The past few days have been a blast, and as first timers at CES we were truly impressed by all the emerging technologies that will surely make waves in the months to come. After roaming around all 3.2 million square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center, we came back with a pretty good idea of gadgets we can’t wait to see hit the mainstream market–or to spend our money on. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most interesting displays of televisions, remotes, touch screens, and just-for-fun gadgets we saw at CES.

iPod Charging Keychains
Our office is cursed by the fact that some wire-eating monster has secretly consumed every iPhone or iPod connector cord we’ve ever had. You can imagine our delight when we discovered that companies like Scosche and Miplug have developed a portable way to keep the iPod connector cable grouped with our car keys, so we’re never left stranded with a dead iPhone or iPod ever again. Keyrings not yet available for purchase.


eBooks
It looks like the Kindle and the Nook have plenty of competition in store for them for the upcoming Year of the eBook. CES even had its own eBook area, with about a dozen companies competing for the international market. Bigger companies like Samsung and Sony also had their own eBooks on display, but our favorite one by far was the Que proReader.

Flying Things
There were plenty of gadgets taking flight at this year’s Show. We were especially delighted by the Parrot Drone, which we discovered you can control with an iPhone, and an unlicensed flying X-wing wannabe



Parrot Zikmu ‘in Color’ by Philippe Starck
These colorful stereo speakers deliver a massive, crisp sound and fashionably adorn any Scandinavian-styled household that doesn’t want a regular old iPod dock clashing with the aesthetics. The speakers work with iPods and iPhones and support wireless streaming via WiFi and Bluetooth. You’ll be able to purchase these speakers in a few months for around $1,600.



Artsy iPhone Cases
Speck has teamed up with the ARTSPROJEKT Global Creative Network to enable up-and-coming independent artists to use iPhone cases as their canvas. The first three designs are limited edition and only 250 cases of each design will be sold worldwide.

Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station

This sleek black box may look like a regular USB hub, but it actually transforms your portable hard drives and flash drives into network storage. Use the data station in conjunction with a media streamer–your Xbox, Playstation 3, or even your Mac–to stream video to your television.

 Available soon at retailers everywhere.

Samsung Touch Remote Control 

This gadget looks like the elongated evil twin of the iPhone, but it’s really just Samsung’s new remote for the super thin 9000 Series LED television. The touch screen remote control offers a twin view feature with WiFi capabilities, so you can watch your favorite show even if you’re not in the same room as your television. This is especially useful for those times you have to, say, take the pot roast out of the oven, or use the bathroom.

Tablets, Tablets, Everywhere!
Yes, even as we’re only a few weeks away from discovering the truth behind the Apple tablet, CES seemed overrun by tablet fever. Companies like Lenovo had a hybrid tablet to show off, complete with attachable keyboard, while Nvidia unveiled the Foxconn tablet powered by its Tegra 2 processor. 



Android OS

Because it’s open source, Android is becoming a household name. We saw many unnamed, unmarked products claiming to run the Android OS, and we figure this is only an indication of what the future has in store for Google’s mobile operating system.

Thin TVs

It seems that televisions have been on a crazy crash diet, because this year’s CES flaunted some of the thinnest full-size HDTV televisions we’ve ever seen in our lives, including some at the Samsung booth that were as thin as the width of a pencil.

Gibson Dusk Tiger
Described as the “next generation of robot technologies,” this electronically charged musical instrument is surely equipped to pretty much replace your entire family of guitars. Even better, the software for the guitar is totally compatible with Mac OS X.

 
Polaroid is Making a Comeback

Maybe Lady Gaga has something to do with it, but Poloroid has decided to resuscitate its instant film cameras. No word on whether or not they’ll be manufacturing the instant film cartridges.

 
Sinbad
Everyone’s favorite 90’s celebrity superstar and faithful Apple fan made an appearance at this year’s CES. Unfortunately, we were unable to ask him if he’s planning on attending Mac World in February, but we’re really hoping he does.