I trolled the trade show floor at the Consumer Electronics Show, searching for the coolest, wackiest, most fun gadgets for the DivineCaroline community. This is not a small search, considering more than 2,700 exhibitors participated in the event, which took up some two million square feet of convention and hotel space in Las Vegas. Here’s what I found:
#10 Battery-Powered Fashion.
Can’t get warm? Crank up your clothes with some truly hot fashion from MEC Addheat. The Taiwanese company’s fleece jackets ($180–$250) and gloves ($150) run on rechargeable batteries—yes, you do have to plug in your outerwear—that last two to ten hours.
#9 Robomower.
Okay, nobody likes to mow the grass. Now nobody has to. Kyodo America Industries’ baby bumper car-sized LawnBott robot lawnmowers ($2,750–$3,300) run on rechargeable batteries and use sensors and a special wire along the edge of your lawn to keep from chopping up your kids and pets.
#8 Digital Photo Clock Radio.
Even when your kids are grown, they can still wake you up every morning with the Philips AJL 308 photo clock radio ($130). Load photos of your kids—even audio and video clips—into the seven-inch screen using a USB drive or memory card. Here’s the best part: you can control the volume on this baby.
#7 Home Health Monitor.
Watch out for your parents or grandparents, even when you’re not with them, with the 4HomeMedia Home HealthPoint system. The modem-like device ($30–$100 for monthly monitoring) links sensors throughout a senior’s home—in the living room, bathroom, and doors—and alerts you over the Internet when they’re triggered. It also comes with an emergency pendant.
#6 Is That a Button in Your Ear?
Now nobody will be able to figure out if you’re talking to yourself. Samsung’s new WEP 500 wireless cell phone headset ($50–$75) is about the diameter of a quarter and not much thicker than a heavy coat button.
#5 Big Screen for iPods.
Mustek’s PF-i700 device is a digital photo frame and portable video player for your iPod. The seven-inch frame ($130) comes with an integrated iPod docking station and can be used in either portrait or landscape positions.
