December 29, 2014 at 11:30The brightest gadgets of 2014
This year we finally got an iPhone the size of a shovel, a bunch of smart watches and bracelets, puff and thin smartphones, and virtual reality glasses. I propose to stop for a moment, look back and remember what peace this year received.
Please suggest your options in the comments : which devices this year were the most memorable and interesting.
In October, I was honored to be in London at the presentation of Lenovo's new products and took two nice presents from there. One of them is the brand new Lenovo Tablet 2 Pro, a tablet with a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 2560x1440 and a projector that provides an excellent image in a dark room on a white background. The weight of this colossus is less than a kilogram, although it looks like a TV. Thanks to the design of the case, Lenovo managed to accommodate a battery that can withstand more than 10 hours of intensive work using a camera with flash, 4G and Wi-Fi. I made sure of this during my work at the Open Innovations Forum and telecom tour to India .
So we watch TV shows in the kitchen.
I had to mention two gadgets here, because we are not even talking about them, but about the Android Wear operating system, which already is one of the most important milestones in the history of wearable devices .
In March 2014, Google introduced the Android Wear operating system. Manufacturers such as Motorola (now a subsidiary of Lenovo), Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus immediately confirmed their participation in the project. In June, at the conference for developers of Google I / O, the first devices on Anroid Wear were introduced: Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch, and in September at IFA 2014, Asus ZenWatch watches were presented.
LG G Watch
Samsung Gear Live
Google is preparing to release in 2015 a modular smartphone Project Ara . In Ara, you can change modules, expanding the functionality of the phone. Marvell and NVIDIA are already developing processor modules for it. So we’ll see.
In July 2014, the second version of the Oculus RIft virtual reality helmet, created in 2012, became available. This helmet with a wide field of view had a very reasonable price at a dollar exchange rate of 35 rubles. We will also be able to see the consumer version most likely next year.
Not many gadgets are designed for children , although most wearable electronics are the most toys, just for grown men. In 2014, LG distinguished itself by launching a LG KizON GPS-enabled children's bracelet that allows one-button calling of parents and talking to them without a headset. In the USA, the bracelet is sold under the name GizmoPal.
Those who a few years ago with foam at the mouth argued that the optimal display size of a smartphone should be 3.5 inches, that all phones with a large display - spades, are now happy to buy (already for a lot of money, if we talk about Russia) iPhone 6 plus with a diagonal of 5.5 inches. According to Kantar Worldpanel, in the US, this model accounts for 41% of phablet purchases. Bravo, Apple!
The second-generation smartphone Yotaphone 2 with two displays, one of which is e-ink, built on the basis of the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and equipped with 32 GB of internal and 2 GB of RAM, looks good. It comes with Android 4.4.2, and at the beginning of next year, the manufacturer promises to upgrade to version 5 of the operating system. What is frustrating is the price of 39,999 rubles.
The smartphone of the Note line has a 5.7-inch display with a resolution of QHD - 1440x2560 pixels. The display is curved, which is what everyone remembered. Sales can be judged next year, but the company itself can in any case "run around" in the market and understand how much this is necessary and convenient for the consumer.
Blackberry introduced a smartphone with a QWERTY-keyboard, gesture support and a 4.5-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1440 × 1440. The device looks stylish and has a good filling: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AA quad-core processor, Adreno 330 graphics, 32 GB of internal and 3 GB of RAM, 13 and 2 megapixel cameras and a 3450 mAh battery. Everything works under control of the Blackberry 10.3 operating system.
What gadgets do you remember, what else should be in this article?
Please suggest your options in the comments : which devices this year were the most memorable and interesting.
Lenovo Tablet 2 Pro
In October, I was honored to be in London at the presentation of Lenovo's new products and took two nice presents from there. One of them is the brand new Lenovo Tablet 2 Pro, a tablet with a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 2560x1440 and a projector that provides an excellent image in a dark room on a white background. The weight of this colossus is less than a kilogram, although it looks like a TV. Thanks to the design of the case, Lenovo managed to accommodate a battery that can withstand more than 10 hours of intensive work using a camera with flash, 4G and Wi-Fi. I made sure of this during my work at the Open Innovations Forum and telecom tour to India .
So we watch TV shows in the kitchen.
Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch
I had to mention two gadgets here, because we are not even talking about them, but about the Android Wear operating system, which already is one of the most important milestones in the history of wearable devices .
In March 2014, Google introduced the Android Wear operating system. Manufacturers such as Motorola (now a subsidiary of Lenovo), Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus immediately confirmed their participation in the project. In June, at the conference for developers of Google I / O, the first devices on Anroid Wear were introduced: Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch, and in September at IFA 2014, Asus ZenWatch watches were presented.
LG G Watch
Samsung Gear Live
Project ara
Google is preparing to release in 2015 a modular smartphone Project Ara . In Ara, you can change modules, expanding the functionality of the phone. Marvell and NVIDIA are already developing processor modules for it. So we’ll see.
Oculus rift
In July 2014, the second version of the Oculus RIft virtual reality helmet, created in 2012, became available. This helmet with a wide field of view had a very reasonable price at a dollar exchange rate of 35 rubles. We will also be able to see the consumer version most likely next year.
LG KizON
Not many gadgets are designed for children , although most wearable electronics are the most toys, just for grown men. In 2014, LG distinguished itself by launching a LG KizON GPS-enabled children's bracelet that allows one-button calling of parents and talking to them without a headset. In the USA, the bracelet is sold under the name GizmoPal.
iPhone 6 Plus
Those who a few years ago with foam at the mouth argued that the optimal display size of a smartphone should be 3.5 inches, that all phones with a large display - spades, are now happy to buy (already for a lot of money, if we talk about Russia) iPhone 6 plus with a diagonal of 5.5 inches. According to Kantar Worldpanel, in the US, this model accounts for 41% of phablet purchases. Bravo, Apple!
Yotaphone 2
The second-generation smartphone Yotaphone 2 with two displays, one of which is e-ink, built on the basis of the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and equipped with 32 GB of internal and 2 GB of RAM, looks good. It comes with Android 4.4.2, and at the beginning of next year, the manufacturer promises to upgrade to version 5 of the operating system. What is frustrating is the price of 39,999 rubles.
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
The smartphone of the Note line has a 5.7-inch display with a resolution of QHD - 1440x2560 pixels. The display is curved, which is what everyone remembered. Sales can be judged next year, but the company itself can in any case "run around" in the market and understand how much this is necessary and convenient for the consumer.
Blackberry passport
Blackberry introduced a smartphone with a QWERTY-keyboard, gesture support and a 4.5-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1440 × 1440. The device looks stylish and has a good filling: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AA quad-core processor, Adreno 330 graphics, 32 GB of internal and 3 GB of RAM, 13 and 2 megapixel cameras and a 3450 mAh battery. Everything works under control of the Blackberry 10.3 operating system.
What gadgets do you remember, what else should be in this article?
