The 25 Most Promising Inventions of 2010

2010 is a promising year for bring you the most functional, promising, and novel of the batch. If youre tired of waiting for flying cars and voice-controlled sunglasses, this just might be your year.

Watch out for these products, coming in stores near you!!!!

25. nPower Personal Energy Generator

The PEG harvests one of the biggest energy hogs on earthyou. Place the little device into your bag or briefcase, plug in your cell phone, GPS, or iPod, and let your kinetic energy power up your gadgets while you walk. You can get an 80% charge in one hour through your own energy alone. Green and brilliant.

24. Flying Car: Terrafugia

Even though were well into the 2000s, nobody has come up with a Jetsons-style flying car. Until now. The Terrafugia Transition is more of a driving plane than a flying car, but its a promising first step. The worlds first street legal plane hits runways and highways in 2010.

23. Sony 3D-360 Hologram

No glasses needed! Just turn on your tabletop unit and enjoy a 360-degree view of images and possibly video through this stereoscopic display. Sony isnt yet sure what to use it for, but ads, video games, and medical visualizations are just a few ideas.

22. Xeros Waterless Washing Machine

The waterless washing machine isnt as sexy as some of the other gadgets arriving in 2010, but its conservation qualities should be applauded. It uses nylon beads and a spin cycle to clean your clothes, saving water while potentially reducing the need for dryers.

21. Recompute: The Cardboard Computer

Cardboard is the new black. Legions of product made primarily of corrugated cardboard are hitting the market. This little beauty will benefit anyone who has ever broken that little sticker while changing out a sound card or adding memory to a CPU.

20. Powermat Wireless Battery Charger

If youre tired of carrying around one charger per electronic toy, youre in luck. The Powermat lets you charge your iPhone, Blackberry, Nintendo DS, and most other gadgets on the same mat. One mat, one plug.

19. Samsung Water-Powered Battery

Sure, one mat, one plug is cool. But what if you didnt have to plug in at all? Samsung is speeding past the AC plug, around the solar charger, and directly into the water faucet. Its new micro-fuel cell and genereator rpowers your cell phone through water alone. Jurys still out on whether it will work long-term.

18. Camaro: Tranformers Edition

Love muscle cars? Have you seen Transformers more times than all your nieces and nephews?
Then this head-turner is for you. Note that the car does not actually transform, nor does it come with any multi-weaponry.

17. Apple Tablet

It has always been tough to determine what Apple will put out in the next year. But this time, the anecdotal evidence seems to add up. Its safe to say you will see a touchscreen-based tablet Apple product that will both fight with Kindle for books and netbook manufacturers for small computing.

16. The Honda Bicycle Simulator

As part of a universal quest to replicate outdoor activities without actually going outside, Honda has unveiled a new kind of bicycle. It doesnt actually go anywhere, but it does simulate real-life situations riders may face on the way to work or the store. Think of it as defensive driving for bicyclists.

15. Panasonic 50-inch 3D 1080p Plasma TV

Have you noticed the slew of new movies coming out in 3D? This new kind of TV could be the reason. Once you spring for specialized glasses, a new Blu-ray player, and a bunch of 3-D DVDs, youll be ready for this TV.

14. Gibbs Quadski

Heres the scene. 007 is in the middle of an ATV chase, 4-wheelers spewing mud all around him as he speeds toward the sea. He looks like hes done for. Then, suddenly, he plows into the ocean and hits a button. The wheels on his ATV fold as he speeds away, spraying water on the bad guys. This ATV/Jetski can be yours next year, in the form of the Quadski. Bad guys not included.

13. Space Elevator

You cant actually buy one of these, but you might be able to help build one and then own it. The Space Elevator, formerly the stuff of science fiction, will become reality in 2010, when building teams will compete for cashand bragging rightsto actually get it done.

12. 2010 Brabus Mercedes-Benz Viano Lounge

Tilt back in your leather lounge chair. Turn on the Sat TV. Load your Nespresso machine with the finest coffee beans in the world, then take a photo of it all with your iPhone. Load the photo and to your Twitpic from the on-board Sony Vaio laptop. Did I mention that you can do all this while cruising down the interstate at 80 mph? Classy.

11. Plasma Scalpel

Touted as a lightsaber for military doctors, the new plasma scalpel works by using ionized gas in a controlled light beam. This simultaneously slices and cauterizes a wound on the battlefield. Coming in 2010 to a war zone near you. Heres to hoping you never see one!

10. Touch Wood

Theres only one thing cooler than corrugated cardboard in technology. Its name is wood. The Japanese are leading a trend called Mori Girl (Forest girl), which aims to limit the use of plastic by using sustainable wood instead.

9. V12 Dual-Touchscreen Notebook

Canova 2.0 is working with an undisclosed US manufacturer to change the screen game. The new dual-LCD screen laptop could take the form of big iPhone-style touchscreens or, if theyre working with a different company (they wont say who it is), simply one of the neatest laptops ever to hit markets.

8. OnLive

OnLive is simple: Play the hottest video games from your TV, PC or Mac over a broadband connection. No console, no discs. Some very smart people are predicting that OnLive might be the console killer. That may be stretching it, but the technology seen at E3 is hard to argue with.

7. MyKey by Ford

Teens have a propensity for unsafe driving. Thats hardly news, but what parents can now do to encourage safe driving is. The MyKey can be set to control the vehicle by limiting speed, chiming when the gas tank is 75 miles from empty, and limiting the cars audio by as much as 44%. Kids will hate it. Thats probably why its such a good thing.

6. Tri-Specs

You have your phone, your iPod, your headphones, and your wi-fi headset, in case you get a call. You have your sunglasses. Youre ready to goor are you? What if you could pull on your shades and have all of the above, in one cool package? Enter Tri-Specs. They come built-in Bluetooth wireless headphones for an MP3 Player or cell phone, retractable earbuds, built-in volume control, and even voice control. For $200, you can be the coolest kid on the block.

5. Microsoft Xbox360 Project Natal

Now that Microsoft did the wireless controller right, theyre throwing it out the virtual Window in favor of Project Natal. Rumored to be coming at one of next years conferences, PN will have no controller or wires connecting you with the screen. Well see if it works.

4. Google Wave

Google has a way of inventing things that people do not know they need until they understand the product. Its latest such creation is Google Wave. Its not email. Its not chat. Rather, a Wave is a document that acts like a conversation, live and changeable on the fly. Rich media drives the experience. But you wont really know how much you need it until Google actually gives it to you.

3. The KS810 Keyboard Scan

This keyboard with a fully-integrated scanner takes product hybridization one step further. The KS810 keyboard contains a full-color, 600dpi scanner that lets you drop scans into most online applications. If keyboard scanning isnt your thing, product creator Lifeworks is also offering a keyboard with a built-in iPod dock.

2. Corrugated Cardboard Laptop Case

If youre sick and tired of those cool-looking black leather laptop cases, rejoice! Giles Miller has designed a customizable cardboard box for that perfectly fits your little Netbook. You can even put your own logo on it. Take that, Targus.

1. Gocycle Electric Bicycle

Coast in electric mode for up to 20 miles in this little sucker, then fold it up and take it with you. Of course, you might want to pedal every now and then, just to make it look like youre making an effort.