Gadgets

Coffee in the morning is no small matter. Decisions get made while sipping the caffeinated brew, decisions that shape the day. Like an architect, we construct plans, piece by piece, layer by layer, until a form emerges. Of course, that usually doesn't involve the actual coffee cup. But then again, who is to say it cannot?

The ThinkGeek Build-On Brick Mug ($19.99) is a coffee mug designed to appeal to designers of all ages. The interactive mug invites users to fiddle with it, stacking popular parts onto their own creations. Exactly what those popular parts might be is, of course, of utmost importance; the last thing anybody wants to do is wrestle with their morning beverage.

Rest assured, the mug is compatible with Lego, PixelBlocks, Mega Bloks, Kre-O, or K'Nex Bricks. The mug itself doesn't come with any bricks; it's strictly BYOB.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--At MWC 2013, much of the buzz was predictably about new smartphones, tablets, and mobile operating systems. Behind the scenes though, another movement stirred. Gear that places humans and sophisticated technologies in extremely tight proximity, almost approaching the cybernetic, was everywhere.

The trend of people integrating computing technology into their daily lives has been with us for decades, but it's only within the last few years that we've really seen a groundswell of these cybertech products. A flood of smartwatches that link to smartphones via wireless Bluetooth connection, many born on Kickstarter, have begun to finally ship. … Read more

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there were a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless touch screen.

So if you can't be in Barcelona, join CNET for a video tour of some of the hottest devices and most fascinating finds of the show.

Imagine waking up, reaching for the tablet on your nightstand, and turning on your coffee maker from bed. You catch a few more winks before it alerts you that your hot java's ready. If Qualcomm's concept Wi-Fi coffee maker ever goes into production, your mornings may never be quite the same.

The coffee maker, however, is just one of many odd and unusual gadgets on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--One of the more jaw-dropping tech demos on view at this year's Mobile World Congress, new touch-screen technology from chipmaker STMicroelectronics lets you control your smartphone or tablet without actually touching the display.

Using it, you can swipe, drag, and prod at your touch-screen device, replacing the fear of fingerprints with the feeling of controlling a spaceship's navigation system.

There's nothing special about the touch screen itself, but rather about the controller chip that manages the panel. Rather than monitoring contact with the screen, the chip observes the electrical field that the tablet's touch screen … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Track your heart from your wrist with the Mio Alpha, yet another smartwatch launched by Kickstarter and shown off at MWC 2013. For $199 the Alpha is water resistant and built to reliably read the rate of your ticker.

With clean lines and smoothly rounded curves, the Mio Alpha looks and feels both futuristic and sporty. As well it should since the Alpha is essentially a timepiece and fitness gadget for people looking for serious feedback about their workouts.The watch's soft silicone wrist strap is comfortable, too, and it's clear this gizmo was designed to wear … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei normally makes smartphones, but now it wants to take control of your TV with its tiny MediaQ M310.

This black box is a truly minuscule media hub, measuring only 14mm thick. It's so light you could almost forget you were holding it, and it would easily slot behind your TV, out of sight.

Inside is a quad-core processor, the same chip that's powering Huawei's newest flagship phone, the Ascend P2. That should give the M310 enough grunt to chew through graphically testing games or high-definition movies. That chip is backed up by … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Fear spills and splashes damaging your smartphone no longer. Startup company DryWired believes it has the technology to easily and effectively armor your handset against water and other liquids.

According to the Los Angeles, Calif. based firm, the DryWired technique uses a nano scale monomer material that, when heated forms a gas, then cools to become a water-tight sealant.

A special machine applies the DryWired material to phones and tablets that have been partially disassembled, the idea being that a device's internal components are protected, not only its exterior.

Indeed DryWired claims that after an ordinary phone has … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Time for a new meaning to "plug and play": the BeeWi Mobot is a power plug that not only controls the gadgets in your home, but also tells you what's going on while you're out, thanks to a SIM card and an iPhone app.

The Mobot is a prototype shown off here at Mobile World Congress by smart toy-builder BeeWi. Plug the Mobot into a power socket, then plug an electrical appliance or gadget into the Mobot, and the Mobot will control that gadget. What makes it more than just a boring old timer plug … Read more