This week on Top 10 Tech we bring you exquisite speakers, high-tech sneakers and conveyor-belt creepers, all of them flaunting the latest technology that just might make your jaw drop.
You might not have had enough time to look through the thousands of technology stories we did this week, but we’ve got your back, narrowing down all of that techno-goodness into a tight kernel you can really sink your teeth into.
So settle in for the latest and greatest tech stories of the week, as we spanned three centuries and the depths of space to find you only the best, right here on Top 10 Tech This Week.
1. Devon Steampunk Watch
This exquisite timepiece is making my jaw drop. It works with a series of tiny conveyor belts that are a mere 2 microns thin, moving the numerals into exactly the right positions at precisely the right times.
It's powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, and there's nothing to plug in when it's time for replenishment - it recharges using wireless induction. Overseeing all this mechanical wizardry is an optical recognition system that's constantly aware of the position of each of those tiny belts.
I'm spellbound. This is a mash-up of 19th-century steampunk style and conveyor belt technology, 20th-century miniaturization and 21st-century sensing devices, all packed into one US$25,000 package. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
2. InstaCube
If you're as crazy about Instagram as I am, you might also be wishing for an InstaCube, a digital picture frame created specifically for the popular smartphone picture-sharing service.
Its Wi-Fi connected 600x600-pixel LCD touchscreen lets you enjoy Instagram just like you do on your smartphone - except the pics show up three times bigger. There's even a heart-shaped "like" button on top for you to show the love for those pictures that amuse you the most. It really starts getting fun when multiple users push their pics to the Android-based InstaCube.
A Kickstarter project, it's well on its way to hitting its US$250,000 fundraising goal, expected to reach that point well before its Sept. 21 deadline. After that, it'll probably cost you about US$99.
3. Lexus CT-S Electric Scooter Design Concept
Electric scooter lovers, join me in feasting your eyes on this CT-S design concept. Designer Goldberg Boris says he was "inspired by the design philosophy of Lexus’s innovative L-FINESSE," the design language used in Lexus's LF series concepts and the 2006 Lexus GS.
The idea is to fit this compact scooter into your car's trunk, where it quietly uses your (hopefully electric) car's battery to charge as it awaits its next foray. Then, as you reach your parking spot - which might unfortunately be a mile away from your destination - whip out this little electro-two-wheeler and you're off and scooting, looking quite a bit cooler than you would standing on a dorky Segway.
Here you can see the LCD instrument panel, and by that 30kph (18.6mph) indicator, are we to think this little conveyance moves that quickly? Hope so.
I'm thinking one of these should be included inside the trunk of every new Lexus, charged up and ready to go.
4. LeBron X Nike Plus Shoes
Nike just got a little closer to building the true version of Marty McFly's self-lacing sneakers, with the first appearance of the coveted LeBron X Nike Plus Shoes, perhaps the most expensive and highest-tech basketball shoes ever made.
Only 20% of the Lebron X shoes will have the tech inside that makes them so special. That's what makes these high-tech shoes cost at least US$290. Without all the whistles and bells, a mere US$180.
So what's the magic? First of all there's dynamic Flywire technology inside, which Nike says uses "high-strength cables...encased in a flexible woven sheath. These responsive cables are loose when at rest and dynamic in motion, tensing to help stabilize the foot as required."
And check out that visible Zoom Air unit, cushioning the feet and letting you see underneath these crazy kicks over the entire length of the shoe - a first.
Then there's the Nike+ tech that tracks your movement, letting you know what you were doing during a game, and even recording the height of your slam-dunk jumps.
Wouldn't you like to see LeBron James's vertical-leap stats as he debuted these shoes at the Olympic gold-medal game against Spain last week?
Like past premium Nike shoe debuts, the LeBron X shoes are already swirling in controversy, not only because of their high price, but the fact that many of those who most covet such footwear can't quite afford it. There've been riots before, and now there's talk of boycotts.
5. LG Ultra-High-Def TV
As TV manufacturers fret over the flop of 3D TVs, now they've pulled even-higher definition TV sets out of their bag of tricks. Here is an 84-incher from LG that still beats that 3D drum, but the real trick here is that super-sharp 4K resolution. That gets into Retina display territory, cranking out a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels in a super HDTV that will cost you US$22,106.
You'll have to live in Korea to snap up one of these, which just started shipping this week. Other manufacturers plan to roll out TVs like this as well, including Sony, which will reportedly offer a US$30,000 80-inch 4K TV by the end of this year.
Not high-enough resolution for you? Even-higher resolution TV is in the works. The standards body known as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved an 8K standard for Ultra high-definition TV (UHDTV), not even mentioning the 4K resolution we're talking about here.
Let's hope it doesn't take as long to adopt these crispy new resolutions as it did to jump to HDTV.
What about content? Build the sets, and content at appropriate resolutions will be a mere download away. In the meantime, expect pricing on such fancy TVs to dip well within the four-figure zone in a couple of years.
6. Logitech Washable Keyboard K310
You'll never have to worry about spilling coffee on your keyboard again with this Logitech Washable Keyboard K-310. It's so waterproof, you can dunk it up to 11 inches deep.
It works just like any other keyboard, and looks like one too - until you look at the back and you see holes that let water flow through.
I'm looking forward to testing one of these keyboards, and Logitech tells us there's one on the way.
What we would really like to know is, is it dishwasher safe? Logitech says no - it gets too hot in a dishwasher for this washable keyboard. We've heard of a guy putting a keyboard into a dishwasher before, but he had to wait an awfully long time until it was completely dry before he could use it.
This one might be cheap enough for experimentation - it's expected to retail for US$39.99 when it ships this October.
7. Audyssey Wireless Speakers
After listening to the excellent Audyssey Audio Dock Air, I was eager to hear the company's newest product, Audyssey Wireless Speakers. After plugging them into the wall and connecting them to each other (alas, there are some wires involved), I cranked up the volume and started wondering how that bass sounded so powerful, even though there was no subwoofer.
The company combines clean amplification with these passive bass radiators in the back of each speaker, resulting in nicely balanced and surprisingly full bass, even from these relatively small enclosures.
The understated design of the speakers will complement just about any decor, and they have a relatively small footprint, perfect for situating on either side of a computer monitor.
The speakers pair up instantly and easily with Bluetooth, or you can plug practically any audio device into its aux input. You connect the speakers to each other using the familiar red and black speaker connectors.
I like the way the speakers lean back on their attached metal stands, pointing the drivers right at your ears as they sit on your desktop.
So how do they sound? First of all, it was hard for me to tell whether I had connected my audio devices with the Aux input or via Bluetooth - the days of inferior Bluetooth sound are coming to an end. Cranked up all the way, these speakers weren't exactly ear-shattering, but it was their rich and musical sound quality that really impressed me.
In addition to that solid bass response, the warm midrange and perfectly defined high frequencies made for a pleasant listening experience. Yes, these sounded like US$299.99 speakers to me. They're not going to fill a large room with sound, but they'd be a worthy addition to any computing desktop.
8. Bluetooth Bulb
Screw in this Bluetooth bulb, download the iPhone app, and then you can precisely control this LED fixture's intensity. Get the RGB model, and all sorts of colours are at your fingertips. These things even let you set a timer to adjust their characteristics at opportune moments.
Imagine that - home automation has traditionally been expensive and complicated, but soon you can plug in a few of these light bulbs and have total control over your household lighting using your iPhone.
The Bluetooth bulb is a prototype so far, but according to its makers, it has received CE qualification and "with your support, we will be able to start mass production of the Bluetooth bulb." Great idea.
9. Aerofex Hover Vehicle
Luke, your speeder bike has arrived. This little hovercraft is scarcely larger than a motorcycle, and according to California company Aerofex, it's easy to fly by just nudging a couple of control bars with your knees.
So far, in cautious testing the prototype has reached a height of 15 feet at 30 mph, but it's capable of much faster speeds and higher heights than that.
The vehicle is undergoing flight testing in the Mohave Desert, with a second prototype on the way in October. The company plans to create an unmanned drone version that will be ready for its first flight late in 2013.
10. Dream Chaser Mini-Shuttle
Thanks to the Sierra Nevada Corporation and a US$212 million investment from NASA, this mini-shuttle might be orbiting the earth by 2015.
This stubby seven-person shuttle will ride into orbit atop an Atlas 5 booster rocket.
Designed to send a septet of astronauts to the International Space Station or other low-earth-orbit (LEO) destinations, the Dream Chaser is touted to be safer than the first space shuttle, because there is no external fuel tank or separate rockets required.
With its rear airlock, the Dream Chaser backs itself into the International Space Station.
Look at that, it's like a mini, bulbous version of the space shuttle.
It lands like the space shuttle, too, gliding to an ordinary runway back here on Earth. This little space van is so cool, I'm wondering why they didn't build one like this in the first place.
Untuk shuttle tu,rasanya, yang versi asal dibina untuk bawa muatan besar ke angkasa lepas. =)
ReplyDeleteLagipun,fizikal perkomputeran pada zaman tu,tak macam sekarang.Sekarang,komputer pun dah kecil dan pantas.Banyak benda boleh dikecilkan sekarang. =)
BTW,jam Devon tu memang buat aku ternganga!