Daily Mail even called this year as the “pottiest year for gadgets ever.” I couldn’t agree more. Here’s why.
Sony Steel Edition SmartWatch 3
Watch out, Apple. Sony is also taking a stab at wearable devices with this matte-finished steel edition SmartWatch 3. Aesthetically, there’s a twist of classic elegance and a dab of casual feel on this watch. It’s powered by a Qualcomm chipset in standard 24mm watch strap for wee hours of fitness activities and split-times.
Apple Watch
For Apple fanboys and girls, their penchant for iDevices would perhaps intensify, but it will come later in spring 2015 if you believe the rumor mills. However, Apple says it’ll come early this year. The sapphire-coated watch, with customisable straps that blend with the iOS ecosystem, does offer the user a myriad of things to do in that puny touch screen wearable. Sony vs. Apple? What’s your bet?
Oculus VR virtual reality headset and Beyerdynamic GmbH headphones
Here’s an awesome shot by Bloomberg – a CES 2015 guest wearing the headset and headphones testing out the Arkamys Co. sound technology. Our 3D experience progresses in ludicrous designs and rich audio content.
Smartphone app that helps diagnose sleeping disorders
Health apps? Diagnose sleeping orders? There’s an app for that! Enough of lab tests and wires, a team of researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology and Florida State University are working on a project that will allow your smartphone to listen to and monitor your breathing while you sleep without wearables. The project was featured in MIT Technology Review and the smartphone app will be developed this year.
Baidu’s DuBike
China’s search engine giant Baidu is exploring on smart devices like DuBike. This smart bicycle features sensors that are capable of collecting fitness and health data – heart rate, pedal pressure, seat pressure – using a Bluetooth-connected smartphone. With Baidu Maps integrated into the display on the bars, navigation on routes will be easier for the rider. Unfortunately, this may only be available in China online due to limited mapping data.
Control smart devices with Fin
We’ve grown lazy using the remote control when flipping between channels. With Fin – a bluetooth-enabled device that comes with a gesture interface that allows you to control smart devices like TV – it’ll be much slicker. Fin has three built-in sensors for the beam signals to work with a 100 metre range between the hand and the smart device. It’s not yet available in the market (but RHLvision offers pre-order), though a prototype has been produced.
Google’s Project Ara
Google’s Project Ara will reinvent the way we build, buy, and use smartphones in the future. It’s not a phone for now, but rather a project being worked on using DARPA philosophy. The components of the phone are made up of magnetic modules that are networked to communicate with each other to function seamlessly like, well … a smartphone.
*IDEO’s concept of Work on Wheels
Now this has got to materialise soon! IDEO, one of the world’s global design agencies, rolled out their concept of “WOW” or Work on Wheels. Instead of employees commuting to work, these driverless pods do the opposite – workspaces commute to employees instead and can be parked per convenience. Just imagine an engineer calling his pod to go to the construction site to bring the paper work! Talk about bringing the world of Jetsons into reality. Each pod is available by booking service.
And a myriad of other smart devices and technologies
We could go on with these new technologies and gadgets that’ll enrich our lives this year and beyond. What’s your favorite? Any other awesome technologies or gadgets in mind? Drop them in the comments below.
