Tech Gadgets That Make Traveling a Breeze

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Supposedly half the fun of travel is getting there, but what if traveling could be fun from start to finish? This year's CES was all about travel tech designed to make your next vacation (or business trip) a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. 

Of course, an open mind and adventurous spirit are the most important things to bring with you on any voyage but there are plenty of gadgets and accessories that are worth packing. Here's some of the newest travel tech, some of which debuted at CES 2016, that's equally useful for world travelers and weekenders.

The Egg – a Phone to Cloud Photo Solution

Eggcyte's personal cloud device, the Egg, is a must have for phone-wielding shutterbugs who have more subject matter than storage space. 

The Egg can connect to your phone from anywhere in the world so you can share up to 50,000 snapshots with friends and family back home. And after you've said goodbye to your favorite destination, scrolling through those vacay pics is as easy is firing up the app. 

Samsung's Galaxy S7 – Best in Class Photos on the Go

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has premium specs that include a best in class camera with 4K capture capabilities, low-light optimization, a cool menu of effects and a fully outfitted manual mode. Why make this your go-to travel phone? 

The brand's latest offering brings back IP68 dust resistance and long-term water resistance up to 3m, which means you can bring it just about anywhere. And best of all, if you get it from T-Mobile this phone comes with a free year of Netflix, perfect for binge-watching your favorite shows on the go.

Bluesmart – the Smartest Suitcase 

This four-wheeled, extra strong carryon-friendly bag does more than keep your stuff safe. Bluesmart can weigh itself, has not one but two USB charging stations, and comes with a built-in tracker that's smart enough to alert you if it senses that your luggage is on its way to Timbuktu. 

Want the tracker without all the extras? Stash Trakdot in your suitcase and you'll always know where in the world your bags are. 

Zagg – Untethered Audio Anywhere

The retractable earbuds on Zagg's versatile Flex Arc headset let you curl up and forget about your neighbors on the plane. 

And then when you get to your destination, you can get the party started with built in external speakers that offer surprisingly souped-up sound for such a small package. 

Sol – a Bag that Does Double Duty

Samsung C&T's Sol Bag is a stylish oversized clutch that features integrated solar panels that charge your devices whenever you're walking in the sun. Of course, if you're traveling to an out of the way destination a high capacity power bank makes more sense.

In that case, grab Aukey's portable charger – it has enough emergency backup juice to charge your iPhone ten times plus a built in flashlight.

Bedphones – Promoting a Good Night's Sleep

DubsLabs has created Bedphones, a new kind of nighttime earbud designed to combat the challenges travelers face when falling asleep away from home. This speaker sits outside your ear so you can bliss out with white noise or fall asleep to your favorite podcast without the uncomfortable feeling of something in your ears. 

Better still, the Bedphones app senses when you've nodded off and automatically shuts off your audio to save you power. 

Mobi EyeFi – for Faster Photo Transfers

The Eyefi Mobi WiFi SD card makes the chore of transferring photos from camera to device a breeze.

Your snapshots are automatically sent from your camera to your iOS, Android, or Kindle device using wifi. 

What else do you need to stash in your carryon? Definitely check out the latest on-the-fly audio translators and ultra light laptops – especially if it's business bringing you to the far reaches of the globe. Ultimately there's no such thing as 100% stress free travel but with the right tech you can come pretty close.

READ ALSO: Transportation Options While Vacationing

As always, would be great to hear what you think!

*by andreascy*

The 2 Food 3D Printers you Absolutely Need in your Kitchen

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Have you ever watched an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where they used a Replicator to make something out of thin air? Have you ever thought it would be cool to have that technology, but never thought that it would be achieved in your lifetime? 3D printers have made this a possibility and bridged the gap between reality and science fiction. There’s even a few build it yourself and DIY printers that are on the market as well. 

Transforming the Food Industry

In terms of Food 3D Printers for consumers, there are plenty of options available. Right now the technology isn’t as advanced as what was shown on Star Trek, but this is just the early stages. 

 There’s even been talk of bioprinting as an available option; this is the ability to print organic foods like a pear or an apple. The printer “ink” consists of 3 main components found in all foods: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The raw ingredients are loaded into the printer, along with the appropriate ratios of food components; hit print and away you go. There have even been successful attempts at printing meat. The texture isn’t quite there yet but the taste is supposedly spot on. 

The two main hurdles faced by companies at the moment, is the texture/consistency of the food, and cooking the food while it’s being printed. If it’s a hamburger you’re looking for, yes you can have one printed. Just don’t be too surprised when the end result doesn’t look exactly like the burgers you’re used to.

The taste of the food seems to be the easiest to recreate. As long as you know the correct ingredients, your food should taste the same as regular food. The only obvious difference is how the food is put together.

RELATED: Forget plastic - Bocusini 3D printer makes it possible to print fudge, jelly, and more 

Another reason that home and commercial 3D printers are having a hard time gaining popularity is due to the cost. Ironically it’s the industrial 3D printers that wind up being cheaper and this is because industrial machines are usually made with the purpose of printing only one part. Commercial machines have to be way more versatile; with more customization comes a larger price tag. It is still proving to be a challenge to fit the technology into a desk sized unit. Until companies can streamline and simplify the production, the cost is going to remain high. Creative Machines Lab is still developing printable muscle tissue. This will make it possible to reproduce more “real life” textures when printing foods like meat or fish. Don’t worry though, with the everyday advances in technology a cheaper and better performing printer will be on the market in no time.

Food 3D Printing is an extremely new concept with a range of potential benefits. Let's bring to the kitchen 2 very cool tools:

1. Foodini

 Foodini is made by a company called Natural Machines and prints mainly appetizers and entrees (burgers, pies, cookies and more). If you hate cooking, Foodini will save you some time.

Here is a brief intro. Check out the beta and pre-production model in action:

2. ChefJet 

ChefJet is the other Food 3D Printer on the market made by a company called 3D Systems and its focus is mainly desserts (cakes, candies, just to name a few). However, it needs to be more developed.

See it at work:

 Both are still being tested and perfected, and both are on the pricey side. The Foodini will set you back about $1,400 and the ChefJet can $5,000-$10,000, depending on if you want the single or multi-color machine. As of right now the Foodini is the only over-the-counter option. ChefJet has more testing to complete before they can offer a consumer-ready version of their machine.

Conclusion

Companies are not entirely sure how the general public will react to the idea of this new technology. People are scared of change. The same thing happened when the microwave first came out. At first everyone thought that it poisoned the food. Fast forward to today, and it is nearly impossible to find a house without one.

Natural Machines is the first to point out that they are not on a quest to take all the work out of cooking. Instead they want to eliminate the time-consuming preparation that discourages people from wanting to cook in the first place. They also argue that the machines promote healthier eating because they require fresh ingredients to be prepared before the printing.

Despite the reason, this technology puts the human race one step closer towards the Jetsons and we as people need to ask ourselves; should we be doing this? The smartphone was supposed to revolutionize the way we communicate but ironically it’s made us more anti social. Will 3D food printers make us want to cook more, or simply be another unnecessary convenience? Like it or not the future is at our doorstep and only time will tell what this new technology has in store for us.

WHAT'S HOT: Build your Entire House Using a 3D Printer

I'm just a guy, standing in front of the world, asking you to follow me. Any one on Twitter? Follow me @_andreascy. Thanks!

*by andreascy*

Our Selection of the Top 10 Devices Revealed at CES 2014 Mega - Event

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Hello Brothers & Sisters entire world. Enjoy your days in this blessed week. Not sure what you're after, but we hope the rest of your day is good. 😃

Thanks to you, THE OFFICIAL ANDREASCY is continuously growing! Do you want to shape the future with us? We are currently conducting a survey and we'd appreciate if you share your valuable feedback. The survey will only take a few minutes. Please, help us to serve you better! 

If you enjoy our blog site, then you know it, if it's Tech it's here. And today, we bring you the future. We dive into CES 2014, the Gigantic Tradeshow event (Location: Las Vegas, USA) and we present the Hottest New Technology gadgets around. 

Another year, another Consumer Electronics Show has come and gone, and our editorial team picks the best devices that hit the show floor. Some truly interesting innovations, including Smart Watches, Gaming hardware, PC Concepts, TVs, and more.

So what are we waiting for? Let's get to know the Top 10 Devices from this year's event. With a drum roll, ladies and gentlemen, here is the honour list:

1. Pebble Steel Smartwatch

Now hand watches do better than showing time, date, stopwatch and alarms. Pebble Watch came at CES with a new metallic version called "Pebble Steel Smartwatch".

Still supporting Android and iOS, this version includes Corning Gorilla Glass, protecting the E-lnk screen. The battery of the watch was created to last for a week. It's price is $249 and is going to be available from January 28, 2014.

2. Oculus Rift Crystal Cove

The 3D headset for gamers has been improved: Oculus VR revealed its new prototype for Oculus Rift, code-named "Crystal Cove".

This model includes small infrared LEDs on the front surface of the headset. These LEDs that look like white dots emit signals that a camera captures, similar to a webcam. By the way, the graphics are more detailed: Crystal Cove can refresh much faster the information displayed (every 1 to 2 milliseconds compared to 16 milliseconds from the previous model).

3. Project Christine

Here is an interesting concept PC, perfect for huge RTS (real-time strategy) games like League of Legends or StarCraft II. "Project Christine" is a bold re-imagining of the modern desktop with a modular design, made by Razer, a not very large company that develops and sells devices for gamers.

Christine comes with this fascinating design, and several modules like CD/DVD drives, Hard Disk Drives, GPU, RAM Memory etc. Users can customize or upgrade the PC by simply changing the modules on the central tower in order to have a better gaming experience. You can even hot swap the power supply!

4. PlayStation Now

Two months after the release of the PlayStation 4, Sony unveiled it's cloud service "PlayStation Now". Players were waiting for this since 2012, after the acquisition of Gaikai, a company which provides technology for the streaming of high-end video games.

We don't have a release date for the moment, however we know that the service will be compatible with PS4, PS Vita and maybe with smartphones, tablets and TVs. Also it will allow users to play PS3 games (and PS2?) without installing the games on the console.

5. LG’s Curved TV

The key number of this TV by LG is 105. Actually 105 inches for the LG Curved Ultra HD TV, with a 21:9 screen.

The advantage of this curved TV is it's viewing angle. The viewing angles are as wide as you like and the picture is extremely clear from virtually any perspective. By the way, LG, knowing that there'll be a little number of adopters, also made a 65-inch version. Simply awesome!

6. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

We wonder how Samsung was inspired for it's Galaxy Note Pro tablet: you just have to see the home screen to say that it reminds a bit Windows 8 Modern UI (Metro).

Going by the specs this lightweight (759gr) 12.2 - inch tablet, measures 7.95 mm thick. It comes with Android 4.4 KitKat, and offers a huge display resolution of 2560x1600 (pixels), 3 Gb of RAM, and a huge Exynos 5 Octa chip plus a combined 1.9 GHz Quad Core and a 1.3 GHz Quad Core processor. And it's performance doesn't stop here.

7. Parrot MiniDrone

Star of the CES 2014, the Parrot MiniDrone, a quadricopter that received several awards including an Innovation Award in the category "Wireless Handset Accessories".

The MiniDrone works by being connected to a smartphone or a tablet using Bluetooth Smart. With it's ultra compact design, it can do high speed flights, do acrobatics with great precision and climb along walls with two ultralight wheels. This thing can really fly...

8. EyeLock Myris Iris Scanner

Forget fingerprints! Between DNA and Technology, there is Eyelock Myris, a USB iris scanner device, which has an arguably better take on biometric security. Pick it up, flip it over, look at it, and the sensor will scan your eye to verify your identity. It can work with your PC, Mac or Chrome OS.

Better than using passwords! Myris allows you to protect your digital life while making it more easily accessible. Thank you DNA!

9. Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor

It also had it's say at CES. Nvidia unveiled Tegra K1 Processor, having 192 GPU cores and 4 Gb of Memory.

The processor brings huge graphics performances from PCs or consoles to tablets and smartphones. It allows for example to play PC or console games on Android, with an amazing graphics rendering. The 32 bit version will be released on the first half of 2014.

10. Makerbot Z18 Industrial 3D Printer

As we talk a bit more about 3D printing, Makerbot revealed it's Replicator Z18 which is definitively a beast of a 3D printer.

Even if it's cost is huge ($6,499), the Replicator Z18 3D Printer allows prints up to 12x12x18 inches (about 30x30x45 cm). According to Bre Pettis, CEO of Makerbot Industries, "this is industrial-strength 3D printing".

With that we're closing the curtains on CES 2014. We hope you liked our selection. Please take our poll on the best devices below, and leave a comment about your own opinion.

What was the best gadget of CES?
	Pebble Steel Smartwatch
	Oculus Rift Crystal Cove
	Project Christine
	Playstation Now
	LG’s Curved TV
	Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
	Parrot MiniDrone
	EyeLock Myris Iris Scanner
	Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor
	Makerbot Z18 Industrial 3D Printer
pollcode.com free polls

Learn about the latest happenings on Social Media, news and comments, plus tips on using Facebook and other web social tools.

Thank you all for your support! Have a productive week. 😎💓

*by andreascy*

Seven Best Buy Gadgets To Improve Your Life In 2013

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

It's pretty standard right now - every year brings more new and interesting developments in consumer technology – many of which were displayed at the recent CES consumer electronics show. 

Some are much more interesting than the others and here’s a brief take a look at 2013's more interesting choices within the gadget world. 

MakerBot Replicator 2 (3D Printer) 

Brooklyn-based MakerBot Industries continues to be sell awesome desktop three dimensional inkjet printers (and have done since 2009) and the Replicator 2 is their latest offering. Just as your traditional printer allows you create things in 2 dimensions, a three dimensional printer allows you render objects from plastic into 3d. Rather than purchasing every small item that you'll need to create a product, you can now manufacture it yourself without leaving the comfort of your own home. The only real limit is very literally your imagination. 

Pebble Smart Watch Phone 

It’s taken some time, but finally it is here. The smart watch that acts as an interface together with your Apple iPhone or Android phone to create a heads-up display of sorts for your wrist. As you would expect, it display the time, tells you who's calling, who's texting, and even when you have received a new email. It will also have an application store, so 3rd party designers can go nuts stretching the functionality of this awesome device. 

Oculus Rift Headset 

This virtual reality headset is among the most promising devices within the gaming world at this time. The company that makes them raised nearly $2.5 million on the Kickstarter investment website to get the device to the gaming market. It is set to become a a thrilling accessory for PC gaming (with support for consoles in the future). 

Xbox 360 720 

Everybody already knows that Microsoft can come up with a remarkable console. With the proposed enhancements coming with the 720 there will be more aesthetically impressive game titles to help keep the Generation X of players hooked for years to come. 

4K Televisions 

Forget High Definition HDTV, 4K televisions will generate images at four times better resolution of current HD models. They are pricey and expensive, but having seen them at CES, we believe that these will soon be flying off the shelves. 

TrakDot – GPS Tracker 

This little device is supposed to fit onto your checked baggage at international airports to really make it much simpler and easier to locate it - assuming the airport staff managed to get yours on the plane in the first place! You could also use it for other purposes too - why not use it to monitor your vehicle whether you can’t remember where you packed or if it gets stolen? 

Ouya 

The gaming world was ignited with excitement when the Ouya was introduced - this is an Android-based gaming console made to be as hackable and easy to customize as you desire. Interesting stuff! And it's not only a completely new console, it also combines with your home media center too, offering its very own movies and online applications for music and video. The console has to date been met with favorable reviews which should make it a very popular gadget in the future. 

SEE ALSO: Our Selection of the Top 10 Devices Revealed at CES 2014 Mega - Event

If you want to purchase any of the gifts mentioned in this article then they should be available from Best Buy late in 2013. Let your voice be heard down below in the comments.

*by andreascy*

What's Ahead in Consumer Electronics

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

It's become almost a cliché to look around at our gadgets and declare ourselves "living in the future," but it does seem now that technology is moving so quickly and exciting innovations come along so frequently that we can barely keep up. Televisions, cars, phones, cameras and more keep improving at such a rapid rate that even the devices we used just a couple of years ago seem nearly obsolete now.

Just what is ahead for us? What are the most thrilling trends in consumer electronics for 2013? We still may not have flying cars or personal jet packs, but constant improvement in memory, speed and overall quality of the electronics we do have means our entertainment and communications just keep getting better. And where one leading brand goes the others follow, so we can be sure that the top-of-the-line features we see in the best products will soon be standard in others as well.

If you like this post, then we suggest to check this link for a full collection of other interesting and insightful infographics.

*by andreascy*

Pentagon Orders Innovega's Augmented Reality Dual Focus Prototype Contact Lenses

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

BBC News reports that the Pentagon has ordered Innovega's iOptik augmented reality technology, which involves contact lenses paired with glasses containing tiny flat-panel displays. 

iOptik could enable soldiers to see data about targets superimposed over the actual battlefield. 

In a brief entry on its website about the technology's military uses, Innovega writes, "Warfighters need to maintain their full vision while on the battlefield. At the same time a tremendous amount of data, graphics and video are collected and are required by specific warfighters in the field. Some is generated from remote cameras, drones, or satellites. 

Fully transparent video eyewear that is configured into standard issue field glasses would constitute an important step forward. Innovega is actively in partnership to develop this application and will soon be able to report further on these and related activities." 

At CES 2012, Innovega CTO Randall Sprague talked about a version of the iOptik contant lenses product for the public that could be used for watching movies (like a person IMAX) or for gaming. He also talked about application for mobile augmented reality products that can superimpose information on reality. For example, you could receive information about the price of grocery products through your contact lenses while you were shopping. Take a look : 

The technology is being compared to Google's Glass Project and the recently released video showing it's potential. A spoof of the video shows how the new technology could also be a major distraction, especially if spammers find a way to abuse it. 

*by andreascy*

Dell : First Ultrabook XPS 13 on CES 2012

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

The laptop looks much like Apple's MacBook Air, has a 13-inch screen and weighs 2.99 pounds (1.35 kilograms). The laptop is 0.2 inches (6 mm) thick. It can run up to eight hours on a battery charge. The XPS 13 comes as Dell moves away from consumer products to focus on the more profitable segments of business computers and mobile devices. 

The company has already killed it's Mini netbooks and some Streak tablets, which have not done well with consumers. Dell's consumer PCs now revolve around laptops and desktops branded Inspiron and XPS, some of which are also targeted at businesses. 

The XPS 13 is "squarely aimed" at the professional community, but will be offered for sale through consumer channels, a Dell spokesman said. The XPS 13, though thinner, provides the full functionality of a standard-sized laptop, the spokesman said. The 13-inch laptop is designed to fit in the frame of an 11-inch laptop, so users get a full-sized keyboard and larger screen in a smaller package. 

The laptop's starting price is US$999 and it will be available in late February or early March. But ultrabooks have been criticized for their high prices and Intel hopes to bring down the starting price of ultrabooks to $699 by the end of the year. The XPS 13 has specific mobility features unique to ultrabooks such as Smart Connect technology, in which email and social network feeds are updated even when the laptop is in sleep mode. Dell said XPS 13 also boots in a matter of seconds. 

The laptop has Intel dual-core Core i3, i5 or i7 processors based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, up to 256GB of solid-state drive storage and 4GB of RAM. The laptop has a USB 3.0 port and a webcam. The laptop will initially be available in the U.S. and some parts of the world, though specific country details were not provided. 

Ultrabooks are backed heavily by Intel as a way to rejuvenate a slumping PC market, which has taken a beating from tablets. Intel said future ultrabooks will include tablet-like features such as touchscreens and always-on connectivity. 

Ultrabooks have dominated the CES show floor, with PC makers like Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and Acer announcing products. Ultrabooks based on Intel's new Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, which will bring faster performance and graphics, are due later this year.

Compared to previous shows, Dell has a comparatively mellow presence at CES. Last year Dell announced many tablets and laptops at the event.

UPDATE : CNETTV : Beautiful and Powerful Dell XPS 14 - First Look

*by andreascy*

Motorola Kopin Golden-i at the Verizon booth at CES 2012

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

The Motorola Kopin Golden-i is being showcased at the Verizon booth at CES 2012, demonstrating Industrial uses such as Construction, Medical, Public safety, Utilities and more.

Imagine walking around with a head-mounted 15" display to view informations available to you at all times.



This system features a pretty cool six-axis position tracker from Hillcrest Labs that allows you to operate a cursor with nearly pixel-for-pixel accuracy by just moving around your head when for example panning around a large image or a map. There is a highly targetted microphone that understands voice-commands where you can for example zoom in on maps or images, you can exit back to the programs menu, launch specific applications and open specific files.



Here are the specs of this Second Generation Kopin Golden-i Motorola-branded 

Head-mounted Computer system :

Processor - TI OMAP3530 clocked at 600MHz

Display - Kopin SVGA (800 x 600) liquid crystal micro display (LCD)

Networking :

Bluetooth 2.0

WiFi - "Will be offered soon"

User interface - Includes speech recognition and motion sensing

Other I/O -- 1 x USB

Expansion - microSD slot

Power - 1200 mAh battery provides more than eight hours of operation

Weight - 3 oz (85g) 

Operating system - Windows CE 

*by andreascy*