TECHNOLOGY
This year’s trendiest, snazziest, craziest tech toys
PPut together a bee-like set of speakers, cycle with indicators and a brake light, become an Iron Man, stay safe when your mobile signal disappears in the middle of nowhere or detect the mood swings of your pooch with a clip-on collar that can even spot early signs of disease. This is technology 2.0; stay ahead of the curve.
Shine of the times
Tuibo Bluetooth cycling vest: designers in Mexico City have created a vest with 72 flashing LEDs to ensure you’re seen in the dark, using a handlebar-mounted Bluetooth remote.
Price €90 Availability kickstarter.com
Iron Man in the fire
Project Gravity jetpack: British inventor Richard Browning , has unveiled an incredible jet-powered suit that enables the wearer to fly for short distances at a speed of speed of 450kph.
Price £40,000
Safety in numbers
Gotenna Mesh: This off-grid communication tool lets users communicate when there is no satellite coverage. It pairs wirelessly to a phone, uses ultrahigh frequency radio waves to send texts or share GPS co-ordinates.
Price €146 (pack of four) Availability gotenna.com
Honey, I shrunk the speakers
Bang &Olufsen Off the Wall: A series of hexagonal speakers that fit together like honeycomb to form musical artwork. The wireless tiles play or boost sound, or absorb noise to improve your home’s acoustics, allowing users to stream music via their phone or tablet.
Price €4,000, Availability bang-olufsen.com
All the right noises
Sonos Playbase: Sonos, a multi room audio specialist, claims this slab-like soundbar will make the most of box sets and gaming audio. It doubles up as a music streamer when the television is not in use, and is compatible with Apple Music and Spotify.
Price €820, Availability sonos.com
Warm welcome
Iiamo self-heating baby bottle: Capable of warming 180ml of milk to 37C in about four minutes without electricity, it uses disposable heating cartridges containing salt and water.
Price From €12.95, Availability iiamo.com
Instrumment 01
This bluetooth-enabled, aluminium pen is a tape measure; it also logs depth, height and length measurements on to your phone.
Price €100, Availability instrumments.com
Hear the future Samsung H7 wireless speaker
This marvelous gadget converts tiny 8-bit audio files into high-definition 32-bit art. The Korean firm claims its ultra-high quality sound upscaling technology works by filling in any gaps in the audio data. Price TBA, Availability samsung.com
Slim tickings
Sony e-ink watch: This funky, paper-thin device uses a bendable e-ink display to change its appearance, making it more fashion accessory than smartwatch. Availability sony.com
At your neck and call
Jagger & Lewis smart dog collar: Detect your dog’s mood swings and spot early signs of disease with this clip-on device that has sensors to detect movement, sleep patterns and barking. Price €188, Availability jagger-lewis.com
On the front footage
Thinkware dash cam F770: This flagship dash cam from has night vision and a time-lapse function that dramatically increases the recording time. It’s not the prettiest, or the most user-friendly of dash cams, but the full-HD footage is crystal clear.
Price From €228, Availability thinkwaredashcam.uk
Brick ‘n’ mix
Lego Boost: This new Lego Boost is the stuff of childhood dreams. The 840-piece set can be turned into a talking and moving robot, a rover with a spring-loaded gun, a guitar with pitch bend and sound effects, and a factory for other Lego pieces. Due for release in August, it has Bluetooth connectivity, tilt, colour and distance sensors, plus a pair of motors. Lego Boost is also compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Price €TBA, lego.com