Awesome Tech

Keep your hands free and your eyes on the road while driving with this versatile universal in-car smartphone mount. It clips onto almost any air vent, holds your phone using magnets, and offers 360° rotation and swivel adjustments. Save 23% in The Awesomer Shop.

ASUS’ new productivity machine weighs just under 4lb and is only 0.74″ thick. But it packs the latest Core i7 CPU, a GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050Ti GPU, a 1080p or 4K screen, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB SSD and a 14h battery. Drops 7/2017 starting at $1299.

While the majority of 3D printers melt plastic filament, this unique printer uses modeling clay as its medium, resulting in ceramic creations which would be difficult to sculpt by hand. If you already have an FDM 3D printer, you can purchase the extruder only for $399.

There’s something about the high-pitched sound of the scannner stepper motor that suits itself so well to Gorillaz Feel Good Inc., it now takes its place as our favorite cover track from Paweł Zadrożniak’s electromechanical orchestram, beating out The Final Flopdown.

It’s not quite for ants, but you can fit a couple of TinyCircuits’ DIY arcade machine kit in your hand. It’s easy to assemble – no soldering or special tools needed – and its games are free. You can also watch mp4 video files on it.

The Virb 360 action camera shoots true 4K 30fps 360º video, ready to be shared as soon as you stop recording. It can also output 5.7K, 5K and 3K unstitched raw footage. Its apps let you add stabilization and telemetry data. It also comes with a tripod-handgrip.

We live in a world where technological obsolescence is an everyday expectation. But is there still value in the old electronics we’d otherwise discard? Modern Classic decided to find out by dusting off a 20-year-old IBM ThinkPad to see if it could still be of use today.

The Rainer Hersch Orkestra performs a medley of tunes which will be awfully familiar to those of you with iPhones. Every time that marimba sound goes off we reach for our pocket. They also did something similar for Windows XP a few years back.

The 15.6″ ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC is the world’s thinnest and lightest portable 1080p monitor, at only 8mm thick and weighing just 1.8lb. It gets power and data via USB-C and can be used in both portrait and landscape modes as either a mirror or a second display.

The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab rehabilitation center is working on a wheelchair that will let users move while either sitting or standing. A belt integrated into the armrest lets the user move as well as adjust the wheelchair’s height.

KNZ Technology’s Bluetooth speakers stand out from the crowd by allowing you to split them in two for true stereo sound, or use them as individual speakers. They snap together and can cling to surfaces using magnets, and come with a wrap for easy carrying.

An electric skateboard augmented by artificial intelligence and sensors. It won’t move if it’s locked via its app or if you’re standing incorrectly on it. It can also suggest more efficient routes, regulate its speed to prevent falls and much more.

A tiny outlet adapter that’s compatible with outlets in over 150 countries, thanks to its US-style, UK-style and Euro-style plugs. It also has surge protection courtesy of a replaceable fuse.

One of Google’s lesser known products is this 55″ 4K digital whiteboard, designed to make brainstorming ideas across the globe easier, faster, and more fun. The Verge went hands on with this cool new collaboration tool. The initial software seems imperfect, but it’s still slick.

An easy-to-use personal photography drone from the masters of photography drones. The spark can take off from your hand, and follow you, and can be commanded with gestures. Its got a gimbal-stabilized 1080p camera, GPS tracking, and has cinematic flight-path presets.

If you’ve ever found how Segways and so-called “hoverboards” stay upright, check out Joop Brokking’s video tutorial, which shows you how to build your own R/C 2-wheeled robot, controlled via Arduino for about $80 total. Full schematics, build details, and code here.

2BTruman demonstrates his custom-built synth, which looks like something off of a starship’s bridge. The system is powered by a Mac Mini, Ableton Live and Analog Lab, but the custom interfaces make it truly one of a kind. You’ve gotta check out the epic power-on sequence.

What could have been the Surface Pro 5 does away with the numbers. The new model has a more versatile hinge, up to 2.5x faster CPU, quieter cooling, and up to 13.5 hours of battery life. It’s compatible with the Surface Dial and the new Surface Pen is much more capable.

An excellent sounding, premium Bluetooth speaker which doubles as a headphone amplifier. It can also be tricked out with custom 3D printed endcaps and grilles made from fiber, plated or (very expensive) precious metals. Read our hands-on review on Technabob.

At the heart of this mirrorless camera is an insanely precise APS-H Foveon X3 CMOS image sensor which produces an image equivalent to a 51mp traditional sensor. Its RAW DNG files offer a level of detail not seen in cameras at this price. Sample photos on DPReview.

Dig deep into the belly of back-end coding with this series of online courses that will get you up to speed on Java, C, Perl, and Python in no time. In addition, you’ll learn the basics of operating systems, and how to apply your coding skills to IoT devices. A $2,950 value.

Engineers from USC’s ACTLab and RESL show off a slick system for controlling numerous drones. Crazyswarm currently operates 49 Crazyflie 2.0 nano-copters, and can create coordinated aerial displays, and dynamically adapt their flight path around a tracking device.

Musician/technician Giuseppe Acito aka Opificio Sonico created a tiny set of bandmates using LEGO Bionicle robots he’s programmed to play a mix of sensors, smartphones, and other inputs. Here, they perform Kraftwerk’s The Robots and Daft Punk’s Da Funk.