Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary Father's Day gift -- or a treat for yourself? Each of these gadgets goes a bit off the beaten path without sacrificing usability. 

A hidden truth of innovative new tech products is that they sometimes have fatal flaws or simply don't work that well. This can be true for low-cost gadgets, such as a plant sensor that accurately reads soil quality but sends a signal over a flaky Bluetooth connection, as well as high-end products, such as an electric car that's fast and sporty but lasts for only 80 miles on a charge.
The following five gadgets break that mold. Not only are they ingenious, they're also practical: a solar keyboard that works even in your windowless cubicle, ski goggles that show you your speed and distance as you snake down the slopes, a tiny mobile mouse that's actually comfortable to use. Each of these clever products works as promised, and some you might just find yourself reaching for every day.

A mouse that (finally!) replaces your laptop touchpad

Here's an age-old conundrum: Most laptop touchpads are not that accurate or comfortable to use, yet lugging along a full-size desktop mouse just takes up more room in your laptop bag. Hardware manufacturers have offered scaled-down travel mice for years, but they tend to feel cramped and awkward to use.
Enter the Swiftpoint Mouse ($70). At 2.5 x 2.0 x 1.5 inches, it weighs only 1 ounce and works on top of your laptop or on a desk. Amazingly, this tiny, strange-looking mouse is just as accurate as a desktop mouse and more comfortable to use, since it has a better ergonomic angle. Your hand doesn't need to scrunch up in a ball to use it; instead, you hold its side indentations with your thumb and middle finger, with your forefinger resting on top of the device. A word of warning, though: You'll need a bit of practice to get the hang of it.
The mouse charges from the USB receiver that plugs into your laptop -- you just place the mouse on a small clip on the receiver and it charges in about 90 minutes for 3 to 4 weeks of use. It works with both Windows and Mac OS X computers.

 

Ski goggles that show you speed, distance and location

Skiers will testify to the fact that a sports watch is almost useless when you're heading downhill at 40mph. Because you're focused on moguls and tree stumps, you can't even check the time, let alone your altitude or how fast you're going. A few years ago, ski goggles that projected an image in front of you were somewhat helpful, but they were also annoying because the display blocked your view of the slopes.
The Recon Zeal Transcend GPS Goggles ($500 for the SPPX version with lenses that darken automatically or $400 for the SPX version that just blocks the sun) show a small one-inch, 320x240 display in the lower right lens that appears to float in space. You can look straight out from the 9-ounce goggles normally, then glance down to check your speed, real-time location (latitude and longitude), distance traveled, the temperature and other helpful skiing variables.
If that's not innovative enough for you, Recon says it's working on a new version called MOD Live, due out this fall, that connects to your Android phone over Bluetooth.

A truly portable electric bike

Anyone who has visited Google's Silicon Valley campus has no doubt seen the company's employees zipping around on electric-powered Segway scooters. Unfortunately, scooters are not that portable once you arrive at work. The electric-powered YikeBike, on the other hand, folds down into a compact 27 x 22 x 7-inch form for easy carrying and storage.
With a small 20-inch front wheel, a tiny 8-inch rear wheel and handlebars that jut out from the seat, this bicycle looks, well, weird. To ride it, you sit upright on the cushy seat with your hands down at your sides holding the handlebars, one for acceleration and one for braking. This unusual design makes the YikeBike more maneuverable than a typical bicycle, but it takes some getting used to -- practicing in a parking lot or other traffic-free area is imperative.
Equipped with a 450-Watt engine, the YikeBike can be fully charged in about 45 minutes and lasts about 6 miles on a charge. Its official top speed is around 15 mph, and it's designed for people whose heights range from 5'4" to 6'4" and who weigh up to 220 pounds. There are two models available: a carbon-fiber one that weighs about 24 pounds and costs $3,500, and one made from aluminum and composites that weighs about 31 pounds and costs $2,000.
At those prices, the YikeBike is not an impulse buy, and it may not be street-legal depending on your location. In other words, you can probably drive it on private property such as a college or corporate campus, but perhaps not on public roads. Be sure to check your local laws to see if there are specific rules governing electric bikes.

A keyboard powered by the sun (or your desk lamp)

While wireless keyboards are nothing new, Logitech has taken the concept a step further by introducing the Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 ($80). OK, it's a bit gimmicky -- after all, AA batteries are inexpensive and last quite a long time -- but it does keep a few toxic batteries out of the landfill. The K750 doesn't actually have to be in the sun to charge; its solar panels collect energy from any light source, indoors or out. It looks pretty cool too.
Logitech claims the K750 will last for three months on one charge, but I didn't have a chance put this to the test; in my experience, the keyboard was constantly charging from the available light. There's also a battery charge app you can run that shows you both the charge level and the amount of ambient light in the room.
More importantly, the K750 is an outstanding keyboard. It uses the flat, rectangular "chiclet" keys found on many laptops. The result is fast and accurate typing on a full-size keyboard that connects over 2.4GHz wireless to the included USB adapter. The perk is that, once it's connected to your Windows 7, Vista or XP computer, you never have to think about recharging it.

A refrigerator with wireless apps

There's no place in the home where people congregate more frequently than the kitchen. (Everyone has to eat, right?) So the refrigerator has long been the default location for simple communications such as shopping lists and notes between family members.
The Samsung RSG309 LCD Refrigerator ($2,700) advances those communications into the wireless age. There's a built-in 8-inch LCD touchscreen on the left-hand door that supports apps such as Pandora, WeatherBug, Twitter, Google Calendar, a slideshow viewer for Picasa images and several more apps -- with more in the works. The screen connects to your home network over Wi-Fi, a first for any kitchen refrigerator, and you can load new apps as they come out. You can queue up songs, display the current temp, or even show current news for anyone to check as they pass through the kitchen.
What makes the LCD Refrigerator practical is that it's also a good fridge: It has 30 cubic feet of space inside, has adjustable-height shelves, and (unlike many refrigerators) uses two different air circulation systems for the main refrigerator and freezer compartments. There's also a higher-end model, the $3,500 RF4289, that has a French-door design.