Intel Free Press takes a look at some of the oddest tech from the past six years at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – by Intel Free Press.
CES 2015: Racing into Silence
At this year’s CES people could enter the “shell of silence,” Silentium’s Comfort-Shell (above). “It basically looks like a giant, white version of those spiky shells that Lakitu throws in the original Mario,” wrote Jacob Kastrenakes on The Verge. Despite its odd looks, any way to deaden the noise that is characteristic of CES is a blessing.
CES had plenty of smartphones, the Tonino Lamborghini 88 Tauri phone definitely drew attention for its race car inspired design and its price tag. Revving in at $6000 and in scarce supply, its design turned a few heads but left others scratching theirs.
“With a stitched leather finish that’s the real deal and gold-plated stainless steel surrounding this phone, you’re bound to stand out in the crowd if you’re crazy enough to even want to pay $6,000 for pure stupidity,” said The Verge’s Tom Warren.
CES 2014: Helping the body?
Some design and product features found in some of the CES 2014 health tech products were questionable.
A bit creepy looking the Sen.se Mother has “Cookies” to hand out as it watches and monitors its family. This Russian Doll-looking devices captures temperature and motion data from attachable sensors called Cookies.
And as you wander the house being watched by the Sen.se Mother, you might be wearing a laser helmet by iGrow which claims to thicken thinning areas of the scalp as well as strengthen hair follicles.
“This is a helmet with lasers inside? It makes your hair grow? There aren’t enough sarcastic question marks in the world to express our skepticism on this one,” wrote Rachel Feltman on (Quartz).
To round out the “healthy” tech, there is the Foreo Issa toothbrush. The “unique” design of this toothbrush raised many eyebrows. AsGizmodo’s Mario Aguilar put it “It vibrates like your Sonicare, and comes in woozy pastel colors. Let’s not kid ourselves: this is a sex toy disguised as a dental revolution.”
CES 2013: Stick a Fork in High-Tech Health
CES is a proven launch pad for health and fitness gadgets, but sometimes those gizmos go a step beyond useful such as the HAPIfork, which vibrated if you ate too fast, and did rake in someawards.
“This was the most popular entry in the 2012 Was A Stupid Year category,” said John Mitchell, in ReadWrite.
“Little matter that it looks like a toy, needs connecting with a USB cable and wouldn’t be acceptable in any decent restaurant…” said Matt Warman in The Telegraph.
There were also a few products at CES 2013 that were in the crapper — literally — such as the iPotty, which coupled a training potty for kids with a tablet holder.
“The iPotty is a children’s potty with a built-in iPad activity stand…Make sure you teach your toddler what the real purpose of an iPad is at an early age,” said TechHive.
CES 2012: Smart Watch in the Bag?
The “Watch your Bag” was a watch, a bag and a color light show as well.
“Some products are hard to sum up in a sentence. And then there’s ‘Watch Your Bag,’ the alarm clock that comes with a bag, filled with a rainbow of morphing colors.’ What it can’t tell you, however, is why anyone might find such a proposition appealing,” said Brian Heater on Engadget.
The march of accessories also continued in 2012 with one of the biggest and loudest of all: the iNuke Boom speaker for the iPhone. The behemoth boasted 10,000 watts, weighed 700 pounds, cost a mere $30,000 and dwarfed the iPhone docked atop it.
“Is the iNuke Boom ridiculous? Absolutely. But it’s also fun and completely cognizant of its audacity, which is something we commend even if we don’t feel comfortable dropping fat stacks of cash on a monstrous beast,” said Buster Heine in Cult of Mac.
CES 2011: Bling for Your Smartphone (or Tablet)
From glitzy faux gems to glitter and other snazzy options, there was no shortage of bling for iPhone and iPads.
“Seriously, folks, how many cases do you actually need? From shiny be-dazzled iPhone cases to every bizarre iPad stand/case/kiosk thing, the one thing that CES had in plenty was cases. Look, we appreciate a well-designed case as much as anyone, but do we really need four dozen of each type? Don’t answer that — it was a rhetorical question. Color us sick of iPhone and iPad cases, with only a few notable exceptions,” said Rob LeFebvre in 148Apps.
“The custom-made crystal case (in the Lux Mobile booth)… costs a whopping $3,000 — just about six times the value of the iPad it’s actually supposed to hold,” said Mike Schramm in TUAW.
CES 2010: Wearables in Search of a Use Case
In 2010, CES offered up such forward-looking innovations asAndroid-based “smart” microwaves and “unbreakable” phones. And the march of wearables continued with products such as the Phubby, an elastic, smartphone-carrying wristband.
“Now this one takes the cake… an ugly wristband with a pocket that you can slide your iPhone into. It’s basically a fanny pack for a new generation,” said Paul Cash on Yahoo.
“We have to ask: what’s so wrong about carrying your phone in your pocket?” said the Huffington Post.
CES 2009: Hands-Free Tech
Back in 2009, the Cell Mate promised to provide a wearable, and truly “hands-free” option for holding your smartphone — no Bluetooth connection required. Coverage at the time was less than positive.
“It’s possibly the single most embarrassing-looking contraption we’ve seen in years,” said Evan Shamoon in the Huffington Post.
Not to be outdone, the iCap offered a new way to listen to music, hands-free. With a 1GB MP3 player and built-in speakers, you (and those around you) could hear it all . . . hands-free.
“Hear that kids? If you use any product other than the ridiculous looking iCap, you’re practically playing Russian Roulette with Dr. Death,” said Darren Murph in Engadget.
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Images: Cell-Mate, Gesten Technologies, South Mill Design, TUAW, Can You Imagine, Behringer, Hapi.com, CTA Digital, Android Police, recombu, Sen.se, iGrow Laser, Foreo.
Tom Foremski is the Editor and Founder of the popular and top-ranked news site Silicon Valley Watcher, reporting on business and culture of innovation. He is a former journalist at the Financial Times and in 2004, became the first journalist from a leading newspaper to resign and become a full-time journalist blogger.
Tom has been reporting on Silicon Valley and the US tech industry since 1984 and has been named as one of the top 50 (#28) most influential bloggers in Silicon Valley. His current focus is on the convergence of media and technology — the making of a new era for Silicon Valley. He also writes a column at ZDNET.
