Tech for the rich and frivolous: The New York Luxury Technology Show (pictures)
Lusting after a $280,000 Lamborghini? Loving the idea of a $10,000 encrypted gold iPhone? Or maybe you just want a $6,000 phone with the name Lamborghini on it?
Here comes the story of the Huracan
For a mere $280,000 and change you can drive home in Lamborghini's storm-inspired supercar.
Standing still it looks pretty cool. Moving, it can hit 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 201 mph.
V10 under glass
You'll want to show off the mid-mounted 610-horsepower engine. Air enters the 10 cylinders via natural aspiration.
Lap of luxury
That's me in a Lamborghini!
Torino Lamborghini phone
First shown at CES 2015, the $6,000 Torino Lamborghini 88 Tauri (center and left) is definitely not available at your local T-Mobile store.
No case required
It's available in numerous different exteriors. Shown here is calfskin leather and genuine gold plate.
Specs: It's no GS6
It has a 5-inch screen but feels even bigger in-hand. That's Android 4.4 with some custom wallpaper. It has decent but not top-end specs, with a 20-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel one in front, a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, and 3GB of RAM.
'This is a $6K phone, so it better be important!'
That's me on a Lamborghini phone!
Enter the IO Hawk
At a mere $1,799, this skateboard/Segway mashup is the cheapest set of wheels at the show.
Once you go black...
That's me on an IO Hawk!
Your other white wheels
Starting at $129,000, the Audi R8 Spyder is what qualifies as a modest supercar. The 430 horsepower should put some wind in your hair.
Hybrid on the wings of gulls
"Modest" isn't exactly the term for BMW's i8 plug-in hybrid, starting at a $135,700.
Breath of fresh audio
If you can afford any of these cars for your garage, you can probably afford to get some of Richard Clarkson Studios' whimsical sound thingys for your house.
Sound in the cloud
The Cloud ($3,360) is an interactive speaker/lamp "designed to recreate a thunderstorm in both light and sound" via color changing lights, 2.1 speakers, motion detection, plus a remote control.
Puff, the magic speaker
Then there's the lite version, dubbed Tiny ($480), with a Bluetooth speaker and "music visualizer" function.
Water in the sky
Then there's the Rain lamp ($940), with an LED bulb suspended above a pool of water for a cool ripple effect. Periodic drips heighten the display.
Clio: The invisible speaker
If you prefer your speakers transparent to cloudy, and relatively affordable to exorbitant, the ClearView Audio Clio Bluetooth speaker is just the thing at a mere $349.
See-through sound
It produces sound with a 1mm-thin acrylic glass transducer that practically disappears at many angles. And it actually sounds pretty decent.
Pool party!
The rugged Fugoo Bluetooth speaker family ($179 and up) can be submerged in water.
Splashy bass
Here I am flinching as droplets spray through the pool. And yes, Fugoo plans a version that can install in your floating pool chair.
Drop test
That bass really bounces too.
No jacket required
The Fugoo core pops out of a variety of "jackets," available in different versions. Shown here is the bigger version, Fugoo XL ($300), and the beige "style" jacket.
Geneva Base
Geneva are known for their distinctive iPod docks, but are branching out into other areas of home A/V. The $600 Model Cinema is a sound base which features three inputs, Bluetooth and a loudness control for taming over-loud commercials.
Work hard, play hard
Come for the Lambourghini, stay for the wailing guitar solo. Eventide had their H9 digital guitar effects stomp box on display at the show with prices starting at $499.
Max out the gold
Of course Evantide also brought along its Limited Edition 24K Gold Dipped H9 MAX ($999).
Tony Technics
The Technics R1 is the luxury car of the line and features these large floor-standing speakers and a retro look. The whole system retails for $52,999.99.
Player and Amp
While we're waiting to see Panasonic bring back its Technics turntables, the R1 is a mostly-digital affair with the SU-R1 Network Audio Control Player and SE-R1 Stereo Power Amplifier.
Rubber soul
The rubber surround on the SB-SR1 woofer features Technic's Symmetrical Surround Technology for low distortion.
Cans for cash
The $2,000 McIntosh MHP1000 headphones are a counter piece to the American company's $4,500 headphone amplifier.
McDaddy
The most Pinterest-worthy system on display at the show featured McIntosh electronics, including a turntable, plus a pair of the $89,999 Sonus Faber Lilium speakers.
Grand Daddy
The Sim2 Grand Cinema Superlumis three-chip DLP projector ($50,000) puts out massive light for truly large screens.
Vutec roll-up print
Starting at $3,200, this "painting" is big enough to hide a 42-inch TV. It rolls up when you want to watch your stories, and rolls back down when guests arrive.
Multi-room madness
Billing itself as "central audio" the Autonomic multi-room system runs from a Linux server. Packages start at around $300 per room.
Crestron Pyng
More well known for whole-home control, Crestron is bringing whole-home audio to its Pyng control app.
Wall of sound
The system is designed to offer easy control of lights, music, blinds and more, and the app can work on iPads or Crestron's dedicated touchscreens.
Jewelry, meet wearable tech
From whole-home audio to wrist, Cuff is a jewelry with a little module that interfaces with your iPhone to offer notifications, activity tracking and a panic button. It starts at $49.
No screen required
The little module is pretty small, but Cuff is working on getting it smaller for retail. Press the panic button and it alerts designated contacts that you need help.
One ring to notify them all
It might be small, but I'm not sure how it fits on here.
Notifications on your neck
The notification function works by vibrating the module. The idea probably works better on your wrist.
Not exactly the Apple Watch
Cuff-compatible jewelry of all kinds was on display.
50 shades of notification
I didn't ask what these were for.
Track that luggage
LugTrack is a system that uses GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular networks and accelerometers to track your luggage. Its first shipping product is a golf bag that starts at $12,000.
LugTrack app
Your bags are here, sir.
Never lose the leather
LugTrack can also be permanently embedded or portable, to slip into your $4,050 printed Alligator skin Treccani handbag, for example.
Do not track
If your communications are so sensitive that you need state-of-the-art encryption to foil surveillance, Kryptall has a $6,000 iPhone, aka the K iPhone, to sell you.
Better in Gold
Of course you'll probably want to step up to the gold version for $10,000. Because gold is the most secure, right?
How organic is your food?
Only BioSensor's Penguin knows for sure. It detects antibiotic residue in you food to determine if or how organic it is. Measuring time is a mere 2 minutes.
Track those organics
The app can track intake of antibiotics over time. Unfortunately, the Penguin Organic Food Tester isn't yet available in the US.
Peloton power
Peloton's touchscreen-equipped bike has been around for awhile, but that doesn't make a ride any less healthy. It starts at $2,000.
Class act
Of course you'll also want to subscribe to the classes themselves ($39 per month), which offer unlimited streaming rides that make Netflix look like an even better bargain.
Fat electric tires
Prodeco makes high-end bikes with electric assist. If your delivery guy uses the Rebel X Fat Tire ($2,399), the food should be above-par.
Electric lite
Then there's the Titanio 29er ($4,999), which weighs a mere 29 lbs, thanks to its titanium frame.
Sips the juice
Yes, that's the battery.
USB power
The Prodeco battery by Samsung includes a USB port so you can charge your phone while you ride.
Worth a spin
Not shown: Me crashing full-speed into the Lamborghini.
Pinch an inch
After all that working out you'll want to gague the results. The InBody body composition analyzer ($10,000) "breaks down your weight into muscle, fat, and water in less than 60 seconds." Well, not literally. Just the measurements.
Dropcam, but for cats
The PetCube camera for pet owners ($199) incorporates a laser pointer that actually allows you to play with your tabby from your phone.
Social remote pet play
You can even invite your cat-loving Facebook group to a play session.
Get the spot, spot!
A shelter cat enjoys a bit of remote interaction.
GoPole, no cat
The GoPole line of GoPro mounts ($22 and up) includes the Bobber as well as the Evo and Reach telescoping pole mounts for in and out of the water.
Escape to vape
The Da Vinci Ascent vaporizer ($250) is so big to accommodate batteries that enable its over 3-hour lifespan before it needs recharging. That's a lot of smoke.
Glass-lined ceramic bowl
You can put your ____ in it.
Smooth pull
Your friendly caption writer was told the contents of this particular Da Vinci was "tea."
Waiting to exhale
Who am I to question the lovely elves floating in the air above the Da Vinci booth?
Brain waves, engage
After that experience I wandered over to the Muse booth to check out its mind-reading headset ($299).
Relax, there's an app for that
I was told to be calm (check!) and think of a happy place (double check!).
Your score: Hella calm, dude
I was told my brain waves approximated those of a hibernating sea turtle.
Time for beddit
The Misfit Beddit ($149) is a sleep monitor designed to help you get better rest. Now there's a new model, Beddit Smart, shown here, that doesn't require any wearables.
Tough day at the office
It's the Luxury Technology Show. You gotta do the demo.
Sleep score
The updated Beddit app offers automated sleep monitoring...just set it and forget it.
Good night!
Obviously, I've already forgotten everything I learned at the LTS. Until next year!