kept me entertained with new tunes and plenty of charge to spare. Also in my bag on this trip are my trusty Sony Cybershot digital camera, the Flip Ultra, and my Zoom audio recorder - all veterans from last year’s show.

Tonight it’s off to get my badge holder and then to Digital Experience, which hopefully will be a step above last night’s Unveiled event. More to come.

Following in the footsteps of my fellow geek bloggers (Gotta Be Mobile, Lilliputing, jkOnTheRun, etc) and marketing peeps (Stage Two Consulting), it’s time for a quick post on the gear I’m toting to cover CES.

While I’ve seen more netbooks than I can count here in the press and blogger lounges, I found the vertical resolution of my (former) 10″ MSI Wind too cramped for efficient blogging. And last years 15″ CES laptop (MacBook Pro) was a bit too bulky. So, I’m packing the new 13″ Macbook (running OS X and Vista Ultimate) in the nicely designed and relatively compact be.ez LAbesace shoulder bag. Of course, I’m also toting a phone - and fully anticipate exceeding my voice minutes and SMS allotment while in Vegas. Additionally, the iPhone allows me to “tweet” efficiently. Although the low-res camera and frequent poor lighting don’t make for the best pics. My trusty pocketable Panasonic Lumix digital still camera does a better job. In fact, it’s my third CES with this very same unit. For Internet connectivity, Kevin Tofel had loaned me an AT&T 3G card he has for review… However, I wasn’t having very good luck with it and am now dependent on the show-provided net access. Wish me luck.

In the non-tech category, I’m carrying a variety of pain-killing medications, ear plugs which allow me to blog in any environment, a few snack bars, and a box of business cards for the obsolete exchange ritual we all continue to support. At every available opportunity, I’ll also help myself to free bottles of water. And as you can see from the pic, my shoes may be casual but they are surely sensible for covering ground across two convention centers. Purell and Chapstick wouldn’t be bad additions, though I don’t currently possess either.

Leaving comments across the blogosphere…

Technology Predictions for 2009
TeleNav is already an excellent application on many handset platforms and carriers. For a more “dedicated” experience, I have a feeling the continually delayed Garmin Nuvifone will be too little, too late, and too buggy. So I’m going on the record and stating Apple will either introduce a new iPhone GPS, or more likely, will offer true GPS turn-by-turn software/directions to iPhone 3G customers. For a fee. (And may continue to lock out third parties, though we’ll see…)

GeekTonic Media Gadget Predictions for 2009
One one hand, I can see BeyondTV going away. But I wonder if the enterprise solution can sustain them. If not, what else does Rakesh have cooking? He’s one sharp dude and he knows how to network. But the broader economic conditions suck. Maybe he’ll surprise you with BTV5 instead.

TV Networks won’t abandon local broadcasts. The national companies and local broadcasters have different, and sometimes conflicting, business models. It’s kinda analogous to car manufacturers and dealerships.

If I hadn’t been stuck on the road this week, I would have done a 2008 wrap up. Oh well! As far as predictions, I generally try to stay away from that. Though I have no problem disagreeing with others. I’m still hoping for an Apple digital camera - if not, how about an iPhone HD with (higher resolution) picture and video capabilities.

Video Innovations We’d Love to See at Macworld Expo
There’s no “check mate” unless an AppleTV tuner handles digital cable. It’d certainly be more compelling than the current ATV, but it’s not going to replace a cable- or satellite-capable set-top box. Which is where most of us get our television programming these days.

TiVo Desktop Has Serious Bugs
Yeah, TiVo Desktop is a bastard child. I paid my money but never use it. Maybe we’ll hear of some updates in Vegas this week, but who knows. Although I’d like to see ALL of the ‘web video’ stuff handled in ‘the cloud’, if not natively on the box. Regarding ‘business deals’, I don’t think there are any. I think it’s just cross-promotional handshake agreements.

Switch to Windows Home Server in 2009?
I agree the new HP Windows Home Server units are compelling. But I’m waiting until after CES (and Macworld)… Bet Drobo intros something new and who knows what Apple’s cooking up.

It’s not the latest. Nor is it the greatest. But if you’re on the market for a budget NAS, $40 is hard to beat. (Shipping looks to run about $8 - $15.) This refurb Buffalo LinkStation Live incorporates a single 320GB drive and is supported by a 90 day warranty. Assuming the unit is similar to an earlier version I owned back in 2005, the Linkstation is powered by Linux, great for tweakability, and supports a variety of media serving and networking options out of the box. (Though, hopefully with a quieter fan.) At the very least, you’ll be able to use this networked drive as part of a backup strategy and/or to centralize an iTunes collection. Once you’ve picked up the LinkStation Live, head on over to Buffalo Tech’s support site for the latest device firmware and desktop utilities. Thanks for the tip, Jon!

With the netbook craze in full swing, there is some fear that the new cheap portables will inspire a “race to the bottom” for laptop makers. In other words, manufacturers will get squeezed as consumers expect cheaper and cheaper computers available in retail or subsidized with mobile broadband contracts. So is this a bad thing? Certainly not for consumers, but even for computer companies there’s one big upside to declining prices. Namely, computers suddenly have the potential to hit replacement cycles that are much closer to cell phones than PCs of old.

I adore my new Asus Eee. Fast, shiny, and portable, I consider it a dream machine. However, reading today’s GigaOM column in The New York Times about tablet netbooks with built in cellular connectivity, I found myself thinking about a possible upgrade. I immediately checked myself, then thought twice. I bought my Eee for work, and it cost less than a third of what my old Dell did. If something cool comes out this year, there’s no reason I can’t eBay the Eee and buy again. That would drop my computer replacement cycle from two to three years down to one. Not such a bad thing at all.

Last year was the year CES jumped on the green bandwagon, going over the top to promote new energy-saving initiatives and ways to offset the show’s massive carbon footprint. It was all a bit ridiculous given the numerous ways in which the CE industry and CES in particular are environmentally unfriendly. (You know, lots of disposable parts, icky manufacturing chemicals, and people like me flying from all over the world to meet up in Las Vegas…) However, the environmental measures were a step in the right direction, and even the green hype has its benefits.

This year, more CES exhibitors have joined in the green fun. In all of the pre-CES pitch emails I’ve received, green tech is the category that shows up the most often. And there’s some cool stuff set to launch. If the marketing is to be believed, we’ll soon see remote controls that never run out of power, new mats that charge your gadgets without their power cords, and technology that reduces the carbon emissions of idling PCs. I’m a little skeptical of first-gen products as they tend to be too expensive, or not quite convenient enough. But I’m determined to be open-minded. And even if the first-gen products aren’t market-changing, there’s always the next generation, and the one after that.

Meanwhile, other folks are spotting parallel trends out of this year’s CES PR push. Dean Takahashi reports that 3D displays and glasses are likely to be big, while the PC Mag crew are prepping for ultra-thin HDTVs and lots of new notebooks and netbooks. Mark Spoonauer over at Laptop Magazine declares that “cheap is the new cool” as far as CES gadgets are concerned, and Jeff Bakalar at CNET is predicting a bigger gaming presence at CES this year than last.

It’s only another week and a half until the fun begins. Any reader predictions? Anything you want me and Dave to scout out?