Gadgets

Web developer unt1tled made his own virtual assistant based on Windows’ Cortana. What makes it stand out is that he built an accompanying holographic image by reflecting a custom-made 3D animation from a monitor to three panes of glass.

It’s quite pricey for what it does, but the Spyslide is a stylish and simple way to cover your monitor, laptop or tablet’s front camera. It’s so thin – thinner than a paperclip! – and small that it will fit on practically any computer you have.

The Neptune Art Lens System consists of three fixed focal length lenses – 3.5/35, 2.8/50 and 4.0/80 – a lens base and six drop-in plates. Their size and weight makes it easy to switch lenses on the go, while the handcrafted optics offer a myriad of creative options.

Amazon’s latest virtual assistant has a built-in 7″ touchscreen display and a 5MP camera. The Echo Show lets you watch short videos from Amazon, YouTube etc., control and interact with smart gadgets, video call with other Echo Show users and more.

Fender’s new digital amplifiers have thousands of presets and effects that you can operate through a built-in display, and you’ll get even more thanks to their Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. The Mustang GT amps also have a speaker function and USB and XLR outputs.

It’s hard to remember this monitor’s name, but it certainly leaves an impression. LG’s new 43″ 4K monitor has a ton of inputs: two HDMI 1.4, two HDMI 2.0, a DisplayPort 1.2, a USB-C port and two USB 3 ports, so you can have up to four 21.5″ 1080p displays at once.

Gigabyte’s 15″ workhorse laptop. The Aero 15 has a nearly bezel-less 1080P/4K display (the exact same panels used in the Dell XPS 15) that’s been pre-calibrated to Pantone certifications, a 5GB GTX 1060 GPU, 10h battery life and user upgradeable RAM and SSDs.

The MicroBot Push 2 lets you wirelessly control and automate almost anything that has a button or a switch. It works with IFTTT, Amazon Alexa, WeMo and more. The Push 2 has quieter gears than the original, as well as a timer feature and touchscreen compatibility.

Oppo’s top of the line media player plays UHD Blu-ray discs as well as digital 4K video, and supports both HDR10 and the Dolby Vision HDR spec. It also has individual 7.1 channel analog out, audio-only HDMI out, one DAC each for stereo and 7.1, and a built-in headphone amp.

Teodoor can automatically open your door when your phone is near via Bluetooth as well as grant temporary access to other people. But unlike most of its competitors, Teodoor also lets you use your existing keys and turn your lock manually.

Western Digital sets its sights on Samsung’s successful T3. Just like the that drive, the My Passport SSD is tiny, light, shock-resistant and is compatible with USB 3.1 Type-C for super-fast transfers, but it’s a bit cheaper. Available in 256GB, 500GB and 1TB.

Origin’s “entry level” gaming laptop is no slouch. The Eon 15-S comes with a 15.6″ 1080p matte display, a 4GB GTX 1050 Ti GPU, choices of dual-core i3, quad-core i5 or i7 CPUs, 8GB+ RAM, 120GB+ SSD and a 500GB+ HDD. And it comes with Origin’s free lifetime support.

Master & Dynamic’s first speaker has a body made of concrete composite, which dampens sound 5x better than wood and 10x better than plastic. It has two 4″ woofers, a 1.5″ tweeter, a 100W amp, optical and 3.5mm inputs, and Chromecast, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The latest version of Razer’s 17″ laptop has a Core i7-7820HK CPU, 32GB RAM, dual SSDs in RAID 0, GTX 1080 GPU, low-profile mechanical keyboard, 100% Adobe RGB 4K touchscreen with G-Sync, THX-certified 3.5mm audio out and more.

Like Bose’s other Bluetooth speakers, the SoundLink Revolve and Revolve+ deliver surprisingly loud and full sound for their size, with the added bonus of 360º output. They’re also water-resistant and can take a couple of hard knocks and bumps.

Joby brings its versatile GorillaPod mount to smartphone users with the GripTight One collection. The highlight is the idiotproof mount, which fits practically all phones. The stands come in rubber or magnetic-tipped variants.

Airvada is working on a drone with inflatable arms for ease of transport. The Diodon’s appendages can be inflated or deflated in just a minute. Its electronics are housed in a waterproof case for added durability. The drone will come in different sizes for various payloads.

Freecast is a portable and wireless video broadcasting system for any digital camera that has an HDMI output. The transmitter can send video to the receiver from up to 1640ft away. You can then stream the video live to Facebook or YouTube using its app.

When we think of night vision, dark and grainy monochrome footage comes to mind. But SPI shows us what modern technology can do. Believe it or not, these videos were taken in real-time at night. Give it a few years and we’ll be able to see John Cena.

BioLite’s latest portable solar-powered USB charger sports two solar panels that generate up to 10W of power. The SolarPanel 10+ can charge a phone in as little as 1 hour under direct sunlight. It also has a built-in 3,000mAh battery for storing captured energy.

Streaming speakers with minimal monochrome color schemes and physical controls. Available in two sizes, they can play audio via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Chromecast and 3.5mm aux. They also have built-in support for Spotify and Internet radio. (Thanks Tomas!)

A CNC knitting machine. Kniterate (knit + iterate) lets you create apparel and accessories (or at least their prototypes) out of digital templates. You’ll be able to design templates using Kniterate’s web app or import previously made designs.

This battery-powered lantern provides a bright, directional light source which can be stood up, flipped over, or hung from above. In addition to its quick-charger microUSB port, it can be juiced up via its three solar panels. Offers two brightness modes, plus an SOS flashing mode.

Samsung makes its Edge display standard with the Galaxy S8 and S8+. You get either a 5.8″ or 6.2″ 2960×1440 AMOLED display, 12MP rear camera, 2.35GHz 8-core CPU, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot, water- and dust-resistance, and eye- and face-recognition.

A winner of Android Japan’s Experiments: Object contest. Kosho Tsuboi’s Magic Calendar is a large digital calendar. Tsuboi’s prototype uses a low reflection display, but he hopes that in the future there will be an E-ink display that looks and feels like paper.