Awesome Tech

Rich people, it’s time to fulfill your destiny. Go forth and test the prophesied messiah of virtual reality for the rest of us. Shipping this March, the Rift will come with an Xbox One controller, a remote control and two games: Eve Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale. Recommended PC specs here.

High tech design studio Nervous System has outdone themselves, with the creation of truly stunning neckties which double as wearable works of art. The interlocking pieces are printed from nylon, and are hinged to move fluidly. Each is printed to order, so be patient.

The latest displays from LG not only offer the bright colors, inky blacks, and slim profile OLED tech is known for, but these sets support the “next big thing” – high dynamic range capability – where contrast between the brightest and darkest areas is unlike anything you’ve seen.

Unlike the other Razer Blades, the 12.5″ Blade Stealth is an ultrabook – it’s thin, light and lasts up to 8h per charge, but it only has integrated graphics. To make up for that, Razer made the Core, an add-on that lets you connect desktop GPUs to the laptop via a Thunderbolt 3 cable.

This pocket-sized storage device is bit larger and heavier than its predecessor, but the Samsung T3 external SSD is still a tiny data vault. It’s also shock-resistant and supports AES 256-bit encryption. Most importantly, it will be available in up to 2TB capacity.

While it looks amazing, the BeoLab 90 isn’t just about aesthetics. The configuration of its 18 drivers was precision engineered for incredible 360º immersive sound. Active Room Compensation tech optimizes audio based on your room’s shape, size, and even furnishings.

The FFZERO1 Concept is a glimpse into the future of race cars. Powered by four electric motors generating over 1000 hp, a lightweight, highly aerodynamic carbon fiber shell, and a high-tech interior with augmented reality displays, and a NASA-inspired pilot’s seat.

Nikon jumps head first into the crowded action camera market with the compact KeyMission 360. It packs two sensors, allowing it to capture 360º video and stills in 4k resolution. It’s also waterproof, and resistant to dust, shock, and cold, and has electronic vibration reduction.

Casio’s rugged Android Wear smartwatch is water resistant, and meets military shock and vibration specs. It’s got air pressure and altitude sensors, an accelerometer, gyrometer, and a magnetic compass, to track fitness activites, and all your outdoor adventures.

Braven’s ginormous new Bluetooth party speaker is the modern day boom box. It’ll knock your socks off with massive sound, its 15,600 mAh battery provides 14h of play time, and can also charge gadgets. The rugged speaker is IPX 5 waterproof rated too.

Combining the control of a mouse with the functionality of an ergonomic keyboard, this unusual peripheral lets either lefties or righties control the pointer without having to take their hands off the keyboard. It’s up for pre-order now, but no delivery date has been announced.

Lenovo’s newest laptop-tablet hybrid has an optional 2160×1440 OLED touchscreen for eye-popping brightness and color saturation. It also has an integrated stylus and up to 6th gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. Available 2/16 starting at $1450.

The Alpha 34 is the pinnacle of all-in-one gaming PCs, rocking the latest Intel CPUs with 4 to 18 cores, NVIDIA 980Ti, Titan X or AMD Radeon R9 390X desktop graphics cards, 32GB of DDR4 RAM; and Samsung pro-grade SSDs. And, oh yeah, a 34″, 3840×1440 curved display.

Designed to simplify shooting time-lapse videos, the Enlaps Tikee sends images over Wi-Fi or 3G, combines still photos into videos, and recharges via solar power. It can shoot every 10 minutes for a week on battery, and uses dual Sony sensors to create a 220º field of view.

GoldenEar’s $2000 freestanding subwoofer will shake your world with a pair of 12″ bass drivers and two 12″ passive radiators. All four are diametrically arranged resulting in a balanced output and a stable cabinet. It’s powered by a 1600W amp and a 56-bit DSP.

Also known as “flexible microactuators” – these unusual soft robotic devices can manipulate objects like human fingers do. They’re more than a little phallic, but still impressive. The bit with where they turn the bolt is hypnotic. Oh, and the same guys developed this nightmare.

Developed by Disney Research and ETH Zurich, this ingenius robot can change from riding on the ground to driving sideways up walls like a boss. It uses rotating propellers to transition from ground to wall modes, then provide the thrust to hold it to the wall.

2015 is almost over, and we didn’t get real hoverboards. All we got were some viral videos, and 2-wheeled contraptions that spontaneously combust. At $19,900, the ArcaBoard is the latest effort – a somewhat clumsy device that actually hovers using 36 powerful electric fans.

Just like the Data Bank for the PlayStation 4, Nyko’s add-on for the Xbox One sits on top of the console and lets you plug in 3.5″ storage drives. It should work with any 3.5″ drive that has at least 256GB of space. It has a separate power plug though.

PowerSquare claims its Tango is the first position-free Qi wireless charger, i.e. you don’t have to look for a sweet spot for it to start charging your mobile device. It can even charge two devices at once.

Like iOS’ iMessage, Roger lets you record and listen to voice messages at will over the Internet. The difference is that Roger has a clean and intuitive interface, with big buttons and a built-in weather, time and location indicator for your contacts.

Nanoleaf’s unusual LED bulb supports Apple’s HomeKit, so you can control them with voice commands via Siri. Its wireless control hub and mobile app can be used to control other HomeKit-compatible bulbs as well.

After two failed attempts, SpaceX finally managed to both launch the Falcon 9 rocket and safely land its first stage booster. The reusable rocket is a significant step towards drastically reducing the cost of going to space. Landing at 31:16.