Category Archives: Home Gadgets

Qualcomm has been working on technology that will be adopted universally for some time now. And it seems to have succeeded on that end. The Taiwanese company Koobe has announced its new e-reader, known as the Jin Yong Reader. This is the fourth device in the last 10 weeks to announce that it will be equipped with Qualcomm’s Mirasol Display technology. This e-reader is very similar in style and technology to its contemporaries like Bambook Sunflower from China’s Shanda Networking Co. and the Kyobo eReader from South Korea’s Kyobo Book Centre. The San Diego company Qualcomm hopes that by introducing this technology in a market like Taiwan, where so many other gadgets are manufactured, they will be able to generate a healthy interest in the Mirasol Display. Basically, Mirasol displays eliminate the need for backlights by reflecting light between two conductive plates. This means that the device will need much lesser battery power to operate, and might even last for weeks without recharging it.

ADR Studio has unveiled its latest device in a bid to make the regular wristwatch a lot smarter than it ever was. All thoughts of the Sony SmartWatch being a smart watch vanished when we heard of the iWatch2 concept, a companion to the Steve Jobs- inspired iPhone SJ which was also created by the studio’s designers. The swanky looking iWatch 2 with a slim design boasts of some pretty spectacular features such as WiFi and Bluetooth, an integrated RSS reader, 32GB of storage, a weather forecast system, the possibility to connect to iPhone/iPad, an LCD projector and even a frontal camera!

After launching the Droid RAZR MAXX at the CES 2012, Motorola is now busying up to start shipping their Wi-fi only Motorola Xyboard tablets 10.1 and 8.2 in the US. The tablets’ shipping was outstanding from last week and the final shipping took off a couple of days back. If you’ve pre-ordered your new device, it must be on its way and the rest need to visit the nearest store to buy it. The device functions on an Android 3.2 Honeycomb platform and has 4G LTE connectivity.

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It’s been a while since we saw a release from Sony’s Cyber shot range. Sony had recently released the TX200V, WX50 and WX70 cameras that are touched up with the newer Exmor R CMOS sensors that help them shoot more effectively in low light. The TX200V that qualifies as the thinnest out of the three, has a dense 18.2 MP sensor that is capable of minimizing noise and focuses in a dark scene in 0.25 seconds and takes half of that time for bright lighting. It also happens to be Sony’s first non-interchangeable lens camera to shoot 1080p at 60 frames per second and uses a 3.3 inch OLED touchscreen as its primary input. The lens are a 5X, 26-130mm equivalent lens with internal zoom action with waterproofing at depths of 16 ft. The WX50 and WX70 on the other hand sport a 16.2 MP sensor and 1080i shooting at 60FPS and a slightly wider angle of 25-125mm lens that are ready to capture 12 MP photos in a middle of a video shoot.

I personally love any app or gadget which tells me what to do and when to do it. I guess I like being mothered by everything except my actual mother. The Lark Wristband is a must-have for all the people out there who have ever had sleep problems. The Lark is a silent alarm clock, sleep monitor, and personal sleep coach, all rolled into one. All you have to do is download an iPhone app (Lark Up), and the band’s hardware will automatically connect with your phone and update your sleeping habits onto your phone every morning. The Lark employs a “micromotion sleep pattern sensor” and uses a data-tracking method called actigraphy to measure one’s sleep stages at about 85 to 95 percent accuracy. The point is that all this information can help you assess which part of your lifestyle is causing your sleep problems and change it. A 7-day sleep assessment tells you which “sleep type” you are, and outlines a whole plan tailored to your specific needs. It has some superb features like a silent vibration against the wrist to gently wake you up. It has an in-built audio, which goes off automatically even if you take off your wristband, or switch off your phone.

Are your kids so addicted to the Angry Birds game that you barely get to see your phone anymore? In fact, are you so addicted that you keep running out your battery every couple of hours. An easy solution to your problems is the new Angry Birds – Electronic Handheld Game. It is a PSP style handheld game, which runs on batteries. It seems that the makers of angry birds will leave no stone unturned to ensure that you are never too far away from some version of this game for too long. This is a pretty good solution to keep busy on a really long boring road trip.

Want to get your Barbie-crazy little girl something really special this birthday? Get her her very own Barbie Fabulous Glam Video Camera from Digiblue. Who knows, it might even be the beginning of her illustrious fashion photographer or movie director career. No one expects the camerawork from a 10 year old to be the best, but this camera still has pretty good features for a device aimed towards children. It is able to film at a 720 x 480 video resolution, takes still photos at 3MP resolution, and can be zoomed up to 4X. It features a 1.4″ LCD flip screen, a slide-out USB connector for easy computer connectivity and an SD card slot. If that didn’t convince you, it can also be hooked up to your computer and be used as a webcam with a built-in microphone.

Does your heart stop a little every time you see your precious delicate tablet in the grubby clumsy fingers of you little one. A new tablet maker, Inspiration Works, solves your problems by introducing Kurio, the Android tablet for kids. Now your kids have their own tablet to play with. And to sweeten the deal a bit more, it is also perfectly equipped to function as an adult tablet. The tablet will be powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, has 4GB of storage, and an SD card slot to expand to32GB. It also includes a HDMI connector, USB socket and an ease of HD video playback. Video chat with your kids using the front facing 0.3MP camera and 2MP back camera for the 8 inch and 9.7 inch models. The smallest model comes with only a front facing camera. The device has a run time of up to 6 hours. What makes it really kid friendly is the advanced security features. Parents can make up to 8 kids profiles, and monitor the content they are allowed to access. There is a separate whitelist and a blacklist, and parents can block sites at a whim. The childproof rubber cover is easily removed.

Remember all those long hours working on your laptop or playing with your Xbox. After a certain point they start to feel like you’ve immersed them in ice for some reason. You need to stop and warm them up. What a pain! You never have to take a break ever again with Brando’s USB Lady Gloves. It is an amazing contraption. All you have to do is plug it into the USB port to heat up the warming pad inside the gloves. It is supported by Windows and Macintosh, and all your favorite gaming consoles which are equipped with a USB port. The open end design leaves your fingers free for extra mobility. The gloves are made of wool, and come with two-level heating controls. Each glove can be heated individually; the pack includes two separate USB cords.

Gossip tales are buzzing that Leica, the premium German photography brand is expected to announce two new cameras at the Photokina 2012 event to be held later this year in Germany. One of the Twitter feeds from DSLR Magazine was suggesting that the company is working on the new models, with one of them said to have a cheaper price tag. After Leica M9, it is anticipated that the new model would be named M10 and the other model would sport a new mirrorless system. While the CEO of Leica, Alfred Schopf has previously suggested the introduction of a new compact system camera that borrows specs from current M and X line-ups, it is tangible to expect a new compact system camera to have an APS-C sized sensor and compatibility with Leica R lenses.

I always pitied seeing babies sweat profusely in thick blankets that accumulated too much moisture. But it seemed like there was no solution to it as infants tend to feel cold and need protection, which meant that they had to be covered in thick sheets at all times. The Intelligent blanket handwoven by Helena Loermans in climayarn seeks to be the solution for this age-old problem.

Hi speed computers, hi-speed internet, and now even hi-speed flash drives! Technology is progressing every minute, and speed is the name of the game. How bored do you get waiting for all your data to transfer; it seems to take forever. But with Sony Corp’s Micro Vault MACH flash drive with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology you won’t have to wait anymore. It offers amazing data speeds up to 120 MB/s (read) and 90 MB/s (write). The remarkable thing is that it is backward compatible with USB 2.0, so that you won’t have to worry owning an old PC. The flash drive is encased in a very sexy looking aluminum body, and even has a retractable connector for extra protection. To make it an even better deal, you can download the software File Rescue, making retrieving lost data such as images, movies and music files a simple task and x – Pict Story, which allows you to directly make photo presentations from the files stored on the Micro Vault.

I guess modern manufacturers have learnt the Hello Kitty way of plastering a popular image on almost anything, and creating a collector’s item for the fanatic followers. It is bound to be a hit! The Angry Birds USB Flash Drive from EMTEC is the latest in whole host of Angry Birds products to have hit the market in the last few years. The flash drives come in the shape of seven adorable characters, both birds and pigs. The flash drives are designed so that the USB stick slides in and out of the body of the birds and pigs, making them look like any other collectible when not in use. They have a memory capacity of 4 GB to 8 GB, and features read speeds up to 15 MB/s and write speeds up to 5 MB/s. At less than one and a half inches tall, and with a handy little clasp attached to it, it is quite convenient to carry around.

Looks like Sony has many new things to offer in addition to its upcoming line of HDTV’s unveiled at the CES recently. The company is all set to refurbish its existing VAIO laptops- The Z series, S series and C series. The Z series is going to wear the Carbon Fiber Silver exterior and is going to pack in LTE 4G radios, the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors as well as RAID 0 solid state drives. The 13” and 15” models in the S series are upgraded to the Core i7 processor. The models in S series are also going to be overhauled with Hybrid Graphics, AMD Radeon HD 6470M (512 MB VRAM) or AMD Radeon HD 6630M (1GB VRAM), while the 15” model will get a 15.5” Full HD display as well as IPS technology.

Here is another Hello Kitty inspired gadget that isn’t just cute, but seems to be designed for convenience. Don’t want a big bulky looking speaker lying around your room, then get the Hello Kitty USB Mini Speaker. It may be tiny and cute looking, but don’t be fooled. The makers claim that this mini speaker can get pretty loud. This cylindrical speaker features the Hello Kitty face printed on the side, with the quintessential white and pink polka dotted bow quite prominently displayed. It takes anywhere from 2-3 hours to get fully charged, but then has a play time of up to 7 hours. Perfect for a party on the deck with all your girls!