Photos from CES Unveiled: Vegas' opening night

If you've ever wondered where your jetpack is, or hankered after a silver jumpsuit as a viable alternative to jeans and trainers down the Wetherspoons, you'll probably be keen on the idea of videophones. They've never really taken off, largely due to being rubbish. Perhaps the Viable VPAD will change that.

You don't need another VPAD to make a video call: the software can be installed on any computer with a webcam. The twist behind Viable is that the company is driven by people with a real understanding of visual communication: deaf people. In our picture, the nice chap demonstrating the VPAD has given up trying to teach us sign language and has instead lowered his horizons to helping us to count to, er, three? Hmm, still needs some work.