12 HOTTEST GADGETS IN MAY 2012

The Goods: May 2013's Hottest Gadgets
By Amber Williams (Additional Reporting By Susan E. Matthews and Ajai Raj), Popular Science, 1 May 2013.

A dozen great ideas in gear – silent Velcro, a gyro-stabilized monocular, an adapter that turns your iPhone into a DJ station, and more.

1. First Alert Atom Smoke And Fire Alarm

Only three ounces and the size of an egg, the Atom is the smallest smoke alarm made. It has a photoelectric sensor that detects smoke from smouldering fires, making it more sensitive than ionization alarms that detect fast-flaming fires. Price: US$50. [More at First Alert]

2. Urbanears Slussen

The Slussen turns an iPhone into a DJ station. The three-pronged adapter plugs into an iOS device, headphones, and speaker hook-up. The accompanying app has scratch, cross-fader, and equalizer functions. Price: US$15. [More at Urbanears]

3. Adidas Energy Boost

Runners won’t lose the spring in their step when wearing Adidas Energy Boost sneakers. The mid-soles contain thousands of cell-shaped capsules made from thermoplastic polyurethane, which is more elastic than the EVA foam traditionally used in soles. Price: US$150. [More at Adidas]

4. TaylorMade R1 Driver

Golfers can customize the R1 Driver mid-game to get the most yardage out of their swings. A player uses an included torque wrench to adjust loft between 8 and 12 degrees and choose between seven face angles to fix hooks or slices. Price: US$399. [More at TaylorMade]

5. Sonos Playbar

With the Sonos Playbar, late-night action movies won’t bother roommates. In night mode, the sound bar - which has nine amplifiers - automatically compresses highs and lows. Explosions diminish, while soft conversations come across clearly. Price US$700. [More at Sonos]

6. Fraser Optics Monolite

The Monolite is the only gyro-stabilized monocular in the world; it cancels out 98 percent of motion, such as trembling hands. Birders can use its smartphone attachment to record video of feathered friends more than 3,200 feet away. Price: US$$2,000. [More here]

7. Velcro Industries Unidirectional

The Unidirectional HTH 719 is the first silent Velcro. Unlike in traditional Velcro, all the hooks on the strip face the same direction; with a pull, they slide out of their corresponding loops without making a ripping sound. Price US$0.05 per piece (available summer). [More here]

8. Jabra Motion

The Motion Bluetooth headset knows whether a user is walking or sitting still. An accelerometer inside the earpiece detects changes in speed and direction. Internal software analyzes the info and adjusts sound levels while the wearer is moving, which is when things get noisy. Price: US$129. [More at Jabra]

9. Cobra iRadar

The iRadar Atom radar detector has the longest range of any model its size - about that of a deck of cards. It connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone, which serves as the screen and displays current speed and radars up to seven miles away. Price: US$200. [More at Cobra iRadar]

10. Nooly

The weather app Nooly generates forecasts localized within 0.4 miles of a given spot. The software analyzes real-time radar and satellite data from NASA and NOAA to create hour-long predictions broken into five-minute intervals. Price: Free. [More at Nooly and iTunes]

11. Targus Touch Pen

With the Touch Pen, a user can convert any Windows 8 laptop monitor into a touchscreen. The bristle-tipped pen relays its position via infrared and ultrasonic signals to a USB receiver that attaches to the side of the screen with magnets. Price: US$100. [More at Targus]

12. Airocide

The Airocide purifies air without a filter. Inside each of two chambers, a 254-nanometre light activates a photocatalytic reaction on titanium-dioxide-coated glass rings. Anything with a carbon bond - allergens and bacteria - reacts with the rings and is destroyed on contact. Price: US$799. [More at Airocide]

[Source: Popular Science. Edited. Some links added.]