Oddballs, fun toys from the CES show floor (photos)
For every 3D TV at CES 2010, you can find four or five much-less-famous products in small booths around the show floor. Some are ingenious, some innovative, and some are downright odd.
CNET Editor at Large Rafe Needleman enjoys the 5.1 Sound Egg stereo chair. He says it sounds phenomenal. Its aesthetic, on the other hand, is up for debate.
2 of 12 Rafe Needleman/CNET
Scotty, beam me to CES
Now you can have your very own Star Trek communicator. This Internet phone, designed to take your Skype calls, is manufactured by tech gizmo company Dream Cheeky and even makes authentic communicator beeps.
3 of 12 Rafe Needleman/CNET
Enterprising Webcam
Dream Cheeky also makes this Star Trek Enterprise Webcam.
4 of 12 Rafe Needleman/CNET
Like the AR.Drone, but grounded
The eye in this robot is actually a camera. With its remote, you can get a sneaky ankle-high view of the I-bot's surroundings. If you'd like to see your subjects' faces, you'll need to stick with the AR.Drone.
5 of 12 Lindsey Turrentine/CNET
Electronic cigarettes confuse bar owners everywhere
A rep for e-cigarette-maker Smoking Everywhere demonstrates the battery-based nicotine-delivery system, which gives off only a puff of water vapor. In cities with smoking bans, this product probably inspires some interesting confrontations.
6 of 12 Lindsey Turrentine/CNET
No need for a lighter...
...but you will need to recharge your e-cigarette from time to time.
7 of 12 Lindsey Turrentine/CNET
Beamz get CES crowds waving awkwardly
The Beamz digital instrument uses hand movements and beams of lights to make music. At CES, the crowd enjoyed slicing through empty air to make tunes, but we can't say they looked cool doing it.
8 of 12 Lindsey Turrentine/CNET
Yogen extends battery life with people power
Yogen makes a gadget charger that lets you power up your phone with a pull of a string--useful in a pinch, and probably burns at least a handful of calories in the process.
9 of 12 Lindsey Turrentine/CNET
Personal theater blocks out sun, potential dates
This hat, as modeled by Rafe Needleman, lets you watch your portable video player even in bright, outdoor environments. It's also the strangest headgear beyond Lady Gaga's hat rack.
10 of 12 Rafe Needleman/CNET
DIY swag from Lego
At the Lego Universe booth, show-goers can put together their very own Lego mini figure.
11 of 12 Nicole Lee/CNET
Phones meet furbys
Remember Furbys? This phone never got over the decline of fuzzy robot popularity.