The future of home entertainment

The annual technology bacchanalia that is the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, held Jan. 7 — 10, brought the requisite high-end aspirational purchases, the about-to-be-for-sale doodads, and the give-it-a-few-years-to-trickle-down innovations. 3-D TVs made the biggest splash, but they weren’t the only electro-goodies that caught our eye.

1. Invasion of the 3-D TVs!
Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, LG, and others announced 3-D HDTVs that should be available later this year, but none is ready — or priced — just yet. Almost every model requires special glasses, but it could be worth it: Toshiba says its upcoming Cell TV (pictured) will be able to turn any 2-D programming into 3-D.

2. Find Your Inner James Cameron
The very first consumer-geared 3-D camcorder will be available from Panasonic this fall…for a mere $21,000.

3. For Control Freaks
The remote that comes with Samsung’s LED 9000 television is itself a functioning TV screen, while Sling Media’s Sling Touch Control 100 lets you program your DVR on its touch screen. Both should be available soon.

4. Fun With Words
The dual-screen Alex (priced at $359 and set to ship Feb. 22) and the periodical-friendly touch-screen Skiff are two CES-debuting e-readers that should make Kindle and Nook shake in their E Ink boots. Now for that rumored Apple tablet…

5. DTV on the Go
LG’s DP570MH ($250, due later this year) is a DVD-capable mobile DTV that works without a subscription. It’s the holy grail of portable viewing.