Your's Web Tech Power Blog's: May 22, 2010

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Canopi system cools the bed
HP creating a flexible display Dick Tracy Watch
Blob and Flow keeps you company
Cordless Patio Lantern
HydraDuo helps the indecisive
LG and Versace team up, union results in Versace Unique luxury phone
Google TV shakes hands with the Web
Android 2.2 unveiled at Google I/O 2010
Gadget Thumbnails for 20-May-2010

Posted: 21 May 2010 04:43 PM PDT

I suppose you could call this the canopy bed of the future, provided the future had the white and sterile look of certain dystopian science fiction films.

The purpose of the “canopy” on this Canopi system bed isn’t for aesthetics, but designed to cool the bed itself. Think of it as a cooling blanket for a canopy bed, but the blanket lies on the canopy itself.

Yes, that is the purpose of the big shelf thing over the bed. It is a cool air distributor, and it uses air from under the bed, and then cools it via a wall-mounted air conditioner.

Now here is the kicker. The unit itself costs about $4,500, which is a pretty high price to pay. I don’t know if that is worth the price just to be cool at night. I suppose that if you live in a region of a hot climate, then it could be cheaper than leaving the air conditioner on, right?

Something tells me that this could be one of those products that could be very cool at first, but would result in waking up chilly. It’s like when I mess with that cooler/heater units in hotel rooms. Usually I end up feeling really cold or hot in just a few hours.

By the way, I can easily see myself hitting my head on that flat thing.

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Canopi system cools the bed copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

HP creating a flexible display Dick Tracy Watch

Posted: 21 May 2010 04:09 PM PDT

I always include a photo of whatever it is that I am writing about, and I have to admit that this photo from my source doesn’t seem to match its subject matter.

Apparently, HP is working on a solar powered watch that uses flexible display technology. I’m guessing what we are seeing in the picture is the material for the screen of this watch.

That, or maybe the watch will be completely made of this material. However, when it has a name like the Dick Tracy watch, one would think that it would just be the screen, like on the famous comic-strip character.

I would imagine that this particular watch would probably do a lot more than just the two-way communication that Dick Tracy used. Something also tells me that it would be bigger than the wrist, if this picture is any indicator.

This technology is planned to be used with the military, and I’m sure it will probably be used out in the field somehow, but probably as communication and data-gathering.

This is still concept technology for now, but I think that we all know that flexible displays are where its at as far as the future is concerned. Something tells me we’ll be seeing this sooner instead of later.

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ HP creating a flexible display Dick Tracy Watch copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Blob and Flow keeps you company

Posted: 21 May 2010 03:30 PM PDT

Sometimes when you’re sitting at that computer screen it gets awful lonely. No amount of social networking or online chats will give you the companionship that you need and crave. Just tap this silver little pet and he’ll respond to your touch in all sorts of pleasant ways. Then when you’re tired of his bouncy little personality, you can force him to fall asleep.

These lights come in a blue and red form. Tap them once while they’re asleep and he’ll pop to life. You can also lightly tap him and make him wink as well as make him go a little crazy. To make him sleep again just hold down with your finger a little bit longer. It plugs directly into your USB port to keep it up and powered. This won’t be available until about the mid point of June. You can pre-order the Mathmos creation for £35.00 or about $50.

Source: NerdApproved

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Blob and Flow keeps you company copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Cordless Patio Lantern

Posted: 21 May 2010 02:30 PM PDT

Not all lanterns need to make you look like the great outdoorsmen. Every so often you want something a little more decorative, but that still allows for you to take it outside or use it as emergency back-up lighting. Thankfully this has the best of both worlds. It has a decorative look, but it’s meant to withstand being set outside on your patio all night long.

This has 3 different levels of brightness. In order to make it brighter or turn it on/off you just tap the very top of the lantern. Which could mean you have to tap the handle. If that’s the case it could make carrying this around a whole lot more obnoxious. If you just want it to leave in one spot though, it wouldn’t be a big deal. In order to get it power you just plug it into the wall by using the AC charging base. It’ll be fully charged and ready to go after 6 hours of sitting on the base. Thanks to the polycarbonate case it can handle wind, rain and even dirt. You can pick it up for $99.95 through Hammacher Schlemmer.

Source: TheGreenHead

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Cordless Patio Lantern copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

HydraDuo helps the indecisive

Posted: 21 May 2010 01:26 PM PDT

Can’t make up your mind about which drink to take with you? I know, it’s a common problem. You want to take juice, but it always makes you thirsty so you have to carry around water too. Then you might like coke and rum, but not necessarily together. Thankfully some brilliant mind has created a bottle that will store both sides of your cravings without either flavor tainting the other side.

This bottle is dishwasher safe and has a dual-lid top that flips open either side of the drink. Each side of the drink holds 8 ounces. Don’t worry about safety concerns either, this uses BPA-free plastic. It has a rubber stopper ring to prevent leaking and a handle and hook. You can pre-order it for $17.50 through Quirky Products.

Source: HolyCool

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ HydraDuo helps the indecisive copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

LG and Versace team up, union results in Versace Unique luxury phone

Posted: 21 May 2010 10:22 AM PDT

Now most folks would not have thought that LG and Versace would ever team up, but the day has arrived. What do you expect from this union – a branded LED HDTV, an expensive washing machine or a luxurious cellphone? If you picked the handset as the answer, then you’re right on the money with both companies working in tandem with ModeLabs Group to roll out the Versace Unique, the first luxury touchscreen and full-featured multimedia smartphone which can be purchased via the most important and exclusive watch and fine jewellery networks and Versace flagship boutiques throughout the world from early next month onwards. That doesn’t give you too much time to save up for one if you’re a wage earner, eh?

Versace Unique has the objective of uniting all essential functions for professional and personal use, where it will be hand-crafted from the finest materials, hand-assembled in France and built to the uncompromising standards that have long been associated with all Versace products (that’s just a marketing claim, I’m sure someone somewhere has something bad to say about Versace’s quality). The Versace Unique’s face is constructed from pure high-tech ceramic or handmade lacquers that have been delicately framed with an 18K yellow gold finish or 316L grade stainless steel inlay. For its back, it has been wrapped in the finest handcrafted leather, embossed with the now signature Medusa head. Concerning the Versace Unique’s sapphire crystal screen, it is touted to be the largest single piece of such high-tech material ever produced for consumers, where it claims to be impossible to scratch and is smooth as well as receptive, making it the ideal conductive surface which offers precision control of the touchphone interface.

Hardware wise, you get 3G network connectivity, client e-mail support, a built-in media player, a full-powered 5-megapixel flash camera and Dolby Mobile surround sound technology which ought to usher in a high level of quality in ringtones, MP3 music files and video playback. No idea on the price just yet, but the adage stands firm here – if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

Press Release

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ LG and Versace team up, union results in Versace Unique luxury phone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Google TV shakes hands with the Web

Posted: 21 May 2010 09:49 AM PDT

Google also took advantage of the Google I/O 2010 conference yesterday to introduce Google TV, after the company took into consideration the entertainment device that most people can identify with – which is the humble TV in the living room. Remember the good old days where a black and white TV was the bomb? Well, how times have changed where we even have stereoscopic 3D LED TVs these days. Google aims to take advantage of this fact that over 4 billion people worldwide watch TV, with the average American spending up to five hours per day in front of one, which means their Google TV, if it takes off successfully, ought to be a force to reckon with.

Google intends to help people experience the best of TV and the best of the web in a seamless experience, where you can turn on the TV while retrieving all the channels and shows which you normally zone out to after a particularly long day at work. Not only that, it will show off all the websites that you tend to browse the most, inclusive of your most frequently accessed favorite video, music and photo sites. All these are available via Google TV, where it boasts a built-in version of Google Chrome, bringing the whole Internet into your living room.

Google TV relies on Google’s expertise in search, letting you navigate television channels, websites, apps, shows and movies in a fast and easy manner. How does it do that? Well, if you already know the channel or program you want to watch, all you need to do is key in the name and you're there – more or less instantaneously, depending on how fast your Internet connection is. Searching for your favorite YouTube video is just a search query away, and you can even browse through all channels if you have absolutely no idea on what your brain wants to feed on at that point of time. Since Google TV is built on open platforms like Android and Google Chrome, these are but a fraction of features that Google TV offers, so expect developers to come up with a slew of other apps in the near future that ought to bring Google TV to the next level. Hopefully the input devices for Google TV will be decent enough for everyday use, otherwise input would be a pain.

Press Release

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Google TV shakes hands with the Web copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Android 2.2 unveiled at Google I/O 2010

Posted: 21 May 2010 09:35 AM PDT

Folks who have been using Android-powered devices will be pleased to know that Android 2.2 is finally out, having been announced at Google I/O 2010 yesterday in San Francisco. This is the seventh platform update since Android 1.0 rolled out earlier in September 2008, and you can bet your bottom dollar that a whole slew of improvements have been made in this situation, with five particular areas that Google wanted to highlight that we’ll look at in greater detail right after the jump.

First of all, performance and speed is on top of the list with the new Dalvik JIT (Just In Time) compiler that is available in Android 2.2, where it is touted to deliver anywhere between a 2x to 5X performance improvement in CPU-bound code when compared to Android 2.1 according to various benchmarks. Not only that, you have new enterprise capabilities including Exchange functions such as account auto-discovery and calendar sync. Device policy management APIs enble developers to write applications which can control security features of the device including remote wipe, minimum password and lockscreen timeout among others. Not only that, Google threw in a faster, more powerful browser into the mix, with the V8 JavaScript engine in the Android browser being part of 2.2. In benchmark tests, this has resulted in a 2 to 3 times improvement in JavaScript performance vs. Android 2.1.

Not only that, there is also a rich set of new APIs and services, where data backup APIs will allow apps to participate in data backup and restore, allowing an application’s last data to be restored even when installing Android 2.2 on a new or a reset device. Apps can also make full use of the Android Cloud to Device Messaging to enable mobile alert, send to phone, and two-way push sync functionality. Developers also wield the power to declare whether their app should be installed on internal memory or an SD memory card, letting the system choose the install location automatically. Bugs should also be discovered faster thanks to a new bug reporting feature that is a no brainer to use. Android 2.2 ought to hit several newer devices in the coming weeks (all 2010 Android-powered handsets so to speak, but the T-Mobile G1 is left out of the picture), so stay alert!

Press Release

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[ Android 2.2 unveiled at Google I/O 2010 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]