As the giant annual Consumer Electronics Show is getting set to kick off in Las Vegas, NY1’s Technology reporter Adam Balkin provides a quick preview of the show’s innovative gizmos.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is going to be a week-long, eye-opening experience for anyone with even the slightest interest in technology. And before it all begins, “CES Unveiled” is a relatively small room full of just some of the gadgets to be unveiled this week, to get the media excited about the upcoming showcase.

Crowds gathered the most around booths that promoted a world with wireless power. One company offers a “Powermat,” which recharges devices without plugs or cords.

“As an example, you have an iPhone receiver. I place the receiver on the mat. It's also efficient in that in charges your devices as fast as your own adaptor,” says Ron Ferber of Powermat.

Convergence is also expected to be a major theme, as more and more devices do things one might not necessarily expect them to do, like “bluetooth sunglasses.”

“You can pair the glasses to your phone and an mp3 player,” says Isaac Levy of Tri-Specs, Inc. “You can listen to music in stereo wirelessly and take and receive calls at the same time and we have phenomenal noise cancelation. It does not pick up any of the surrounding noise or wind.”

Other glasses on display aid 3-D video conferencing with the Minoru webcam.

“It's got two eyes and it'll film a 3-D image, two images that are layered on the computer. Send someone the 3-D glasses they can watch you in real time on MSN, Skype,” says a company representative.

During 2009, technology will also focus on environmentally-friendly products. Developers say new Fuji EnviroMAX batteries are landfill-safe, unlike standard batteries.

“The plastic that holds it in and the wrapper that you can see the writing on is all PET plastic, instead of rather toxic PVC that most everyone else uses,” says Jeff Kreidenweis of Fuji EnviroMAX Batteries. “Inside there's recycled paper used as an insulator, a very pure iron, so the metal eventually rusts, lets out the inert material, and it all goes away.”

Given the number of new devices that will require batteries, the arrival of some biodegradable batteries is welcome news.