LONDON (Reuters) -
A "Star Wars" inspired hover chair, a speedy electric motorbike and
stereo speakers that cost as much as a small house are among the
attractions at Britain's biggest gadget show in London this weekend.
Organizers of Stuff Live hope thousands of visitors will forget
their financial worries for a few hours and dream instead about the
latest high tech toys.
Scores of exhibitors will show off everything from a pocket-sized DJ
mixing desk, a solar-powered mobile phone charger and a "robot guitar"
that uses tiny motors to tune its own strings.
Among the more unusual items on show is the British-designed Lounger, a chair that uses powerful magnets to float in the air.
Inventor Keith Dixon, of Sussex-based Hoverit Ltd, said he was
inspired as a child by the anti-gravity Landspeeder vehicles in the
"Star Wars" films.
"The sensation you feel as you lie back and close your eyes is
totally different -- like floating on a cloud," said a Stuff Live
spokesman. Its 6,000 pound ($9,620) price tag may bring visitors back
down to earth with a bump, however.
For those after something less sedate, U.S. company Vectrix has a
prototype of a high performance motorbike powered by an electric motor.
The sporty aluminum bike has a top speed of 125 mph, a range of 44 miles and costs nearly 40,000 pounds.
That's cheap compared to another star attraction: a pair of limited edition curvy metal loudspeakers worth 70,000 pounds.
The Muon speakers, made by Kent-based company KEF, are well over six
feet tall and have a thick shell of aluminum to minimize vibrations
from the four-way speaker system.
KEF describes them as "a truly contemporary art form appropriate for 21st century living."
Computer maker Asus will show off a laptop covered in laminated
strips of fast-growing bamboo rather than plastic in an attempt to make
it more environmentally sustainable.
* Stuff Live 2008 (www.stufflive.co.uk), organized by the technology
and gadget magazine Stuff, runs from Friday to Sunday at the ExCeL
center in London's Docklands.
(Editing by Steve Addison and Paul Casciato)
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