For the past week, the tech hunters have been roaming the halls of the Messe Berlin at IFA, trying out and playing with the gadgets from the world’s biggest tech companies. There are plenty of bizarre and forgettable items lining the show floor, but every year there are standouts that make us drool. Here are our picks.
Samsung SleepSense goes under your mattress and analyses the quantity and quality of your sleep. It can then provide personalised sleep reports and expert recommendations on how to improve your sleep via a mobile app.
LG’s Rolly Keyboard is the world’s first solid rollable wireless portable keyboard. Made of impact-resistant and durable polycarbonate and ABS plastic, typing on the keyboard offers satisfying tactile feedback, and the whole thing folds up along the four rows to create an easy-to-carry “stick”.
The is an instant digital camera that lets you easily print and share physical 2×3” photos at the push of a button, while also saving the image for easy uploading to a computer or social network.
Panasonic’s rug speakers are incorporated into the carpet and provide 6.1-channel surround sound – perfect for watching films. The sound can be directed to people who want to listen to it or away from those in the room who may be in conversation or reading. The staff at Yuppie Gadgets HQ have petitioned this for our offices.
The Ricoh Theta S is a spherical camera capable of capturing 360-degree extra-high resolution photos and videos in one shot. The camera also features a live preview function and is compatible with a variety of social media platforms for instant uploading.
Philips Hue Lightstrips can be used to create mood lighting, or synced to your favorite music for a rhythmic light show. The strips can be bent, shaped, cut and attached to furniture using adhesive tape, and you can control the colour and brightness using an app.
The Asus VivoStick PC is a miniature PC that turns any HDMI-enabled TV or monitor into a fully functional Windows 10 PC, which can be controlled from a smartphone. It is designed to look like a pen and measures just 137.9 x 34.0 x 14.9mm, weighing only 68g.
Onkyo’s “true wireless” in-ear headphones work without any cables at all. They connect to each other and to your smart device via Bluetooth, offering a clear and accurate audio experience with passive noise isolation.
We are fans and stockists of Parrot products and our friends there also revealed the third generation Zik headphones. The Zik 3.0 will look very familiar if you’ve ever seen the Zik 2.0, since the design remains largely unchanged, except for a couple of tiny tweaks like wireless charging and USB audio make them even more futuristic, plus that are compatible with Smartwatches.
Some of these kickass products will be available to purchase from Yuppie Gadgets so watch this space.