Technology advances at a rapid pass, often times going so fast that we don’t have a chance to know where it is going to take us and just how quickly our lives and work will shift with it. In order to keep updated on what has happened in the first six months of 2014, we took a look at some of the newest and most exciting electronic technologies launched or announced this year. Here’s our rundown of 10 of the most interesting stories to hit the tech news world in the last 7 months.
Tesla Opens Patents to the World
(image credit: US Patent Office)
Seeking a way to open the flood gate for electric car innovation and production, Tesla has “open sourced” their patents. The company’s idea is to help accelerate the design and creation of new electric car designs in order to address what they term as the “carbon crisis.” In addition to providing the patents to budding entrepreneurs, the company will not initiate any lawsuits that are related to usage of them.
SanDisk® Announces Industry's First 4TB SCSI SSD
(image credit: SanDisk®)
Flash storage solutions manufacturer, SanDisk® announced that it had created the industry’s first 4TB Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Solid State Drive (SSD) dubbed the Optimus MAX SSD. The new product a capacity point that leaps over today’s highest capacity hard disk drives. The Optimus MAX SSD is now set to be the replacement drive for what they clarify are “mission –critical” data center SAS HDDs.
New Intel® Platform Will eliminate all PC Cables by 2016
(image credit: Wireless Gigabit Alliance, WiGig™)
Intel® introduced its next generation platform, Skylake at the Computex Show in Taipei. Skylake is the codename for Intel’s reference design that will eliminate all PC cables. The new platform was demonstrated with its wireless display, docking, and charging capabilities. WiGig standard will be used for short range “docking” technology while Rezence, a magnetic resonance charging technology will be used to charge the platform as well as any other devices – free of cables.
No More Fillings with New Electrical Current that Repairs Tooth Decay
(image credit: Reminova Ltd.)
A new technique to avoid having to drill and fill cavities is being developed by London-based Reminova Ltd. Using tiny electrical currents the Reminova procedure would push minerals into a decaying tooth. The minerals, much like fluoride in water and toothpaste will bolster the minerals that are already active in a person’s saliva that fight off sugary and acidic foods. This electrically accelerated and powered remineralization would reverse the tooth decay process and virtually eliminate drilling and filling.
Detailed Diary of Your Life via Sony's SmartBand
(image credit: Sony)
The innovations of Sony took a new turn when they announced the launch of their wearable tech – the SmartBand. The SmartBand is worn on the wrist 24/7, which means it is water proof to IP58 specifications. Paired with a phone, the device uses Sony’s Lifelog app. With the wearable and the app, the user can create a log of daily activities such as foods eaten that day sleep cycles, music listened to or places visited.
New 85-Inch UHD TV and Curved Sets from Samsung
(image credit: Samsung)
Curved TVs are the latest announcements by Samsung. The company has introduced three new UHD TVs. Two of the three are curved and the other is a huge 85 inch television. The curved televisions are 55- and 65- inches and will be sold by the end of the summer. The curved sets come with a quad-core processor and has the ability to display content from four separate sources – at the same time!
Intel® Launches an Energy-Efficient Intel Chip
(image credit: Microsoft)
With the unveiling of the 14 nanometer fan-less Intel® Core™ M processor, thinner, lighter and energy efficient tablets and laptops will be bound for the marketplace in the near future. Intel created a cooler, quieter, lighter, and thinner chip that was demonstrated in an ultra-thin laptop-table hybrid with a small 12.5 inch screen.
HP® and "The Machine"
(image credit: HP®)
HP® recently announced the launch of what it is calling “The Machine.” It is a framework for computing – unlimited computing. The company’s project is to address the growing amount of complex data that is useful, but overwhelming to many businesses. The company is calling it The Machine since it is a combination that incorporates a server, a workstation, a PC and a phone.
Amazon Releases Smartphone – The Fire
(image credit: Amazon)
Amazon launched the Kindle in 2011 and now it seems the company’s tablet has blazed a trail for additional digital devices. Amazon has released its first smartphone branded as the Fire. The Amazon Fire is the company’s jump into the already crowded smartphone market segment. Using and Android operating system via the Open Source Project, this new smartphone allows Amazon to add their own APIs, create their own games, and utilize the Amazon retail assets rather than Google’s.
As you can see from above, so far the electronics market sector is already busy with new innovations for 2014. It will be very interesting to see what the final 6 months of the year look like. The possibilities are truly unimaginable!
Pelonis Technologies is constantly working to keep up with the demands of new technologies in electronics. You can read more about our efforts and some of the challenges our customers face in our eBook about cooling electronics:
