Awesome Tech

The pocket-size iPhone charge dock gets a Lightning connector, making it the perfect travel accessory for your iPhone 5. Even works with some cases. Available in US, EU and UK versions. We only wish it had a swivel function.

A rugged Android tablet for outdoorsy types. Has a 6″ E-ink touchscreen, GPS, Wi-Fi, AM/FM/SW/LW radio, weather sensors, Bluetooth, 2-way radio and a solar panel on the back. Can also be charged via USB.

Tiptop sets itself apart from other Bluetooth speakers with its magnetized mount. It’s meant screws into a room’s corner. When docked into its mount, it effectively uses the surrounding walls as a speaker cabinet.

Prototypes from the Adobe XD team. The pen can be used to draw and transfer images between devices. But the real innovation is the ruler, which adds guidelines on screen to make it easier to draw lines and shapes accurately.

Made by non-profit tech company Ushahidi, BRCK is a compact router that can hop seamlessly between Ethernet, Wi-Fi or through cellular networks. Has an 8-hour battery and a rugged enclosure for on-the-go networking.

An inexperienced user tries on an Oculus Rift head-mounted display, and goes for a virtual roller coaster ride – while standing up. Next time you try and simulate a seated activity, you might want to remain seated.

Station Supply Co. found an old 1970 life raft from a Pan Am jet, and turned the rubber into these cool and unique iPhone and iPad cases. Unfortunately, they won’t help your gadgets float in the event of a water landing.

Hard Graft has released one of the most beautiful phone cases we’ve ever seen. The bumper is handmade from nothing but Italian leather. The optional wool cover provides added protection for the iPhone 5’s screen.

The LG Optimus G Pro has a 5.5″ 1080p screen, 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM and 13mp camera. Features include dual video recording, multitasking via widgets and universal remote control. An AT&T exclusive for now.

For the cinephile with a blockbuster budget. IMAX is taking commissions to put a 3D-capable IMAX digital theater in your mansion, along with 24/7 support. They should tie up with Prima Cinema to provide content. Video here.

Lunasee’s ASL 1000 uses four 1W LEDs to excite a strip of photoluminescent pinstripe tape that attaches to the rim of motorcycle wheels, improving nighttime visibility. It’s compatible with motorcycles that have dual swing arms.

German shop Soundpauli turns old speakers into portable ones, with a 3.5mm textile-wrapped cable to connect to a music player. They last up to 30 hours on 6 AA batteries but you can also plug them in via their AC adapter.

Hardware giant IBM made the world’s tiniest animation using carbon monoxide molecules. The stop-motion short was made using 5,000 atoms and can only be seen when it’s magnified 100 million times. Watch the making-of here.

The Barman is a simplified weighing scale. Use a mobile app to send the recipe of the drink you want to make to Barman and it will tell you how much of each ingredient to add using an idiot proof interface.

The Atom charges gadgets using electricity converted from the movement of your bike’s rear wheel. What makes it really useful is its removable 1300mAh battery, letting you charge when it suits you.

PBS Off Book spoke with scientists, engineers and other tech experts to come up with a very optimistic discussion about the potential of wearable technology and the importance of open source materials.

Software developers have long struggled to incorporate realistic water into video games. As video chips become more powerful, and engineers create better digital models, we might soon be seeing water that looks this good.

You might not mind the bleachers with Sony’s new DEV-50V binoculars. They sport a much sleeker design, are 30 percent lighter than the DEV-5 predecessor and can record and play HD video in stereoscopic 3D. Out 6/13 for $2K.

The BlueBulb is an LED bulb that you can control from an iOS device. No word on pricing yet, but since it uses Bluetooth instead of connecting over the Internet, it should be more affordable than the Philips Hue or the LIFX.

Designed by Lucien Langton, the FireWriter is a dot-matrix printer that uses a torch to burn images into a surface instead of ink. Not only is it highly impractical, it’s a major fire hazard. Still, the ink cartridges are a bargain.

Invisiplugs are power strips that hide in plain sight. They come in three different shades of woodgrain print – light natural, medium cherry and dark oak – to match hardwood floors and walls. Now if only cords were brown…

Want to know what your mutt’s actual breeds are? Mars Veterinary sells identification kits that will help you determine your dog’s ancestry using a painless and easy to use swab kit. They also sell kits to verify purebreds.

A smart router that lets you monitor and manage your Internet connection from a user-friendly mobile app. See all devices connected to your network, limit the access of individual devices, troubleshoot remotely and more.