Tampa tech show brings out the apps and gadgets

Rubber frogs that remind you to take your reusable bags out of the car when you arrive at the supermarket. Apple iPad apps that let you peer into far away lands. And LED lights that use far less power than even "green" bulbs.

Tampa technology companies put their niftiest gadgets on display Friday at the Tampa Bay Technology Forum's annual coolTECH show. While the Bay area might not be known as a technology hotbed, there are several start-up projects aimed at breaking through that image.

•The Tour Wrist app developed by Spark Labs of Tampa is getting national attention as one of Apple's more popular apps, with 20,000 downloads a week. Using an iPhone or iPad, users can dial up and peer through panoramic photos from all over the world. By holding an iPad up and spinning around, the user simultaneously turns the image, so they can "peer" around a hotel room, for example, or scan Venice's rooftops and canals as if from a high position. The company has signed deals with Remax to show homes for sale and car companies so potential buyers can check out the interiors and see just where the cup holders are.

•The Electronic System Innovators startup is developing a small, wireless-enabled rubber frog that rides in consumers' cars and detects when the driver enters a store's parking lot, reminding them to bring in their reusable bags. Now in market research, the company is making deals with grocery stores to integrate live coupon deals.

•The Casey Group's iPad app Keyoobi uses an iPhone or iPad to merge digital maps with a worker's appointment book to lay out the most efficient driving route. It also sets off alerts if appointments are impossible to make.

•Altorr Corporation demonstrated its voice-activated systems, originally designed for injured vets and the elderly, that open doors, or turn on fans and lights.

•LEDnovation is based in Westchase, and is developing LED lighting for residential and commercial use with more pleasant color than typical alternative lights. They also use a fraction of the power of incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs.