Hasta La Gadget!

CES isn’t exactly know for its humidifier selection–one company called SPT was showcasing a fairly wide selection of the things on the showroom floor today, however. This little pink one caught my eye–maybe it was the water bottle jutting out of it, or perhaps it was the deluge of steam pouring forth.

Either way, the Personal Ultrasonic Humidifier is a cool little device. It weights about 1.4 pounds and can output about 120cc of humidity per hour. The mist flow is also adjustable. The coolest part, of course, is the fact that it takes water bottles instead of a standard water tank, making this an ideal humidifier for taking on the road.

The Personal Ultrasonic Humidifier is available now for around $50.

You traditionally don’t really see a lot of plant-related technology at CES. After all, most of us are too busy doting over our shiny new gadgets to be bothered to keep house plants alive. PlantSense is looking to make the job of not killing plants a touch easier with its EasyBloom sensor. After all, the company points out, almost a third of the plants bought in the US every year (about $21 billion worth) die within the first year of their purchase.

Plug the EasyBloom into a pot and it will monitor soil conditions, temperature, and moisture. The device has a built in USB dongle which users plug into their computer after 24 hours worth of data collection. The company’s site monitors the conditions and lets you know what plants will thrive in them.

The gadget is available now for $59.95 from Amazon, Brookstone, and other stores. Check out a video of the EasyBloom in action, after the jump.

Is it just me, or is this space stuff like, total rocket science? Telescope manufacturer Meade is looking to take “all of the hassle and [put] in all the fun” of looking at cool stuff in the sky, with its new ETX-LS. This massive telescope has a slew of features that bring clear images to users who couldn’t locate a celestial body to save their lives.

The ETX-LS features Lightswitch Technology which lets users align the scope with the flip of a witch, using the Integrated Sensor Module and ECLIPS (Electronically Controlled Locate Identify Position System).

The telescope also features Advanced Coma-Free optics, an ECLIPS CCD for image capture, and the Autostar III hand-held controller, which features a database including more than 100,000 images.

For PCMag’s full CES coverage, go to http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,2235882,00.asp.

This product is definitely not for those of you “on the wagon”. However, if you don’t mind a constant reminder of a cocktail at your bedside, enjoying a soothing glow of A Glass Of Drink LED Light could be a good way to turn in.

When standing in an upright position, the device gives off luminous hues which smoothly alternate between green, blue, and red. Turn it upside down and the light goes away. It also comes with a switch that lets you turn it off completely. Once again, A Glass Of Drink LED Light does not appear to be an actual glass. So we don’t recommend using it to make gin and tonics.

With its power-savvy LEDs the light could also be considered “green”. But then again, it is powered by standard AAA alkaline batteries. The manufacturer could have easily come up with some sort of self-winding dynamo system, but didn’t. Thus, A Glass Of Drink LED Light did not make the cut for our green technology site, GoodCleanTech.com. Go here for more photos and a video.

Any geek living in California and Arizona knows Fry’s Electronics: everything electronics-related you could ever hope to buy, abysmal to decent customer service, and the bag checkers at the door.

It’s the last bit that makes this story so ironic: according to the Associated Press, a Fry’s Electronics vice president was arrested by the IRS on charges that he embezzled more than $65 million from the retailer to fuel his lavish lifestyle and pay off debts, most of them to the owners of the Venetian casino in Las Vegas. It’s worth noting that the VP has yet to be formally charged in the case, although the IRS says they will do so.

The VP allegedly charged suppliers more than the products were worth, then set up a shell company to accept kickbacks. Seventy wire transfers totaling $65.6 million came from five Fry’s suppliers, the AP reported. Those suppliers were not named.

Guess they should have asked for his receipt.