CES 2011: 10 Weirdest Gadgets Seen

Jared Newman 10 Jan 2011

The Weirdest Gadgets Seen at CES 2011

The CES 2011 editions wasn't all about hot products from major tech vendors. Venture further away from the big booths, and filter out all the hype surrouding tablets, smartphones, and latest hardware, you'll find rows of off-beat ideas from companies you might never hear from again. Here are 10 of the weirdest gadgets from CES 2011.

1) The TV Hat
The Mad Hatter's got nothing on OLED-equipped headgear from Recom. The company claims that Verizon Wireless and Gamestop saw 15 percent higher conversions when fitting their employees with tiny video screens. You can run your own tests by ordering the $199 screens from videonametag.com.

2) Ion's iCade for iPad
The iCade was originally a fictional product, mocked up by gadget seller ThinkGeek as an April Fool's joke. But people loved the idea, so Ion had the iPad arcade cabinet created for real. It launches in April or May for $99 and includes Asteroids, and Atari is partnering to sell other games through the App Store.

3) RotorConcept's Chopper with Camera
Yup, it's a remote-controlled helicopter, which is impressive enough on its own, but this one from RotorConcept has a techie twist: On board is a 720-by-480 resolution video camera, which can wirelessly provide a live feed to a PC. It sells for $499 plus shipping at rotorconcept.com.

4) eTime Home Endoscope
Finally--a way to peer into your loved ones' mouths and ears, putting their orifices on display in a live computer video feed. The endoscope also doubles as an electronic microscope, as seen here.

5) Seal Shield Washable Keyboards, Mouses
These dishwasher-friendly PC peripherals have been on the market for years, but seeing a keyboard safely dunked into a bucket of water never gets old. This year's addition is a waterproof TV remote control.

6) Hi-Dow Massager
This pair of pulsating hands is supposed to relax the body when stuck to your sore spots, but every time they vibrated, my shoulders tensed up uncontrollably. Therapeutic? Not sure, but it was the weirdest massage I've ever had.

7) Breffo Spider Podium Tablet
One of the cleverest tablet stands I've seen is also one of the creepiest. Just keep most of the legs out of sight, and no one will think you've re-purposed a dead, gigantic spider for technological purposes.

8) Mint by Evolution Robotics
The Mint robot dusts and mops your floor with help from a cube-shaped beacon that maps out your room. But more importantly, it sometimes performs a choreographed dance to Boom Boom Pow. Check the video below

9) Android TVs
With Google TV getting Android apps soon and phone makers like Sony building full HDMI out support into their handsets, Android TVs from Haier and Hisense are unlikely to find a home in the United States. At least they're fun to look at.

10) I am T-Pain Microphone
Pictured here with T-Pain is a microphone that auto-tunes you like the hip-hop artist. The prototype on display at the show was a little wonky--it certainly didn't make T-Pain sound great--but let's be honest, are you really going to spend $40 on this thing when it launches in the fall?