Ericsson predicts 2020 gadgets

Eleven years from now people will be embedded with GPS chips at birth, drive flying cars and struggle to remember what was so great about the iPhone; well, sort of, according to Ericsson, which has forecast which gadgets will be making headlines in 2020, writes Reg Hardware.

One such headline-grabbing gadget is the Spider Computer, a “highly mobile yet ultra powerful computer and mobile phone” combining usability and portability into one 'three-legged arachnid'.

Ericsson recently displayed a prototype Spider at a tech fair in Taiwan. Although it looked more like a mushroom than a spider, the gadget used a laser to shine a virtual keyboard onto a desktop and pico projector to beam a heads-up display onto a nearby wall.

STMicroelectronics has developed a smart-reset chip that safely restarts electronic products without removing the battery or finding a tool to push the reset button, usually hidden behind a hole in the casing, says EE Times Asia.

As more and more people come to use highly featured products such as smartphones, media players, game consoles, e-books and others, the problem of how best to recover a frozen device is encountered daily, around the world.

Mechanisms to overcome frozen devices are often less well developed than the main product features. Most manual reset keys, where provided, are hidden to prevent resetting the device accidentally. As these can be difficult to access, a popular 'fix' is to remove the battery. This can potentially damage the system, for example by causing critical data loss.

LG Electronics has unveiled three handsets in the mobile category: GW525, GT505 and GM730, states ITVARNews.

Resembling miniature computers, the GW525, GT505 and GM730 offer features of powerful processors, abundant memory, easy operating systems and social networking services.

Designed with usability in mind, LG's offerings highlight the touch-friendly, easy to navigate, and user friendly interface which delivers an easier and faster experience for users. The new phones not only possess features that ease out business operations, but also offer social networking tools.