Hasta La Ideas

Away from the big names, Patrick Burgoyne roots around for the cool, the innovative and the just plain weird at the Consumer Electronics Show

A lot of companies were showing wireless charging devices at CES this year. Typically these are mats that you place your phone etc on. WiPower, however, has a version that can transmit power at a distance of an inch. It’s not much, but it means that the device can be hidden out of sight under a desk, table or, as above under a tank of water. The lights floating on the surface of the pool are being powered by the charger fixed under the tank.

The Q2 Tip and Tilt Radio is a British (yay) internet radio with an accelerometer inside. Connect to your computer to set it up with your choice of stations. It’s battery powered so you can use it wherever. Tip it to change station, tilt it toward or away from you to adjust the volume.

From InWin comes the O-Ring, a rather nice portable hard drive.

Not the storage solution for you? How about this from a range of Sesame Street character USB memory sticks that can come preloaded with Sesame Street films.

This is the Flick Truck, a portable cinema.

Last but by no means least, and not on sale this year, but maybe next, I give you ‘PramCam’, one woman’s solution to carting a video camera around all day and trying to hold it steady.