2014 has been a year of some very unique tech products, stuff that we had been hearing about for a while now and some that came out of nowhere. So here's a look at 15 such products from this year.
Razer Project Christine
Funny how the most unique product of the year was seen at the very beginning. Showcased at CES this year, Razer's Project Christine could be how gaming PCs will look like in the future. The device is a very important step in making plug-and-play gaming PCs and something that OEMs may soon adopt.
Samsung Gear VR
The advent of virtual reality came to the forefront with the Occulus Rift and while the Rift is yet to come to consumers, Samsung decided to go ahead and launch a consumer model with the Gear VR. It's not the best product, but it's a start.
Clearview Clio
Here's a speaker that is nearly invisible to the naked eye. The Clearview Clio provides stereo sound output and was one of the biggest head turners at CES this year.
Om One
While the Clio is invisible, this one levitates. The Om One is the world's first levitating speakers. The image here isn't doctored, the speaker actually stays that way while playing music.
Panono Camera Ball
How does a 100 megapixel 360 degree Panorama photo sound? Well, the Panono Camera Ball is capable of shooting exactly that. Showcased first in the CES, this is definitely one of the most unique products this year.
HTC Re Camera
Panoramas are good, but companies are more interested in selfies. Microsoft and Samsung's wide angle efforts aside, what may really make a difference in this segment is the HTC Re Camera. It's not much as a standalone device, but like the Note Edge, it is innovative and could enourage more similar devices.
Myo Armband
Tech news this year may have been dominated by smartphones and smartwatches, but what really gets us excited are devices like the Myo Armband. The device connects to Mac and Windows PCs through Bluetooth and offers gesture based gaming.
eSkin Tattoo
Vivalnk and Motorola collborated to make these tattoos. You can have one of these on your skin and unlock your phone by simply tapping it on the tattoo. Cool, isn't it?
Smartwatches
Smartwatches aren't new, but they've never received the push that they did this year. In addition, Samsung and some others went ahead and launched smartwatches that support SIM cards, taking a much needed step in making these standalone smart devices that could make a difference in the near future.
Curved TV
Samsung and LG took to the stage in tech shows this year, showcasing their curved UHD televisions in a big way. While these don't make sense for the general public at the moment, they are definitely the beginning of something new.
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Speaking of curved screens, how about the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge? The name's a mouthful and the product is nothing more than a novelty right now, but at least it's innovative.
Yota Phone
While we're on the topic of screens, let's also talk about the Yota Phone. The company took the e-Ink display on the Kindle e-readers and put it on the back of its smartphone. The result? A dual-screen smartphone, with an LCD on one side and the e-ink display on the other.
BONUS: Sony FES Watch with Smart Display
Sony's FES (Fashion and Entertainment) watch uses an e-Ink display for the watch face and strap, giving you a watch that is thin as hell and very good looking. Of course, it's not as smart as some existing smartwatches.
5k Monitors
Coming back to big screens, Apple's Retina 5K iMac and Dell's Ultrasharp 27 monitors made news this year. These mark the dawn of a new era in PC monitors and something that could be a big deal in the coming year or so.
Microsoft HD 10
The Microsoft HD 10 was perhaps the only product that we found attractive in the Microsoft presentation at MWC this year. The streaming device is cross platform and can turn any television with an HDMI port into a smart TV, of sorts.
Gigabyte P35x v3
Take a close look, it's an ultra-book. And it sports a GTX 980 GPU! That suddenly makes this a gaming laptop. This ultra-book cum gaming laptop can perform like a boss and reduced the gap between gaming PCs and laptops. Could be the stepping stone in making gaming laptops that can suit your needs for the long term.