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Like at all electronics confabs, the serious future-of-technology gear shares space with the frivolous, strange, wacky and zany – as well as some hidden gems. Here's the off-beat (and some on-beat) gizmos I found wandering the show floors during this week's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.

Does looking through your door's peephole really tell you who's at your door? You'd like a pair over over-ear earphones designed for adults? You'd like a smartphone that works anywhere in the world with a physical keyboard? All these wishes and more are fulfilled with this week's newest gadgets.

Technology isn't always about, well, technology. Sometimes it's about how you package the technology. This week's top gadgets include ergonomic innovations that improve an iPad case, an external hard drive, a Webcam, a video baby monitor, a vacuum cleaner and even an alarm clock.