Gadgets for the 'One Percent'
Early adopters want technology that pushes the envelope. Gadget hounds want lots of features. If you pay for your digital playthings what others spend on a car, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have both. These elite electronics let you play at the cutting edge with a deep bench of standard capabilities backing you up.
So, what are the gadgets you’re likely to see in the hands of the ‘one percent’? Click ahead for some high-end luxury gadgets.
By Chris Morris, Special to CNBC.com
Posted 2 April 2012
Samsung SUR40
Price: $8,400
Large capacity touchscreen devices are still in their infancy, but they inevitably draw a crowd at the Consumer Electronic Show each year.
Imagine a desktop computer set into a table that allows you to shift things onscreen around with your hands like you’ve seen on “Hawaii Five-0.”
Most makers are still in prototype; Samsung’s 40-inch, high-definition LCD panel that recognizes fingers, hands and other objects placed on the screen is the only one shipped to retail.
Personal Submarine
Price: $2 million
As soon as "Titanic" director James Cameron journeyed to the deepest part of the ocean in March, the race to get a personal submarine was on.
Luxury retailer Hammacher Schlemmer is ahead of this curve, with a 6,200-pound, single-passenger sub that descends to 1,000 feet, move at 3 knots and stay under for six hours. The price includes a comprehensive training program.
Hasselblad H4D-60
Price: $42,000
A whopping 60 megapixels gives Hasselblad’s system ultra-high resolution, but what makes this a preferred tool of studio and fine-art photographers is its ultra-fast auto focus and its mammoth image sensor. The downside to the showy resolution number is that a standard 4GB memory card only stores about 50 pictures.
Vertu Signature Cell Phone
Price: $10,700
This is actually a middling model for Vertu, a division of Nokia: its diamond and ruby encrusted phones go for over $300,000. The Signature has super bright (and clear) OLED displays and ring tones played by the London Symphony Orchestra. Also, like all Vertu phones, it comes with a concierge service that does everything from book travel to hard-to-score tickets. Think of this as a car with OnStar—without the car.
JVC DLA-RS60 Projector
Price: $11,995
The chairs in your MGM-mogul-style home theater set you back five-figures, so you don’t want your guests to watch a television screen. This top-of-the line projector beams crystal clear HD images against a silver screen as big as as your wall can accommodate. It's also THX certified for 3D, so you'll hear movie quality sound as you watch the images pop off the screen.
Luvaglio Laptop
Price: $1 million
Filled to the brim with the latest components, including a solid-state hard drive to 128 GBs of RAM, the Luvaglio is available with customized wood, iron, or other metal casing. But the thing that really drives up the price is the catch that can only be turned on by inserting a specific diamond into a form-fitting lock.
Samsung Super OLED
Price: N/A
First, there's the 55-inch screen itself — one of the largest OLEDs ever made, offering super bright pictures with less energy consumption. Now the clincher: Two people can watch different shows on it at the same time, crisply and without ghosting, with special glasses. Pricing and availability will be announced later in the year.
Resolution Cantata Music Centre and Amp
Price: $4,000
This audio system acts as the hub for your music collection, playing CDs and networking with digital storage systems throughout your house to play songs wherever you have them stored (whether it's your iPod, computer hard drive or a backup drive). The Cantata also answers the question: How much do you have to pay for an audio system to look as good as it sounds? Instead of the usual black rectangle, the Cantata’s case resembles ocean waves, and its large, stylish display has won it many fans.
Ultrasone Edition 10 Headphones
Price: $2,800
Headphones have become a status symbol over the past few years. Don a pair of Ultrasone Edition 10s—one of only 2,010 pairs made—to announce your arrival. Only you can hear the outstanding sound, but the public can take note of the retro good looks, with Zebra wood inlays and sheepskin leather ear cups.
Red Epic-M
Price: $58,000
The Epic-M, a favorite of Hollywood filmmakers, might be overkill for those who just want to film sunsets at the beach. It comes equipped with an incredibly fast solid-state storage, a 5-inch touchscreen monitor to screen your work, and shoots up to 96 frames per second, making slow-motion shots breathtaking. Think a camera this good is too much of a splurge? Last year, “Avatar” director Cameron—yes, him again—bought 50.