5 Future Tech to Look Forward to: 3-D Corning Gorilla Glass, Samsung’s Smart Home, Steam Machines and More
The year 2014 is looking at a barrage of new technology, starting with the upcoming CES 2014 this January. However, throughout the year, there's bound to be more introductions of new technology, but so far, these are the upcoming trends that can be witnessed early on in the year.
3-D Corning Gorilla Glass
The next generation of smartphones and mobile devices may actually be different from the current generation since a new breed of screens will be showing up at the CES 2014.
The Corning Gorilla Glass will get another upgrade, this time becoming Corning 3-D Gorilla Glass display. Instead of being meant for TV sets, these will be used for mobile devices. Instead of the usual two-fold forming method for screens, the new type of Corning Gorilla Glass will be thinner and lighter to conform with more mobile devices and even wearable gadgets.
Android Authority reports that this can pave the start for more curved devices, adding to the trend that was started by Samsung and LG in 2013.
*A PS4 developer is working on another title as well as one that makes use of VR headset technology. Read here for more.
Samsung Smart Home
Imagine how it would be like controlling several appliances at home using just a smartphone? This is what Samsung is aiming to achieve when it comes to the all-around connectivity and integration of technology into the company's consumers.
What's more, PC World reports that the service may come as early as the first half of the year. TVs and some electronics, along with smartphones will receive the Samsung Smart Home treatment.
Samsung would have the upper hand here compared to previous companies that have tried to do the same control-all system because the brand is active both in smart mobile devices, appliances and electronics.
*The beta of "Project Spark" for Xbox One has yielded quite a lot of great-looking games: Read the full story here.
Fitness Shoe Tracker
Wearable technology is fast expanding, and beyond the glass, the armbands and the wristwatches, there is also now a fitness tracker that users can keep in their shoes.
Engadget has spotted a fitness tracking devices from 3L Labs, which is dubbed as the FootLogger. This device is meant to be kept in the sole of shoes and has the capability of recording information about stress and activity based on a user's foot position and pressure.
For 3L Labs, this may just be the beginning of wearable technology that is directly related to healthcare, as there have been talks of monitoring rehabilitation and even early spotting of diseases.
*The CES 2014 is ushering in a lot of trends for tech this year: Check out this list of expected tech trends to hit this week.
Steam Machines
The advent of Steam Machines is also a much-awaited event for 2014. These machines are expected to be competitors of the next-gen consoles PS4 and Xbox One, and even though they are coming late into the game, the almost PC capability playable in the living room may be a tempting offer for hardcore gamers.
Already, a prototype will be making its official debut at the CES 2014, which is iBuyPower's own Steam Machine. This particular device is rumoured to cost only $499, the same as the Xbox One, but as compact as a PS4.
Steamfirst also enumerates some of iBuyPower's Steam Machine specs, which include a 500 GB hard drive, AMD Radeon R9 270 graphics card, a multi-core AMD CPU and Wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
External Wireless Hard Drives
External hard drives are making far progress because those that have debuted at CES already showcase wireless designs. Seagate, Fuel and LaCie were the forerunners, creating external wireless hard drives that even stream videos to iPads, Mac, Apple TV and other devices.
Fuel can even share data with up to five devices at a time. This is because backing up data from mobile devices and sending files over Wi-Fi are now the new capabilities of these hard drives.