1 | The table that makes friends for you
According to Paul Cahill – Senior Vice President of brand management at Marriott Hotels – making friends in hotel bars is difficult (clearly, he's never found himself propping up the bar with an I.T consultant from Holland at 2.a.m). To help the socially challenged business tripper, Cahill has developed a physical social network called Six Degrees, enabling you to search for guests with similar interests via an app, a digital wall projection, or – our favourite – a wooden table that reads data from your phone and flashes LEDs when you’re sitting next to someone you might hit it off with.
2 | The first stylish smartwatch
While tech fans have been waiting for the iWatch, tech company Asus have announced their first ZenWatch, complete with fitness tracking, a calendar alert function and the ability to access everything in Google’s Play Store through Android Wear OS technology. The clincher, however is the 2.5 curved screen and Italian leather strap with quick-release, making this a stylish and understated piece of tech for every occasion.
Available winter 2014. £199. asus.co.uk
3 | The next generation of fitness bands
This week Sony unveiled their forthcoming tech range at the IFA convention in Berlin. One of the stand-out pieces is the Sony SmartBand Talk, a next-generation fitness band that responds to voice control and also enables you to make calls, thanks in part to its new HD Voice Support technology.
4 | The app that lets you read Reddit AMAs on your phone
There's nothing we love better than a good Reddit AMA, but having said that it can sometimes be a chore navigating the online feed, which is why Reddit are releasing a new app – initially available on iOS – to allow you to follow the 'ask me anything' sessions on your mobile while filtering out all unanswered questions. You can also participate and ask your own questions directly from the app.
5 | Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 gets its own take on the Oculus Rift
As well as the forthcoming Note 4 smartphone, Samsung have just announced a virtual reality headset, build in partnership with Oculus. The 'Gear VR' will be compatible with the Note 4 only and will allow you to access your phone's data and navigate through your screens with a movement of your head and tapping the "track pad" on the side of the headset. Gamers will be pleased to know that Samsung have announced plans to make the VR gaming-compatible through a Bluetooth connection.
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MORE TECH:
Samsung Gear 2: Time To Finally Start Paying Attention To Smartwatches?
How Technology Is Changing The Way We Have Sex
5 Reasons We’re Excited For This Month's Apple Conference
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