Banned in America: 10 Cool Gadgets You Can’t Have
The United States is known around the world as a haven for cool technological breakthroughs. When it comes to gadgets and hi-tech devices, the country boasts of being the first among many to receive the latest and the most advanced. The US market is at many times envied for their exposure to technology, not available to many in other parts of the globe. That was before.
Today, with many countries like Japan, Taiwan and the UK catching up the technological boom the United States has had to wait for many of the innovations and newly released devices from these foreign manufacturers. Surprisingly, it seems like there are a handful of cool new devices that do not even make it to the country.
Factors that cause some devices to not reach our market include the following:
- The US is not a good place for product testing. Here the cost of product recall is just huge.
- Performance disadvantages and incompatibility as shown by our relatively slow wireless networks, and telecom services.
- Americans are more price conscious, and will settle for good enough devices that fit their business or personal needs. Other markets will not mind paying extra for innovation and for more top of the line products. Americans will go for the 10-pound complete laptop where as a Japanese for example will definitely go for something below 4 pounds.
- Difference in trade laws, patents and costs.
- Some manufacturers do not even plan to release their products in the US making English versions of software unavailable.
Here are 10 cool gadgets that can’t be found on store shelves anywhere.
Motion LE1700
A 3.3 pound tablet pc that is less than an inch thick, this device from Motion is a combination of cool design, durability and processing power. It sports a 12.1 SXGA+ LCD screen that allows effective viewing even in well lighted environments. It already has Core 2 Duo processors, a 60gb HDD and up to 4gb of RAM. Available in XP and Vista, this device has drop detect that allows the hard drive to park itself when drop is detected to prevent memory loss.
Sony Vaio G1
This, is perhaps the lightest fully- usable notebook produced at only 1.89 pounds. Amazingly, it still has a 12.1″inch XGA TFT display and a 17mm key pitch keyboard. Sony was able to accomplish the weight without compromising the size of both screen and keyboard by using carbon fiber. This material, used by racket designers for sports like badminton and Tennis, is perfect for it allows better heat dissipation while still being strong, light and rigid. This also allows the notebook to be better suited in surviving drops and can even withstand 120 kg of weight. The DVD-RW version with dual capacity batteries may amount to 2.46 pounds which is still light for notebooks.
Sony Vaio UX
A 1.15 pound computing machine that is already equipped with Vista, this innovation from Sony has an Intel Core solo 1.33ghz processor, complete I/O ports and a 4.5″ glossy TFT with remarkable high pixel density. It is also equipped with a slide out QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen and a fingerprint reader. I think that this is perhaps one of the coolest devices from Sony. What amazed me in this device is the 100gb HDD that will definitely make it a cool media player as well.
L’espion
Imagine seeing someone looking at you. Suddenly you see him trying hard to light his cigar. After several failed attempts, he keeps the lighter, throws the cigar and walks away. Now think of the same man going to a store to develop your pictures he has just taken. This is all possible with this awesome camera from UK. It is small and looks like a lighter making it
XDA Trion
Also called the HTC TyTN this premier do-it-all device works everywhere on virtually anything. A quad band 3G smartphone, this device has wifi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPRS, HPSPA and EDGE. The 400mhz processor is well suited in running applications like Skype and Pocket Office giving its user the unique capabilities in a very handy package.
Sony Pocket Bit Mini
If you think flash storage can’t get any smaller, think again! This shrunken inexpensive USB drive comes in different colors but is not to be looked down on with up to 2 gb capacity. The fun looking case wraps it all up for this product as a unique gift that will surely earn a few “wow’sâ€.
Mikimoto Bean i-theater
This is perhaps the best compliment for the iPod, that allows one to watch newly purchased videos anywhere. Think of it as a carry on home theater system only this one comes in less than 3oz. The wearer will be treated to an experience of watching his videos in a 50″ plasma screen with its dual-QVGA TFT screens. With the integrated stereo headphones, you can now enjoy your favorite videos anywhere. Perfect for those long boring travels.
LCD Digital Photo Frame
This concept from movies will finally reach our homes. Still keeping the classic look, this device from Siren has a Mahogany outside frame that keeps the frame looking modern and beautifully designed. This sets it apart from the many frames in the market that just looks like they were ripped from a futuristic science fiction movie set. It has 32 Mb to store your photos, has a USB 2.0 attachment and can read a variety of card storage.
Nabaztag/tag
Gone were the days of the Tamagotchi. Now, with the developments in technology digital pets have taken another level. The coolest one I have found is this wifi enabled bunny that has a unique communicate by ear function. The bunny has a lot of free functions like act as a talking clock, Tai chi, recap your past week, receive RSS feeds, give weather forecasts, sing to you your favorite MP3 when you wake up, tell you if the air is polluted or not, receive email alerts and audio feeds from other Nabbaztag users. A cool feature allows one to couple his rabbit with another like a spouse or a girlfriend. When on bends his rabbits’ ear, the coupled device will do the same. Now, even the best trained dog can’t do all of that.
Gamepark GP2x Open Source Gaming Console
Like other gaming devices out in the market, this cool gadget, plays video games, movies and music, and displays pictures, and e-books. It supports all major media formats and has TV out features as well. Though the internal memory is just a tiny 64 mb it has an integrated SD slot that allows up to 2gb of memory. This is perhaps the first open source game console. It runs on Linux and supports a lot of FREE available softwares like the GPL Quake engine. There is a lot of support online as well making this device a must have for game enthusiasts.
Other Cool Banned Devices
Dream Machine
Takara, A Japanese toymaker released a few years ago what they call Yumemi-Kobo or dream Factory. Jointly developed with Japanese psychologists, this machine will allow the users to choose what dreams they want to have. With the use of pictures, lights, music and smell; the machine will induce the desired dream during periods of rapid eye movements (REM). The users may record their stories on the machine too to provide a more accurate description of their dream.
Idea Maple Clock
This cool clock disguises itself as an ordinary block of wood but surprises guests by giving the time every few minute. The user may also opt to not turn the display off. This clock is perfect for cabin rooms or log houses where the ordinary digital device may not fit in.
I hope that in the future, these innovations will be available to the picky American Market. For the moment though, I wouldn’t mind going to sites like Dynamism.com or Plus Minus Zero just to have a taste of what these cool tech wonders offer.
