IGN Reviews

Using passive RFID technology it turns your iPhone into an electronic sniffer dog. The U Grok it team inform us that the tags are so inexpensive, that all your belongings can be managed, not just just high value items.  Simply fix the special tags to items you want to find (this has to be done before you lose them) and using an adapter attached to the front of your iPhone you can scan the room looking for those hidden objects.

This may seem like a limited functionality, but combined with smart phone app it allows for all kinds of novel uses. Imagine you are photographer off to a wedding shoot, but when you arrive you discover you are missing your favourite camera! If you have tagged all your equipment you can then use the phone to build a list of items you need to take. By scanning your luggage before you set off, U Grok it will warn you of any missing items from the list.

So if like me you are always leaving stuff behind this is the perfect solution to an absent mind. If only a could remember where I left my phone.

U Grok It is currently in development, taking reservations for those who want to purchase when it is available.

Norwegian Company FXI Technologies has started taking pre-orders for their tiny Cotton Candy PCStick.

This miniature PC has a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A9, Quad Core Graphics Processing Unit, 1GB DRAM and a micro SD slot giving up to 64Gb storage. It also packs in USB.0, Wi-fi, Bluetooth and a HDMI output.

The stick will run with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or Ubuntu Linux. To control the computer you can use a smartphone or a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Or, you can slot the device into a laptop and use its screen, keyboard and touchpad.

“The world is anxiously awaiting Cotton Candy’s release,” said Borgar Ljosland, CEO and founder of FXI. “We’ve had interest in the any screen computer for everything from portable set top box gaming and entertainment to mobile any screen computing, in addition to a host of specialized medical, automotive and other applications. The size, raw horsepower and combined HDMI, USB and MicroUSB connectivity bring unprecedented flexibility to the portable market. ”

The stick is priced at £139. Pre-order here

Raspberry Pi

British company Raspberry Pi has recently released their mini-micro PC, measuring just 85mm by 54mm. Although not as small or as powerful as the Cotton Candy, it will retail for the miniature price of £22. Initially marketed as a PC for kids, Raspberry Pi is a very tempting device for geeks and technology enthusiasts. So much so the Raspberry Pi shop collapsed on the day of release due to an over whelming demand.

The reduced spec means the device is not as quick as the Cotton Candy, but makers hope to improve on this as its popularity grows.

• Broadcom 700MHz ARM processor
• GPU provides Open GL ES 2.0 GPU is capable of 1Gpixel/s
• 256MB RAM
• Boots from SD card, running the Fedora version of Linux
• HDMI socket
• USB 2.0 socket
• RCA video socket
• SD card socket
• Powered from microUSB socket
• 3.5mm audio out jack

For more info or purchase here