Gadgets

In many respects we are already living the future.  Technology is moving forward so quickly that electronics and gadgets can become a thing of the past virtually overnight.  But what are the Top 5 Gadgets that we wish were real?

Gadget fads come and go.  Just consider the music CD, which not so long ago seemed futuristic.  Thanks to the ipod and digital music, the humble CD is on the verge of going the same way as game cartridges and VHS Cassettes.

There are a few rules that will probably be true for new technology. Gadgets of the future will be smaller, smarter and faster.  But surely gadgets can only get smaller until they reach an optimum size, and there has to be limit on how fast things can operate (speed of light perhaps?) which only leaves the matter of intelligence, which is truly limitless.  But some gadgets go beyond rules, into the worlds of fantasy; can these ever be a reality?

Electronic gadgets that once seemed to be science fiction, but now are not a million miles away from being science fact.  How close are we to achieving the holy grail of gadgets?

Lightsaber

Whilst perhaps the coolest weapon that could ever exist, it is highly likely that genuine lightsabers like those seen in Star Wars will never come into being.  The first of many engineering challenges would be in figuring out a way to stop the beam of light about two feet from the source, and unfortunately light does not work in this way.

Lasers are a thing of reality of course, but they do not cut through materials, or clash with other lasers.  It is physically impossible to fit something with the power that would be needed to burn through substances into a lightweight handheld casing without it taking your hand off.

Expected time until a reality – Never

Images courtesy of http://savestarwars.com | http://crave.cnet.co.uk

Teleporter

When it comes to Star Trek, few things are more iconic than the human teleportation system that allowed the team to beam down to planets.  But how likely is that we will be able to ‘beam’ to work someday in seconds?

Quantum teleportation has been successfully demonstrated by scientists, but only to the extent of tiny protons across fairly small distances.  The truth is that we are a long way from teleportation of anything as complex as a human being, and that’s not even considering the immense power requirements, which throw the concept into doubt.

Expected time until a reality – At least 1000 years

Image courtesy of http://nebcontemplation.wordpress.com | http://scitechdaily.com

Sonic Screwdriver

The Doctor’s trusty tool for opening doors and using sonic waves to unscrew things has been a staple of Doctor Who since the sixties, so you would think that advances in the field would have taken place; and you’d be right!

In 2012 scientists at the Dundee University created a machine which uses ultrasound to lift and rotate a rubber disc floating in a cylinder of water.  OK, so it’s not as impressive as repelling Daleks, but it’s a start.  Surgeons already use ultrasound to treat a range of conditions without having to cut open a patient, and this looks set to be improved.

Expected time until a reality – 50 years

Images courtesy of http://www.telegraph.co.uk | http://www.bbc.co.uk

Computer Wall

For anyone that has seen the movie Minority Report, you will probably agree with me that the coolest thing in the movie was the touch activated computer screens that were conducted like an orchestra.  But this is not science fiction, the technology is pretty much with us already.

The handheld tablet really helped to free the computer from its box confinement, and that liberation has found its way into things like touch tables and interactive advertising.  And now walls are going interactive like the one located in Helsinki, which is pretty similar.

Expected time until a reality – 25 years

Images courtesy of http://www.hellofriki.com | http://www.cherryflava.com

Holographic Phones

When you think about the ability to talk to someone in another country is a relatively recent achievement in the history man, and now being able to see who you are talking to through things like Skype is second nature.

As for the next step, telecommunications giant IBM is currently working on holographic phones and the technology could be available to consumers within a relatively short period of time.  Holographic Phones will give the impression of the person you are talking to being right there with you, and vice versa.  Just make sure you’re not in your PJ’s.

Expected time until a reality – 5 years

And if you can’t wait for your dream gadget you can always cheat with a toy lightsaber from The Entertainer.  Showcase your passion for the Force with a 90cm long lightsaber featuring glowing light effects and motion sensor-controlled sounds.  And until 11th April you can get £5 Off when you Spend £50, exclusively with MyVoucherCodes

Images courtesy of http://gamesareevil.com | http://techblog.cosmobc.com

Main image courtesy of http://www.danielgallo.co.uk

The form factor of smartphones has not changed since 2007. However, why can’t smartphones utilize both sides of the surface rather than just one?

Better yet, why not make the surfaces curved, increasing screen real estate even more? That is exactly what Apple envisions in a patent from 2011, which describes a curved iPhone.

Some highlights of the patent include…

• losing the iconic home button and volume buttons
• “an illusion of depth perception” capable of “mimicking a 3D experience.”
• an AMOLED display

Such a design may appear on the iPhone 6 or 7, or maybe never. It’s a cool design, but one which is unlikely to give Apple a sustainable competitive advantage. If Samsung sees that Apple’s curved iPhone is selling well, it can come out with a curved phone of its own. So, although this is a radical design change, Apple needs to look to new frontiers, new products, in order to be the “think different” Apple it was under Steve Jobs.

Would you wear something like this in public?

Google is trying to make a piece of glass fashionable by attaching it to an eyeglass frame. The result is an odd, assymetric set of cyborg glasses which looks anything but normal. We are wary of what we put on our faces and, if it’s something we aren’t used to seeing on a face, it’s a safe bet we won’t wear it. So, unless Google makes Glass look normal, it will fail to find a mainstream audience.

The best way to make Google Glass look normal is to make it invisible. Harvey Ho, who is listed alongside Sergey Brin as the inventor for the “Seeing with your hand” patent, filed a patent in 2009 for “an active contact lens system“. Seeing that that sort of technology is many years away, what can Google do right now?

To make Google Glass look normal, all Google has to do is place the supporting frame behind the head. Rather than having the main hardware on the side of the face, just embed it within the frame. This way, the frame and any bulky hardware is not visible on the face. All that’s visible on the face is a thin extension which holds the glass piece and camera. This can be done in a bluetooth-like headset or in a design that resembles street style headphones.

In its “Wearable heads-up display” patent, Google says that the computing part can be implemented into a “a personal headset device.” So, it’s a possibility that Google turns its glasses into a headset.

Of course, Google can also make Glass look like a normal pair of eyeglasses. Rumors suggest that Google is partnering with Warby Parker to make Glass more stylish. Rather than having the main hardware and battery confined to one side of the face, as in the current version, the hardware can be embedded within the entire frame of the glasses.

The aforementioned concepts are not based on new technology that has yet to appear. They are based on ideas which can be implemented right now. Google Glass will look cool once it stops looking like Glass and starts becoming invisible, something which may be hard to do after so much effort has been spent on doing the exact opposite.

If Apple is, indeed, working on an iWatch, what will it look like? All concepts I’ve seen, thus far, imagine it to be a a miniaturized iPhone on your wrist.

The above concepts are essentially iPhones in watch form.  However, I can’t help but think that the iWatch will be an accessory that complements existing Apple products, not a standalone device. This patent suggests that the iWatch’s app icons will be controlled by the desktop, hardly something necessary for an iWatch that can supposedly do everything. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, from ZDNet, lays out a solid case for why the iWatch will likely be an accessory…

While it is easy to get carried away about a wristwatch that could count your laps in a pool, find you a coffee shop, and remotely wipe your lost iPhone, it’s unlikely that the iWatch is going to be Apple’s next iPhone or iPad, either in terms of sales or impact.

Why? Several reasons spring out at me.

• The iWatch is not going to pull in the same level of revenue that the iPhone or iPad does;
• The iWatch would be a companion device for existing iOS and OS X devices, not a new standalone device;
• Wristwatch buyers are fickle—just look at the extensive line-up that companies such Casio, Rolex, and Omega have;
• Since storage is unlikely to be an issue, unless Apple transforms the iWatch into some sort of wrist-mounted backup/storage device. Apple will likely find it difficult to squeeze higher revenues from a product by offering it at a variety of capacities;
• There’s a limit to what you can accomplish with a screen that can fit on your wrist.

- Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet

Again, this illustration is influenced by a patent which suggests that the iWatch’s apps will be controlled by a desktop. Because everyone has smartphones, it can be taken to mean that the smartphone will control the iWatch in a similar manner.

Even if the iWatch can’t be on the same level as the iPhone or the iPad, I believe it can still be something that captures our imagination. It can still be as easy to use and beautiful as any other Apple product…

The concept borrows from Apple’s spiral navigation patent.

Yelena Lamm, a graphic designer (as well as my mom), and Matteo Gianni, an industrial designer, helped me bring my iWatch concept to life. With this concept, navigating your iWatch is as simple as the old iPod click wheel.

The design of the watch itself is similar to the Ikepod Geneve Horizon series. Why Ikepod? Jony Ive is very good friends with Marc Newson, who owns and designs Ikepod watches. Furthermore, the Geneve Horizon series is very Apple-esque.

That’s Ive wearing an Ikepod, alongside one of his best friends, Marc Newson, who designed that watch that he is wearing. So, I don’t feel it’s a huge stretch to say that iWatch may have hints of Ikepod in its design.

The iPhone may have reinvented the shape of smartphones, but it’s hard to reinvent the shape of something as simple as a circular watch. If Marc Newson has no influence on Jony Ive, it’s still clear that Ive prefers to wear normal looking, albeit expensive watches…