Hasta La Gadget!

For those of you waiting for the real-deal collection of Star Trek gadgets and gizmos, you’ll find that today is a great day – the tricorder has arrived. The folks at Scanadu have been developing a handheld device that, while not exactly service the same function as the 60′s series tech, is certainly Star Trek-worthy in its abilities. This device has been in development for less than a year and will be prototype ready by the end of 2012 – so says the NASA-Ames Research Center-based startup team themselves.

This unit goes by the name SCOUT and is ready to connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth in a snap. Once you’re synced up, you’ve only to press the SCOUT device up to your temple and let it sit for 10 seconds. In those 10 seconds you’ll find that your vital signs will be scanned with great accuracy, this including your temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, ECG, and SPO2.

Photo via Scanadu’s official Facebook page showing Tan Le and Kim Vu “Scouting” themselves.

Development of this project happened rather rapidly if you count only the time since it was announced until now – that, again, being less than a year. If you’re counting the amount of time since Scanadu co-founder Walter De Brouwer prototyped his first tricorder effort, it’s a bit more extended. De Brouwer’s first tricorder was backpack-sized and didn’t quite have the consumer potential that this new SCOUT project does.

The SCOUT will retail for under $150 and is small enough to easily slip into your pocket – and it’s not just made for doctors. In fact, De Brouwer made it clear this week with FastCO that it’s made primarily for those everyday citizens that want to keep themselves monitored on a daily basis.

“We really want to show people their health stream. You go to a doctor and you get data points. You probably forget about them. But in this time of personalized readings we should have personalized parameters. What is a fever for me might not be a fever for you.” – De Brouwer

The SCOUT is just one entry in the massive rally for the Qualcomm Tricorder X prize – that being $10 million USD for the best tricorder that meets specifications set up by Qualcomm itself. In addition to the SCOUT, Scanadu is bringing forth a couple more medical-oriented tiny gadgets as well: ScanaFlo and ScanaFlu.

The ScanaFlo is a urine analysis system made specifically for pregnant women, scanning for signs of complications like preeclampsia and diabetes. The device works with a set of 20 cartridges that are dipped in urine with data sent back to the Scanadu app – again, on your smartphone. ScanaFlu is a saliva test that’s made primarily for the flu, but also checks for upper respiratory infections of many kinds. Each of these three products is set to be released by the end of 2013 in their final form.

Scanadu SCOUT Medical Tricorder recalls Star Trek – and it’s real is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This is pretty darn cool. It’s called Popslate — an iPhone 5 case with a four-inch E Ink screen on the back — and it’s launching right now on Indiegogo for $79 in two colors. Combined with a bespoke social imaging app, it lets you take and share pics, then “pop” them to the back of your phone. Better yet, the always-on, ultra low-power, black and white display becomes a canvas for notifications, sports scores, maps, lists and notes, all just a glance away.

An open API allows third-party developers to design custom apps for Popslate — including accelerometer support to interact with the backside screen by tapping on it. Imagine a micro e-reader app which uses the E Ink display instead of the main panel to conserve battery.

The company is still in the early stages of development and sadly didn’t have a prototype to show us, but it’s already gathered a team of talented designers, engineers and developers. It’s also secured a partnership with E Ink to use the latest in ruggedized e-paper technology and is hoping to raise enough funds to make Popslate a reality. Two colors are available at launch (black and white) with prices starting at $79 for the first 500 supporters, then $99 and up. Hit the break for the demo video and IndieGogo link.

Continue reading Popslate launches iPhone 5 case with four-inch E Ink screen (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

You’ve probably seen them on Samsung’s previous videos, but Samsung is finally bringing them in. Samsung has just unveiled its protective flip covers for the Galaxy Note 2 and the Galaxy S3. These nifty flip covers, according to Samsung, will give users the ability to customize their device. Basically these flip covers feature a one-piece folding design with a stylish front cover and glossy snap-on back.

Samsung says that its flip covers provide additional protection to the screen while enhancing the overall look and feel of the device. Available in seven vibrant colors (titanium gray, marble white, light blue, pink, mint, lime green, and orange), the flip covers will be available on all five major carriers in the U.S., just in the time for the holidays. Samsung is now selling the flip covers at $39.99 each. You can get them here.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BBM Video Headed For BlackBerry 10, AT&T Is Worst Rated Carrier In US,

Basis Science today launched a new fitness and health tracking wristwatch and accompanying web service for the health-conscience crowd. It joins an already crowded market of health and fitness gadgets, but Basis hopes to shake things up with its wristwatch that aims to get people to form better health habits.

The Basis watch also does far more than most health and fitness gadgets. It has an accelerometer to track movement, but it also has an optical blood-flow monitor for heart-rate tracking, a perspiration sensor to measure sweat, and skin and ambient temperature sensors. These different sensors help the Basis watch do things that other activity trackers can’t.

After it monitors and records activity, the watch takes the data and presents it to you in a useful way, allowing you to keep track of your health and fitness trends over time. The company introduced a web service to go along with the watch that lays out the data into a readable format. Users can also choose different habits related to their physical activity and sleep that they want to try and accomplish.

An interesting feature about the device is that it doesn’t track calories or anything to do with your diet. Furthermore, the device is launching with the internal Bluetooth radio turned off, but eventually Basis will enable Bluetooth syncing in the future. The watch costs $199, and it’s available now on their website.

Basis launches health-tracking wristwatch and web service is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Instagram has revolutionized how we see and exchange photos. I’ll bet we never thought that sending photos of the kids to relatives far away could be so easy. And with Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr integration pics can be shared beyond our inner circle. But what about those people that may not be so web savvy? Or what if you want them from more than your tablet or phone?

Silicon Valley-based D2M, Design to Matter, saw this need and took to finding a solution. The Instacube enables you to actively stream your Instagram feed. Seems simple, but the uses are numerous. Simply connect the 7.5” square device to wi-fi and log in to your Instagram account via the touchscreen on the cube. Photos will instantly start streaming from your feed. A toggle button on top enables you to switch feeds. Instacube contains a rechargeable lithium battery so you can truly take it with you too.

Think of the applications. Keep one at home or the office and have a constant stream of updated photos. Send one to grandma and get her tuned in to your feed. Or have one at the party and let guests push party photos. Or how about letting customers post their photos of your product in use? No better way to sell a prospective customer than with real-time positive feedback.

After raising funds on Kickstarter (248% of goal) D2M has gone into development and manufacturing. Backers should see their shipments as early as Q1. Official launch is anticipated to in Q3 2012. Based on their Kickstarter page I imagine retail will run about $149.  Instagram fans, keep an eye on D2M and see your feed in a whole new way.
[ Stream Instagram Pics For All to See copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]