Category: Misc gadgets
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Breathometer Breeze is a Bluetooth touting wearable breathalyzer

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Breathometer has unveiled the Breeze today. This is a new breathalyzer that the company claims is the industry’s first such device to be “truly wearable”. It’s small, has a built-in mouthpiece, and it comes with a wearable clip, keychain, and a mouthpiece cover.

It apparently delivers ultra fast and ultra accurate results, and it uses Bluetooth LE to talk to your iPhone or Android smartphone – on which you install the Breathometer app. Read more »

Air Umbrella uses air flow to shelter you from the rain

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A team of Chinese designers has taken to Kickstarter to fund a nifty little idea called Air Umbrella. It’s an umbrella that’s powered by a “force field” of air. It uses this to replace the fabric in a normal umbrella, with the air flow deflecting the rain drops from you.

The inventors have already received more pledges than they asked for – right now around $17,000 have been pledged by people eager to replace their umbrellas with something more high-tech, and the goal was just $10,000. There are 9 days to go in the Kickstarter campaign, but since the goal has been surpassed this thing should become reality. Read more »

HTC RE action camera goes official – 146-degree 1080p videos for $199

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HTC has decided to step out of its smartphone comfort zone and announce an action camera. Dubbed simply the HTC RE, the camera boasts a 16MP 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor with an 146° ultra wide angle lens. And since it’s an action camera, the RE is IP57 dust and water resistant (you can optionally bump the certification to IPx8 with an accessory cap).

HTC’s first action camera records 1080p@30 fps video and 720p@120fps slow-motion video. Inside the RE, there’s a grip sensor, which activates the camera as you pick it up. On board there’s a large shutter button, which captures shots on short press and videos on press and hold. Read more »

HTC Re camera gets a teaser before its official unveil today

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At today’s announcement event, HTC is expected to unveil an action camera in addition to a new smartphone. The latest teaser of the upcoming camera (to be called Re judging by the name of the channel) is now out and it’s called “Catching air”.

The teaser is short and sweet and indicates a wide angle lens on the Re camera. The camera in the video isn’t shown, but as we’ve seen before, it looks like a toy periscope. Read more »

Samsung Gear VR to launch on December 1, according to leaked document

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The Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset could finally be released on December 1, at least in South Korea. That’s what a leaked document, purported to have originated at Samsung’s customer service department, claims.

Furthermore, we even get a price to speak of. In Samsung’s home country, the Gear VR will apparently go for KRW 200,000 (which is approximately $187 or €148 at the current exchange rates). Read more »

Microsoft’s Chromecast competitor gets official as the Wireless Display Adapter

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Today Microsoft has officially unveiled its Wireless Display Adapter, which will serve as its competitor for Google’s very successful Chromecast dongle. Microsoft’s product first got leaked back in August.

The Wireless Display Adapter uses Miracast technology, so any Miracast-enabled device can send stuff to it. The adapter itself comes with two plugs: one goes into an HDMI port on your TV, monitor, or projector, and the other one is a normal USB plug which is used for powering the dongle. Read more »

Samsung Gear VR will cost $199

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The Samsung Gear VR virtual reality accessory for the Galaxy Note 4 phablet will cost $199 in the US. This comes straight from a spokesperson for the Korean company, so it’s pretty much official.

Sure, a press release would have been nice, but this will have to do for now. The price was revealed at the New York Fashion Week of all places. Read more »

Samsung’s Gear VR is already up for pre-order in the UK, yours for GBP 150

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Alongside the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, and Gear S, Samsung also announced the Gear VR yesterday during its event at IFA Berlin. And today the virtual reality headset developed in partnership with Oculus is already up for pre-order in the UK, believe it or not.

For now only one retailer seems to have it. Mobile Fun specializes in accessories for your devices, and since the Gear VR needs a Note 4 to function it probably qualifies. To be among the first people in the UK to own one of these, you’ll have to shell out £150. Read more »

Samsung’s Gear VR gets pictured ahead of probable IFA announcemnt

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We heard about Samsung’s virtual reality plans last month after several leaks showed off what a potential Samsung virtual reality headset looked like, followed by a a fairly legitimate look at a Samsung software interface for the Gear VR.

Now, reported images of the Gear VR, model number SM-R320 have surfaced. With IFA 2014 just weeks away in Berlin, it’s very likely that we could see Samsung’s first virtual reality headset at the event. Read more »

LG launches its new Music Flow system

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LG today has taken a step forward in home audio optimization with the introduction of its new LG Music Flow system.

By combining its new Music Flow Player app and a wide range of new speaker units, Music Flow is set to help you easily create a robust multi-room home audio system, sans any wires. Read more »

Razer announces BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma, DeathAdder Chroma and Kraken 7.1 Chroma

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Razer has announced a new series of peripherals called Chroma, which is essentially some of its existing products with a multi-color backlight option.

The first of the lot is the BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma, which is basically identical to the standard BlackWidow Ultimate, except for the backlighting. Whereas the BlackWidow Ultimate has a standard green backlight, the Chroma ups the ante with a multi-color backlight that can display the full RGB spectrum of colors, with 16.8 million possible combinations, if Razer is to be believed. Read more »

You can order 3D-printed Infinity Blade III figurines straight from the game

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Dedicated fans of Infinity Blade III will surely appreciate this bit of news. Players of the popular iOS title can now design and order 3D-printed figurines of its characters straight from the game.

In order to take in-app purchasing to the next level, the game developers from Chair Entertainment partnered up with the software development company Sandboxr. Read more »

Wearables are now being used for Parkinson’s research

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The Michael J. Fox Foundation is now using wearables for Parkinson’s research.

Intel has joined forces with MJFF to gather statistics that will aid in monitoring Parkinson’s symptoms. Read more »

30-second rechargeable batteries are reality, need your help to kickstart them

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Waiting for a battery to charge is the second worst thing you have to do (after filing taxes, I guess). Thanks to the engineering prowess of Shawn West, however, the former task could be done in just 26 seconds.

West has created a battery that can replace normal AA, AAA, C and D-sized batteries with super fast rechargeable ones. He also says that tech this could be adapted to work in mobile phones as well. Read more »

Samsung Gear VR features and software leak

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Samsung hasn’t done the best job of the keeping the Gear VR under wraps, so it isn’t surprising that images of the Gear VR’s software was leaked.

The leak suggests some initial apps that’ll be launched with the Gear VR, along with the software’s aesthetic. Read more »