Have you decided to skip the iPhone 5 and the latest Android tablet? We can understand why. Iterative products might seem like they are not worth the expense.
But that's not true with every new gadget and piece of technology.
The innovative new gear in this list offers something brand new and cutting edge that breaks the norm.
1. Puzzlebox Orbit
Control a helicopter with your brain
As we move closer to the reality of living in the Star Wars
universe (minus the TIE Fighters), it's inevitable we'll start seeing
the gadgets and ideas from the movie. This mind-controlled orb, which
looks like the one Luke could see with his mind on the Millennium
Falcon, uses NeuroSky technology to read your concentration level using a
headset with electroencephalography (EEG) sensors.
The orb uses a
helicopter that can freely move left, right, up and down based on where
you direct it with your mind. Another innovation: the entire project
uses an open-source mentality for tweakers and hackers.
2. Dyson Tangle-Free Turbine Tool
First vacuum head that won't tangle
One
of the main frustrations in vacuuming is that you have to deal with
tangled strands - usually human or pet hair. This £45/US$69.99 (around
AU$67) attachment for the Dyson DC19 vacuum cleaner uses
counter-rotating brushes that remove hair before it tangles around the
main brush.
The attachment itself also has a wider contact area
that maintains suction with the carpet for longer, even in tight
crevices. Our first thought: what else can be tangle free? How about the
lawnmower, weed trimmer or maybe the family dog?
3. ViaSat Exede
First satellite internet to provide 12Mbps
What
do you do if you want to beef up your satellite internet service? For
starters, you launch a new satellite with 140Gbps of bandwidth. That's
enough to provide 12Mbps of access to subscribers. That's over 10
million Gigabytes of usage per month.
The new bandwidth also
creates a faster signal by using a wider spectrum called the Ka Band and
by concentrating the power (called a multi-spot beam). It's a US
innovation for now, so internet users elsewhere should cross their
fingers or send begging letters to ViaSat or something.
4. Epson Moverio BT-100
First transparent heads-up display
Wearable tech is now becoming more viable, thanks to cheaper electronics, mobile processors and innovative interfaces. Like the Google Glass
goggles, the Epson Moverio BT-100 is a see-through head-up display
(HUD) that uses micro-projection technology. The display looks like an
80-inch LCD panel hovering in space. The transparent multimedia goggles
display two images and can switch between 2D and 3D video.
The
computer, which runs on Android 2.2, includes a touchpad, lasts six
hours, and has expandable storage. The futuristic angle is that if you
can put up with the awkward looks, the entire computer is housed in the
goggles, providing portability and convenience when you need a quick
high-def Angry Birds fix. At £519/US699.99/AU$749 though, the Epson Moverio BT-100 isn't cheap.
5. Sony X900 series
Ultra HD video and loaded with UHD movies
The most compelling feature for this Ultra HD/4K
television is that it is actually shipping and available. Granted, at
£25,000/US$25,000 (around AU$37,055), the price tag is a bit steep, but
you get 3840 x 2160 pixels of glorious resolution on an 84-inch display
on the Sony KD-84X9005 (called the XBR-84X900 in the US).
The
60-degree viewing angle is also helpful for home theatre viewing. As
almost an afterthought, the display also enables you to play 3D movies.
For future-proofing your home entertainment, this is the display you
want if you need to buy now - and have that kind of extra cash.
6. Pong iPhone 5 Classic Soft Touch Case
Reduces cell phone radiation while increasing signal 20 per cent
In
case you haven't heard the news, the World Health Organization
classifies smartphones as potentially cancer-causing due to radiation
levels. There is no hard proof for this claim, but if you think it's
better to be safe than possibly carcinogenic, the Pong Research Classic
Soft Touch Case for iPhone 5 is one cutting edge answer.
The
£47.99/US$59.99/AU$59.99 case redirects radiation away from the phone
and, at the same time, improves signal strength by 20 per cent. An
iPhone 4/4S version is also available, along with radiation-reflecting
and signal boosting cases for some Samsung, HTC, Motorola and BlackBerry
phones.
7. Etón BoostTurbine 2000
Main innovation: Hand-cranked power
If
you need a back-up battery for your smartphone, go by the weight of the
battery pack. This 198g/7oz 2000mAh lithium pack feels rugged and heavy
enough for all conditions. Once fully charged using the micro USB port,
the US$59.99 (around £39/AU$58) pack can recharge your smartphone from
zero to full.
In a pinch, you can turn the crank for one minute
to generate another 30 seconds of usage. Push a button to see the power
level.
8. JBL SoundFly BT
Produces 20 Watts of sound from a tiny speaker
This
7.5-inch Bluetooth speaker might not seem too innovative at first, but
it packs a lot of powerful high-tech features into a small form factor.
For starters, you can connect the £149.99/US$179.95 (around AU$222) JBL
SoundFly BT easily over Bluetooth without the hassle of using a bridge
or installing software on a computer.
The speaker can adjust
itself automatically for the stream you are sending, improving
equalisation on the fly and cutting out high notes that can cause
distortion. The bass is better than you'd expect from such a small
device. But the killer feature is that it plugs into an outlet and has
no extra buttons. You just sync up and play. An AirPlay version is also
available for iOS devices, priced at £159.99/US$199.95/AU$249.
9. Philips Hue
First lightbulb you control with your phone
Your
home is probably already outfitted with LED lightbulbs, given the
mandates over the use of fluorescent bulbs. But the Philips Hue goes a
step further. Using your iOS or Android phone or tablet, you can tap
into each bulb and change the colour and intensity (and turn them on and
off).
A bridge connects into your router, and once you make the
connection, you can even control the lights remotely. In the future,
more and more gadgets will skip complex setup procedures and just work
out of the box. We just hope they won't all be this expensive, priced at
these are at £179.99/US$199.95 (around AU$267) for a three bulb starter
pack, or £49.95/US$59.95 (around AU$74) for a single bulb.
10. Memoto Lifelogging Camera
Auto-snap photos every 30 seconds
Lifelogging
will become a mainstay of the tech mainstream in the next few years.
The Memoto is a small, buttonless camera with GPS that clips to your
clothes or onto a totebag. It's discrete, measuring 36 x 36 x 9mm (1.42 x
1.42 x 0.35 inches). As you go about your daily routine, the camera
automatically snaps two photos per minute and stores them on the device,
storing up to 4,000 5-megapixel images on there.
Ingeniously,
the service uses GPS tagging to stamp the photo location and make
corrections for orientation. Once you upload the images, the service
groups them and shows the best images of the day. It costs US$279
(around £183/AU$271) and comes with one year's free cloud storage.
11. DirecTV Genie
Record shows you like automatically
Having
to schedule and record shows is so 2012. The future is in having your
DVR know your preferences and record shows automatically. The DirecTV
Genie does just that, watching what you tend to record and watch over a
period of time, and then auto-recording shows based on these
preferences.
For example, if you like Top Gear, Genie
will record other car-related shows. Amazingly, it actually works. The
set-top box can also record five shows at once, and supports three
remote clients in your home. DirecTV is only available in the US at the
moment.
12. GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition
60-frames-per-second HD video
The
greatest innovations in tech are often those that improve an existing
product. The original GoPro was already innovative - a wide-angle
durable camera you can clip to a motorcycle, ski hat or a yacht to
record all of the action.
The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition - priced
at £359.99/US$399.99/AU$399.99 - is a major upgrade. You can record
1440p video at 48fps, 1080p video at 60fps and 720p at 120fps. And you
can snap 12-megapixel images at a rate of 30 per minute. The picture
quality is astoundingly good and captures a wider perspective.
