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Feast your eyes on 2017's smart, goofy small appliances

Small appliance makers showed off their newest products last weekend at the annual International Home and Housewares Show (IHHS) in Chicago. Here's the countertop gadgetry that stood out, from the inventive to the questionable.

Ashlee Clark Thompson
Ashlee spent time as a newspaper reporter, AmeriCorps VISTA and an employee at a healthcare company before she landed at CNET. She loves to eat, write and watch "Golden Girls" (preferably all three at the same time). The first two hobbies help her out as an appliance reviewer. The last one makes her an asset to trivia teams. Ashlee also created the blog, AshleeEats.com, where she writes about casual dining in Louisville, Kentucky.
Brian Bennett Former Senior writer
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Ashlee Clark Thompson
Brian Bennett
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Aquasana Active Clean Water Machine

The $149 Bluetooth-enabled Aquasana Active Clean Water Machine keeps tabs on how much water it filters and sends that info to a compatible app.

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Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker

You connect the $70 Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker the cooker to your home's Wi-Fi network, and you can use Black & Decker's iOS or Android app to change the cook settings while you're away.

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Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker

The slow cooker has three cook settings: low, high and warm.

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Bonavita 8-Cup Connoisseur Brewer

Bonavita displayed a protoype of its new Bonavita 8-Cup Connoisseur Brewer. This machine will have design enhancements over the current BV1900TS model.

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Bonavita Entry Level 8-Cup Glass Carafe Brewer

Bonavita also showcased its Entry Level 8-Cup Glass Carafe Brewer which lacks a thermal carafe, is made from mostly plastic, but should cost much less than the company's flagship.

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TaC Brew Coffee Brewer

Bonavita rounded out its display with another new coffee maker. Made by Victor & Victoria, the TaC Coffee Brewer uses a timer and 3 AAA batteries to make rich coffee in the immersion and pour-over style.

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Char-Broil SmartChef TRU-Infrared Gas Grill

This $800 gas grill from Char-Broil has Wi-Fi so you can monitor cooking temperatures from a Char-Broil iOS app.

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Char-Broil SmartChef TRU-Infrared Gas Grill

The grill's app also includes guided cooking instructions that will walk you step-by-step through a recipe.

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Gourmia Fryers

Gourmia brought its $150 FryHigh Auto Rotisserie Multi-Fryer (roughly converted to £120 and AU$195) and $180 Free Fry 360-Degree Turbo XP Air Fryer with Wi-Fi (roughly £145 and £235), both of which are equipped with Wi-Fi and a camera so you can watch your food cook from an app.

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Gourmia Fryers

The prototype fryer on display had a camera called the Cook Cam attached to the outside of the cooker looking into the fryer through a clear window.

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Gourmia Fryers

You'll be able to take photos and video while your food is cooking through the iOS and Android Gourmia apps.

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KitchenAid Stand Mixer

KitchenAid supersized its stand mixer for the company's booth at IHHS.

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KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker

KitchenAid's $130 Cold Brew Coffee Maker made of premium glass and steel materials instead of basic plastic like other models.

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KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The brewer's compact size designed to squeeze into tight spots in your refrigerator and has a convenient handle for transporting it to your countertop.

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Melitta Signature Series Pour-Over

German coffee product maker Melitta says its new $20 Signature Series Pour-Over has subtle improvements designed to make creating a good cup of joe foolproof.

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GrowWall

The $600 GrowWall uses hydroponics to grow plants indoors.

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GrowWall

There are also smaller versions of the GrowWall, like this cube full of succulents.

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Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle

Coffee products were big at IHHS this year. A rep from the manufacturer Oxo uses the company's new $100 Gooseneck Kettle.

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Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle

You can use Oxo's kettle with the brand's Glass Pour-Over Set coffee maker.

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Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle

The kettle will heats and hold water at a specific temperatures between 170 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Oxo Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Oxo also has a new $100 conical burr grinder that relies on a timer to measure the amount of beans it grinds.

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Sansaire Delta

The $249 Sansaire Delta sous vide device mounts on standard household stock pots to create water baths at precisely controlled temperatures.

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Sansaire Delta

The Delta's front face, the part that hangs outside your pot, has an LED display to communicate the current water temperature. The device also contains Wi-Fi that links it to a companion mobile app (iOS and Android).

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Sobro Smart Coffee Table

The coffee table also contains USB ports and AC outlets for charging your devices.

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Sobro Smart Coffee Table

The Sobro's touch controls live on the table's top right-hand side corner. They command the table's audio playback and activate its array of color shifting LED lights.

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Sobro Smart Coffee Table

The coffee table's creators have launched an Indiegogo campaign for the product, which will retail for $1,000.

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Sobro Smart Coffee Table

The Sobro smart coffee table plays music, charges laptops and phones. It also includes a small refrigerator for cold beverages.

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StinkBoss

The $169 StinkBoss uses ozone and heat to deodorize and disinfect items that might not be great for a washing machine, such as shoes or sports equipment.

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Vitamix Ascent Series

The containers that come with the new Vitamix Ascent Series blenders and the blenders themselves will use near-field communication (NFC), which lets two devices talk to one another when they are close to one another.

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Vitamix Ascent Series

The new Vitamix blenders start at $470 (roughly £380 and AU$610).

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Vitamix Ascent Series

The Ascent blenders are also equipped with Bluetooth wireless connectivity. It's disabled right now, but Vitamix plans to turn that feature on this fall. The plan is for the blenders to connect to the Perfect Blend app from the Perfect Company, the creator of smart kitchen scales and apps that guide you through recipes based on the weight of your ingredients.

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