Friday March 29th, 2024
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7 Best Gadgets of 2015

The year's almost over and we've got the scoop on the coolest gadgets you can get your hands on right now!

Staff Writer
Alas, 2015 we barely knew ye. One year down is one year closer to the future. As we prepare for the eventual arrival of our multi-dimension cybernetic alien overlords to arrive and put us out of our misery, we thought we'd share the coolest gadgets that came out in 2015.
 
Hoverboard
 
Basically just a Segway without handles, 2015 saw the long-promised arrival of the ‘Hoverboard’. While it doesn’t actually hover and you certainly won’t look as cool as Marty Mcfly, the tech behind these little self-balancing scooters is pretty cool and has plenty of promise outside the realm of spoiled kids that are just too lazy to walk. It also makes for some absolutely hilarious ‘FAIL’ moments on YouTube. 
 
Microsoft, remember those guys? The house of Windows was almost forgotten in the mad rush that was Apple’s recent innovation explosion. 2015, however saw more creative thinking from Redmond than it did from Cupertino. Microsoft’s first laptop is just one example. A full-fledged cutting edge high-powered computer that lets you disconnect the screen from the keyboard segment and still have most of the power and versatility of a full Windows computer. It’s an expensive hybrid and saw a lot of bugs at release but with subsequent updates and a price drop, this sparkly new piece of tech may just make a dent in the fruit dominated market.
 
 
Walking or biking the streets of Cairo with headphones in is a risky decision. While you may drown out the chaos of the city you’ll also have a hard time hearing that tuk-tuk going the wrong way down the sidewalk with no lights on right behind you. These new headphones conduct sound through the bones in your face leaving your ears free to assess any signals of danger. Sound quality isn’t A+ but just the idea of having our Deep House tunes beamed through into our bones makes up geek out just a little bit. The technology has lots of promise to help out the hearing impaired too. 
 
 
Have you ever been using your iPad and thought “this iPad is great but I wish it was a little bit more huge?" Then wish no more! The new 12.9-inch tablet is a whole 3 inches bigger than the iPad Air and features quad-speakers making it ideal for iOS 9’s new split screen capabilities. Utilising it with the new keyboard cover and Apple pen makes creative work a breeze though it won’t fully replace your laptop yet. 
 
 
Watches aren’t new. Watches with screens and apps aren’t new either. But Apple’s watch is new and so now people are paying attention. Respond to texts, check your mail, refer to directions, all without having to take that huge, heavy phone out of your pocket. While the gadget could use some refinement since it has poor battery life and is a little bulky, it marks a shift in the way people view wearable tech. Because when Apple enters an arena, people pay attention.
 

BB-8 by Sphero

 
2015 will go down as the year Star Wars returned to theaters like a practical effects Phoenix rising out of the crappy CG ashes. The newest Droid, BB-8 in the saga is set to replace R2-D2 as everyone’s favorite charming little bot. The app-controlled BB-8 toy by Sphero fulfills every nerd's dream of their own astromech companion. Using similar tech to those new ‘hoverboards’ the new BB-8 is certain to be “the droid your looking for” this year. 
 
 
Drones are becoming so cheap and easy to use, everyone will have one soon. The Lily drone differentiates itself from other drones by being capable of following the user and taking sweet action shots for up to 20 minutes. The drone follows the little remote it comes with and has several shooting modes. Capable of 1080p 60 fps video, slo-mo, and 12mp still shots, this sweet little bot is a must have gadget for people that want to get the shots no one else can get. 
 
Main image courtesy of CNET