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10 of the Coolest Gadgets we’ve seen this Year

10 of the Coolest Gadgets we’ve seen this Year
Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

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As we roll into Autumn, it’s the perfect time to share our top tech picks for 2017.

Play with it. Program it. Plug it in. Whatever you’re into, we’ve got you covered.

So grab a coffee, sit back, and enjoy our rundown of the latest and greatest gadgets for your pleasure…

  1. The Laser Beam Pro C200 Focus Free HD Projector

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I don’t know about you, but I love watching movies on the big screen. But with a full-time job and family commitments, I don’t get to the cinema as often as I’d like.

With this little beauty, I can watch my Godfather special edition blu-ray on a huge 150” screen at 1366 x 768p resolution (perfect for Brando’s nuanced portrayal of The Don).

And you can forget about fiddling with the focus – the C200 is focus-ready all the time, and completely eye-safe.

Better yet, it fits in your hand and works with any device, so you can take it round your mate’s house with a few bags of popcorn and watch anything you like. Those dragons in Game of Thrones never looked so big…

So go on, invite the cinema into your home and you might never leave the house again. At $485 it ain’t cheap, but I challenge you to find a 150” TV at that price.

  1. Anti-gravity iPhone case

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It won’t make your iPhone float like Sandra Bullock in Gravity, but it will leave your hands free next time you’re using Epicurious to cook up a storm.

Using state-of-the-art nano-suction technology – invisible suckers, if you will – this ingenuous case lets you stick your iPhone on windows, mirrors, whiteboards, metals, and other surfaces.

Perfect for video calls, selfies, recipes, DIY videos on YouTube, putting on make-up… pretty much anything where you need to look and do at the same time. It’s also a pretty nifty way of keeping your phone safe, and at $24.99 it’s less than the cost of a new screen (and cheaper than other cases, too).

  1. Nano Prowler Mini Drone

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It’s time the little guy had his day. This mini drone doesn’t cost the earth at just $36.99, but it will fly high above it.

Eschewing the heavy (and expensive) HD camera of its bigger brothers, this little aircraft packs in full 3D steering and a gyroscope for a smooth flight – it’ll even flip mid-air to the astonishment of those below.

So ditch the chunkier drones and take flying to a new level. Impress your friends with your aerial acrobatics with this palm-sized powerhouse and be the talk of the picnic park.

  1. LifePower A2-L 27,000mAh Portable Charger

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Picture this: you’re at the beach enjoying relaxing grooves from your bluetooth speaker. Everyone around is nodding to your summer megamix while you queue the next track on your smartphone.

Then suddenly the music stops. Your phone dies. The sun disappears behind a cloud and the crowd bopping to your tunes begins to disperse…

Not with the LifePower A2-L portable charger. With a whopping 27,000mAh charge, based on Tesla battery technology, you can DJ at the beach all day and all night, with enough juice left for ordering your Uber in the morning.

So whether it’s a beach-bum holiday or a rustic countryside retreat, keep your devices switched on with the LifePower A2-L charger – all for a reasonable $229.

  1. Endoscopic camera

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When things go wrong, it pays to get a closer view. This WiFi enabled, HD flexible endoscopic camera gives you just that – a live feed of those hard-to-reach areas your eyes alone can’t see.

Our cars, appliances, and household fittings often have hidden parts and when they fail, they’re tough to find.

With an 8 way adjustable LED, IP67 waterproof rating, and 3 metres of reach, you’re guaranteed to squeeze through the narrowest gaps and passages to the root of the problem.

Oh, yeah – they’re also great for looking under sofas and… what’s that? Spying on people? Best leave that to 007 or you could find yourself in hot water.

At $29.99 I think this is a steal – it’s certainly cheaper than calling in a plumber.

  1. Voxoa Bluetooth Headphone Adapter

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They snag, they tangle, they fray… Let’s face it: wires have had their day.

Set your headphones free with this Bluetooth Headphone Adapter that’ll turn any pair of cans with a 3.5mm jack into a wireless wonder.

Whether you’re on the train, out for a run, or just doing the housework, don’t let cables get in the way. And with CD-quality sound and a 10 hour battery life, your music stays as energetic as you are.

At $69, there’s no excuse not to dance.

  1. Kasa LED Low Energy Smart Lightstrip

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Whether it’s a housewarming, dinner party, or a romantic night in with Billie Holliday and a bottle of red, this fully adaptive LED Lightstrip will turn any room into the VIP room.

Set the mood from your smartphone by choosing from 16 million different colours, with a dimmer for those late night moments, and a scheduler so you never miss out on that stylish yet subtle ambience.

I love this because it turns my kitchen into a Manhattan cocktail bar for just $36.99. (But mostly because it looks so purdy.)

  1. Gunnar Optiks Intercept Advanced Computer Glasses

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This one goes out to the coders, the bloggers, the social surfers… to anyone who spends more than an hour or two staring at screens.

Ever get that dry, itchy feeling in your eyes after a later night in front of the monitor? That’s eyestrain, my friend. It might even be giving you headaches, or keeping you awake long after you’ve closed your laptop.

We’re all guilty of too much screen-time, so why not protect your eyes with these cool Gunnar Optiks computer glasses. For $64.99, their engineering grade polymers filter screen light, minimising discomfort and letting you rest when you need it.

  1. SunFounder Raspberry Pi Robot Kit

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Ever fancied your own robot army, but didn’t know where to start?

What if you had the tools, the materials, and the programming code for building your first robot car?

For those of us without a PhD in Engineering, this SunFounder Raspberry Pi Robot Kit is a great introduction – you get a Raspberry Pi 3 and all the Python code to get up and running.

And while it won’t enable world domination, it does come with a USB camera that’ll record pictures and videos, and you can take it for a spin with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. That’s a pretty decent second, in my opinion, and all for just $149.99.

  1. Monet Stylus image10

Monet had his paintbrush; Michelangelo, his mallet and chisel.

Even the greatest artists need the right tools for their work.

Now you can create your own digital masterpiece with this pressure-sensitive stylus from The Joy Factory.

Write, paint, draw – all with the comfort of a 165° writing angle for precision detail and realistic strokes. Let the line between canvas and screen melt away with the brushed aluminium body that feels just like a paintbrush.

$14.99 is a great price for turning any old touchscreen into a work of art.

That concludes our 10 coolest gadgets of the year so far. I hope I’ve got you thinking about your next must-have bit of tech – happy shopping.

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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