We continue our series of blogs on Useless Gadgets with Part 2 - Electronics.

1. Remote Control Pillow - This product is a design made so that you won’t lose your TV remote. The basic solution seems to be to make the TV remote far larger, and squishier. It’s far too easy to imagine leaning on this cushion to comfortably watch tele and finding the channel has changed and the TV has been muted.
2. Rock Simulator - Ever wondered what it’s like to be a rock? Of course you haven’t. But with this new simulator game, you can find out exactly what it’s like, with a variety of different locations to choose from to view your rock. We’re looking forward to the new ‘watching-paint-dry’ app after this. But knowing what the world of apps is like, it probably already exists.
3. Paro therapeutic seal robot - This electronic seal is a product from Japan designed to provide animal therapy in places where animals are not allowed. The robot seal supposedly reduces stress and improves socialisation in patients of hospitals and care facilities. But really, it is simply an imitation, and cannot replace the interactions we have with real animals and pets. At least, we hope not. Perhaps, if it is too successfully, we’ll soon be replacing our dogs and cats with animatronic seals.
4. Oculus Rift - The Oculus Rift is a pioneer in the field of Virtual Reality. But, it has found a very limited audience. The Oculus is very ahead of its time, and at the moment there are few games and simulations available on it. Most of the available simulations are either low-resolution of simply demos. And the problem is yet to be solved of how to move in the field of the Oculus without moving out of your chair. The Oculus Rift is a great idea, but the world simply isn’t ready for it yet.
5. 3-D TVs - Even with the advancements in the quality of 3-D products, it still seems like a gimmick. A 3-D TV is great for the first five minutes. Then the glasses get uncomfortable, you get used to the 3-D and stop noticing it, and you wish you’d never bought this over-priced, obsolete television in the first place.