I reported on the wireless charger concept quite a while back with WiTricity or wireless electricity. The Powermat wireless charger is in major retailers now. I have personally seen them on the shelves at Best Buy. You will need to purchase the receiver for your device which runs about $30 USD for an item such as the Iphone. The Powermat itself has a sticker price of $99.

HTC Imagio

It is highly likely we will be seeing the HTC Imagio XV6975 in early October. This CDMA/GSM devise is basically an HTC manufactured Iphone with a Microsoft OS. Microsoft claims they will blast 30 new smart phones for the new WinMo 6.5 by the end of the year. Verizon will be participating in the worldwide WinMo 6.5 rollout on Oct 6th. Who else will carry the HTC Imagio? The price of this trendy new technology is unknown.

SleepTracker Pro

First, let me say that I have owned one of these for a couple years. To be more precise, I bought the SleepTracker Pro when it was in pre order. They say it is to be worn like an everyday watch. This is my only criticism on the SleepTracker. It is bulky and its colors are not attractive as an everyday watch for most people. On the other hand, for most people the practical function of the SleepTracker provides great benefits. This watch is designed as an alarm clock to help you wake up at the most optimal time.

We humans have multiple different levels of sleep. We cycle through all the levels about every 1.5 to 2 hours, so the average individual completes 4 to 5 sleep cycles per night. It is much more of a challenge to wake up out of a deep sleep than a light sleep. It also makes your sleep more restful when you wake up during the REM stage ( rapid eye movement stage ) rather than deep sleep, even if it is half an hour or even an hour earlier.

The SleepTracker watch tracks your sleep patterns by your pulse and allows the alarm to sound (or vibrate with the Pro version) while you are in your almost awake stage of sleep. You have the option of setting a window (anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes) of when you need to be awake. It will choose the most optimal time or wake you up at your selected alarm time.

In my personal experience, when setting a 30 to 40 minute window, it almost always wakes me up during the window. Frequently, I am in a light enough sleep to think “the alarm should be going off any second now”, and it does. Its great for people trying to get on a consistent schedule. Its also great for travelers, busy moms others not wanting to wake up groggy. For more detailed info and features of the different products click on over to the makers site.

motorized keyboard

We are all aware of the so called ergonomic keyboards. They are a little better than the original keyboard, but there has been continued resistance against them. The increasing diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome has encouraged some absurd prototypes to be birthed. Take it from any computer geek, the physical strain on the wrists, back and eyes plagues even the toughest of bloggers.

However, if you are searching for relief and would like to get your hands on a keyboard that looks like it belongs at your fingertips in front of your computer, look into the motion keyboard from Smartfish pro. Some so called ergonomic keyboards are goofy or ridiculous, but not the Smartfish pro. Although from all appearances it looks like another standard keyboard with a curve, it’s a lot more than that. The motion keyboard adjusts periodically throughout the day using stealth like motors. Because the motorized keys move to reshape the keyboard, it eliminates the repetitive motions performed by your hands. With hardware that self-adjusts to your needs, you won’t be concerned with the stress injuries. Look for this device by summer priced at about $150.

the jungle of social networking

The world of social networking is on the verge of a change as we know it. 2007 was the year of Facebook and 2008 was the year that Twitter was all the rage. And don’t forget MySpace was in there as well. But most microbloggers have a FriendFeed, Xanga, and Flickr as well. If you only have accounts with a few of the major sites, you have your hands full keeping up with them on a regular basis. So what is this leading to? Well, it leads to neglect if you don’t have the time to dedicate to all of them. The ambitious members are seeking to find a solution to make things more efficient. As a result 2009 will be the year of “mashingUp” social networking sites.

This concept has already birthed Facebook Connect, OpenSocial and many more platforms striving to resolve this problem. Facebook Connect allows you to connect with 3^rd parties based off the Facebook platform. But is this enough? The simple answer is no.

Think about it this way, if you don’t use an email client to access all your different email accounts in one place you are the minority. Even if you just have one email account it is still easier and beneficial to use an email client so you don’t have to go login manually. So what does this mean for social networking? You guessed it. The first wave of microblogging clients is out. For starters, Mozilla has a free add-on Yoono-socialize your browser. For now, it allows you do remote updates to your status on 7 different platforms, view others updates and reply. It provides convenient finding and sharing of products, sites, videos, pics, and more. Yoono will also “mashup” your different chat platforms.

Many microbloggers are growing weary of having to recreate their profile for every site they join. In 2009 look to see the leaders emerge and perfect these social clients. Over this year expect the ability to host your profile on a client and have all that info automatically load when you open a new social networking account. If you discover some desirable social clients please comment your reviews @ the Novelty Hub under this post. My Yoono user name is UriahGunn. Add me if you download it.

Can you believe it? We have reached the era of electricity passed through air. This wireless age of data-flow through air has been quite a ride, spawning many inventions. Technology took a big step by creating the cordless phone. Then, it took a leap and completely cut the cord to the telephone with the arrival of the cell phone. Are we ready to cut the cord to electricity? Electricity in thin air is attempting to make a mainstream appearance. I won’t say that the concerns of safety have been completely overcome yet, but the concept is already very well advanced.

Some of the companies trying to develop this concept such as WiTricity Inc, don’t even have their websites built yet. WiTricity named themselves only six months ago. On the other hand, there’s Alticor, whose site is developed and seeking partners to launch with. That’s right Alticor, the parent company of Access Business Group, AGP Hotels, Amway, Quixtar, eSpring, a couple of cosmetics companies, Artisty and the recently acquired Gurwitch Products, plus many more multi-billion dollar companies. In fact, this technology for the wi-tricity movement was used in the invention of the eSpring water purifier. This product triggered Alticor pursuing wi-tricity. There is also the company Splashpower and they are pretty committed to development as well.

Early in development stages, this product is seeing a lot of attention from companies. Not only are they chasing the products to have placed in your home as a wireless electricity source, but also electric tables or mats, if you will, for private and public locations. Imagine being able to sit in an airport terminal on your laptop without the need to plug in your power cord. Or have your cell phone, Bluetooth or other wireless device charge automatically when you are in range of witricity.

Folks we are dawning a new age in electronics history. It’s the age that solves the problems of the corded mess on your desk, counter etc. This is unfortunate for some companies, though. You have the makers of the extension cords and surge protectors that will see a drop in sales when there isn’t a demand for a dozen plugs in every corner of the house. But, that raises another concern, “what happens when there is a surge on a building that produces wi-tricity?” That maybe open for discussion, but I’m sure that’s been resolved. Click on the “Alticor, whose site” link above to view a brief video demo.

Today is the MacWorld 2009 expo. Rumor has it that Apple is bringing their product of 2009. What is it? We don’t know for sure, but word is that it will be a larger IPhone or IPod Touch. Or will it be a small Mac tablet. We are pretty confident that it will also resemble an HD tv.

Here is the scoop. It is projected to be a larger IPhone with the capabilities of a tablet. With Apple running experiments on tablets for over a year now, it would make sense to give the IPhone lovers a larger touch screen for comfort. The expected 7 to 9 inch high definition display will provide a much more pleasurable experience in watching video and performing full-functioning web capabilities. Lets face it, even if you have an IPhone you probably still lug around your laptop if you have anything important to do online. This new bigger IPhone will make it that much easier to stop in at the coffee shop and still be productive. A benefit to Apple is this makes them a much better competitor to the super portable laptop producers.

And of course it will still have the luxuries of the IPod, maybe with better speakers for higher quality sound. That will also be an added benefit for the video watching.

Apple is expected to use the MacWorld event to proclaim it’s improvements to its key devices. We will see. At 12pm Eastern today, Jan 6th, Engadget.com will be broadcasting liveblogging and possible video. To access that at noon head over to Live from the MacWorld 2009.

My opinion, and most others will agree, is that Apple has exploded its technology beyond Microsoft in the last decade. Microsoft has created something that looks like it will have a wow factor. Its called the Microsoft Surface. It is a multi touch surface computer. Multi-touch in the same way the IPhone is and so much more. These computers are starting out for commercial use as table tops at restaurants, hotels etc. Not only do they recognize the touch of multiple fingers and hands simultaneously, but it will also recognize phones, credit cards, and other objects. You can imagine it will be quite some time before these are sold as household PC’s but the technology is out of this world. Go ahead and check it out. Click here to head directly to Microsoft’s videos demoing the Surface.  If you like what you see at that link, the Microsoft Surface Blog also has a lot of info.