CES 2012 Gadget Wrap-Up: Cool To Crazy
The Consumer Electronics Show offers thousands of products, from the sublime to the bizarre. Check out some of the more notable entries of 2012.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/bltc0182b2356ae8eed/64b83949410a1b4c0bd7459b/IW_generic_image.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
The Consumer Electronics Show is a nothing if not a testament to human ingenuity and innovation. Each year, we see things we never would have dreamed of, and a few that we did dream of, but didn't think anyone would build. Our wrap-up here just scratches the surface of the practical, impractical, and ridiculous products on display. Whether it's electronic, and accessory for something electronic, or software to run on something electronic, there's a good chance you'll find it here.
This collection has well designed, beautiful things it. On the practical side, Buffalo's AirStation is an early entry in what's sure to be a flood of 802.11ac wireless routers. Lantrox tackles the thorny problem of printing from iOS devices with nifty little print server--which will need to be cheaper on the street to be successful. The Dish tailgater is cool technology, though we think sometimes you should just turn the TV off.
Breakthroughs like Em Power's electronic reading glasses are just a first step in what can be done with near-eye displays. The Army is toying around with writing the image right on your retina--what could possibly go wrong with that?
Ruggedized movie cameras like those from GoPro are a great way to remember vacations, particularly if you're the type who likes to live on the edge. Some massive home theater speakers from Swan remind us of just how far we'll go to recreate the reality of movies right in our own homes. There's another complete show within CES dedicated just to high end audiophile gear, shown in rooms at the Venetian hotel. If you're looking for tube amps, high end turntables, and speakers made out of the most exotic materials, you'll find them.
WiFi's Next Breakthrough
The Buffalo AirStation WZR-1750H is the first 802.11ac wireless access point that we've seen. If 802.11n isn't fast enough for you--and for some applications it's not-- 802.11ac is just the ticket. This new WiFi standard works by widening the channels used, so that individual stations can get more bandwidth. In theory, the maximum throughput on 802.11ac should be about 1300 Mbps. Buffalo says that with some contrivances to work in the very noisy airspace of the convention, it managed 800 Mbps. Pretty impressive.
No, you're not looking at the engine of a souped up Nissan Leaf. You're looking at an aftermarket cooling system for a gamer's PC. Gamers are always looking for a competitive advantage, and a faster CPU is one of the best advantages. So, for those people with some engineering knowhow, one way to get that advantage is to use a cooler, like that from Digital Storm. Once installed, you can ramp up the clock speed on your gaming PC without frying the CPU. Customized systems start at $1400.
Here's the scene. You and your date decide to go camping for the weekend. You find a nice secluded spot and set up your tent, make a meal by campfire, and then kick back with your honey... just in time to watch Fear Factor. You start up the generator and pull out your Dish Tailgater. How romantic.
OK, we admit there probably are less contrived scenarios where you'd want access to satellite TV, and for those times, the Tailgater is just the ticket. The motorized antenna will hone in on the Dish network and let you enjoy some TV anywhere you go. Priced at $499, it's a small price to pay for TV addicts.
If your pajamas are footed onesies (perhaps from Carters) then this alarm clock might be just for you. Let's face it, some of us are sophisticated oversized kids and we've promised ourselves we'll never grow up. The Edifier Tick Tock dock (you can't make this stuff up) will be a constant reminder of that promise. It doubles a clock and dock for your iPhone or iPad. We suggest the pink one.
For those of us in the 45-plus bracket, succumbing to reading glasses, bifocals, or progressive lenses is one of the sure signs that we aren't as young as we used to be. Em Power has an interesting solution.
The company had created a line of glasses with a small LCD array that enables or disables the reading correction on your glasses. There's a small battery and some electronics housed in the bow that do the magic. The frames are fairly stylish--at least right now--and a pair will cost you about $1200.
Wondering how you're going to entertain your four-year-old on your next trip--or any trip for that matter? Fisher Price has an answer. It's a kid-friendly and kid- tough DVR that runs for four hours or so and holds up to two hours of material in internal memory. You can use an external flash card to store more content.
It's bad enough that you know it, but with the Fitbit WiFi-enabled bathroom scale called Aria, your once- secret weight data is sucked up to the web. The scale tracks your weight and body fat and calculates your BMI. That data is forwarded on to a fitness site where you can track your own progress, or if you like, make the information public so that you can compare and compete with others.
The GoPro Hero2 is billed as the most versatile HD movie camera ever produced. You can get a plastic enclosure with a glass lens that lets the ruggedized camera function just about anywhere on land or sea. Attach it to your bike or skis, or whatever helmet your sport requires, and you're off. What could be better for capturing your vacation escapades?
That's right, you can strap two GoPro Hero2 devices into this plastic case and record your experience in 3-D. The cameras are the same HD cameras GoPro has sold for a while now, but the case is new, as is the software that knits together your 3-D video. The setup will cost you just about $1000.
All right, those aren't computer speakers. Those are the Swan / HiVi 2.3BHT home theater speakers--two of the seven you'll need. There are also the rear speakers, two subwoofers, and a center channel. Don't even think about these babies unless you've got a separate room dedicated to your home theater. But if you do, a cool $50,000 is all you'll need for this no compromises sound system. Probably not appropriate for apartment dwellers.
We admit this addition to our slide show is a bit on the snarky side. Intel was showing software called Intel Pair & Share that allows seamless sharing of content between your laptop (probably running on an Intel chip,) your tablet (probably not running on an Intel chip,) and your smartphone (definitely not running on an Intel chip.) One cool feature of the software: It lets you get and answer SMS text messages from your PC while your phone is charging. We admire Intel for working across enemy lines. Unfortunately the demo we saw wasn't quite seamless--but the software's free!
We just liked the design of this JBL speaker docking station for your iGear. The Onbeat can easily be made to accommodate iPhones or iPads and produces the sort of sound for which JBL is known. The price is $500, but since when does performance and style come cheap?
Lantrox makes almost any printer compatible with iPhones and iPads. The xPrintServer connects to any of 4000 different printers and lets your iOS device wirelessly print. At $150 it's about the same price as just buying a new printer, albeit a cheap one.
The Nest learning thermostat tracks your adjustments and creates a program so that your home is always the temperature that you want it. It's also WiFi enabled so you can program it from afar. This gizmo has the cool throwback look of the thermostats that our parents grew up with, but it costs a bit more. You find it at Best Buy for $250.
The problem with phone displays often boils down to size. Sony showed this demonstration of a Sony Erickson phone being wirelessly mirrored to a Sony TV. We asked how it worked, but didn't really get a usable explanation.
George Orwell may not have gone here, but the movie Wall-E did. About the last thing this planet needs is a motorized video recliner. But the good people at MWE will sell you one for a cool $6000. Maybe the Mayans were right.
Yep, that's your humble author, who correctly answered a couple of trivia questions in order to win a DLink WiFi-connected camera. The most common use is for baby monitoring. I don't have one of those, so we'll have to see if it works on dogs. As I sign off from CES, thanks to video artist Nevin Berger for his fine camera work and post processing, as well as producer extraordinaire Joy Culbertson (and no, they aren't the two people with me in the picture.)
Yep, that's your humble author, who correctly answered a couple of trivia questions in order to win a DLink WiFi-connected camera. The most common use is for baby monitoring. I don't have one of those, so we'll have to see if it works on dogs. As I sign off from CES, thanks to video artist Nevin Berger for his fine camera work and post processing, as well as producer extraordinaire Joy Culbertson (and no, they aren't the two people with me in the picture.)
The Consumer Electronics Show is a nothing if not a testament to human ingenuity and innovation. Each year, we see things we never would have dreamed of, and a few that we did dream of, but didn't think anyone would build. Our wrap-up here just scratches the surface of the practical, impractical, and ridiculous products on display. Whether it's electronic, and accessory for something electronic, or software to run on something electronic, there's a good chance you'll find it here.
This collection has well designed, beautiful things it. On the practical side, Buffalo's AirStation is an early entry in what's sure to be a flood of 802.11ac wireless routers. Lantrox tackles the thorny problem of printing from iOS devices with nifty little print server--which will need to be cheaper on the street to be successful. The Dish tailgater is cool technology, though we think sometimes you should just turn the TV off.
Breakthroughs like Em Power's electronic reading glasses are just a first step in what can be done with near-eye displays. The Army is toying around with writing the image right on your retina--what could possibly go wrong with that?
Ruggedized movie cameras like those from GoPro are a great way to remember vacations, particularly if you're the type who likes to live on the edge. Some massive home theater speakers from Swan remind us of just how far we'll go to recreate the reality of movies right in our own homes. There's another complete show within CES dedicated just to high end audiophile gear, shown in rooms at the Venetian hotel. If you're looking for tube amps, high end turntables, and speakers made out of the most exotic materials, you'll find them.
WiFi's Next Breakthrough
The Buffalo AirStation WZR-1750H is the first 802.11ac wireless access point that we've seen. If 802.11n isn't fast enough for you--and for some applications it's not-- 802.11ac is just the ticket. This new WiFi standard works by widening the channels used, so that individual stations can get more bandwidth. In theory, the maximum throughput on 802.11ac should be about 1300 Mbps. Buffalo says that with some contrivances to work in the very noisy airspace of the convention, it managed 800 Mbps. Pretty impressive.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like