Gallery: 10 Gadgets We Want to Steal Before Leaving CES
01lg-blast-cooler
CES is a four-day assault of non-stop sensory overload. Mile-long taxi lines. Ear-splitting Gaga and Beyonce pumping from every booth. Legions of disheveled businessmen thrusting marketing collateral and contagion at anyone naive enough to take the bait. In other words, it can be a dehumanizing grind. But it's also our favorite place for window shopping. We descend on demo booths to mentally earmark the gear we'll be calling in for testing the moment we're home. Would we *really* steal this stuff directly from the show floor? Well, that's a moral conundrum each of us must resolve. We don't think even Erik Malinowski, so full of sports-guy brawn, could muscle away the LG fridge you see above. And we're still trying to figure out how to get the Tesla Model S out of Nvidia's booth. Nonetheless, "Don't ask, don't tell" has been our mantra for CES 2012, so here are some of the things vendors may want to make sure they've still got before packing up. LG French Door Bottom Freezer Refrigerator with Blast Chiller ------------------------------------------------------------- When you're sitting down to watch the game, there's nothing more frustrating than realizing you don't have any cold ones at the ready. What's a parched sports fan to do? If you've got the newest smart fridge from LG, you're in luck. Whereas most fridges feature dual-storage drawers at the bottom, this baby reserves the lower-right quadrant for a blast chiller that'll frost up your canned beverage of choice in just five minutes. Typical refrigerators take a glacial 40 minutes to get your beer, or soda, to chilly drinkability, so you're saving valuable minutes here that could be better spent cheering your favorite team. *--Erik Malinowski*
02mg-0818-1
LG 84-Inch "Ultra-Definition" 3-D TV ------------------------------------ The star of LG's booth was the [55-inch OLED set](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/lg-55-inch-oled-tv/), leaving this striking 84-inch "ultra-definition" set literally at the periphery of the booth. Shame, because everyone was gathered around the main attraction. Suckers. The gawkers ignoring this beauty missed out on 4K image quality — that's a resolution of 3840x2160, folks — baked with LG's Cinema 3D functionality that utilizes the passive glasses that consumers seem to prefer. The 84-incher also sports all of LG's next-gen smart TV features, including the ability to stream 3-D content straight to their set. But with this set, size does matter. The obvious limitation to having resolution four times greater than full 1080p is the limited amount of content you can enjoy with it. But as more 4K-quality content becomes available, then the true power of this set (and others like it) will be fully known. *--Erik Malinowski*
03fuji-xpro-1
Fujifilm X-Pro1 --------------- If you were disappointed by the single, fixed lens on Fujifilm's X100 but excited by its excellent hybrid viewfinder and other Leica-like features, then the [X-Pro1](http://www.fujifilmusa.com/press/news/display_news?newsID=880240), the company's new interchangeable lens camera, is for you. The body (substantially larger than the X100) has manual dials to control shutter speed and exposure compensation, and the new X-Mount lenses have twisty aperture rings and beefy manual focus rings. Most interesting is the CMOS sensor: Fujifilm has created a new way to all but eliminate moiré and false color issues, thus producing images as sharp as those found on full-frame SLRs. The X-Pro1 we tested had a laggy shutter, but we were assured it was a prototype and the speed of final units will be competitive with other camera bodies in sub-$2,000 price range. Fujifilm expects to ship the X-Pro1 at the end of this quarter. *— Michael Calore*
04motorola-maxx-f
Motorola Razr Maxx ------------------ We really dug Moto’s relaunch of its iconic Razr brand last year, more for the great industrial design than anything else. The Razr Maxx builds on that, combining good looks with something every smartphone needs — a beefed-up battery. Moto says the Maxx’s 3300 mAh cell can maintain a charge for a phenomenal 21 hours of talk time, far longer than most comparable Android devices you'll find. With the energy-sucking, battery-killing 4G LTE radio onboard, you’re gonna need the extra juice. One caveat: This thing is not cheap. Although pricing hasn't been announced, the cost of the original Razr will drop by about $100, so look for the Razr Maxx to command $300 with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract. But considering LTE networks are spreading across the country fast and the amount of juice you'll have, we think it’s 300 bones well spent. *— Mike Isaac*
05body-media-f
Activity trackers like the Fitbit Ultra and Jawbone UP can track how many steps you take and miles you cover, but they don't directly monitor your most intimate biological functions -- and thus can't report how many calories you've burned with unassailable accuracy. And then we have the [BodyMedia](http://www.bodymedia.com/) LINK Armband. Armed with enough sensors to classify as an FDA-approved medical device, the LINK observes exactly what's happening on the surface of your skin to verify the effectiveness of your calorie-killing exercise crusades. You attach the band to your left upper arm, a location where the device is pre-callibrated for the most accurate data collection. From there, sensors measure your skin temperature, heat flux (the rate as which your body dissipates heat), and galvanic skin response (essentially a perspiration measurement). All this is wrapped up with data from a 3-axis accelerometer to deliver, as BodyMedia claims, the most accurate over-the-counter calorie-burning monitor available. I want it. I want hard data. I want to lose 15 pounds of CES party food and free drinks. BodyMedia has been developing its system for 10 years, and this latest model, the LINK, taps a Bluetooth connection to directly transfer your bio data to iOS and Android apps. The LINK is available now for $179. *— Jon Phillips*
06sony-rdh-gtk33ip
Sony RDH-GTK33iP Hi-Fi Music System ----------------------------------- If John Cusack tried to lift this boombox over his head, it would put him in traction. [Sony](http://store.sony.com/)'s new speaker dock is rugged, rowdy, and more than a little ridiculous. The thing is comically massive -- about three feet wide and a foot tall, with the 420-watt amp feeding two stereo speakers. It has a dock connector for iPods and iPhones, or plug in any other sound source via USB, RCA or line-in ports. Sony says it has no pricing or availability information yet. One thing's certain, it's freakin' loud. I put my iPhone in, called up Deep Purple's "Speed King," and succeeded in thoroughly annoying everyone within 50 feet without turning the volume knob past 4. The cheesiest/best feature: LED lights are situated over both speakers, and they pulsate to the music. The colors cycle randomly, or you can set them to flash the colors of the Mexican or Brazilian flags. There are also color choices named "Forest," "Passion," and "Rainbow." What, no "Rasta"? But it has Bass Boost! Chya! *— Michael Calore*
07cyborg-mmo7-f
Cyborg Gaming MMO 7 Mouse ------------------------- Two years ago, the designers at Mad Catz Interactive's Cyborg Gaming showed off their futuristic [RAT 7](http://cyborggaming.com/prod/rat7.htm) gaming mouse, which featured the ability to turn any of its five buttons into three programmable modes. More than that, its contoured, intuitive design looked more at home in Michael Bay's *Transformers* editing room. However, the fervent gamers who make up the Cyborg crew weren't satisfied with a mere five buttons and three modes, so they set out to design the [MMO 7](http://cyborggaming.com/prod/mmo.htm), which features a staggering 13 buttons and six programmable modes for up to 78 potential commands. The laser sensor's DPI sensitivity has been bumped from 5600 to 6400, and because this $130 mouse is geared toward MMO gamers, there's a slick *World of Warcraft* plug-in that will help optimize your gameplay immediately. *— Erik Malinowski*
08canon-c300
Canon C-300 ----------- Canon has decided to bust into the cinematic-quality camera market with the big debut of the C-300. It's a market already occupied by the line of bad-ass RED and Arriflex models, but Canon's advantage is it's a brand already known and trusted by countless photographers around the world. The C300 sports two different mounts, so you can use all the lenses you’ve already got in your still camera kit. And with a super 35mm 8MP sensor and a Digic 3 processor, it’s a true beast of an entry device. GIven Canon's track record and the success of its DSLRs, we expect it to do well with the indie filmmaker crowd. *— Mike Isaac*
09xi3-server-f
Xi3 microSERV3R --------------- Big things happen when you think small. Example: the positively teensy [Xi3 microSERV3R](http://xi3.com/), a dual-core 64-bit processor server no bigger than a softball. It's modular: Start with the company's base configuration, then add up to 128GB of MSATA solid-state storage, a wide array of I/O ports, fans, mounting hardware, whatever you need. The company sells module cards on its website, but it also publishes the schematics so others can make their own — from garage tinkerers to start-ups. It runs Linux or Windows, but the Xi3 team tells me some enterprising hackers have gotten Android and OS X Lion to run on their machines. The 4x4x4-inch machines are already a big hit with the DIY crowd, and enterprises and institutions have taken a shine to Xi3's hardware as well. Using the company's new TAND3M software (an extra $100), two users can share one machine, each with their own 2560 x 1600 display and full access to all system resources. The machines can be configured to run as low as 10 watts, making them remarkably green — the government of Brazil, a country with very aggressive green energy policies, has been [snatching up Xi3 hardware](http://xi3.com/xi3_brazil.php) for use in its infrastructure. *— Michael Calore*
10kogeto-dot-360
Kogeto Dot ---------- The number of attachments and accessories available for the Apple iPhone has grown so absurdly large that there's an entire wing devoted to them here at CES. A lot of the stuff, frankly, isn't worth your time. But Kogeto’s Dot lens is worth a second look. The lens is a bubble-like piece of glass and plastic you strap to the back of your iPhone 4 or 4S. (Sorry, last-gen owners; no love for you.) Once installed, you can shoot video within a 360-degree field. Push the button to start filming and hold the phone horizontally, as if holding a dinner plate. The camera records everything going on around you for up to eight minutes. Videos are uploaded to Kogeto's servers, where you're able to share and stream your home movies to friends. It's a bit pricier than the usual iPhone lenses, $80, but totally worth it. Expect them on Apple Store shelves in February, or find them online at Amazon. *— Mike Isaac*
