FitBit Flex Review

 

The Fitbit Flex is an activity tracker aimed at measuring your exercise, diet and sleep. The device was my constant companion for about a week, and by the end of it, I felt informed about my activity levels, and was motivated to get moving. While the Fitbit has some frustrating features, it's also simple, comfortable and useful, and I found myself surprisingly addicted to checking my progress. Here's a breakdown of how it did in several areas:
Design/Comfort: ★★★★☆
The wristband and I got off on the wrong foot when I tried and failed for a few minutes to fasten it around my wrist. When I read the instructions, however, I was able to snap it into place, and after a week of use, the band became a bit more flexible, and was easy to take off and put back on again.
 

The Fitbit Flex is lightweight and very comfortable — I found it less intrusive and unwieldy than some heavier fitness wristbands. I hardly took it off for a week, and soon got used to its presence.
The band is flat, about the width of a watchband, and made of a soft, rubbery material in a single color (you can choose from a few options). While it's not quite fashionable, it also isn't ugly and doesn't stand out.
The Fitbit syncs with your phone via Bluetooth, so there's no need to plug it in to your phone to check your stats — a fact that made me more likely to open the app and check up on myself throughout the day. [Top Fitness Gadgets for 2013]
User-Friendliness: ★★★☆☆
In general, the Fitbit Flex is easy to use, and the first time I plugged it in and got the app up and running, I was able to navigate it easily. The app display is simple and clean, and communicated most of what I wanted to see at first glance.
Some features, though, were unnecessarily hard to reach. For example, to tell the Fitbit I was going to bed so it could start tracking my sleep, I had to open the app, tap on the "More" tab, tap on the third option down, "Sleep," then tap on a "+" sign next to a bar labeled "Logged Sleep," before I was presented with the option, "Begin Sleep Now."
This should have been possible with a lot fewer taps, ideally directly from the home page. It was certainly much more laborious than telling the Jawbone Up you're going to sleep, for example, which can be accomplished with a simple tap on the device, without the need to open the app at all.
Value of Information: ★★★☆☆
The Fitbit captures a good amount of data for you, and can track even more if you take the time to enter data about your meals, your weight and other such information, such as the amount of water you drink every day.
If you input only your basic stats (height, weight, age, etc.) to begin, and strap on the device, it'll tell you your daily number of steps taken, distance traveled on foot, minutes spent being very active and calories burned. If you tip it off every night that you're heading to bed, and tell it when you're awake again in the morning, it will use motion to track how much time you're actually asleep while in bed, and how restless you were.
All this info is fun to see, and the Fitbit presents everything in terms of a percentage toward a goal. You can set a goal yourself, or use its default goal, which for me was 10,000 steps, 5 miles, 30 very active minutes and 2,184 calories burned.
Not all the data were well-explained, though. For example, there was no explanation for how it arrived at my default calorie goal. On some days, I exceeded Fitbit's goal for steps taken and distance walked, as well as very active minutes, but I was still well away from meeting the goal for calories burned. Why? I would have liked some tips on what I could do to meet the calorie-burning goal, or an explanation for why the calorie goal didn't correlate with the activity goals.
I had mixed success with the sleep tracker, but generally felt that it wasn't especially accurate. There were nights I knew I awoke several times, but the Fitbit told me I'd slept straight through — natural limitations of tracking sleep based on only wrist motion.
Enjoyment/Inspiration: ★★★★☆
The Fitbit was a fun companion. Overall, its ease of use and comfort made me enjoy wearing it, and I found the data it offered informative and motivating.
One simple feature made a big difference in how I felt about wearing the device. On the wristband, a small plastic strip will show your progress toward your daily steps goal via dots representing 20 percent increments. I found myself frequently tapping, just to see the pretty glowing dots appear and get an update. And that simple action in turn made me more motivated to increase my activity, without even needing to open the app. This gave the Fitbit the edge over devices that only give you feedback once you open their apps.
I did find the Fitbit influenced my behavior, occasionally giving me the extra push I needed to take a walk around the block, to up my steps tally. Ultimately, it probably didn't change my health habits too much, and it definitely didn't transform me into the fitness fiend I sometimes wish I were, but that's not surprising. No device can get you off your butt when you don't want to.
Conclusion: 14 out of 20 stars
The pros of the Fitbit Flex compared with other fitness trackers include that it is lighter and flatter than others, it syncs wirelessly with your phone, and your daily progress is visible on the band itself.
The cons include the unusually high number of taps it takes to access certain features, as well as a lack of explanation and interpretation for some of the data it provides.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/40108-fitbit-flex-review.html

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet review

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet comes in both 8- and 10-inch models for £199 and £249
The Pitch:

"Watching and discovering that people frequently use tablets in three main ways allowed us to break the mold on the current 'sea of sameness' designs, giving them a better way to read, browse, watch and interact with content"

Key Features:

• 1280 x 800 pixels screen
• "18-hour" battery life
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• Micro SD card expansion slot
• Decent Dolby DS1 front-facing speakers
• 8-inch model is £199, 10-inch is £249

Verdict:
Lenovo's Android-powered Yoga Tablet has some genuine things in its favour. It has an impressive "18-hour" battery (a bit less in our test, but still excellent for the price), has full access to Google Play and most obviously a unique form factor built around a cylindrical handle on the side.
The idea here is to use the Yoga in one of three main positions: stood horizontally or vertically, lifted at an angle off the table or cradled in the hand with the subtle bulge of a newspaper or folded book.
Lenovo's stated aim is to build something original, and useful. Something designed to fit in the hand and into your life. Which is all very admirable. And in the main, these physical properties of the Yoga tablet pay off well. The stand is totally hidden when not in use, and rolls out subtly and smoothly when opened. The device is just 0.12 inches thick (except for the edge), and has the aesthetic feel of Apple's wireless keyboards with its machined metal body and circular power button on the side.
With the screen off, they look beautiful.
With the screen off. Because sadly one of the major problems with the Yoga is the display, which either in the 10- or 8-inch size have the same 1280 x 800 resolution. And they look terrible, with poor colour reproduction, visible pixels and a general washed-out feel which totally undermines the otherwise strong design. On their own, they're bad. Reading is miserable, and watching videos is uninspiring. But Compared side-by-side with the new iPad Mini or Nexus 7, they look even worse - like they must have been installed by accident on an otherwise fine piece of tech.
Similarly, the tablets are powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT8125/8389 processor which falters at the first sign of being truly taxed. Games like GTA III and Real Racing 3 were slow and lagged behind the performance of similar titles on the iPad or Nexus 7. The overall effect is that it feels too slow to watch movies well, play games or use any creative apps for work - all tasks which the form factor implies the Yoga is set up to do.
In software terms the Yoga runs a modified version of Android 4.2.2, which makes some choices for the user which undo some of Google's good work in the aim, apparently, of providing a more iOS-like experience. There's no app tray - all the apps are now located on the same home screens as your widgets, which is ugly and annoying. All the core applications have Lenovo's custom, ugly icons instead of the Google defaults. Almost all the included 'extras', like Navigate 6, feel old and badly coded. There's almost nothing to recommend amongst them - which again compared to iOS's recent addition of free copies of iWork and iLife for all new iPads reflects poorly on Lenovo.
The overall feel of the device is one of a wasted opportunity - or, if you're being generous, a promising but totally undermined start towards something more impressive. It performs badly, has a low-quality screen and a poor app selection. Despite their impressive industrial design and battery life, there's not much to recommend then compared to the competition.

Source: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/cameras/reviews/canon-eos-700d-review-394346

Tech Friendly Glove

In the winter time, we always concern ourselves with keeping bundled up to fight off the cold weather. No one wants to get sick just because they didn’t put on a scarf and gloves. While this was our only concern 20 years ago, we now want to be on our smartphones to distract us from our surroundings. However, the only way to continue to be on your phone and keep on gloves is to get a pair that has conductive thread on the tips.

The huge annoyance with this is that the fingertips are normally a different color than the rest of the glove. For those who have expensive tastes and want a classy looking pair of gloves that fit in with this modern world, you might enjoy the Leather Genius Gloves. These are high-quality hand coverings that will allow you to flip the thumb and index-finger tip back so you can use touchscreen devices.

These are made out of Italian Kid leather, and are lined with 100% Cashmere. Made in Italy, they are targeted at men, but that doesn’t mean ladies should be deterred. However, what might get you to decide against these is the $175 price tag. I’m always afraid with gloves like these that there will be a bit of a draft into your gloves because it isn’t seamless. Either way, if this suits your fancy and you have the money to throw at it, go for it. Just remember that you’ll have to treat these nicely if you want them to last.

Source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20131202/leather-genius-gloves-bring-classy-modern/#more-85872

Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: Next-gen showdown

Trying to decide which next gen console to buy? Is choosing between the PS4 vs Xbox One making your head hurt? Which console is best? In these tough gaming times you need a friend to guide you to buying the right console for you, and we're that helping hand. We've pitched the new Xbox up against the latest PlayStation in the ultimate buyer's guide.

Microsoft and Sony have finally shown their hands and revealed the next generation games consoles within. As the dust begins to settle, and these two tech heavyweights go head-to-head in the run up to Christmas, we take a look at who's winning the battles, and who might win the war.
Check out T3 gaming gurus Nick Cowen and Matt Hill in our Xbox One vs. PS4 video.

Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Games

Sony PlayStation 4

Sony has managed to position its console as the gamer's choice, thanks largely to its stance on second hand games but also a significant software line-up. You can check out our list of the best PS4 games.
Forza rival DriveClub, steampunk shooter The Order 1886 and cutesy action-adventure Knack all look extremely promising. Final Fantasy XV will also arrive on PS4 exclusively, along with a raft of multi-platform titles and additions to both the inFamous and Killzone franchises, with the latter in particular looking superb.
The PS4 will be home to a raft of great indie arcade-style titles too, including Resogun, Supergiant Games' new titles Transistor, and more.
Pre-order Sony Playstation 4 games from: Amazon | Zavvi | Tesco | GAME

Microsoft Xbox One
After an initial Xbox One unveiling that was disappointingly low on games content - Microsoft's E3 presentation was packed to the gunnels with next-gen games, with much of it being exclusive to Xbox One. Check out our guide to the best Xbox One games.

More information on Forza Motorsport 5 and Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break was but an opening salvo... before Microsoft fired a full broadside of new content. A new Halo game is on the way (albeit in the distant future), as are Dead Rising 3, Metal Gear Solid V, Ryse: Son of Rome and a long-awaited reboot of Killer Instinct.
There were yet more new IPs, including cell-shaded thriller D4, barmy parkour-shooter Sunset Overdrive, Crimson Dragon (which looked reminiscent of Lylat Wars) and a quirky, indie-looking dungeon-crawler called Below. And more, that you should check out here: Xbox One Games
Ubisoft and Bungie respectively reveleaed that Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Watch Dogs and Destiny will all be arriving on Xbox One as well as PS4, but Xbox One users will get first dibs on Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC content, with PS4 gamers having to wait their turn.
The parting shot was perhaps the most exciting of all, as Respawn Entertainment unveiled Titanfall - a gorgeous-looking FPS where jetpack-equipped soldiers and mechs do bloody battle, complete with some parkour mechanics and all the polish you'd expect from the former Call of Duty devs.
Pre-order Microsoft Xbox One games from: Amazon | Zavvi | Tesco | GAME

 

Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Features

Sony PlayStation 4: 4K Support
The PlayStation 3 was one of the devices which brought Blu-Ray to prominence and its successor could again be the pioneer, this time being the first console to offer 4K resolution capabilities. 4K refers to the resolution of 3840 × 2160, a massive step up from the current console which outputs at 1920 × 1080. While 4K TV’s are rare (Probably because of their outstanding price tags) inclusion in the PS4 could definitely bring it into the public eye.
Microsoft Xbox One: 4K Support

As previously mentioned, the Xbox One will support 4K upscaling for Blu-Ray, but it’s unclear if it will also support games and other media at that resolution.
Sony PlayStation 4: Camera
The PlayStation Camera is a bit of a micro-Kinect, following in the best tradition of EyeToy. Like Move, it reads the light bars on the rear of the DualShock 4s so that you can manipulate items on screen with it, but also reads your flailing arms to interact, too.

The resolution is decent if nothing too scary – it doesn't track your expression or engagement, but it can tell if you've covered your eyes (the crowd of AI bots on the demo hushed, before we pulled our hands away and they all cried in a really quite charming game of Peek-a-boo). It will also set your head on fire – virtually, at least – in that AR style that Reality Fighters and its Vita brethren did.
Microsoft Xbox One: Camera & Kinect
First off, the new Kinect sensor can support up to six players at once, which is a vast improvement on the two- player limit its predecessor could handle.
Rather than reading the player as wiry stick figure with boxes for hands, feet and a head, the new Kinect module can pick up muscle texture, the shape of the player's head and register the difference between their thumbs and the tips of their fingers.
It can even pick up strain on the player's body parts, demonstrated to us when we stood one leg and saw our body part slowly turn red on the screen in front of us. Voice activated commands are still part of the package too.

Kinect can now monitor facial expressions, see if the player’s face begins to flush and even read the player’s heart rate. Not only will all of this be useful in the creation of Kinect software – fitness games, for example, will be far more advanced – but it also allows Kinect to gauge the player’s level of engagement with any form of entertainment they happen to be watching through the Xbox One.

If all of this sounds a bit Orwellian, don’t worry. Contrary to some of the rumours flying about the Internet, you don’t have to have Kinect active at all times in order for the Xbox One to work – you can deactivate it entirely. Not only does this mean you can still play games in the nude, should you desire, but you don’t have to allow it collect any data from your viewing or playing habits – although if you do, Kinect and the Xbox One will start to build a more bespoke entertainment experience just for you.

Source: http://www.t3.com/features/microsoft-xbox-one-vs-sony-playstation-4

Nokia Lumia 2520 review

This, Microsoft, is how to make a tablet. Nokia’s first entry into the tablet market is a triumph of design and beauty, making Microsoft’s own Surface look clumsy and heavy. It’s a Windows machine, and it makes the new 8.1 software, closely related to Windows Phone with which Nokia has had so much success, look great.

True, this is the Windows RT version, so you can only download apps from Microsoft’s as yet underpopulated store. But it comes with the key Windows program, Office, already loaded. And it has Nokia’s splendid own-brand apps to help.
The Nokia Lumia 2520 comes in a choice of colours: two are gloss, red and white, while the other two are matte finish (black or cyan). All are made from the appealing-to-the-touch polycarbonate finish that Nokia has dressed most of its Lumia smartphones in. The material and the skilfully curved edges combine to create a gadget which feels great in the hand. Although it’s not as featherweight as the new Apple iPad Air it’s lighter than last year’s iPad. This means it’s comfortable enough in the hand to feel absolutely portable. You won’t want to just use this tablet at home.
The design is sleekly realised in every way. Apart from the power button and volume rocker on the top edge there are a couple of sockets, including power and headphones and a connector on the base for an optional keyboard.
Other than that it’s beautifully simple. To wake the screen you touch the Windows logo that sits on the front. It pulses and the display lights up, which is a pleasant and intimate feeling.
Nokia’s own apps include its excellent free music streaming program Nokia music and Here maps. Beyond that there is a proficient camera app and Nokia Storyteller which is new. This is a program which turns your photos and videos into stories based on when and where they were taken. Very neatly, when you’re looking at a photograph and can’t remember where you took it you can zoom out and suddenly the images are revealed on a map – it’s good fun.
There’s a simple but effective video capture and editing program as well, called Nokia Video Director. Part of the success of this tablet is the range of superior apps Nokia has provided, and doubtless there will be more to follow.
The processor on the Nokia Lumia 2520 is pretty whizzy and means the touchscreen is quickly responsive. The inclusion of the full Microsoft Office suite at your fingertips is very useful. And the Microsoft-owned Skype is right there on the home screen, alongside elegantly designed Microsoft apps such as Bing Food & Drink and Bing Health & Fitness.
With so many good-looking apps available it’s easy to forget that this is not a fully capable computer. But the limitation of installing apps only from the App Store hasn’t exactly held back the iPad which has similar prescriptive rules as to what is compatible. The difference is that Apple’s App Store has 475,000 tablet-optimised apps while here the number is much, much lower, though growing fast.
In the world of tablet computers, so completely dominated by the iPad, the Nokia Lumia 2520 is a breath of fresh air. It’s competitively priced, with 32 GB of storage and a sim card slot to connect to the 4G network. Priced at just £399, it’s exclusively available at John Lewis, Nokia has just revealed.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/nokia-lumia-2520-review-microsoft-take-note--this-is-how-its-done-8971014.html

Buying 4K TV

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the tech press oohed and ahhed at the beautiful 4K displays (those with about four times the resolution of a 1080p HDTV) from Sony, LG, and Samsung, then gulped when we saw the $20,000-plus prices. It's a familiar story in the world of technology—an interesting product category gets introduced in the pricing stratosphere, but if you give it a few years, costs come down to where mere mortals live. So imagine my surprise when the relatively unknown Chinese brand Seiki announced a 50-inch 4K set at one-tenth the proposed costs of the big-brand sets, available today, and invited me to come see it for myself.

It looks pretty darned good. Seiki representatives showed me 3840 x 2160–resolution footage piped from a media server through an HDMI 1.4 cable (which is necessary for resolutions over 1080p, and included with the set). I saw overhead footage of Tokyo with tiny cars and pedestrians clearly identifiable, an animated short film with remarkable detail ("shows you what high-resolution gaming could look like," said Frank Kendzora, Seiki's executive vice president for the U.S. market). I also saw a clip from a 1080p Blu-ray copy of The Dark Knight Rises upscaled to 4K. All of them looked remarkable, though the color saturation of skin tones in the Batman flick was a little on the rosy side.

I had to ask the obvious question: Why is it you can sell a 4K set so cheaply so soon? The answer I got was twofold. First, Seiki keeps its sets simple to keep costs down. That means no Wi-Fi, smart TV, 3D, elegant industrial design, or crazy-fast refresh rates—just three HDMI ports and a simple remote. The second answer was "That's how much it costs to produce these sets profitably," representative Sung Choi said. "You should be asking the other manufacturers why their sets are so expensive."

Now that I've seen what you can get for $1500, I'm guessing those other manufacturers won't be able to keep their prices so high for long; 4K is tumbling down the price chain in a hurry. That said, I'm not sure you should break out your credit card just yet. Seiki's demo was remarkable, and its price point is compelling, but I saw only a few minutes of footage and in controlled circumstances. Plus, today there's still pretty much zero 4K content available and nothing to play it on.

That may change before the year is out. Sony has already announced that the PlayStation 4 it plans to launch this year will support a 4K movie service—although, mysteriously, not 4K games. And, at least in Japan, broadcasters are planning to start limited over-the-air 4K transmission as soon as 2014. None of this makes a compelling case for buying into 4K right now, but Seiki has definitely changed my mind about how quickly the technology is coming.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/home-theater/you-can-buy-a-4k-tv-right-now-for-1500

Acer C720 Chromebook review

It was touted as a no frills, always connected, economy notebook, but perhaps it was India's low Internet penetration rate prevented Google and OEMs to launch the Chromebook in India. Almost three years after its initial release, the Chrome OS-powered notebook has finally made it to our shores.

We used the Acer C720 Chromebook, an 11.6-inch notebook for a few days and here's a summary of our experience using it as our primary computer.

Build, Design, Screen and Keyboard
The Acer C720 is no looker when it comes to hardware design but thanks to its compact form factor it looks a neat utilitarian device that you can easily lug with you. Having said that, it's not very light weight and comes in a thick frame.

On the outside, the C720 features a grey coloured plastic lid with matte finish, with a plastic bottom that sports a darker shade and features the cooling vents and screws to open the chassis (not recommended unless you know what you are doing).

Open the lid, and you see an 11.6-inch matte display that sports a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and brightness levels of 220 nits. The anti-glare screen offers wide viewing angles and colours don't look washed out until you really turn the display around. The display offers good levels of brightness, contrast and colour and videos, images and text look sharp, clear and crisp.

The display is encased in a frame that sports a black coloured plastic bezel and has a glossy finish. The keyboard sits on a deck that looks similar to the Chromebook's lid, in both colour and finish.

A 720p webcam also sits at the top of the upper lid and is functional, at best.

The Acer C720 features a chiclet or island-style keyboard and doesn't include the function keys that are present in most Windows and Mac keyboards. Instead, we have special keys for going back and forward, reloading a page, managing windows, controlling brightness and sound and turning the Chromebook off and on.

We found the keyboard to be decent though our typing speed was not as fast as it's on the MacBook Air - that would perhaps change if we spent more time with the machine. The Chromebook's trackpad was also responsive. There's no support for gestures like 'pinch to zoom' though.

The right hand side of the Chromebook features a card reader slot, a USB port and a Kensington lock slot, while the left hand side sports a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB 3.0 port, and HDMI port and a charging port. The front edge features two LED indictors for charging and system use.

Overall, the Acer C720 Chromebook is a well built machine and exudes a feeling of durability.

Software
The Acer C720 Chromebook is powered by Google's Chrome OS, which is based on Linux but doesn't offer full fledged apps that we see in Linux distros like Ubuntu. In fact, Chrome OS comprises mainly of the Chrome browser and a desktop that features an app launcher and indicators and toggles for some settings such as Wi-Fi, user account, Bluetooth, Sound and Settings. It even lets you change the desktop wallpaper.

The OS supports multiple users and after logging in with your Google credentials, the notebook syncs your bookmarks, extensions, apps, and other browser data. You can also restrict logins to select user(s).

Barring some native apps like the Calculator, viewers for pictures and videos, and a basic music player, everything runs inside the Chrome browser as a web app. Although you'll be able to open documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs even if the Chromebook is offline, you'll need Internet connectivity to create new ones, at least for the first time (or if you clear browsing data). The OS Settings are also displayed in Chrome.

If a service has a web app, you'll surely be able to run it on the Chromebook, if not, then you're out of luck. For instance, you can't run Skype.

The latest iteration of Chrome OS does allow you to pin web apps to the launcher and choose if you want to open them as standard browser tabs or as independent full screen videos, maximised, to emulate the experience of a native app.

The Chrome web store even offers offline and desktop apps including the new Google+ Photos app, Autodesk Pixlr Touch Up, Kindle Cloudreader, Google Drive, and games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope.   

It won't be wrong to say that the Chromebook essentially revolves around Google's apps and services. Google even offers 100GB of free space in Google Drive, its cloud storage and sync service, for a period of two years. You get access to Google's online office suite, with Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. Google Play Music (without access to content), Google Play Movies and Google Play Books are other services that are available.

But then these services are available to users of Google's Chrome browser, as well.

If you're not deeply invested in Google's ecosystem, and don't want to store all your documents in Google's servers, then the Chromebook is certainly not for you.

It comes with a meagre 16GB internal storage out of which almost 10GB is available to the end user.

Performance
The Acer C720 Chromebook is powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U, 1.4GHz dual-core processor which is based on Intel's Haswell architecture, focusing on power optimisation. It comes with 2GB of RAM.

One of the major advantages of this Chromebook is its quick boot-up time. It booted up in just 7 seconds thanks to the light weight operating system, and the underlying SSD storage.

We did not encounter any lag while browsing the web, simultaneously playing online videos and HTML5 games and editing documents, with around 10-15 open tabs.

In our use, the Acer C720 Chromebook lasted seven hours with mixed usage including one to two hours of watching online video, streaming music, and browsing the Web.

We were able to play HD videos of all file formats as well as music tracks. The built-in speakers offer loud sound output at high volume levels, though clarity reduces as you pump up the volume.

We miss the lack of 3G connectivity. We wish Acer would have included a SIM card slot as Wi-Fi connectivity in Indian cities is still spotty.

Unless you carry a Wi-Fi hotspot device with you or own a USB based 3G dongle that the Chromebook supports, you won't be able to access your own data which is residing in Google's cloud. We were able to use a Tata Photon Max EVDO USB dongle with the Chromebook without any hiccups, though we did need to find the configuration options in the Settings.

Verdict
While it certainly won't appeal to power users for use as a primary computing device, the Chromebook offers close integration with Google's services and is ideal if you mostly use online services and are never far way from an Internet connection. However, if you want a full fledged computing experience, and still want access to Google services and web apps, you can just fire the Chrome browser on your PC or Mac. At a price of Rs. 22,999, the Acer C720 Chromebook doesn't cost a bomb but it ultimately boils down to how you use your computer.

Even as a secondary web browsing device, Apple's iPad offers a richer app-ecosystem and is more portable, combined with a foldable keyboard cover. Spend a few thousand rupees more and you can get a decent entry-level Windows PC.

It's still hard to recommend the Chromebook as a standalone computer as India's Internet infrastructure needs to evolve a bit more before we start relying totally on a cloud based set-up. 

 

Source: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/reviews/acer-c720-chromebook-review-449649?pfrom=gadgetsfeatured

New Fan Technology

In October 2009, James Dyson's consumer electronics company, famous for its line of vacuum cleaners, introduced a new device to the market called the Dyson Air Multiplier. The Air Multiplier is a fan with an unusual characteristic: It doesn't have any visible blades. It appears to be a circular tube mounted on a pedestal. The shallow tube is only a few inches deep.
Looking at the device, you wouldn't expect to feel a breeze coming from the mounted circle. There are no moving parts in sight. But if the fan is switched on, you'll feel air blowing through the tube. How does it work? How can an open circle push air into a breeze without fan blades?
As you might imagine, there are a few scientific principles at play here. There's also an electronic element. While the tube doesn't have any blades inside it, the pedestal of the fan contains a brushless electric motor that takes in air and feeds it into the circular tube. Air flows along the inside of the device until it reaches a slit inside the tube. This provides the basic airflow that creates the breeze you'd feel if you stood in front of the fan. Dyson claims that the Air Multiplier generates a breeze with 15 times more air than what the device actually takes in.
According to Dyson, the breeze generated by the Air Multiplier is more consistent and steady than one from a standard fan with blades. Since there are no rotating blades, the breeze from the fan doesn't buffet you with short gusts of air.

James Dyson demonstrates that there are indeed no visible blades on the Air Multiplier.

Image courtesy Dyson

The Mechanics of the Air Multiplier

Calling the Dyson Air Multiplier a fan with no blades is perhaps a touch misleading. There are blades in the fan -- you just can't see them. The pedestal hides the blades. A motor rotates nine asymmetrically aligned blades to pull air into the device. According to Dyson, these blades can pull in up to 5.28 gallons (about 20 liters) of air per second.
The air flows through a channel in the pedestal up to the tube, which is hollow. The interior of the tube acts like a ramp. Air flows along the ramp, which curves around and ends in slits in the back of the fan. Then, the air flows along the surface of the inside of the tube and out toward the front of the fan. But how does the fan multiply the amount of air coming into the pedestal of the device?
It boils down to physics. While it's true that the atmosphere is gaseous, gases obey the physical laws of fluid dynamics. As air flows through the slits in the tube and out through the front of the fan, air behind the fan is drawn through the tube as well. This is called inducement. The flowing air pushed by the motor induces the air behind the fan to follow.
Air surrounding the edges of the fan will also begin to flow in the direction of the breeze. This process is called entrainment. Through inducement and entrainment, Dyson claims the Air Multiplier increases the output of airflow by 15 times the amount it takes in through the pedestal's motor.
Upon its launch, Dyson made available two sizes of the Air Multiplier. The larger model has a fan with a 12-inch diameter (about 30.5 centimeters). The smaller model has a 10-inch diameter (25.4 centimeters). The stylish fans weren't cheap -- the smaller model's suggested retail price was $299.99, while the larger fan would cost you $329.99. That's a pretty steep price for a device that pushes air at you.
There's no question that the Dyson Air Multiplier is a striking invention. Its sleek design and innovative technology set the blogosphere abuzz when it launched. Perhaps in the future none of our fans will have visible blades.

source: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/home/dyson-bladeless-fan2.htm

Hi Hello Hi Tech Home!

Gadgets are becoming a part of our everyday life and like the mobile phone (one of the first gadgets) we are starting to be addicted, depending on them for our daily actions. As technology advances, so do these gadgets that we are fond of and we are amazed by the new concepts created by young and ambitious designers. These innovations appear from a necessity of solving the problems that old products have and besides new and improved functions, they also come with a beautiful design.

Transparent TV

The transparent tv designed by Michael Friebe is a marvelous piece of technology that combines conventional LCD and the latest TOLED display technology. This allows to create non-transparent / solid moving pictures with rich color reproduction and full contrast range from solid black to pristine white.

Floor Plan Light switch

Have you ever had a problem with forgetting which light switch stands for what light? Taewon Hwang came with the great idea of creating a master light switch with a simple design that shows you what lights you are turning on or off.

The AURA Lamp

Looking almost alien like, the AURA lamp lights up a room with a certain texture and that is because it’s a woven lamp hand made in France.

Dimensional Wall Panels

People aren’t familiar with 3D wall panels. I don’t know why, cause they surely bring a nice feel to a room, with their interesting shapes that create a beautiful arrangement of light and shadows. They can also be put in shops, restaurants, offices and because of their different that usual look they transmit a nice futuristic look.

The RIMA lamp

The RIMA lamp is one like no other because of its interesting feature that allows you to control the light via four controller rings that you can slide. This beautiful lamp created by Matthias Pinkert has a processor which controls the heat, intensity, angle of the beam and color.

Sony Eclipse

This Sony Eclipse concept created by Hoang M Nguyen and Anh Nguyen is a media player that uses photovoltaic cells situated on its backside to draw in solar power. With this player you have a slight change of seeing the battery low warning very very rare.

Pouring Light Lamp

A strange but interesting lamp that will surely be sold really fast if it would be put in stores is this one created by Yeongwoo Kim. The lamp uses LED lights that are situated in the bucket and with the help of phosphorescence in the “water” it lights in a marvelous way.

Door Handle With Self-sterilization System

Senzo Nightlight

It’s really annoying during the night when you wake up and not find the light switch. The solution is provided by Soledad Clavell and Marcos Madia who created this wonderful nightlight that lights up the room when touching it.

Electrolux Fireplace

This fireplace created by Camillo Vanacore for Electrolux looks almost magical because of its transformation from off to on, from an opaque ceramic column to a transparent one.

Eco Cleaner

Without using regular dish detergents, the Eco Cleaner makes the plates bright and fresh using ultrasonic waves to ionize food particles on the dishes, converting the food into reusable compost for plants. Less waste and more nutrients for plants are a good idea for the future and a solution for enriching the soil. Of course, we’re talking about the soil for the plants that you keep in your apartment.

Document Extractor – Combi Monitor

Saving space on the desk has always been a problem for some and to solve this issue Byeong Min Choe has come up with a marvelous idea of combining a printer and a monitor.

On Switch

Minimalistic and elegant. That’s how you define this light switch created by Burakov Denis.

Green Smart Glass

The Green Smart Glass has an interesting technology that harnesses the heat energy from the hot beverage and stores it to be used later.

iQ Alarm clock

Instead of the snooze button which you unwillingly press in the morning, this alarm clock has questions that need your lucidity to solve them. This way, you will surely get up fast in the morning.

Change It! Wall

This wall has been passed around on the internet for some time and has become a neat attraction. It’s not LED or anything digital, it’s actually made of turning triangles with different colors on them, white, black and a rainbow color. It is limited at these three options for now, but I’m sure we’ll see in the future various patterns and images.

Orbital Washing Machine

Washing clothes has never been so easy. With the incorporated basket you can load and unload the clothes in the washing machine as easy as 1, 2, 3. This isn’t the only innovative feature. The spherical drum is moving on two axes washing your clothes better than the old washing machines that use only one axe.

Bediator

Having a warm bed underneath you is a cool thing, especially if you’re in a place where winters are incredibly cold. Now I don’t know how much weight this bed radiator-bed supports but if it can take two medium people it is awesome.

LED Ceiling

This is an interesting concept created by Seo Dong-Hun that allows you to create on the ceiling the light shapes you want. Literally, you can paint the ceiling with light. Imagine the artworks that would result from some people’s imagination.

LULA Lung Lamp

LULA is a product that collects data and indicates the air quality in your room. If it’s connected to the internet, it can process the data and tell you the health issues that you are facing in that situation and how you can avoid having problems caused by the quality of air.

WAT Lamp

The WAT lamp has the interesting ability to generate light if you fuel it with water. Yeah, it sounds outrageously futuristic, but the system is actually not that strange. The water combines with a hydroelectric battery to generate an electrochemical reaction that lights it up.

Miranda

This surface tile is not for everyone but it is fun for sure, having the ability to morph the way you want it and create shapes and basic drawings on it. More info can be found on Giles Miller’s site.

WAVE Ultra Sonic Wine Ager And Refrigerator

Ever wanted to age your wine so that it will be of a higher quality? Now you can, it’s not only a movie idea. Designer Mika Yamamoto has created this device that does this incredible thing. The Wave uses magnetic cooling system that is based on the magnetocaloric effect, which is the ability of some materials to heat up when magnetized and cool when removed from the magnetic field. It reduces carbon emissions and increases energy efficiency. It can possibly cut energy consumption by 40%. It also reduces the cost of electricity.

The Wave Dish Washer

This dishwasher beautifully designed by Guilherme Parolin makes the action of washing dishes a piece of cake thanks to its user friendly control panel.

Swan Umbrella Dryer

Drying up a wet umbrella has always been a problem. Till Noh Seon Mi designed the Swan Umbrella Dryer, of course.

+- Water Meter

1limit Faucet

Unlike the +- water faucet which only tells you how much you consume and doesn’t technically help you to reduce your costs, the 1litre limited faucet helps you to consume only the water that you need.

iChef+ Oven

From what I’ve seen on the market, the ovens are not user friendly at all, having changed over the years only at an aesthetic level without modifying the process in which you actually cook the meal. The iChef Oven has an innovative and powerful computer behind it’s technology and I believe it can be considered a milestone in its niche.

The Book Light

This product with integrated LEDs in a plastic body is an interesting product for the people who read a lot and need a discreet light over their pages. Don’t worry about the light being to powerful, cause you can adjust it as you please.

The Tulip Bath/Shower

In a small bathroom there’s always a problem with space and the Tulip Bath/Shower designed by Piotr Pyrtek provides the solution. Saving space is not its only feature, having a number of characteristics that qualifies it as a luxury item, like underwater jets or massage programs.



 


Source: http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/30-cool-high-tech-gadgets-to-give-your-home-a-futuristic-look/