30 Cool High Tech #Gadgets you will love for your 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.

 

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.

Bharti Airtel raises the call tariffs

Bharti Airtel Ltd, world’s top mobile phone carrier has announced that it is going to raise voice call prices. India’s top carrier in mobile communication said that it is raising prices of all call tariffs to account for rising costs, sending shares of telecommunication companies higher as investors bet that rivals will follow the market leader.

Idea Cellular Ltd, India’s No.3 carrier by revenue and No.4 by customers has also said that from Wednesday it had effectively raised voice call prices in some parts of the country after withdrawing promotional offers. Idea did not reveal the details of those locations.

The raise in the price of call tariffs was initiated by the phone carriers in India since they have to face billions of dollars in airwave surcharges after the government overhauled its system of spectrum sales in response to a massive scandal in 2011 over an alleged below-market price sale of permits and airwaves three years before.

The government will be selling the airwaves through open bidding in an auction. Next bidding would take place in March with the minimum bid price at both auctions more than six times the previous fees set by the government. A sector analyst of Nirmal Bang Equities, Harit Shah said that part of the tariff hike is driven by cost pressures and also it is sort of a pre-emptive move in order to improve financials because they are going to have a major auction ahead. Shah said that raise of call tariffs would be moderate and add extra pressure on call volumes. He added that India is a price-sensitive market and hence there may not be any impact on usage.

Of course, the carrier might not stick with new prices. It has reported a loss of market share with an increase in call tariff in 2011. Bharti Airtel said that it did not increase headline tariffs but reduced promotional benefits and free minutes offered to customers. It added that price change was in line with the increase in its costs. As per reports from genuine sources, Bharti Airtel is reducing free minutes by up to a quarter and has increased prices of some call vouchers for prepaid customers by Rs. 5 – 15 ( 10 to 30 cents).

Police allowed to track cell phones in US without court warrants

Police allowed to track cell phones in US without court warrants

The US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Americans have no reasonable expectation of privacy when carrying cell phones, allowing police to track GPS signals without a warrant or probable cause.

The decision came the court ruled in United States v. Skinner that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) abided by the Constitution by using a drug runner’s cellphone data to track his location and determine his identity.

Melvin Skinner, also known by his false name as “Big Foot,” was a drug mule with more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana in his Texas motorhome.

The throwaway mobile phone he was using was registered under a false name, so agents did not know the identity of the drug trafficker.

By using GPS data from his disposable phone, police learned that “Big Foot” was planning to deliver a large shipment of marijuana from Arizona to Tennessee in his mobile home.

In 2006, agents obtained a court order – but not a warrant – to track the disposable phone’s location using its GPS.

After tracing the phone’s exact location, police dogs discovered the mobile home and indicated a presence of drugs. “Big Foot” was arrested and charged for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

But on appeal, the defendant argued that his cell phone data could not be used because the DEA failed to obtain a warrant for it, thereby violating the Fourth Amendment.

The Fourth Amendment protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures” without the issuance of a warrant obtained due to probable cause.

The Court considers cell phone use to be a public – not private – action, thereby being ineligible for the protections of the Fourth Amendment. A court brief of the case states that “a suspect’s presence in a publicly observable place is not information subject to Fourth Amendment protection.”

Additionally, Judge John M. Rogers, writing for the majority, said Skinner “did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the data given off by his voluntarily procured pay-as-you-go cell phone. If a tool used to transport contraband gives off a signal that can be tracked for location, certainly the police can track the signal.”

While any US cell phone can now be tracked by police without probable cause or a warrant, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that police must obtain a warrant before secretly attacking a GPS tracking device to a suspect’s car.

That ruling is currently being contested, leaving the possibility for police to secretly track vehicles without permission. Without the requirement of a warrant to access cell phone data, US authorities are gaining increasing power over what some would consider “private” rights of individuals – but what the Courts call “public.”

 

 

 

Recharge your Phone With a Spoon of Water

“PowerTrekk” a new recharge system developed by Signa Chemistry along with Stockholm‘s myFC produces electricity with a spoon of water which can be used to recharge your phone, GPS devices, iPod/mp3 or camera when you are far away from power outlets. This system doesn’t use sunlight; you just need a tablespoon of water to make it working. Unlike solar chargers PowerTrekk is light weight and generates power more quickly and reliably. More over it doesn’t need clear water, so you can use any type of water whether it is from a stream or a pool, hard water or soft water it really doesn’t matter.

PowerTrekk acts both as a portable battery pack and a fuel cell which makes it a 2-in-1 solution. This 2-in-1 portable charger is the first one to use Mobile-H₂ technology (Mobile-H₂ cartridge called a PowerPukk) in addition to a Li-ion battery pack. These PowerPukk fuel packs are offered in three forms; 5-pack Tube, 10-pack Tube and 24 ct Tray.

When the PowerPukk is placed inside the PowerTrekk and a tablespoon of water is added to the core part of PowerPukk, then the device’s Proton Exchange Membrane starts to convert the hydrogen into electricity. It can generate an output of 5V, 1000 mA and can store the power in its Li-ion battery if not used right away.

Björn Westerholm, CEO of myFC says “PowerTrekk is one renewable solution where millions of phone users lack easy access to a reliable supply of electricity for charging, especially outdoors and with the PowerTrekk if the internal battery/buffer is full it will charge more than 2 smartphones or 15 iPods.”

The company Signa has major plans based on this system and is determined to see this system working in electric bikes and cars. The company also sees an opportunity in rural parts of the world where there is lack of power supply now and this system can be used as an alternative source. Future of this system seems quite bright as the whole world is trying to find alternatives for power sources along with go green motto.

PowerTrekk comes in three colors;green, red and yellow and is expected to reach the stores by May having a price range of $200 to $250 and the replacement tins (PowerPukk) will cost $4. We expect to see PowerTrekk soon in Indian and hopefully at an affordable price as it will be a boon to Indian villages, but for now the there is no information about its availability or cost in Indian market.

Related articles

• PowerTrekk Offers Unlimited Water-Based Gadget Power – Mashable (mashable.com)
• CES 2012: Using water (or beer) to recharge your mobile devices (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Harness the power of water while on the go with SiGNa Chemistry’s PowerTrekk (digitaltrends.com)
• Now you can recharge your cell phone with pee (chron.com)

The best-selling Nokia phones ever

Nokia‘s heydays: Surpassed by Apple, Samsung and facing tough competition from other rivals, Nokia has lost its crown and the charm is also fading. The Finnish mobile phone giant is fast losing its market share. But there was a time when Nokia ruled over the mobile phone market and that too for a long time. Now that the company is trying to revive its lost glory we take a look at some Nokia phones that set and shattered sales records.

Nokia E71: The smartphone was released in 2008 and has a QWERTY keyboard, targeting business users. The phone has managed to attract many users, and the company has sold over 15 million units.

Nokia 5800 music express: Introduced in January 2008, the company is said to have sold over 15 million handsets. The phone was introduced as a part of the XpressMusic series of phones, which emphasised music and multimedia playback.

Nokia E63: The phone was released late in 2008, and is marketed as a budget business phone. The phone looks very similar to E71, but its body is made of plastic, unlike E71′s aluminium body.

Nokia 6300: The 6300 was a more style driven replacement for the Nokia 6030. Introduced in 2006, around 35 million such devices were sold by the company.

Nokia N97 mini: It was a touch screen mobile phone in the N-series of smartphones by Nokia, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The phone was released in June 2009, and in September 2009 it was reported that around 2 million N97 handsets had been sold in three months. The phone lured scores of users.

Nokia N72: The phone was introduced in May 2006 and was effectively a re-branded Nokia N70. As an N-series phone, its features were pretty limited. The company sold around 45 million units.

Nokia 7610: It was Nokia’s first smartphone featuring a 1 megapixel camera. Introduced sometime in the middle of 2004, the phone had stylish looks.

Nokia N-Gage: The N-Gage was a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia. It was actually designed to lure gamers. Released in October 2003, the company sold around 3 million N-Gage handsets. Later, the N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004.

Nokia 5200: This handset was very similar in appearance to the Nokia 5300, but there were some differences. Collectively (both Nokia 5200 and 5300), the company sold around 30 million units.

Nokia 5610: The Nokia 5610 was released as an XpressMusic phone in the fourth quarter of 2008. The company managed to sell around 15 million handsets.

Nokia 1600: Released in 2006, the Nokia 1600 was a part of Nokia’s Ultrabasic series of mobile phones. The phone was originally released specifically to be used by customers in developing countries. Nokia sold approximately 130 million of 16xx series, which included Nokia 1600/1650/1661.

Nokia 2626: The phone was very popular and the company sold around 135 million handset units of 26xx series (Nokia 2600/2610/2626/2630).

Nokia 6600: The phone was launched in 2003, and around 2 million handsets were sold worldwide. At the time of release, this phone was the most advanced product ever launched by Nokia. In the year 2007, Nokia stopped production of the 6600 handsets.

Nokia 3310: Released in the fourth quarter of 2000, it replaced the then popular Nokia 3210. This phone sold quite well, and became one of the most successful phones with approximately 136 million units sold.

Nokia 1100: Around 250 million units of this phone have been sold since its launch in late 2003, making it the world’s best selling mobile phone. This low-end mobile phone was once the best selling consumer electronics device in the world. The model has been discontinued by the company.

Related articles

• Nokia Drive transplanted to competing Windows Phones, why is this a bad thing? (intomobile.com)
• Nokia Maps now available for Lumia Windows Phone handsets (winrumors.com)
• Recycle an Old Nokia Mobile Phone & Make Money for the New Portable TV Nokia (prweb.com)
• O2 boss: Nokia smartphones are too expensive (somobile.co.uk)

Traditional Mail Sees Massive Decline as Email, SMS Take Over

In the era of high speed communication where a mobile phone message gets delivered to its recipient within seconds, snail mail like postcards and inland letters — is losing out on its appeal, according to data available with the communications ministry.

“The present mail traffic trend indicates that there is decrease of sale of post cards and inland letter cards in the post offices which is due to induction of new technology in the field of personal communication,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

 During 2009-10 the traffic of post cards and inland letter cards as per data available from all postal circles stood at over 78 crore and 91 crore, respectively, as against 195.8 crore and 224.94 crore, respectively, during 2001-02.

India currently has over 850 million mobile phone subscribers and with the low tariffs offered by the telecom service providers across the country, the numbers have been witnessing a continuous rise.

Pilot said the department of posts was trying to improve the quality of mail operations across the country by consolidating and optimising the existing mail network, bring in greater standardization in mail processes and strengthen monitoring mechanisms.

He also said that the department proposed to connect all departmental post and branch post offices in the country through internet by 2012-13, under the India Post Technology project – 2012.

The fiscal 2009-10 saw 14 post offices being shut down.

The telegraph traffic has seen a far larger decline with the average number of telegrams booked per day falling 10.27 percent at 8,513 in the previous financial year. During 2009-10 it had declined 43.44 percent at 9,488.

During 2006-07 the average number of telegrams booked per day stood at 21,785.

Why Can’t You Use Your Cell Phone on an Airplane?

In 1991, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned passengers from using their cell phones while on board an airplane that is in flight. The ban was instituted because the FCC suspected that the radio frequency emitted by cell phones could malfunction an airplane’s equipment systems. In complying with this rule, different airlines have instituted different policies about when phones can be turned on and off. In 2005, the FCC announced that it might consider lifting the ban on the use of cell phones on airplanes, with certain restrictions.

The FCC regulates the use of all electronic devices, including cell phones, on airplanes under the assumption that they may affect the communication systems on board. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agrees with the FCC that cell phones may cause substantial interference with aircraft systems and supports the ban for all commercially operated airplanes. The use of cell phones on private or charter planes is not regulated, however, and many private flights permit passengers to use cell phones while in flight.

Lots of debate has surrounded the use of cell phones on airplanes. The primary concern is that cell phones may interfere with the navigation and communication systems of the plane, potentially resulting in devastating failure. Numerous airlines have reported disruptions in cabin pressure, compass function, and wireless navigation systems associated with the use of cell phones on board. The FCC, it seems, erred on the side of caution when it enforced an outright ban on the use of radio frequency emitting devices which could potentially cause an aircraft to crash.

There have also been some reports that the use of cell phones on planes may cause disruptions in ground communications because of interference. Others claim that the airlines and the FCC would simply prefer that consumers use the telecommunications systems mounted on most seat backs in commercial airplanes, because these phones are said to be highly profitable. Newer cell phones are capable of operating on very low power settings, which may not interfere with the aircraft as much. The FCC is attempting to establish an acceptable threshold of radio frequency emissions, so that cell phones could be used on airplanes without any fear of the navigation system failing or service on the ground being disrupted.