Unique consumer tech products for your consideration
It's amazing what makers can now do with some circuits and a bit of LCD. It's the future and it's all about 2020 vision. Smart watches are now phones, sunglasses are now earbuds and coffee mugs are now microwaves. Phones went from slabs to foldable slabs and Google's jumped out of your computer to wish you good morning every time you open your eyes. It's wonderful, and as consumers it can be nice to drool over what modern technology has made possible.
Waverly Ambassador Translator
The newest translation device by Waverly Labs, the Ambassador Translator is an interpreter that you can carry in your pocket. The device uses cloud technology and neural network to translate one user's speech to another language—to 20 different languages as of now. The device is available on Indiegogo for $100.
Bose Frames Audio Sunglasses
Do you keep losing your earbuds or do they just not fit into your ears? Bose Frames Audio Sunglasses offer you a stylish alternative as the frame's built-in microphone offers decent sound quality at the cost of no bass and a $200 price tag.
Logi Circle 2 Home Security Camera
Setting up a security camera in your home is an expensive and lengthy process. Logitech's Circle 2 smart home security camera is a cheap and hassle-free alternative that you can fit on almost any surface. It works with Alexa and the Google HomeKit app, meaning it does not need any complicated proprietary software—available for $180.
Nubia Alpha
The ZTE Nubia Alpha is basically an Android phone that wraps around your wrist. Although it looks like a bulky smart watch, it is a fully functional phone with a flexible display—all for $500. So if you want to join the new folding phone craze but don't have $2000 to spare, this might be your ticket to the new wave.
Ember 14 oz. Temperature
Control Mug
Enjoying a hot beverage is usually a race against the clock because no matter what, it will get cold long before you finish your book or work. Ember's solution to this is their Temperature Control Mug, which is basically a small battery powered electric kettle with a built in thermostat. One of the better solutions, assuming you are willing to spend $130.
Stadia: Worth getting excited about?
Google spent a better part of 2019 on its cloud gaming platform Stadia. After months of planning, marketing and appearing at major gaming events, the Stadia is out right now. The future of gaming, or is it?
Touted by the media and Google themselves as the Netflix of gaming, Stadia promised console-free cloud gaming at 1080p or 4K 60FPS. Unfortunately for Google, Stadia's release has been less than stable.
Currently there are twenty games available on Stadia—notable titles being Destiny 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat 11, etc. The Founders Edition of Stadia is what's on offer currently and that too, in select regions. A $10 monthly subscription and you have to buy the games separately, and in between early adopters and first-generation cloud-gaming technology, there is already a sense of dissatisfaction surrounding Stadia.
Stadia has already been released in the US and latency has not been kind to the gaming experience. According to Wired, the latency while playing Mortal Kombat 11 was too high for it to be an enjoyable fighting game. And despite a wired ethernet connection, there was a noticeable difference in quality between the PS4 Pro and Stadia, while playing on a 4K HDR OLED TV. The lack of promised quality, missing features at launch and no iOS version has only aggravated fans further.
There's a chance for salvation—5G will have thousand times the data spectrum (3.6 GHz to 26 GHz bands) on offer compared to 4G, and therefore be able to transfer more data than ever at a significantly faster speed. Both 5G and Stadia will release officially in the US in 2020 and if Stadia's current performance at its minimum 35 Mbits/s requirement is any indication, it's safe to assume that 5G could just salvage the Stadia's reputation.
Let's wait and see—and perhaps a review is on the horizon if we can get our hands on it.