Texan Magazine
By Albert Flores
Television Personality, Meteorologist, Infinity Media
You can’t deny that technology is a big part of our lives. It helps keep us safe, it entertains us, helps us become world travelers, and allows us to stay healthy and live longer. It’s a part of our daily lives. Some of the latest and greatest tech to have on your radar can be very pricey and some items are actually quite affordable.
TELEVISION
Of course, nearly everyone owns a television. The latest one has a resolution that is 400 times better than the best television you probably have in your home.
SAMSUNG 85-Inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900B Series Mini LED Quantum HDR 64x Smart TV with Alexa Built-In is at the top of the television pyramid.
To look at it even with the screen off is impressive with a screen width of a whopping 85 inches and is made of the brightest, color accurate LED technology called QLED. It’s going to set you back just shy of $8,000 dollars!!
But then what red blooded American male would not want this portal of visual excellence in his den? One can only dream…….
CELLPHONE
Let’s move on to the most used and most popular high-tech device used by everyone on the planet, your cell phone. What it comes down to is this. Are you an iPhone person or are you a Samsung follower?
If you ask the experts, well at least this month, the winner is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. It was released in February of this year using the latest Android 12 operating system, with a massive 6.8-inch screen size, an impressive screen resolution of 1440 x 3088, which is comparable to some of the cutting-edge televisions you can buy! It runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 chip with up to an insane 12GB of RAM and a humongous one terabit of memory. The battery will last for a full day no matter how you use the phone.
If you are like me, I take a ton of pictures with my phone. The rear camera is up to 108 MP and the front camera: 40 MP!
Those resolutions will compete with the best professional DSLR cameras.
How much is it going to set you back? How about a dollar shy of two thousand dollars! Yes, I said $1,999.00. At that price it better cook my breakfast too.
SOUND
OK, here is something you have probably never heard of……
INVISIBLE headsets. I told you!
They are really speakers, but work kind of like the headsets you put on your noggin. Here is what I mean by that. When you wear headsets only you can hear the sound, right? Well with these very directional speakers, ONLY if you are directly in front of the speakers will you hear the music.
It’s called the Noveto N1 and the company says it uses “smart beaming” technology.
It works by sending ultrasonic waves directly into your auditory system — while everyone else experiences no more than a whisper. Those ultrasonic waves create two pockets of audible noise around the user’s ears, offering a headphone-like experience complete with 3D spatial audio — but without the need to wear anything.
Don’t you love technology?
The speaker itself will also be capable of wireless connectivity, with built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. So you don’t need to run wires to the speaker for it to be able to play your favorite tunes. It’s latest version is scheduled to hit shelves in the fall of 2022. Price will be announced at that time.
HEALTH
How would you like to BE SURE that a room you are entering is germ free, including every mutation of the Covid Virus? Then get ready to place a ViraWarn device in your home. The device is made to measure contaminants in a personal space, like on your work desk, your kitchen table, not the entire home. It uses a chemical inside the pod that measures the number of viruses or germs it gathers in the medium. It will either turn on a green or red LED light to indicate the status of the air around you. The detection pod will run you $199.99 and the medium you need to refill the device will run you $39.00 for a packet of 6, which will last you half a year. Take that Covid!
SANITIZED WATER
How many times have you been walking a nature trail and you run out of water? You’r thirsty, but not sure that the small creek in front of you has water that is safe to drink.
No worries if you have a LARQ Bottle PureVis – Self-Cleaning and Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle with a UV Water Purifier. You are good to go. Yep, dip that bottle right into the creek, grab a full bottle, hit your cap which initiates a UV light to kill all germs, then shake the bottle around to filter the water. After one minute, the water is safe to drink. May not taste all that great, but it won’t give you a virus that will hospitalize you, so that’s good. The stylish bottle is attractive, available in a variety of colors and will keep your liquids cold or hot for hours. The LARQ sells between $49 and $118, depending on the size of the bottle you chose. They are available on Amazon.
FIND MISSING ITEMS
Maybe it’s my age but I am always misplacing my wallet. Luckily, its usually around the house and not at the local restaurant. Despite that fact I waste too much time trying to find it. Well, I have something for absent minded people that lose their wallets. The Chipolo card. It’s small enough to fit in a man’s wallet, certainly a woman’s purse, even a clutch. It’s a simple credit-card-looking device that simply slips into your wallet or purse. If you lose them, all you need to do is fire up the Apple “Find my” app and it will tell you exactly where your lost wallet or purse is. For many of us, that is a handy device and worth spending $35 to know you can find that wallet when the wife is yelling at you to hurry up when you’re running late to dinner with the in-laws.
BIG SCREEN TV PROJECTOR
How many times have you been outside with friends having some cold beers and some BBQ, and the fight of the century is on TV? It’s not practical to bring out your 80-inch TV and the 32 inch just is not big enough. But wait, how about a portable TV projector that can hook up to your phone and provide you a screen with a diameter of 100 inches! Problem solved. The Samsung Freestyle Projector is small and affordable. You can finance it for as little as less than $20 a month. The 180 degree Freestyle gives you the flexibility to point up to 180 degrees in any direction, it has its own speakers that broadcast the sound 360 degrees, and it also has auto focus and levels the image even when pointed on an angle.
It can access your streaming Apps and can work with Alexa. Play and enjoy a high-definition big screen experience for around $800 or Samsung will finance it for as little as $20 a month. Considering what you get for the money, I think it’s well worth the investment.
UPGRADE YOUR SECURITY
I don’t know about you, but I love my Alexa (voice operated assistant.)
I have it in almost every room. Anyway, I love being able to get news, weather and music, all at the sound of my voice. But I wanted to maybe see videos or even your family just as easily.
Welcome to the Amazon Echo 8.
It’s now in its second generation, making even more things available to watch. The screen is 8 inches and can provide you with so much you thought was out of reach. For example, I love being able to see my front door by simply saying ,“Alexa front door.” It accesses my ring camera at my front door, or anywhere else you have a ringer camera, and allows me to see and hear who is there without getting out of bed. And bonus…..
This beauty is only $90!
Be careful, they have cameras mounted on the top of the screen, so don’t point it at the bed, if you get my drift. It can be accessed by other people (with your access code of course.)
Technology is certainly moving at a rapid pace!
It’s like living in the future without having to wear those silly silver jumpsuits that actors used to wear in movies about the future!
