Gadgets

A group dedicated to protecting civil rights has released a high-tech bracelet that can automatically send out a location-based alert if the wearer is kidnapped. However, the organization says it needs financial assistance to protect more workers. ... The bracelet is produced by the Sweden-based Civil Rights Defenders group, an independent organization that sends workers into foreign countries to help prevent human rights violations. The idea for the bracelet came after the 2009 death of Natalia Estermirova in Chechnya. She was kidnapped and later found murdered. The organization believes she was ... (view more)

Fujitsu has revealed a special, high-tech walking cane with built-in satellite navigation features. The firm has also unveiled a smartphone specially designed for elderly users. Fujitsu's 'Next Generation Cane' allows users to set a route and get ... directions through an LED display positioned at the top of the handle. That display provides directions in the form of a a large yellow arrow; if the user turns the wrong way, the handle vibrates to alert them. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) The device also allows friends and family to track a user's location. It's possible to set the cane to send an email ... (view more)

One of the most anticipated revelations at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas involves a new line of smartphones that boast the ability to bend and twist while retaining all of their normal functions and features. Samsung, the flexible ... smartphone's maker, is already heavily invested in stretchy, unbreakable mobile phone screens. The company's new product is rumored to be so flexible it can fold up and fit into a standard-sized wallet. Samsung's bendy screens are reportedly in the final stages of development. Now the firm is apparently promising to ship devices using these unique ... (view more)

Think the image projected by current high-definition televisions (HDTVs) is as sharp as it can get? Think again. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, experts expect Ultra HDTVs will push other TV display systems off center ... stage. Sony's new 4K television, for example, utilizes 4,000 pixels across the width of the TV screen. This effectively doubles the pixel density, compared with most 1080p displays currently on the market. Sony currently delivers its Ultra HDTV technology in the form of an 84-inch television set, which it sells for just over $24,000. As reported ... (view more)

South Korean TV manufacturer LG has announced it is now accepting pre-orders for its new 55-inch Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) high-definition television. However, the high capability TV is priced at $10,000. Many technology experts believe ... Organic Light Emitting Diode, or OLED, TVs represent the next-generation in high-definition television technology. For one thing, OLED televisions are more efficient than Light Emitting Diode (LED) televisions and far more efficient than Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs, the technologies that have made flat screen TVs currently popular and relatively ... (view more)

Google has formally confirmed a poorly kept secret: it's working on 'augmented reality spectacles': glasses that display computer-driven text or images on top of a view of the real world. However, there's no sign the company will release the ... spectacles for commercial use in the foreseeable future. Unlike 3D viewing spectacles, or those designed to simulate a giant screen, the Google glasses are relatively low-key. They are much like an ordinary spectacle frame without corrective lenses, but with a microphone and a tiny screen visible only to the wearer's right eye. (Source: google.com ) The ... (view more)

Microsoft claims it has taken steps to protect tourists from accidently stumbling into unsafe areas by developing and patenting a new feature for GPS (Global Positioning System) devices. One of the rarely discussed features of GPS is their ability ... to guide users through areas in which they would not normally venture. Although GPS devices are typically very helpful in plotting routes, so far they have not paid attention to the relative convenience, condition, or safety of those routes. It stands to reason that sometimes the shortest route to a destination might lead through a relatively unsafe ... (view more)

A new Samsung camera allows users to see photos on both the front and back of the screen, and upload images directly to the Internet. The Samsung DV300F is the newest of the firm's DualView cameras, and features built-in WiFi (wireless networking) ... capabilities. Samsung says pictures taken with the DV300F can be saved to the on-board microSD memory card and then easily transferred to a PC with an Auto Backup capability. In addition, both videos and photographs from the DV300F can be transferred directly to the web, including cloud storage services like Microsoft SkyDrive, as well as to ... (view more)

Some major television manufacturers have been forced to pay a fine of $388 million for their actions in driving up the price of LCD (liquid crystal display) televisions. There's a good chance a TV in your home right now (or at one time) can be ... counted among the devices sold at inflated prices. According to Bloomberg, Sharp and Samsung paid $105 million and $82.7 million, respectively, for allegedly fixing the prices of LCD TVs sold over a seven-year period from 1999 and 2006. Chimei Innolux, which is Taiwan's largest manufacturer of display panels, also paid about $78 million as part of a ... (view more)

Amazon is said to be considering a library-style subscription service that will allow users to read multiple books on its Kindle e-reader for a single fee. However, it appears publishers may not like the idea. It's reported that Amazon is currently ... in talks with publishing firms about the service, which would be offered to Amazon Prime customers. Originally, Prime (which costs $79 per year) simply entitled members to free two-day shipping across the US on all items, no matter their value. Amazon has since added access to a limited range of online streaming movies and television shows, so book ... (view more)