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Coming up with an innovative product idea is difficult enough already. Yet, the hardest part is inventing something that solves a real problem in a useful way, and is not just a variation of an existing gadget. These gizmos are unique in that they offer a practical solution that makes sense.![8 Great Gadgets Ball Camera]()
Throwable Panoramic Ball Cam Here’s one of the coolest gadgets we’ve seen in years. Created as a prototype for the SIGGRAPH Asia 2011 conference by Jonas Pfeil, the ball camera uses 36 small 2-megapixel fixed-focus lenses. When you throw the ball in the air, the cameras snap a panoramic view as soon as the ball comes to its highest point (and stays motionless for a split second). It’s brilliant because the wide angle shots mimic what we see as humans in our wide field of view, as opposed to normal photographs. And, to snap a panoramic shot, you normally need a tripod and a lot of extra time to take each precise photo.![8 Great Gadgets striiv]()
Striiv This small step-counter fits on a keyring or attaches to a belt. Sensors monitor whether you’re walking, running, or going up stairs. The main innovation, though, is the reward system. The small device, which runs on a processor that’s similar to a smartphone, tracks your daily steps. You can play a game on the device, which is about the size of a USB thumbdrive, to unlock treasures and hidden items. But there’s a real-world reward as well: for every 18,000 steps, Striiv partner GlobalGiving donates enough water in South Africa for a day of use, or for 60,000 steps they donate one polio vaccine in India.![8 Great Gadgets timex tide watch]()
Timex Tide Temp Compass Watch If you snapped apart this Timex watch, you’d see mechanical parts that look like the inside of a car engine: rotating pistons, swiveling arms, and precise gears. The watch uses Timex Intelligent Quartz technology for precise measurements of the world around you: the temperature, direction you are heading, and even the tide of an ocean. The innovative “fourth hand” on the watch (in addition to hour, minutes, and seconds) is used to measure the temperature, compass, and altimeter.![8 Great Gadgets Lytro camera]()
Lytro Field Camera Most cameras record light coming from only one direction in a scene – say, the sunshine hitting your face. The Lytro Field Camera uses “light field” technology to capture every light ray around a subject both in the foreground and background. Photos taken with the camera do not need to be in focus, because you can then use software to focus on the subject. One example, if you take a photo of a bicycle ride in front of a bus, you can then choose to focus on the rider or the bus because you have captured the scene using light from both angles. The invention has another benefit: the photos can be released in a way that lets the viewer decide which part of the image should be in focus.![8 Great Gadgets yubico yubikey]()
Yubico YubiKey Someday, we might all carry around USB thumbdrives on key chains instead of the plastic keyfobs we use for cars and old-school house keys. Recent advancements in plastic moldings and microprocessor mean new USB keys are smaller and fit easily on a keyring. The YubiKey is specifically designed for gaining access to a computer. First, you setup your computer to require the key. When you need to login, you insert the USB key. Your computer recognizes the device, and you press a button on the USB key to generate a unique one-time use passcode and gain entry. The advantage: a hacker would need to not only use a fabricated USB key, they’d have to guess the right passcode as well.![8 Great Gadgets xbox wireless wheel]()
Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel Here’s one innovative product you might not have expected. The Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel, released just in time for the Forza 4 racing game from Microsoft, floats in space like any controller and allows you to steer a virtual race car. Yet, the wheel – which is just as accurate as the older wheels that had to be pinned to a table – emits vibrations as you drive, including the physical force from a hard turn or the ding against another car. The wheel frees you up from being locked on one position in front of the screen. With two controllers, you can race against a friend in a split-screen mode.![8 Great Gadgets nest]()
Nest Learning Thermostat What if your thermostat knew you weren't around for the day? That’s the brilliant idea behind the Nest Learning Thermostat, invented by the same person who created the Apple iPod. To program it, you answer a few basic questions about what temp you want for day and night. When you leave for the day and turn the temp down, the Nest will record that and follow a similar pattern. The device even knows when you consistently raise the temp on specific days of the week. You can then see your energy patterns (and savings) through an online portal and via a handy (you guessed it) iPhone app.![8 Great Gadgets MOD Live UVEX]()
Recon Instruments MOD Live Goggles Recon Instruments released a set of ski goggles that were innovative in their day – a small screen popped up showing your current speed and heading. Yet, the MOD Live goggles, which will come out this later, include a full widescreen LCD you can view when needed. The images appear to hover in front of you in a 14-foot panorama, showing speed and distance and an altimeter. You can also flip through a history of fastest times and highest jumps, check the weather, and even view a mountain map.8 Really Innovative (and Useful!) Gadgets
These innovative gadgets -- like the panoramic ball camera or the watch with a fourth hand -- offer solutions to problems so practical and obvious you'll wish you thought of them yourself. By John Brandon
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- 8 Really Innovative (and Useful!) Gadgets
