20°c A few clouds
25°c Chance of thundershowers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
From the bendy-phone to the iPotty, a look at the Consumer Electronics Show
A prototype Windows smartphone with a flexible OLED display was shown off during Samsung's keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Wednesday. (JAE C. HONG / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The iPotty for iPad potty training device is see on display at the Consumer Electronics Show, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in Las Vegas. No app is available to go with the trainer, but the idea is to keep the child on the toilet for as long as necessary by keeping them digitally entertained. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (CP)
The Mondo Spider, a mechanical spider powered with hydraulics, is moved around its exhibit space by eatArt creator Ryan Johnston at the Consumer Electronics Show, Wednesday, in Las Vegas. (JULIE JACOBSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
LAS VEGAS -- Some of the weirdest gadgets at the International Consumer Electronics Show are designed to solve problems you never knew you had. Is your toddler having trouble sitting still on the potty? Let the iPotty come to the rescue. Are you bored driving to work in a four-wheeled vehicle? Climb inside a 725-kilogram mechanical spider for your morning commute. Phone not small enough? Here's one you can fold in half.
Of course, not all of the prototypes introduced at the annual gadget show will succeed in the marketplace. But the innovators who shop their wares here are fearless when it comes to pitching new gizmos, be they flashy, catchy or just plain odd.
A search for this year's strangest (and perhaps least useful) electronic devices yielded some weird devices that may or may not make it market.
IPOTTY
TOILET training a toddler is no picnic, but the iPotty from CTA Digital seeks to make it a little easier by letting parents attach an iPad to it. This way, junior can gape and paw at the iPad while taking care of business in the old-fashioned part of the plastic potty. The iPotty will go on sale in March, first on Amazon.com .
WHO IT'S FOR: Parents at their wits' end.
PRICE: $39.99
BENDY-PHONE
BY showing off a phone with a flexible screen, Samsung is hinting at a day when we might fold up our large phone or tablet screens as if they were maps.
WHAT IT IS: Brian Berkeley, head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s display lab in San Jose, Calif., demonstrated a phone that consists of a matchbox-sized hard enclosure, with a paper-thin, flexible colour screen attached to one end. The screen doesn't appear flexible enough to fold in half like a piece of paper, but it could bend into a tube.
The company also showed a video of a future concept, with a phone-sized device that opens up like a book, revealing a tablet-sized screen inside.
MONDO SPIDER, TITANOBOA
A pair of giant hydraulic and lithium polymer battery-controlled beasts from Canadian art organization eatART caught some eyes at the show. A rideable eight-legged creature, Mondo Spider weighs 725 kilograms and can crawl forward at about eight kilometres per hour on battery power for roughly an hour. The 550-kilogram Titanoboa slithers along the ground at an as yet unmeasured speed.
Titanoboa was made to match the size of a 15-metre-long reptile whose fossilized remains were dated 50 million years ago, when the world was five to six degrees warmer. The original version of Mondo Spider, meanwhile, first appeared at the Burning Man arts gathering in Nevada in 2006.
WHO IT'S FOR: Your inner child, Burning Man participants, people with extra-large living rooms.
PRICE: The spider's parts cost $26,000. The Titanoboa costs $70,000. Engineers provided their time for free and both took thousands of hours to build.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 11, 2013 ??65533
History
Updated on Friday, January 11, 2013 at 12:08 PM CST: corrects spelling of Titanoboa
More Life & Style
- Back to Top
- Return to Life & Style
Poll
Most Popular Life & Style
- Indiegogo defends campaign for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's alleged crack video
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- U.S. court upholds Canadian company's patent for couples vibrator
- Two Alberta family doctors suspended over inappropriate patient relationships
- Just for kicks: shoe swap hits town
- Recipes for potato salad, chicken drumettes and luscious lemon buttermilk cake
- Pets of the week
- The old wooden church
- JULY FOURTH: Recipe for 3-pepper barbecue potato salad
- Vitamin C and lysine proven to keep arteries healthy
- Even elite athletes sometimes feel depressed after completing a marathon
- Apple's big week
- Just for kicks: shoe swap hits town
- Make it look natural; companies work to make packaged foods appear homespun
- Study shows commonly prescribed statin drugs and some antibiotics can interact
- Small-town Ohio police chief gives quick repercussion for criminals through Facebook floggings
- Doctors say public purse and public health at risk because of government cuts
- Ontario workers who fear chemical made them sick told to file claim
- More than 400 people ordered to leave homes in Fort McMurray due to flooding
- The old wooden church
- Deadly liver cancer on the rise, but half of cases preventable: Cancer Society
- Climate change keeping early birds from getting worms: study
- Overabundance of carp threatening ecosystem at Saskatchewan's Wascana Lake
- Doc's memoir portrays ERs as frantic, funny, frightening ... but never dull
- Carb-loading and sports drinks: debunking marathon myths
- Two dead, one injured after helicopter crashes north of Fort McMurray, Alberta
- You can't break bad eating patterns, but you can modify them to your advantage
- Magazine's creator says style has no size
- Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the controversial abortion rights crusader, dead at 90
- Even elite athletes sometimes feel depressed after completing a marathon
- Website helps Parkinson's patients avoid protein-medication interaction
- Conflict resolution, aboriginal-style
- It’s all in your mind
- Groin soreness sign of testicular cancer
- Recipes for potato salad, chicken drumettes and luscious lemon buttermilk cake
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- Study: Vaccine against sexually transmitted HPV cut infections in teen girls by half
- Canadian high school seniors in worse health than first-years. study shows
- Study shows commonly prescribed statin drugs and some antibiotics can interact
- Even elite athletes sometimes feel depressed after completing a marathon
- Website helps Parkinson's patients avoid protein-medication interaction
- The old wooden church
- Groin soreness sign of testicular cancer
- Adrenal fatigue can have significant impact
- Turks and chaos
- Poor preschooler eating habits can raise cholesterol, set stage for heart disease
- Make it look natural; companies work to make packaged foods appear homespun
- Just for kicks: shoe swap hits town
- Doc's memoir portrays ERs as frantic, funny, frightening ... but never dull
- Cramping their style
- Specialist moving to Toronto after 23 years at cutting-edge sleep lab
- Markdown maven tells world of Winnipeg deals
- Carb-loading and sports drinks: debunking marathon myths
- Iron overload often missed diagnosis for heart problems
- You can't break bad eating patterns, but you can modify them to your advantage
- Yaz and Yasmin pills linked to 23 deaths, say Health Canada documents
- His nose knows: City perfume maker can concoct your personal aroma
- Genealogical searches connect present to past
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.