Kelli B. Grant

Senior consumer reporter and "Deal of Day" columnist Kelli B. Grant traveled booth to booth at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to find the best, the worst, and the most-hyped gadgets and gizmos. Read her dispatches at Pay Dirt.

One will weigh your baby and send each reading to a linked smartphone app. Another is supposed to alert dog owners via text message when Spike escapes the yard. And then there's the Solowheel -- which is essentially a battery-powered unicycle that retails for a whopping $1,800.

This week, as thousands poured into the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics Show, Americans got a glimpse of the not-too-distant future. But they also got a peek at a lot of products that critics say may never see the light of day, or have some other quirks. Here are ten that may fit that category.

A Pricey Personal Trainer on Your Wrist

Wearers of the new Motoactv fitness-tracking device may be burning as much cash as they are calories. The device costs $250, plus extra for accessories like a wristband, bike mount or heart-rate-tracking headphones. That's substantially more than free apps like RunKeeper or the $30 Nike+ kit. A Motorola spokesman says the Motoactv is a better bet for its accurate technology, and all-in-one design -- it's also an MP3 player that can forward messages from your phone.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

A New Trick for Old Dogs -- GPS Tracking

Has Fido gone walking alone? The $99 Tagg GPS-enabled chip connects to a dog's collar and will alert owners via text message when he escapes the yard, and tell them where he is now. Ongoing service costs $8 a month. Critics say dogs that escape, however, often do so because they slip their collars -- which means Tagg could have limited use. A spokeswoman says the chip is secure on the collar, and that it's still a smart idea to microchip your pet.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

A Weight-Watching Plan for Baby

Get ready for baby-weight updates in the Facebook feeds of new-parent friends. The forthcoming smart baby scale from Withings sends data to a linked smartphone app. Experts and parents told us they didn't see a need for the expensive device -- which is expected to cost $150 to $170. But a spokesman says it could be an invaluable tool for parents concerned about their baby's weight, since updates can be emailed to a pediatrician.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

The World's Smallest Washing Machine?

Currently available in China, this teeny $100 Haier washing machine could soon come stateside. A spokesman said they plan to pitch it to parents who use cloth diapers, but judging by the parental outcry on our post, the small machine won't fly for those who need to wash a dozen or more diapers daily. The spokesman says feedback the company has received so far has been positive, and points out the washer could also work for swimsuits or delicates.

Photo: iStockPhoto

A Tablet for the Kitchen?

Experts called the $400 kitchen-specific Qook tablet "a solution in search of a problem" -- it's not an Android, and so only has a handful of proprietary apps, and its preloaded kitchen tools and content requires a monthly subscription (price TBD). A spokeswoman says the tablet is worth it because it does do everything a regular tablet does, and the 500 preloaded recipes mean "there's no excuse not to cook."

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

Skip Moisturizer for Technology

Deep breath: Moneual's "Dr. Soo BH1000" $299 facial system is significantly more expensive than the $20 steamers available in home goods and beauty stores. A spokeswoman says that's justified. In addition to releasing moisturizing steam, the device produces "anions" -- for the non-scientists among us, that's a negatively charged ionic particle naturally in the air. That unique feature, she says, can kill bacteria and improve health.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

Getting Hip To Music, Using Laser Beams

Signing up for music lessons might be more worthwhile -- although OK, less cool -- that the $199 Beamz music system. It plays the melody line of 50 preloaded songs, letting the user add complementary beats and instrumental riffs by moving their hands through its laser beams. But additional music options are fairly limited at just over 200 song selections, and mixing your own tunes requires deejay equipment. A spokeswoman says the library is growing fast.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant

Smartphone Features For a Home Phone Line

This $60 Ooma phone handset, available in March, has a two-inch color LCD screen, customizable ringtones, and flashes the caller's Facebook picture and name when available. But only subscribers to Ooma's VoIP service can use it, and that requires a $200 base unit, although ongoing service is free. A spokesman says that based on the average home phone bill, the base unit pays for itself in less than six months, and Ooma subscribers save more than $200 in the first year.

Get Your Piece of a $20B Pie

Website and app Savvy tracks store and price adjustment policies -- letting consumers know if that pair of designer jeans they just bought are now on sale, and that they should go back to the store to claim a price adjustment. But it's not a perfect tool. The site tracks just 250 big retailers and doesn't compare prices among them. (Some stores offer an adjustment if a competitor has it cheaper.) A spokeswoman says Savvy keeps adding new stores and features.

Photo: iStockphoto

A Lighter, Cheaper Segway

The $1,800 Solowheel is essentially a battery-powered unicycle for the 21st Century. It's substantially cheaper than the once-popular $5,000 Segway personal transports, but for what's basically a tech toy with limited uses, it's still not cheap. A spokeswoman says the lightweight Solowheel, which can reach speeds of up to 10mph, could be a smart alternative to public transportation for those with short commutes.

Photo: Kelli B. Grant