Coming gadgets for home and work: Style, design, and accessories

 18 Jan 2010 - By Omar Mariño+
 omar@myddnetwork.com


Image by http://www.crystalicing.com/

Britney Spears and Paris Hilton decorate their mobile phones with Ed Hardy cases. Little swarovsky crystals are also used in order to customize some smartphones. And due to the successful market  penetration of the iPhone, having one is not a sign of exclusivity anymore; so, many people want to transform them into a singular gadget by adding ornaments and accessories. For that reason, several design companies, which are dedicated to “highlight” computers and mobile phones, were prominent participants at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2010). In particular, besides the technology, the show also included other elements to decorate gadgets; for example: precious and semi-precious stones, remarkable color combinations, and some complex and daring tattoos. The price is a secondary thing, even if the accessories are more expensive than the devices (prices range from $40 for a decal to $1,500 to insert crystals or stones   in a device). Although it could be excessive for some people, other people think it is worthwhile to be the center of attraction. Under this premise, some headphones (which previously were intended to have a tiny size in order to be hidden under the clothes) have bigger sizes (apparently, the bigger, the better). For example: The headphones included in the new iWave’s Crystal Clear Collection; they look very fashionable and are a good choice if you like to isolate yourself from the surrounding environment. Definitely, some good designs can take the gadgets to another level.


gadgets-for-home

iWaves-Crystal-Clear-Collection

On the other hand, the QUE proReader by Plastic Logic is a remarkable product among the “invasion” of e-book readers that is taking place in the market. It measures less than 1/3rd of an inch thick and, of course, is able to read e-books but also allows users to annotate both via an on-screen keyboard or drawing free-from. Besides, it supports BlackBerry synchronization. Of course, its elegant design is not a gratuitous thing: It costs $649 (4 GB with WiFi connection) or $799 (8 GB with WiFi and 3G connection). Sure, it is a little expensive but the design is really impressive.

QUE-proReader-by-Plastic-Logic

More information

Other technological items could also serve as fashion accessories, for instance: The ORB ring. It vibrates when you receive a call or a text message and even you can read the text message on the ring. For those who don’t like to carry a wired and uncomfortable object in the ear, the ORB ring is perfect because it also can work as a hands-free cell phone device. Besides, it has additional functions such as alarms and event reminders. It will be available for sale soon and will cost approximately $200, although there will be a more expensive luxury version (that version is supposed to be launched at the end of this year).

The-ORB-ring

The Asus Waveface Ultra (an OLED -organic light emitting diode- Smartphone Bracelet) doesn’t have an official release date yet. If a person “wears” this device, he/she will be able to show some messages or  images in motion on their wrists because, actually, this bracelet is a flexible display that can be flattened.

Asus-Waveface-Ultra

Attractive, lightweight, always-connected, with touch-screen support: Those are the characteristics of some mobile devices that are coming.  Many of them will have additional roles and not only a single function… so, we can say they are “hybrid” gadgets: Devices that work well in two different fields. For example: The LG eXpo (a phone with a projector function), the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj (camera with an integrated projector), Samsung’s 3D camera…

Nikon-Coolpix-S1000pj


More information: LG eXpo

By the way, we should get ready for another pair of glasses in our daily life. Why? Well, nowadays we could need reading glasses, distance glasses, sunglasses, swimming glasses…  but in the short future we also could need glasses to watch 3D TV. Starting this spring, the first TVs to watch movies or shows in 3D format will be hitting the stores. Even, believe it or not, there will be some TVs that will be able to convert 2D movies into 3D format; in fact, Toshiba recently announced a TV of that type.

3D-TVS






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