European technology show puts no limits on ideas, price

HANOVER, Germany — When it comes to gadgets, there appears to be no limit in idea or price.

At least that’s the impression you get strolling the halls of CeBIT, the world’s biggest tech fair.

A new Samsung Corp. MP3 players aimed squarely at the luxury market practically guarantees it won’t be mistakenly left behind at a restaurant.

The pocket watch-like player is encrusted with diamond studs. Twelve of them.

Besides the diamonds, the player features up to one gigabyte of memory as well as an FM radio. It will sell for less than $1,000, Samsung says.

Other technologies on show at CeBIT, which an estimated half million people are expected to visit before the fair ends Wednesday, are all about helping us find our way, even if that can be a little distracting.

Navigation software and hardware maker TomTom is taking global-positioning, which is already showing up on most automakers’ list of options, and putting it in motorcycles and mopeds.

Dubbed the TomTom RIDER, the product comes ready to be installed on most motorcycles or scooters. Plug-and-play by design, the device sports a touchscreen that works with leather gloves, as well as anti-glare screen and sun visor to keep visibility easy.

It comes preinstalled with feature-rich maps, and a voice (available in 30 languages) provides turn-by-turn instructions through a Bluetooth headset.

Other products focused on security, such as the “palm vein” scanner exhibited by Japan’s Fujitsu.

Using infrared light, the device, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, scans the palm of a person’s hand. In doing so, it checks the person’s vein patterns — and if they match those on file, can open a door or give them access to a computer.

“In the future it will be possible for a bank’s customers to withdraw funds from cashpoints with a single hand gesture,” the company said of the device, which doesn’t require any contact with the hand.

Sony Ericsson, the joint venture between LM Ericsson and Sony Corp., launched a mobile camera, sort of, dubbed the ROB-1.

Sporting a small camera, the sphere-like device moves about on three wheels, steered via a Bluetooth connection to a cell phone that can be up to 165 feet away.

Its onboard camera can pivot upward by 70 degrees or down by 20 degrees. Snap a picture and it’s stored in the device’s onboard memory or sent to your phone.

The device is 4.3 inches in diameter and can move forward, backward and around corners. Its camera can transmit live images back to the phone controlling it.

It’s expected to go on sale by the fall, but a price wasn’t disclosed.