Spotlight: Health YU, ZTE Nubia Z9 Elite, Lily Camera Drone and other cool gadgets this week

These gadgets are cutting edge in global technology and is a must have for gadget lovers across the globe. Check these babies out!
Health YU

Notice something weird about this phone case from YU? It actually doubles up as a health tracker thanks to the multiple integrated sensors. Press your fingers on the sensors and the case will perform an ECG, check your heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, body temperature as well as blood oxygen saturation level (SPO2). The data can be synced with a smartphone app via Bluetooth. The device can be used by multiple people (up to 4) for individual monitoring. Plus, you can also set personalised reminders for checking your vitals, share the reports with friends or your doctor and secure all the health data by locking the app. The case should work with a majority of Android smartphones and will go on sale in June 2015 for Rs 4,999.

Lily Camera Drone

What makes this drone stand out is that it flies by itself! Throw the drone up in the air and the rotors will kick when it detects a free fall. It’ll start hovering near you, awaiting further instructions. It comes with a small circular tracker (as shown in the picture below) and the drone is pre-programmed to follow the tracker. The drone body includes a compact camera capable of taking stills at 12MP resolution, full HD videos as well as 720p HD videos at 120fps. A smart built-in algorithm automatically detects if you are performing a stunt or some sort of action and it starts recording in slow motion for maximum effect. Keep in mind that this drone has no manual mode — so essentially, you can’t make it fly wherever you want to. You can pre-order one today for US$ 499 from www.lily.camera.

ZTE Nubia Z9 Elite

This new smartphone from ZTE uses some groundbreaking new wizardry called Frame Interaction Technology (FiT) that lets the user perform certain actions by just touching the edges of the frame. Some of the actions include opening an app, adjusting the screen brightness, switching between running apps or opening the settings panel. It has a 5.2-inch full HD display that runs nearly edge-toedge and it runs the Nubia interface 3.0 based on Android 5.0. Specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and 2,900mAh battery. Camera enthusiasts will be happy with the 16MP Sony camera with optical image stabilization and built in 4k video recording. The front camera is a wide angle 8MP snapper. Priced at US$ 645, the phone will be available in China from May 21 onwards. ZTE also announced another version of the Elite with a fingerprint scanner which will be priced at US $725.

Makey Makey Go

This compact device can convert anything into a touchpad. Plug the USB key into your computer (it works with both Windows and MAC) and attach one end of the alligator clip to the USB key. You can then connect the other end of the clip to almost anything and use it as a clickpad: some examples include fruits, jelly, a hammer, a bit of rolled up aluminium foil... the list is endless. The USB key makes the computer believe that the connected item is a keyboard/mouse and tapping or touching the item is counted as a button press. Now you can use Makey Makey Go to do anything you desire — play one button games, take selfies, run a slideshow, scroll a webpage and so on. You can get one by pledging US$19 on Kickstarter. It is expected to ship in November 2015.

Chip

What kind of tech can you get for US$9? What if we tell you that you could get a computer for that price? Chip has a 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage as well as built-in WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity. A composite port lets you connect it to any display and adapters for VGA or HDMI connectivity are available as add-ons. There is a full size USB port for peripherals like a keyboard and mouse. It comes pre-loaded with a Linux-based operating system and several apps. You can install many more apps including document editors, multimedia players and so on for free. Chip has already crossed its funding goal on Kickstarter and will start shipping in January 2016.

ArduBoy

At just 5 mm thick and roughly the size of a credit card, this handheld game system lets you play 8-bit games anywhere. Don’t worry about damaging it because it has a metal back and a sturdy polycarbonate shell. You get a small OLED display, six tactile buttons, a two channel speaker and a built-in rechargeable battery. The battery is good for upto 8 hours of gaming. Using an open software platform, Arduboy claims that all the games will be available for free and anyone with coding knowledge can develop games for the system. It has already crossed its funding goal on Kickstarter and you can pledge US$39 to get one. Expected shipping is in October 2015.