I've gone to the Consumer Electronics Show for years, and generally the innovations there are because something is bigger, faster or brighter (think TVs and audio gear). Occasionally you'll find a company that's rethought a common object -- like, say, an iPod dock -- and done good things with it, but mostly it's the same stuff you saw the previous year, just refined and reengineered.

For 2009 the commodity item at the show seems to have been headphones, ear buds and other personal listening devices to improve your iPod, cell phone, Gameboy, PSP, laptop and other handheld device listening experience. I came home with a half-dozen different ones!

The one that I found brilliant, however, wasn't the one with skulls on the ends (though that was cool), or the one with personalizable earbud ends (again, cool idea) or even the lower priced noise-reducing units. The winner in my book was the listening devices from iHearSafe that limit the max volume of what you're hearing...