



Holiday gift list: 13 high-tech toys, plus 20 green gadgets and socially responsible inventions
By Larry Greenemeier | November 17, 2008 | 6
Virtual reality visors are challenging flat-screen plasma TVs to provide the best experience for watching movies, playing video games or surfing the Web....[More]
Virtual reality visors are challenging flat-screen plasma TVs to provide the best experience for watching movies, playing video games or surfing the Web. Here are a few examples.
Vuzix Corp.'s latest entry in the video eyewear market is its iWear AV310 Widescreen, which fits over the wearer's eyes like a virtual reality visor should and replicates the effect of watching a 52-inch (130-centimeter) screen. The visor connects to PCs, portable media players, gaming consoles, cell phones and laptops. Vuzix offers five different visors that range in price between $200 and $400.
Like Vuzix, Headplay Canada Inc.'s visor (not pictured) is designed to let the wearer surf the Web, play video games or watch movies through a video console that fits over the head like a tennis visor. The price tag for Headplay's device, which connects to XBOX, PlayStation and Wii gaming systems as well as PCs, DVD players, satellite TV systems and iPods: around $500. [Less] [Link to this slide]
Inspired by Luke Skywalker's hovering Landspeeder in the Star Wars films, Hoverit's acrylic Lounger uses repelling magnetic forces in both the chair and base to keep the chair aloft....[More]
The Dreamflyer is a three-foot (0.9-meter) by six-foot (1.8-meter) virtual-reality flight motion simulator with a black powder-coated aluminum frame and sports seat that faces up to three video monitors portraying images of flight....[More]
Mini digital projectors (also called "pico" projectors) the size of an iPhone are sprouting up to provide "big-screen" viewing of movies, videos and other visuals stored on iPods, PCs, gaming systems and other devices....[More]
Mini digital projectors (also called "pico" projectors) the size of an iPhone are sprouting up to provide "big-screen" viewing of movies, videos and other visuals stored on iPods, PCs, gaming systems and other devices. Here are some examples.
Microvision SHOW--Microvision expects its mini projector will be available for iPods and PCs by mid-2009. The company plans to deliver a version of SHOW that can also project content from mobile phones. The company estimates the device will cost at least $300 on the low end. [Less] [Link to this slide]
BeamBox's W-1 and B-1 (which come in white and black, respectively) are each about the size of two decks of cards and are able to display a 42-inch (106.7-centimeter) image, diagonally, from less than five feet (1.5 meters) away from the screen (a wall or any white surface)....[More]
Olens Technology's XPJ-USA010 Personal Entertainment Projector, priced at $300; and Optoma's PK-101 (not pictured), expected to run about $400 when released early next year....[More]
This mobile phone screen cover works in a way similar to vertical blinds--the film features a microlouver technology that makes LCD screens appear dark when viewed at an angle....[More]
RockStar is a hub for connecting up to five sets of headphones to the same MP3 player, making it possible to share the listening experience without having to pass around your iPod....[More]
The Bladestar is a helicopterlike flying toy that includes a navigation sensor to help keep it from slamming into walls and ceilings. (It's not made to be used outdoors.) Multiple Bladestars can engage in living-room aerial battles by exchanging infrared pulses....[More]
Apple may offer about a dozen different types of iPod, but they all come with the same boring earbuds. DEOS is offering to add bling to your beat (and your iPhone) with three different styles of its diamond-studded covers (which slip over the standard-issue white buds)....[More]
Don't just watch science fiction on your TV, become a part of it by adding this ray gun–shaped remote to your collection. Price tag: about $15 for the joy of disintegrating a heinous reality show or vaporizing a bloviating pundit....[More]
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6 Comments
Add CommentOh great we can bath on the chair of the deadly chemical Bisphonal A
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisas reported right here August this year.
GET PVC out of our world! , it's killing you.
These have been proven to cause headaches and server eye strain.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is not PVC that is the problem... Bisphonal A is a chemical component of Polycarbonate not Polyvinylchloride. Getting rid of PVC would mean that the cheap plumbing pipes in most houses would be killing people. Bisphonal A is found in clear hard plastic bottles that claim to be unbreakable (Nalgene bottles).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is such a shame when someone with an actual science background is allowed to comment. Which of the millions of chemicals can we actually use without facing a protest group? These are worn for short periods of time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReally bad for eyes
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyeah, i agree, it looks like this could be really bad for one's eyes. i would rather have companies move more green than virtual, like this: http://www.jumpintotomorrow.com/template/index.php?tech=201
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a 46-inch, sub 10 mm thick full HD TV with 30% less weight and materials and a power savings of 30% more than a standard 46-inch HD TVs.