Category Archives: Home Gadgets

A compact wearable camera designed to take a picture every 30 seconds, cannot let you forget a single moment in your day. The tiny device is designed to be clipped to clothes or worn on a necklace. As well as a five megapixel digital camera, it will feature a GPS chip to keep track of owners’ locations and automatically log and organise pictures via a specially created iPhone and Android apps. Memoto claims the battery will last two days. On the timeline, you’re presented with keyframes (about 30 per day) each representing one moment. You can tap a moment to relive it in a stop-motion like video of all the pictures in that moment.

Good things come in small packages, and Apple is truly believing this with the new iPad Mini. Apple has officially announced a new addition to their range of tablet devices with the unveiling of their new Apple iPad Mini, which and is just 7.2mm thick, a quarter thinner than the iPad. The new model comes in both black and white. The 7.9-inch screen with 4:3 aspect ratios gives the iPad mini a size advantage over 7-inch competitors. The area measures 29.6 square inches to 21.9 on a 16:9 7-inch tablet. It has the same resolution as the original iPad and iPad 2, at 1,024 x 768. The iPad Mini features a dual core A5x processor and two cameras, on the front of the device is 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD Camera, on the back is a 5 megapixel iSight camera with auto-focus, face detection and a f/2.4 aperture five element lens with backside illumination. The iPad mini also comes with WiFi, and a digital compass there is also a 4G LTE capable model, and it comes in a range of storage sizes, which include 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. iPad mini boasts of 10 hours of battery life on a single charge and runs the latest version of Apple’s software iOS6.

After the successful launch of the Lenovo Ideapad Yoga, its Japanese partner NEC is now launching a similar Windows 8 RT Hybrid laptop. The NEC LaVie Y is a notebook with an 11.6-inch display, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB solid state disk, and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. This blend of laptop and tablet keeps the signature 360-degree display, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. s said to have an 8-hour battery life with 320 hours of standby time, and it weighs in at just under 2.8 pounds. The hardware won’t differ all that much, and it’s only the software side that will see a change from the device’s US counterpart.

Fujitsu has just revealed its Windows 8 lineup for the Japanese market, and one of the most interesting product in the range is the new “Floral Kiss” Ultrabook. Based upon the design concept of bringing elegance to PCs, Floral Kiss is a new series that was planned and developed primarily under the direction of female employees. The top casing has been constructed with an elegant and refined gradation with gold trim, and it features a flip latch that can easily open the display — even by users with long fingernails. Every laptop comes with pre-installed Windows 8 apps including a digital scrapbook for collecting website bookmarks, a diary and a daily horoscope checker. The power button is adorned with a pearl-like accent, and the power status LED and Caps Lock key are decorated with diamond-cut stone for a sophisticated look. An exquisite gold ring frames each key on the transparent keyboard, highlighting its elegant style. In addition, the outtake and intake vents all feature a floral motif design.

Gaming laptop is an ultimate gadget for any game freak. Razer is making every geek’s dream come true with the launch of a Star Wars: The Old Republic-branded edition of its Blade laptop. The limited-edition aluminium-clad machine features a yellow backlit keyboard and is decorated with official fonts and laser-etched designs from the BioWare multiplayer online game. It comes with a 17.3” display and is powered by the latest Intel Core i7 processor alongside an NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor to get your gaming kicks in, and yet the entire shebang measures a mere 0.88” thin and weighs at 6.46 pounds. Star Wars Razer Blade gaming laptop does come with its multi-award-winning Switchblade UI that boasts of a unique integrated LCD display/multi-touch panel as well as 10 dynamic adaptive tactile keys that ensures you are always in control of the game.

GoPro, makers of the rugged “for action” cameras, are ready with an expansion to the tough line with the new Hero3 series. Adventure seekers, take note! The new Hero3 line comprises of three models – the Black Edition, Silver Edition, and the White Edition. Every one of these pays homage to the original HD Hero cameras, whose look became iconic, but really show their mettle in terms of specs. They measure only about half the size of its predecessors and have built-in Wi-Fi technology. Of the three models, the Black Edition is the most high-end, and is a head and shoulder above its contemporaries. It allows you to record 4K and 2.7K video, although, you will have to drop your frame rate to 15fps for 4K and 30fps for 2.7K. It supports 1440p, 1080p, 720p, and WVGA at frame rates between 24fps and 120fps. All three models can shoot video at 1080p. The Black Edition captures stills at 12-megapixels, the Silver Edition at 11-megapixels and the White Edition at 5-megapixels. Only the Black Edition can take photos and videos simultaneously.

Baby monitors are probably one of the best gadgets that any multi-tasking mother owns. Over the years, these helpful devices are incorporating modern technology to make them easier to use and more convenient. Belkin has moved a step further and introduced the smartphone controlled WeMo Baby. The device is a WiFi-enabled microphone that streams audio of your baby to up to six devices simultaneously — provided they are running iOS 5 or higher and the free WeMo Baby companion app. The app works over 3G, 4G or WiFi, which means that parents can check in on their baby when they’re away from home.

Who doesn’t like to tap into some photography now and then? it is easy too these days, flip over your phone and aim at anything random. But for those who like to go a step further and enjoy using as colourful an equipment as the subjects they capture, should definitely check out the Fisheye Baby 110 Bauhaus Edition. It comes in the most vibrant mix of colours! It comes with a 170-degree Fisheye lens, multiple and long exposure capabilities and a PC flash connector. This little bundle of life will cost you just $55.

Every girl would love to have a shiny illuminated keyboard. With the arrival of Wondows 8, Logitech has announced a Bluetooth enabled Illuminated Keyboard K810 that works with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system, pairing with up to three devices simultaneously. The keyboard layout is designed specifically for Windows 8; it includes the standard Windows key and an app-switching function key to let you scroll through open apps. Visually, the K810 is pretty slick with a slim, brushed aluminium frame. The keyboard is backlit, adjusting illumination levels automatically. The keyboard also features built-in sensors, which recognise your paw prints, turning the backlight off as you start to type, thus saving battery power. The K810 is USB-rechargeable and Logitech claims up to ten days of battery life on a full charge.

The Logitech K810 Keyboard is scheduled to ship in October at a suggested retail price of $100 and is available for pre-order from Logitech.

Pocket-lint

Beats electronics is out with a what they call a Pill. I’d like to call this Pill Portable Speaker the remedy for boredom, it’s a prescription for groovy times and its made of awesome. Jambox fans may feel a bit divided when it comes to their preferences with Pill portable speaker making a mark and how! It’s got everything that our much loved Jambox offered and more. The pill brings us four drivers, features a built-in NFC chip so it wirelessly connects to phones and tablets via Bluetooth. Pill portable speaker can be charged over micro-USB too.

All those people who are eagerly waiting for the business Windows 8 tablet, here is some entertaining news for you. Microsoft has officially launched Xbox Music, the successor to Zune. Xbox Music allows you to stream or download unlimited amounts of music, listen to personalized internet radio stations with Smart DJ, and buy music a la carte from the Xbox Music Store. The service will be expanded to Windows software-based computers and tablets, including the upcoming Surface tablet apart from the regular Microsoft products Windows Phone 8, and Xbox 360. The service includes a download-to-own music store with over 30 million songs in its global catalogue, more than iTunes’ library of over 26 million songs. It also carries over 70,000 music videos, available only on the Xbox console. It has cloud-storage features similar to iTunes and Amazon Cloud Player and an artist-based radio function like music streaming services Pandora and Spotify.

Microsoft will offer a free ad-supported music streaming service, and a premium $9.99 subscription service for unlimited, ad-free streaming. Xbox Music will be available in 22 countries.

PCWorld

E-readers are a dime a dozen nowadays, with manufacturers going out of their way to be the fastest, lightest, smallest and brightest ones out there! The latest creation to catch our eye comes courtesy of German company Txtr. Called the Txtr Beagle, this e-reader is expected to sell at a meager price of just under €10 or about $13, which is probably cheaper than many of the books on your shelves! Txtr Beagle sports a 5-inch, 800×600 E-ink screen that has 4GB of built-in storage. Getting the e-book onto the device is a matter of connecting it to your Smartphone or other Android device via the built-in Bluetooth. You can use your Smartphone to download and discover the books, and then transfer them via the free Txtr App that is available on Google Play. The app does require Android 4.0. Latest reports suggest that they are working on an iOS app too. Of course, to keep the cost down, they have had to go pretty light on the specs. There’s no touchscreen, backlight, or 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. However, if all you want your E-Reader for is to read books and nothing else, the Txtr may just be the thing for you!

A smile a day, keeps worries away. And, here is another reason to show off your bright tines. Japanese scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a new refrigerator, which is equipped with a camera that can detect not only faces, but also smiles. Thus, it will not open until you show it your most beautiful smile. The system, which is called the “The Happiness Counter”, aims to naturally encourage smiling in our everyday lives. The team also believes this type of smile-activated technology has potential to boast productivity and morale in the workplace.

This could revolutionise mankind. a couple in China ( obviously fed up of feeding on each other’s throats) have invented the ‘mood detector’. It is officially launched as the ‘warm-family-advice device’ (warm?). It is shaped like a portable radio and when it detects unusually large sounds, it gets activated and responds with a gentle ‘please keep your voices down. Thank you!’. Dear lord. I pity the state of this device when there is an argument on infidelity.

In this jet age, while elders are busy spending time with their smartphones and tablets, children also want to be upbeat with the gadgets. Following the trend of capturing the kiddie market, Lexibook developed two tablets designed especially for kids. The two new tabs are called the Junior Tablet and Master Tablet powered by the Android 4.0 OS. These devices combine educational, multimedia, and interactive activities, empowering children to play and learn using their very own tablet. The Junior Tablet sports a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, being powered by a 1 GHz CPU. The Master Tablet is targeted towards more mature children with the same 800 x 480 display, 4 GB of storage, Wi-Fi, micro SD, Lexibook Market access. The rest of the specs are standard including Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, an 0.3 MP camera, micro USB 2.0, and a 4,000 mAh battery only capable of around six hours of autonomy between charges. Lexibook tablets also offer a gaming platform with access to thousands of downloadable games and 25 pre-installed games.