1 | The App That Monitors Your Mental State

http://i.imgur.com/nJJ783k.jpg

It seems that human well-being is fast becoming the domain of the tech world, what with the Apple Watch’s health functions and the countless meditation and dieting apps already on the market. The latest (and most intriguing) development is a new Android app being developed by a team at Dartmouth College that will harness smartphone data and analyse the results in order to assess whether the device’s owners may be suffering from depression. So far the app has been trialed out on students with accurate results, measuring their sleep patterns, physical activity, conversations per day and how long the subject stays in each location throughout the day, combining the data to paint a picture of their mental health. While the app is not meant to replace professional consultations, future incarnations should be able to take steps to protect your health, automatically booking in an appointment with your doctor when necessary.


2 | The Smartphone That Celebrates The Old School

If the acronym “Qwerty” fills you with excitement, then this is the phone for you. Blackberry is set to release a new smartphone called The Passport, which will feature an old-school keyboard. According to Blackberry, the new keyboard is four times more accurate than previous model’s keyboards, meaning replying to work emails on the go (or more likely, firing off 140-character zingers into the Twittersphere) will no longer be an issue. Oh, and it won’t bend in your pocket, either.

3 | The Future Prototype (Courtesy Of Oculus)

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has been blowing minds for some time now, but a commercial version is yet to be made a reality. However, it is still very much in development, as CEO Brendan Iribe explained at the Oculus developer summit in Los Angeles this week. Taking to the stage, Iribe presented a prototype dubbed the “Crescent Bay” which features 360-degree tracking, integrated audio capabilities and a more lightweight headset. While the Crescent Bay has given us more of an idea what we can expect when Oculus VR is widely available, it’s Oculus-exclusive 3D painting app Tilt Brush [above] that we’re most excited about getting our hands on.

oculus.com. tiltbrush.com


4 | The App That Tells You How Obsessed You Are With Checking Apps

There’s a whole host of distractions in our pockets these days. Instagram. SnapChat. Twitter. Instagram. Tinder. Facebook. WhatsApp. No wonder, then, that we spent so much time checking our smartphones for notifications. Checky, a free new app available for both iOS and Android, is set to combat this, by monitoring how often you check your phone, and where you are when you do it, with a view to shaming you into leaving your iPhone in your pocket. While it sounds like a great idea, the only downside is we’re all certain to become addicted to checking how many times we’ve checked our phone in some sort of never-ending tech black hole.

checkyapp.com


5 | The eBook Streaming Service That Might Just Spell The End For Paperbacks

The debate over whether Amazon and the eBook market are killing the publishing industry rages on, with Amazon adding more fuel to the flames with their new Kindle Unlimited Service, which is set to do for books what Spotify has done for music. For £7.99 a month, you’ll have access to 650,000 books, which should keep your morning commute interesting for quite some time.

amazon.com 


Share your tech predictions below


***
MORE TECH:

Over-Ear Headphones: The Best New Pairs For 2014
Unnecessary Extravagance Of The Week: The Kormaran
The 8 Coolest New Features On iOS 8
***