Category: Misc gadgets
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Lenovo is entering the virtual reality realm with a headset of its own

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Lenovo surprised the tech world with yet another peculiar announcement today. After showing off an interesting and slightly quirky smartwatch with a second private screen, the Chinese tech giant decided to move into other unfamiliar territories – virtual reality.

The Lenovo VR Goggles are the company’s response to Samsung, Oculus Rift and the Gear VR. Just like the aforementioned Korean-made headset, the Lenovo VR Goggles are more or less a shell that only works with a compatible phone as a display. At the presentation, the set was used with the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, but, the manufacturer has loosely stated that it works with compatible Lenovo phones. This sounds encouraging, but, we are yet to learn which models the VR Goggles support and whether or not the compatibility will extend this to include Lenovo-owned Motorola devices as well. Read more »

Lenovo Cast is a $49 Google Chromecast competitor

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The Chinese tech giant Lenovo announced its first media casting device. Dubbed Lenovo Cast, the gadget is a rival to the popular Chromecast by Google.

Lenovo Cast is a round device shaped like an ice hockey puck, which can be plugged to a TV or monitor via HDMI. With support for streaming 1080p video, the Cast can easily stream content from a mobile device to a large screen. Read more »

Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 and S6 edge is now available in the US

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Just as previously announced, the Samsung Gear VR headset for the company’s Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones is now available to buy in the US. Not only that, but it can also be found in stock, both at Best Buy and at Samsung’s own online store.

This version of the Gear VR, dubbed Innovator Edition, will only work with the Galaxy S6 or S6 edge – unlike the original Gear VR which was tailor-made for the Galaxy Note 4. Read more »

Tesla Powerwall is a solar powered battery pack for your home

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Tesla has announced a new battery pack for homes called the Powerwall. The Powerwall is designed to utilize solar energy and then use that energy to power your home.

The Powerwall connects to your existing solar panels and charges off them. It can also charge off your existing electricity connection during night when the power rates are the lowest. The Powerwall has enough capacity to power an entire home and if you don’t want to run your house off it, it can also serve as a backup for when there is a power failure. Read more »

Google Glass version 2.0 said to be coming soon, version 3.0 being planned

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Just over a month after chairman Eric Schmidt made it clear that Google isn’t giving up on Google Glass, Massimo Vian, CEO of Italian eyewear manufacturer Luxottica, has said that the next iteration of the high-tech eyewear is coming out soon.

Speaking at the company’s general meeting in Milan, Italy, Vian also revealed that while the version 2.0 is currently being worked on, version 3.0 is also in the planning stages. “In Google, there are some second thoughts on how to interpret version 3 [of the eyewear],” he said. “What you saw was version 1. We’re now working on version 2, which is in preparation.” Read more »

Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 and S6 edge goes on pre-order in the US tomorrow

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As we told you a few weeks ago, the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition is now up for pre-order in Japan. If you’re in the US, though, you only have to wait until tomorrow to get in your pre-order. Samsung has officially announced that starting on April 24, Best Buy will have the virtual reality headset available for pre-order for interested customers.

The Gear VR Innovator Edition will be in stock on May 8, both at Best Buy and at Samsung’s own online store for the US. In-store availability will follow on May 15. Read more »

OnePlus Power Bank to arrive in India by the last week of April

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OnePlus has teased its very own 10,000 mAh Power Bank back in mid-March and promised to launch it in the Indian market by April.

Now the company is preparing to introduce its new accessory for the Indian market. Set to arrive in the last week of April, the 10,000 mAh power bank is already being sold in the US for $15. Read more »

Google has a small team working on battery technology for consumer devices

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Yesterday, we mentioned about a breakthrough in aluminum battery by Stanford University scientists. Shortly thereafter, Google revealed that a small team of scientists working on a next-generation battery technology for consumer electronics.

As part of the Google X research lab, Dr. Ramesh Bhardwaj is working with three other scientists on about 20 different battery-dependent projects. Read more »

Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 goes on pre-order in Japan on April 23

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Back in March, Samsung announced the new Gear VR Innovator Edition headset alongside the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. This new version of its Oculus-powered VR accessory is made specifically to work with those two devices only, just like the original Gear VR is tailor-made for the Galaxy Note 4.

Now that the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are almost up for grabs globally, the Korean company has announced when it’s going to take pre-orders for the Gear VR Innovator Edition as well. One caveat, however: the following information applies only to Japan. It’s unclear why Samsung chose to give us the launch details for this market first. Perhaps the interest for the new Gear VR has been the highest over there. Read more »

Scientists make a breakthrough in aluminum batteries

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Scientists from the Stanford University made a breakthrough in the aluminum batteries – an area that saw very limited innovation in the last decade. The new prototype aluminum battery is flexible, thinner, much safer, charges super-fast, and its lifecycle is 7.5 times better than Li-Ion batteries.

Today the Li-Ion batteries seem to have reached their full potential and the only improvement lately is the fast charging technologies provided by companies like Oppo and Qualcomm. The lithium batteries aren’t getting any thinner, smaller and their capacity increases at very modest rates. We need something better and the aluminum battery at Stanford might be just the discovery we need today. Read more »

Huawei’s $30 Glory router features dual-core processor, but no Android this time

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Last year at CES Huawei unveiled the first router in the Honor family, the Huawei Honor Cube, which ran Android and had a built-in HDD. Now the company is working on a much cheaper router – just CNY 188 (about $30) – called Glory.

It will be powered by a dual-core processor and feature dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac. Read more »

Nikon unveils a selfie stick accessory for Coolpix cameras

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Nikon quietly introduced a selfie stick (N-MP001) accessory for select Coolpix family models. The gadget costs $60 a pop and is available for pre-order at major US retailers.

Nikon’s selfie stick measures 28.54 inches long when extended completely and weighs 186 grams. Read more »

Razer Forge Android TV console is now up for pre-order, ships on May 1

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Back in January, Razer announced the Forge TV, a console that’s probably the best Android TV-running device yet (when considering specs and capabilities). And today it’s finally become available for pre-order. Amazon is offering the console bundled with a game controller for $149.99, with free shipping.

Speaking of which, the Razer Forge TV bundle is set to be out on May 1. The device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 SoC, sporting a 2.5 GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 420 GPU aided by 2GB of RAM. Read more »

HTC Re camera goes on sale in US, get it now for $99.99

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HTC Re camera is quite interesting gadget with 16MP sensor, capable camcorder with time-lapse and slow-mo support, plus it’s very easy to control. The camera connects rather easily with smartphones, so you can browse your photos.

If you are keen on snapping around with a Re camera, but you didn’t get one because of its $200 price tag – then we have some great news for you. Read more »

The Volvorii e-ink shoe is a chameleon you can wear

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E-ink technology has definitely been on the rise lately. The amazing, monochrome, low-powered panels are what has basically allowed the e-reader market to sprawl. And while you would expect to find a e-ink display in a handheld device, the guys over at Ishuu Technologies have found a more unconventional use for the tech.

Their extravagant brain child is called Volvorii and it is basically a smart pair of high heels, which have a plastic e-ink display stretching along the surface. That display is hooked up to a tiny controller board, hidden away inside the thick sole, which offers Bluetooth LE connectivity and has a small battery with wireless charging. Read more »