Worst Of CES 2012: 9 Dumb, Unnecessary, Ill-Conceived Gadgets

LAS VEGAS -- Well, they can't all be winners.

Even though every company arrives at CES with their press pitches memorized and a strong winds at their backs, promising terrific sales and widespread adoption and revolutionary progress, the fact is that some of the products here are just duds. Some are bad ideas; some are poorly executed; some are ostentatious pieces of cyber-dung.

Whatever the sin, we've collected the worst gadgets we saw here at CES 2012 into one handy document, for you to relive This Year In Crap-Nology. Our condolences to this year's...uh...champions.

For more from CES 2012, check out our roundup of 7 new smartphones that stole the show in Las Vegas, 9 wild and wacky gadgets for music lovers and 7 Ultrabooks that could take on the MacBook Air. Visit our CES 2012 Big News page to see all the rest from the Consumer Electronics Show. (You can also check out the worst from last year's CES right here.)

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Comments

[jmikeh]

07:38 AM on 07/12/2012

those descriptions are hilarious!!

[Xenolan]

10:31 AM on 01/20/2012

I worked for a water company not long ago, and we ordered about 300 waterproof tablets to put in our trucks so our field guys could stay in touch with the office and not have to worry about their tablet getting destroyed if it got splashed. I could also see them as being very useful to doctors, contractors, people who like outdoor recreation, and anyone who owns a boat. This is actually a very USEFUL piece of technology!

[John Nemesh]

02:30 PM on 01/16/2012

A little unfair to put that giant Sigma lens on your list. I can see this being used by MANY professional photographers, especially with sports! No, your average joe isnt gonna plunk down $30,000 for a lens, but a lot of pros certainly will, IF the lens is good!

[VelenoSangue]

03:49 AM on 01/17/2012

Yeah, seriously. Not everything is targeted at consumers.

[HighInfoVoter]

10:18 PM on 01/15/2012

Waterproof devices are an excellent idea, and the 200-500mm f2.8 lens is a marvel -- excellent for wildlife photos.

What a clueless list.

[mathme]

05:12 PM on 01/15/2012

And the 200-500 f2.8 lens is amazing. A great lens for sports photographers. See those people on the side line with huge lenses? Probably 400mm f/2.8 lenses, but this gives them a range of lengths AND speed. They won't have to decide between carrying a large number of bodies and missing certain shots.

[mathme]

05:14 PM on 01/15/2012

These lists that HP posts after every tech show seem to be "I can't think of how I would use these personally, therefore they're dumb!"

[mathme]

05:09 PM on 01/15/2012

So could divers use the waterproof tablet during dives? I think that's kind of cool.

[IDriveACrapWagon]

11:18 AM on 01/16/2012

I don't think this is a rare opportunity as I get these sort of solicitations almost everyday.

[cmacattack]

01:59 PM on 01/15/2012

I was at CES and this list of 9 products just barely scratches the surface of the crap being pawned at it. Of course i say crap but unfortunately it sells, otherwise there wouldn't have been thousands of booths with it.

[biffbaff]

09:33 AM on 01/15/2012

Just think SkyMall catalog - I have seen more nonsensical products that make me wonder wtf, but for some reason I get mildly disappointed if I get on the plane and they still don't have a newer edition!

[biffbaff]

09:27 AM on 01/15/2012

I think people miss the point of the CES. Most of the products will never see the light of day or your neighborhood mall. Some are just outrageous prototypes to attract attention get you to move closer where you might notice another product that is more realistic.

[stealth694]

11:50 PM on 01/14/2012

The Oversized speaker, definetly gets my vote for the most stupid Item,

[HowthCastle]

08:30 PM on 01/14/2012

I suppose the boombox lady must be a hard-up college student or single mom, taking whatever work is available, so she has to stand around in public in front of that preposterous display. That would explain the look of obvious embarrassment on her face, poor girl!

[sogden]

07:58 PM on 01/14/2012

Where's the droid?

[isis]

07:53 PM on 01/14/2012

The robot would be useful if you had allergies.

[dwill123]

07:25 PM on 01/14/2012

"Sigma 200-500mm Camera Lens"

Apparently the author does not do any type of sports photography for a living. What would he say to this model:

http://laughingsquid.com/99000-canon-1200mm-f56l-ef-usm-super-telephoto-lens/