Offered by Hammacher Schlemmer:

This is the first voice-interactive coffee maker that asks, "Would you like to set the clock or set the coffee brewing time?" and operates in response to your verbal commands. Simply saying, "Set the coffee brewing time," or "Set the clock," will prompt the machine to reply, "Please say the time, including AM or PM." It uses an advanced voice recognition system to identify any time of day you speak, eliminating the hassle of fussing with buttons.

Sure, the one instance that you ever have to program the time on your coffee maker is a tad inconvenient, and I can appreciate the UI improvement of any gadget. But as long as we're using voice commands and $100 coffee makers, we might as well open the door for new functionality. "Brew 4 cups of coffee" or "tea earl grey hot" would both be welcome commands that could save you time and prodding on a daily basis.

Imagine if you could only tell the Enterprise to "set the clock." [Hammacher Schlemmer via CrunchGear]

* To be fair, maybe Hammacher Schlemmer just failed to mention the "make coffee" command. Even if so, the fact that you'd need to press a button to issue the order sort of negates the convenience.

I do have to say the voice recognition seems to be on the ball from the video; it is actually impressive when Sascha, the German chap in the vid, butchers the pronunciation of "Kanye West" (around 3:46 in video) and the computer lady still understands it and plays a song.

But why do you need this voice functionality baked into an all-in-one with such a big screen where you are bound to have your hands somewhat free to control the touchscreen? Though I guess, it could be useful for when in a kitchen before cooking up a MacGyver Chef creation. [Netbook News]

All you have to do is plug in your headphones into the Accenda Voice Control jack, and then plug that into the iPod dock connector. You can even put it on a neck strap or use the label clip. There you can activate it using voice functions. Even though its primarily targeted toward English-speaking users, it can be trained to recognize commands in other languages and people with strong accents. It can work with the iPod Nano (1G, 2G, 3G) iPod Touch, iPod Classic and all other older devices. Even though it will listen to you, too bad there's nothing to stop anyone else from listening to you and thinking you're a freak. [Accenda Voice Control via OhGizmo]

Like the Roomba, it works autonomously—but you can order the Figura around with verbal commands like "clean up" or "get out of the way." Plus, the ability to wax floors makes it useful for people who have ditched carpet in favor of hardwood. A price has not been disclosed, but Japanese customers should be able to pick one up staring in April of 2009. [BotJunkie]

As a product, the Moshi is pretty focused. There's no radio or MP3 support, and the alarm and voice command options are limited and unchangeable, though there is a pleasant "Sleep Sound" ambient noise function. The concept of an alarm clock that requires an ongoing, if simple, conversation to function properly is enough to justify its reasonable $50 price, and endorsement by the World Blind Union would seem to indicate that it's not a complete gimmick. Feature demos and purchase page are at the source link. [Moshi via Crave]

There will also be an optional Voice Control feature that will allow users to browse the web, create calendar entries and send emails/text messages using voice commands. Just don't let all of this hands-free freedom go to your head. It still doesn't give you carte blanche to multi-task while driving down the highway. [InformationWeek]