THE WEIRDEST TECH AT CES
NESTLED AMONG THE BIG-NAME STANDS AND ‘NEXT BEST THINGS’ AT LAS VEGAS’ ANNUAL TECH CONVENTION, YOU’LL ALWAYS FIND A WIDE SELECTION OF MORE OFFBEAT PRODUCTS.
CES is a great place for finding the weird and wonderful — things that nobody ever really asked for and that are often, well, unconventional to say the least. Here, we’ve put together just a small selection of some of our favourite bizarre products from this year’s show floor.
MY SHORTS ARE VIBRATING
What’s hotter than hotpants? Well, vibrating ones, of course. The Spinali Design shorts have vibrating sensors on the belt, which connect to the wearer’s smartphone via Bluetooth, helping them to navigate busy city streets by buzzing when they need to make a turn. The sensors even buzz for incoming calls and texts — something a smartwatch on your wrist would accomplish just as well, come to think of it.
BETTER THAN A STICK, WE SUPPOSE
CES has its fair share of oddities every year and this year is no different, with this strangely named connected mini crib. In a bid to transform the way babies sleep, the DockATot Deluxe is touted as a multifunctional dock where the tots can lounge, play, snuggle and rest. But what’s a little ominous about this piece of smart furniture is its ability to poke your baby if the crib doesn’t detect a heartbeat for more than 12 seconds to make sure bub is OK.
SPEAK IN SILENCE (WHILE LOOKING LIKE A BATMAN SUPERVILLAIN)
Ever tempted to get a muzzle for colleagues that constantly chatter away on the phone or to each other? Well, there’s an almost Bane-like mask that could be their next Secret Santa gift. The Hushme is a voice mask attached to a pair of Bluetooth earbuds. The mask snaps shut in front of the mouth thanks to strong magnets, but allow calls to be made with conversations shielded, either by muffling or by adding sounds to drown out the speech.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS ‘TOO LITTLE BASS’?
It’s the age of the wearable, so why should your thumping beats be left behind while you’re out and about? Now you can snap on this one-of-a-kind watch-size subwoofer onto your wrist — and it’s pretty much compatible with any audio device that has a traditional 3.5mm audio-out jack. The Basslet, from German startup Lofelt, is a black box that’s… well, just that. Simply plug a dongle into the audio jack of your phone or music player for headphones, play some tunes and the Basslet will gently thump away on your wrist.
NOT QUITE AS EXCITING AS BEER GOOGLES, BUT CLOSE
Ever wish you had something to tell you when to call it a night before you toppled into a puddle of vomit? The BACTrack Skyn is the world’s first wearable that has the potential to provide a detailed assessment on how our bodies handle drinks. It measures a person’s transdermal alcohol content (TAC) in near real time without needing to blow into a device, saving you from some rather embarrassing times on your next night out, or the morning after.