Never leave your bed again

The Starry Night Sleep Technology Bed is loaded with high-tech features.

Michelle Thatcher Former Senior Associate Editor, Laptops

Tech expert Michelle Thatcher grew up surrounded by gadgets and sustained by Tex-Mex cuisine. Life in two major cities--first Chicago, then San Francisco--broadened her culinary horizons beyond meat and cheese, and she's since enjoyed nearly a decade of wining, dining, and cooking up and down the California coast. Though her gadget lust remains, the practicalities of her small kitchen dictate that single-function geegaws never stay around for long.

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Michelle Thatcher

Jan. 8, 2008 10:21 a.m. PT

2 min read

Starry Night Sleep Technology Bed — So...inviting... Michelle Thatcher/CNET

In the midst of the CES craziness, I often fantasize about returning home and spending an entire day in bed, recovering. If only I could stage my recovery in the Starry Night Sleep Technology Bed from Leggett & Platt; not only is it oh-so-comfortable, but it's loaded with enough technology to make even a wide-awake geek drool.

First, there are multiple features designed to help you sleep better--which, after all, is the main point. The bed is divided into two independently adjustable sections, and in addition to setting head and foot angle, each occupant can control the bed temperature, thus avoiding night chills and sweats. When the vibration sensors in the head of the bed detect snoring, it will automatically lift your head to a seven-degree angle to open up your air passageways, then return to the original position when the snoring subsides. A diagnostic feature can monitor your body movement and breathing patterns for 30 days, then give tips on sleeping better. And frankly, it's comfortable: During my (all-too-brief) test drive, the bed was both soft and supportive.

I was thinking it couldn't get any better, but then it got ridiculous. The company rep hit a button on a remote and four cylinders ascended from each corner of the bed. It was the surround-sound system, with four eight-inch subwoofers and an audiophile ribbon tweeter. Another button revealed a 1080p headboard projector that lets you project movies onto your bedroom wall. There's even a built-in iPod docking station.

The whole thing runs courtesy of Windows Media Center, a ridiculous 1.5 terabytes of disc storage (handy for the DVR capability), and 4GB of RAM, all embedded in the suede-covered headboard.

With all those great features, you could spend your life almost entirely in bed. And you might have to: the Starry Night Sleep Technology Bed will cost between $20,000 and $50,000, or roughly the down payment on a house. If that sounds dreamy to you, look for it in 2009. Meanwhile, check out CNET TV for video of the bed in action.