1.
Apple iPhone 5s Touch ID
The iPhone
5s, introduced last September, has a bunch of incremental
improvements to its predecessor's camera and processors and one futuristic
feature that, in our tests, has proved surprisingly useful.
Touch ID
is a fingerprint scanner built directly into the phone's home button that
automatically unlocks your phone by scanning your fingertip at subepidermal
layers of skin. Because this is faster and easier than entering a PIN, it might
inspire people to regularly lock their phones. With all the sensitive data on
today’s smart devices, that's a real security advance.
Manufacture : Apple
2. Google Chromecas
2. Google Chromecas
Now you
can turn any TV into a smart TV for just $35. That's the incredible proposal of
this little device that plugs into the HDMI port of any TV, then syncs up to
your Wi-Fi network to stream content from the Internet.
The Chromecast has
no remote; you just queue up audio or video from apps such as Netflix and
Pandora or the Google Play store through a computer, tablet, or smart phone,
then play the content through your TV. Sometimes, innovation is about making
high-end technology simple and affordable.
Manufacture : Google
3. Google Glass
Say what you will about the practical value of wearing a computer
on your face, but there is no denying that Google
Glass is a
supremely sophisticated piece of technology. The 1.8-ounce frame sits across
the bridge of your nose like a pair of glasses and has a small screen that
floats in your peripheral vision, a camera, motion sensors, and a touchpad at
the temple that lets you scroll through the interface—though most of the
interaction is done through voice control.
Google
introduced the technology in 2012, but 2013 was the year it was made available
to at least some of the public through the Google Glass Explorer program (it's
still not generally available at retail). That makes Glass the latest
technological justification for staring into the distance and talking to
yourself.
Manufacture : Foxconn
4
Microsoft Xbox One
We were duly impressed by both major game-console launches this
year. The Sony
PlayStation 4 is a
powerful platform for hard-core gamers, but it was the Microsoft
Xbox One that
pushed consoles into surprising new technological territory.
By making
the motion-tracking and voice-recognizing Kinect sensor an integral part of the
system rather than an add-on accessory, Microsoft has created a human-machine
interface that lets you interact intuitively with the Xbox, through words and
gestures. In practice, sometimes that experience was more frustrating than
efficient. But for better or worse, it points the way towards a brave new world
of machines that pay attention to you.
And the
Xbox One makes a play for complete control of your living room AV system. By
acting as a HDMI pass-through between your cable or satellite box and TV, then
controlling the cable or satellite box with an HDMI emitter, the Xbox One
serves up its own channel guide and extends the voice and gesture control to
your TV service—although it somehow manages to neglect your DVR.
Manufacture : Flextronics , Foxconn
5. Ouya
In a year when two
super-advanced gaming consoleslaunched at $400-plus prices,
another new console platform was introduced in the $100 price range. The Ouya leverages
the increasing power and sophistication of mobile processors and the Android
operating system to create a couch-and-controller gaming experience at a
discount price—with a consumer-friendly, try-before-you-buy game marketplace.
For sure,
the Ouya lacks many of the sophisticated streaming media services of the
upper-end consoles, and no one is going to confuse its visuals with those of a
Sony PS4 or Microsoft Xbox One. But given the year-to-year improvement that
we've seen in mobile processors, don't be surprised if a few years from now,
Android consoles are giving Microsoft and Sony a run for their money.
Manufacture : Ouya, Inc. (formerly BOXER8)
6. Pebble smart watch
It wasn't the first smart watch, nor was it even this year's most
advanced wrist gadget, but this $150 Kickstarter-fundedPebble watch nails the balance between functionality, fashion, and
affordability.
The Pebble
works with a Bluetooth link to your smart phone (unlike many other smart
watches, it's cross-platform, compatible with both iOS and Android devices),
and it displays incoming calls, instant messages, emails, and lets you control
music. Its low-power monochrome display is always on, and can be backlit with a
simple shake of the wrist. And its battery lasts 5 to 7 days on a charge. Plus,
the Pebble tells time.
Manufacture : Pebble Technology
7. Pogoplug Safeplug
In a year when NSA spying
revelations further pushed back our expectations of privacy on the Internet, along comes a new product that could reclaim
some of the lost territory. The Safeplug is a piece of hardware that routes your
home's Internet traffic through the Tor (short for "the onion
router") network, bouncing your requests around through a random series of
servers around the world and promising to anonymize your Web surfing for anyone
who might be snooping. The best part is that Safeplug requires no special
software or tricky setup to keep you cloaked in sweet secrecy
OK, we’re the first to admit that $9K ought to buy you both a
55-inch TV and a
used Toyota Corolla. But the Samsung
KN55S9C points the
way towards a future of stunning picture quality. The OLED display combines the
brightness of a LCD with the incredible contrast of a plasma display, with
almost none of the drawbacks of either of the conventional display
technologies.
The Samsung KN55S9C also points to a future of design
experimentation in TV design. Just when you thought the term
"flat-panel" meant, well, flat, the KN55S9C shows how television
makers are willing to bend the shape of TV to imitate large IMAX-style theater
screens. We're still a bit dubious about the benefits of curved
screens, but we expect to see more of this trend in the coming year.
Manufacture : Samsung
9. Sony Bravia XBR-65X900A HDTV
This was the year Ultra HD TVs finally nudged their way into the
realm of affordability. The Sony
XBR-65X900A wasn't the
cheapest of the lot—Chinese upstart Seiki Digital sells Ultra HD sets for as
little as $700—but Sony's set is the first that truly delivers on the promise
of 4K resolution, while still being a great HD set.
Our tests
revealed excellent color accuracy and very good black levels for both HD and
Ultra HD content. Plus, the XBR-65900A, unique design integrates side-mounted
front-firing speakers that both look and sound beautiful.
Manufacture : Sony
10. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 and QX100
Lens . . . camera . . . what’s the difference? We never would have
thought to ask that question before we saw the Sony
Cyber-shot Q series of
"attachable lens-style cameras," as the electronics giant calls them.
These
devices are self-powered zoom lenses with built-in sensors that can clip to an
iOS or Android smart phone, and data-link the lens to the phone via Wi-Fi. You
can also not clip them at all, and just point the lens-camera wherever you want
to take a picture or video. The Q series use the big, high-resolution screen of
your phone as a preview screen and interface, and they take far better images
than any phone camera could.
Manufacture : Sony
