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See how the one percent lives, one $65,000 LED bed at a time

New York's Luxury Technology Show offers insanely expensive therapy beds, leather-clad phones and high-end jet-skis. And we tried them all.

David Carnoy
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
David Carnoy
Luxurious tech
Luxurious tech
2:56
1 of 46 David Carnoy/CNET

Luxurious tech

New York's Luxury Technology Show is a collection of frivolous devices that are extra-expensive, just because they can be.

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LightSim LED Bed

That's CNET's very own Bridget Carey relieving her pain on the LightSim LED Bed. It costs $65,000. International pricing information isn't available, but that's about £52,000 or AU$85,000.

LightSim says it's the first LED Bed with over-the-counter FDA clearance to "temporarily relieve muscle, joint, and arthritic pain and increase local blood circulation." That's worth the price, right Bridget?

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Pangeabed

Pangea's marketing pitch for its copper-infused bed is "A luxurious copper mattress at an affordable price." It was comfortable -- and relatively reasonable at $1,100 (about £880 or AU$1,400) for the king size mattress.

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Sleepy time

The Pangea bed with a little lighting to set the mood.

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Rapael Smart Glove

Neoefect's Rapael Smart Glove may look a little like the NES Power Glove, but it's really a medical device that's an "active finger and hand rehabilitation solution." We wrote a story about the Rapael at CES 2017.

The Rapael has been approved by both the US and South Korean Food and Drug Administration. It is offered in two versions: one for clinics and one for home use. The home version is available to rent monthly for $99, which converts to about £80 or AU$135.

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Ono smartphone 3D printer

The Ono is a compact $99 3D printer that lets you print stuff from your phone. The price converts to about £80 or AU$130.

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Ono

You can easily share 3D designs with friends.

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Ono output

Here's some samples of its output. The resins aren't so cheap: It's about $15 (£10 or AU$20), which allows you to make a handful of objects.

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Tidal Force Wave 5 planar magnetic headphone

Tidal Force has been diligently preparing its new Wave 5 planar magnetic headphone for its April launch. Previously high-end planar magnetic headphones have cost upwards of $1,000, but we're seeing more "affordable" models lately and the Wave 5 carries a $300 list price. International pricing isn't available, but it's about £240 or AU$390.

Since it's an open-back headphone, you really need to test it in a quiet room -- which I couldn't do -- so I can't tell you how good it sounded.

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Lomographic Cameras

Lomography defines itself as "a globally active organization dedicated to analog, experimental and creative photography." Yes, you heard right, analog, not digital, which means real film. It sells a host of advanced "toy" cameras, with the highest end model going for around $250. That's about £200 or AU$325.

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More Lomographic cameras

The full assortment of Lomographic cameras on display: The Supersampler, Lubitel 166+, Horizon cameras, Fisheye Cameras, Diana F+, Diana Mini, Spinner 360°, Sprocket Rocket, LC-Wide, La Sardina, LomoKino, Belair X 6-12, Konstruktor, LC-A 120 and Lomo'Instant.

A new higher-end model with a glass lens is arriving soon.

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Theil Aurora

Known for its high-end wired speakers, Thiel has now entered the wireless fray with its Aurora line of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speakers, which start at $600. International pricing isn't available, but that's about £480 or AU$780.

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Mancan

This $40 beer growler is pretty manly. The price converts to about £30 or AU$50.

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Tap a backpack

Mancans on the go.

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Drink in that sound

Due out soon, the Echobox Explorer ($600 or about £480 or AU$780) is a high-resolution audio player that looks like a flask.

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Echobox Explorer up close

Wood you buy one?

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LumiDiet abdominal manager belt

LumiDiet, which allegedly helps shrink your waist line, has apparently been a big hit in Korea. It's not available in the US yet, though you can get it on Amazon for a $1,000.

Apparently, it uses uses LFR (Light Fat Reduction) technology with 188 LEDs and vibration function to trim that fat. One of the reps told me it would be coming to US and cost around $500. That's about £400 or AU$650.

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Before and after

LumiDiet testimonial photos. Of course, it's hard to confirm whether the device actually works without using it.

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LumiDiet from another angle

I'm not sure you can wear it around all the time, but it does give you a high-tech look. Shame it isn't also a step tracker.

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Hifiman headphones

Several high-end headphones were on the floor, including Hifiman's. Pictured is the $3,000 HE1000 V2. International pricing isn't available, but that converts to about £2,400 or AU$4,000.

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Tequila sundown

Every luxury show has boutique tequila distributed by lanky servers who get photobombed by the bartender.

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Turing liquid-metal phone

The original Turing Phone is made with liquid-metal and billed as being stronger than titanium and steel -- and extra secure against hackers. The first Turing runs the Sailfish OS and cost $610 (about £490 or AU$790) for the 16GB version. The next version, coming later this year, will run Android.

Don't worry, you won't have to wear a spiked leather glove to use the phone, but it is a good look if you can pull it off.

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Sirin Labs Android phone

Perhaps you've heard of Sirin Labs. It's the company that makes insanely expensive Android phones that cost around $15,000. That's a lot of green. International pricing isn't available, but it converts to about £12,000 or AU$19,600.

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Zeeq smart pillow

Everything can be smart these days, even pillows. Meet the Zeeq, the $300 pillow that tells you how loud you snore. Its price converts to about £240 or AU$390.

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The Stromer

There was only one electric bike and it was Swiss -- the Stromer ST2. And you'll need a Swiss bank account to afford this ride. It's $10,000 or about £8,000 or AU$13,000.

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Lux auto

We've seen BMWs and Maseratis at other luxury shows. The Tesla Model X starts at $75,000, £84,000 or AU$122,000.

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Go-go gullwing

You couldn't test drive the Tesla, but you could sit in it.

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Tech spirits

This gin isn't battery powered but it does make you feel better about overspending on electronics.

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Vifa portable wireless speakers

Danish company Vifa was on hand with its Nordic wireless speaker line. These look like handbags and start from 399 euros. That's around $450, £346 or AU$566.

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Viva Vifa

This one...maybe a lunchbox? It's 499 euros, which is about $550, £430 or AU$708.

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Vinci headphones

Vinci headphones have a full Android touch interface built into the right earcup -- it's like having a small Android tablet on your head. The Kickstarter has raised almost $1 million, but the product hasn't shipped yet.

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Vinci headphones up close

The Vinci has music streaming services built in.

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Mr Speakers

MrSpeakers makes some sweet sounding planar magnetic headphones. He's got a new closed-back model, the Aeon, which only costs $700. International pricing isn't available, but that's about £560 or AU$915.

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Crestron

Crestron, which caters to a high-end clientele, is a staple at these luxury shows.

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Sol Republic

What's a luxury show without at least one set of totally wireless earphones. Sol Republic was there with its Amps Air. They cost $150, £150 or about AU$240 converted.

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Light me up

By popular demand, here's one more shot of CNET's Bridget Carey relieving her pain on the LightSim LED Bed.

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Random VR stuff

No luxury show is complete without a few random VR stations.

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BlackBerry lives

Samsung or Apple wasn't at the show, but BlackBerry was.

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Mikevision Sandfox smartwatch phone

Mikevision didn't have a table at the show but one of its reps who was roaming the show floor saw my CNET name tag and approached me with this Sandfox smartwatch. The company, which wants to bring stuff you see in sci-fi flicks to life, says its the first watch controlled by natural speech recognition, as well as the first "independent smartwatch not needing a connected phone." It'll cost around $600 when it ships. International pricing isn't available, but that's about £480 or AU$780.

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The Sandfox

The dialing interface for the Sandfox.

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Yamaha WaveRunner

Yamaha had one of its high-end WaveRunners on hand that had some nice extras.

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WaveRunner audio system

This WaveRunner's audio system alone costs around $5,000.

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Mobilize Rescue System

If you're looking for a high-end first aid system, this is it. Mobilize's Mobile Rescue system goes for $1,750 (about £1,400 or AU$2,285) while its Comprehensive System will set you back $2,250 (about £1,780 or AU$2,940). Needless to say this is more for schools and other organizations rather than individuals.

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Glam guitar

Limited-edition Marilyn Monroe guitar from d'Angelico Guitars, which is only a few blocks away from CNET's New York office.

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Robotic grill cleaner

Grillbots are exactly what they sound like: automatic robotic grill cleaners. I call it Roomba for your grill. They're a bit silly, but hey, at least they're on sale!

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Till next year

Your intrepid reporter saying so long from the 2017 New York Luxury Technology Show.

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