The annual Consumer Electronics Show — a yearly toys-for-grown-ups festival — unveiled a gaggle of new gadgets, few of them groundbreaking, but many that could be useful to small and mid-size businesses.

Among the most intriguing were the flood of solid state storage devices. This new technology for data storage is becoming very popular with data managers, and the trend in devices is toward those that are easy to use and tough as nails.

In fact, among the most discussed events at this year’s show were the demos of just how rugged these drives are being made these days. One demo blasted a drive with fire, soaked it with a firehose and then dropped it 40 feet to a parking lot pavement. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the drive was then run over by a bulldozer.

It survived.

Most of these devices come with simple-to-use software that makes backing up to them a cinch for even the least tech-savvy execs who have important data that need archiving.

Smartphones got their share of attention at the show as well, but the big news during the week was Google’s introduction of its Android-based phone, Nexus One, which Google hopes will challenge the popularity of Apple’s iPhone.

But for many exhibitors at the show, introducing applications and add-ons to the iPhone was Job 1 at this year’s gathering. In fact, IDC analyst Frank Gens predicts that by the end of 2010, Apple’s smartphone will be the focus of 300,000 apps — triple the number there are now.

Ford, it seems, is leading the auto-making pack when it comes to integrating technology in their vehicles. The auto company was at the show touting an F-350 pickup truck with Windows Embedded XP running on a computer integrated into the truck’s dashboard.

All standard office productivity tools were running on the computer, along with special software designed to let a contractor keep track of tools and materials on the go.

The show was also the site for the unveiling of a number of netbooks, some of them with dazzlingly long battery life and super low pricetags.

Of course, once again, Apple’s plans dominated the chatter about portable computers. The company, ever secretive about plans and products, is expected to introduce a tablet computer within the next several weeks that will offer stiff competition to the folks at HP, Toshiba, Dell and Leonovo, all of which showed off new portable tablet units at CES.

And finally, some mesmerizing tiny projectors — pico projectors — were introduced at the show. These little devices let you make mobile presentations just about anywhere without having to lug along a big unit that will display your PowerPoint presentation.

Sort of a projector in the pocket that would dazzle many customers and clients with its capability and size.