As you gaze out of the window at the winter wonderland that is the UK, spare a thought for your humble Cravers, sating your gadget needs at the world's biggest technology show. The Consumer Electronics Show 2010 has kicked off here in Las Vegas. We headed down to the traditional opening night, CES Unveiled, a sneak peek at some of the weird and wonderful products that will be making headlines over the next week, alongside some boring processors and stuff. We picked out some of the wackier products as a warm-up to the show.
From the Parrot AR.Drone drawing a crowd to what will probably be the first of many tablet/ebook mashups, click through our photos to see the cool stuff you really don't need. And a polar bear.
Every CES is trumpeted as the year of 3D, but this year it seems there's some real momentum behind the technology. We spotted this interview being recorded in three dimensions, complete with two cameras and a cameraman in 3D glasses checking the final image on the monitor in the front.
Here's a picture of a polar bear with a telly in its stomach. Thanks, Hannspree.
Powermat wants you to charge your phone without plugging it in. The problem is your phone needs to wear a whacking great jacket to do so -- but not any more. Powermat is showing off phone batteries for a range of handsets with wireless charging technology built in.
Liquid Image provides you with just that -- photos and videos taken underwater. As well as the sleek goggles in our main image, you could also take a dip with this serious-looking high-definition rig. It boasts room for two extendable torches to light up the murk, and can shoot 720p video. Cleverly, the goggles light up red or blue so you know whether you're shooting stills or video.
We were very excited about the Parrot AR Drone when we saw the introductory video, but the real thing is slightly less impressive. Yes, it's a cool-looking remote-control toy helicopter thingy, and it was certainly the most popular bit of Unveiled, but the clever augmented-reality iPhone controls were conspicuous by their absence.
The Parrot AR drone at rest.
Ebook readers and tablet PCs look set to be another theme of the show. The enTourage eDGe is both, a folding dual-screen netbook.
The eDGe packs a 246mm (9.7 inch) E-Ink screen for reading ebooks, and a 254mm (10-inch) LCD screen for browsing the Web.
The eDGe looks cool, despite its ridiculous name.
If you've ever broken down, had a power cut or your iPhone has eaten its battery yet again, mpower has the solution. Not only has this torch been designed by midlife crisis-meisters Porsche, it also packs a second battery. When the first set of batteries die, simply crack open the second and you get an extra squirt of power.
The real genius is that it also includes a USB connection, so you can see what you're doing and make a call at the same time.
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