Apple's Proposed Augmented reality glasses

Apple is reportedly testing a set of augmented reality glasses

According to Apple insiders, Cupertino's next foray into the quickly expanding wearables market will be digital, augmented reality glasses. As Bloomberg reports Apple has discussed a potential competitor to Snapchat's Spectacles and Google's Project Aura with its hardware suppliers and even ordered "small quantities of near-eye displays" for testing purposes.

If the Apple shades do become a reality, Bloomberg's sources say they will connect wirelessly to an iPhone and will display information, images and other data directly in the user's field of view. At the earliest, a product like this could be announced sometime in 2018 at the earliest, but Apple is notoriously secretive with its product development, which could change course at any moment. What we do know, however, is that Tim Cook has been infatuated with augmented reality, and even more so after Pokemon Go became a widespread hit. "We are high on AR for the long run," Cook said in an earnings call back in July. "We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity."

Overall, Tim Cook has been bullish on augumented reality. Earlier this year Apple hired up a high-profile AR expert from Microsoft's HoloLens team and purchased the pioneering AR and computer vision company Metaio back in 2015. Although Google Glass flopped hard and Snapchat's offering is more like a wearable camera than an AR device, there's a sense that Apple might actually be able to pull off a can't-live-without-it face computer. On the other hand, we're still waiting for those AirPods to arrive.

Credits: Engadget.com

The Nikon Bluetooth Camera

Nikon D5600 is the D5500 with Bluetooth and...that's about it...

Nikon sprinkles a tiny pinch of update dust on the D5600, a minor improvement to its D5500, a small but excellent, inexpensive dSLR that's about a year and a half old. It's a global debut -- with the exception of the US.

The camera has three basic changes from its predecessor:

• *  support for in-camera time-lapse             movies
• *  the ability to scrub through images         in playback mode using the 
•     Touch screen
• *  the addition of NFC and Bluetooth,         the latter for a persistent connection     to your phone via Nikon's meh                 snapbridge app.

No price for now. Stay tuned.

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Selfies from the sky made simple

The Flying Selfie Drone

The good The Yuneec Breeze 4K has a compact, lightweight design that easily fits in a backpack. Its mobile app -- available for iOS and Android -- is easy to navigate and use. Automated flight modes have in-app, step-by-step directions. Replacement parts are available for repairs should you crash it.

The bad You'll need the digital image stabilization only available at 1080p and 720p resolutions. Image quality is OK, best suited for online sharing or viewing on a phone. Battery life is relatively short at 12 minutes.

The bottom line The little Yuneec Breeze 4K makes shooting and sharing aerial selfies a snap. But those looking to really pilot a drone should keep looking.

Credits CNET reviews.

Beats wireless Headphone

Beats popular on-ear wireless headphone gains best-in-class battery life.

Beats Solo3 Wireless is a well-built wireless headphone that sounds good in both wireless and wired modes and is relatively comfortable to wear for an on-ear headphone. Its battery life is best-in-class (40 hours) and has a remote control built-in to the right earcup that's easy to operate by feel. The new W1 chip makes it supersimple to pair with Apple devices.

The bad It's expensive, and doesn't sound quite as good as other wireless headphones that cost $300.

The bottom line Beats has taken the same headphone that so many people know and love and improved its battery life dramatically, but the price is still too high.

The headphone works just fine with Android and other Bluetooth-enabled devices and the battery life rating is the same for iOS and Android -- a whopping 40 hours. That's a huge jump over the 12 hours that the Beats Solo2 Wirelessis rated at and this has the best battery life of any Bluetooth headphone I've tested so far (I used it for a week without recharging). It also features Beats' Fast Fuel feature, which gives you 3 hours of battery life from a 5-minute charge.

However, unlike the new BeatsX, which uses a Lightning cable for charging, this model sticks with a Micro-USB charging cable.

On the plus side, my wireless connection using the headphone was rock-solid and the W1 chip makes it easy to switch between Apple devices you've paired the headphones to. Overall, the headphone performs very well, and I've always liked its compact size and how it folds up to fit into a relatively small carrying case (yes, that carrying case is included).

For better or worse, Beats hasn't upgraded the sound. The Solo3 Wireless sounds very good for an on-ear Bluetooth headphone and will appeal to bass lovers who prefer a sound profile that accentuates the bass but manages to avoid being too boomy. However, it doesn't sound quite as clean as Beats' more balanced Studio wireless over-ear model, which has come down in price and I find more comfortable (the Beats Solo3 Wirelessoffers a very snug fit -- the headphones do stay securely on your head, even while running -- they end up pressing down on your ears somewhat firmly).

This is a headphone that's designed to be worn outdoors, and the extra bass did come in handy when I was walking the streets of New York and was competing with a lot of ambient noise, including the subway when I went underground. The headphones passively seal out a good amount of sound, but some ambient noise does leak in and the extra bass doesn't sound as accentuated outside (you really hear it in quiet rooms, however) and the headphones comes across as a little more balanced.

Prices from $300.

The Smart Umbrella!!!

Another trending pick is the Smart Umbrella!!!

Turning common products into smart gadgets. Take the oombrella for example. The smart umbrella lets you know when it's going to rain and reminds you not to leave it behind. It might not be the most necessary thing in the world, but it's pretty impressive.

Next time you feel like getting a gadget that can forecast rainfall, remember there is a oombrella in town.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography/Ann-Marie 

Microsoft Surface book i7

The good Improved speed, graphics and battery life in a similar, crisp design. Detachable tablet comes included, as does the Surface Pen. Has USB ports and SD card slot.

The bad It's also slightly thicker and heavier than last year's version, and retains the odd gap on the folding hinge. Expensive compared to other options. Doesn't meet minimum specs for VR gaming.

The bottom line The design remains mostly unchanged, but PC power users will like the extra power and battery life on the updated 2016 version of the Surface Book.

Google daydream view gadget

Advantage: Affordable, portable and easy to set up. The bundled motion controller is convenient and easy to use. Exclusive YouTube, Google Street View and Google Photos feel like potential killer apps.

Disadvantage: It only works with Google Pixel for now. The headset is front-heavy and frequently needs adjusting. There's limited app selection at launch and you can't walk around or grab things in VR.

Summary: The Daydream View is the simplest, most affordable way to turn a phone into an immersive VR headset.

Price @ $79. Credits cnet

The Google daydream view gadget.

Alienware's new X51 gaming PC

Alienware's new X51 gaming PC amps up with liquid cooling and the latest Intel chip..

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What is the Alienware X51?

Alienware is one of the strongest global brands of gaming PCs, with a range that now stretches to multiple mobile and desktop form factors. While many gaming PCs come in giant towers, the X51 packs a top-of-the-line CPU and mid-range graphics into a desktop chassis that’s not much bigger than a current-generation console.

The X51 line has been around for a while – Trusted covered the previous version back in September 2014. This update is really more about introducing up-to-date technology and a spec boost than a radical design overhaul. Our original criticisms of the previous version focused on its specification, which wasn’t capable of gaming beyond 1080p resolution, lacked an SSD and lead to some toasty internal temperatures. Have these issues been resolved with new-generation hardware?

Alienware X51 – Design

The X51 is all about squeezing a capable gaming PC into a console-sized chassis. As with previous versions, its dimensions make it only slightly larger than a PS4 or Xbox One, with a width of 9mm and a height of 343mm (in vertical orientation).

If you’ve worked in an office at any point over the last decade, there’s a high probability you’ve used one of Dell’s slim corporate desktop systems, and the X51 borrows heavily from them. It has two sets of rubber feet for both vertical and horizontal placement. A glossy plastic cover runs around the side, featuring the iconic Alienware logo on the front that illuminates in blue, along with a plastic section at the top that’s illuminated with LEDs.



The edges are curved at the front. The power switch sits on the right, its status indicated by a white LED. There are two front-mounted USB 3 ports and audio, but notably, the optical drive of last year’s model has been given the chop. This reflects the modern dominance of cloud services such as Steam and Origin for gaming.

Alienware X51 – Specifications

Quad-core Intel Skylake processors are the new performance champions for PC gaming, if only by a disappointingly slim margin over the previous Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon chip. The X51 comes with a Core i7-6700K, but by default, it doesn’t run at its full 4.2GHz Turbo Frequency. Instead it’s limited to 3.9GHz, the lower clock speed is intended to keep down internal temperatures, which can be potentially problematic in small chassis gaming desktops.
 
The Alienware Command Centre software makes it easy to change this, however. With this R3 version of the X51 – there are four listed on Dell’s site – the CPU has an all-in-one liquid-cooling system that allows that clock frequency to be raised to 4.4GHz. This software also lets you fiddle with various settings – the Alienware FX mode, for example, which changes the colour of the LEDs on the top of the unit.
 
As with last year’s PC, Alienware has chosen a mid-range graphics card for the X51. The “Maxwell”-based Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 is a slight improvement over the Radeon R9 270 in the previous machine. It only has 2GB of GDDR5 memory, which isn’t a huge amount by today’s standards, but enough for solid 1080p performance. This card comes with 1,024 stream processors, 32 ROPS, 64 TMUs, a base clock of 1,127MHz and memory frequency of 1750MHz.

Gadget Freaks!!! What up with gadgets

A gadget is an appliance or device having a unique function or purpose. When it is invented, the appliance is often way ahead of its peers in terms of uniqueness and novelty. This is what makes the gadget so desirable and pleasant to have.

Some of the popular gadgets that changed the world include the telephone, television, camera, movie camera, radio, microwave, video cassette player and recorder, video gaming consoles, IBM’s personal computer, the Sony Walkman and the cell phone first released by Motorola.

In the digital age, we try to maximize our work within an allotted time. Modern gadgets have made it possible for us to accomplish our daily tasks and to improve our efficiency. These gadgets have made our lives easier and more comfortable.  Go for one today. It makes life a bit easier if not more. Thanks.