Time magazine has released a list of 25 best innovations of 2014 featuring Apple Watch, Selfie Stick, Mangalyaam, Blackphone, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 among others.
Apple Watch ‘wholly reimagines the computer for the wrist, using a novel interface that combines a touch screen and physical buttons’, the magazine said, noting that it can send messages, give directions, track fitness, and can even make wireless payments. The smartwatch is expected to be available early next year at a starting price of $349.
Mangalyaam also made it in the list, with the magazine describing it as ‘The Supersmart Spacecraft’. Time said, “Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The US didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on September 24, India did. That’s when the Mangalyaan…went into orbit around the Red Planet, a technological feat no other Asian nation has yet achieved.”
One of the most interesting innovations that the list included was the Selfie Stick. It facilitates taking a selfie from an angle of your choice by positioning your smartphone beyond the arms’ reach. “If 2013 was the year in which selfie became a buzzword, then 2014 was the year selfies became a cultural phenomenon,” Time said, indicating that the new-found infatuation with selfies matured within a year.
Along with this, Hoverboard, Back To The Future inspired skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet, also made it to the list. Granted, there are caveats. Hendo’s hoverboard can float only an inch or so above the ground, and only over conductive materials like copper or aluminum. Just 10 are being made so far. The battery life of the hoverboard is 15 minutes—barely enough time to zoom past your enemies à la Marty McFly.
But the technology that powers it could be revolutionary. Using the $450,000+ it raised on Kickstarter, Hendo Founders Jill and Greg Henderson plan to develop magnetic ‘hovering’ technology to stabilise buildings during earthquakes, protect valuable works of art and more. “The hoverboard is the first step to bringing this technology to the world,” says Greg.
Other than this, 3D printing, wireless electricity, Blackphone, BMW i3, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 also made to the Time magazine’s list of 25 Best Innovation of 2014.
Complete List of Time Magazine’s Best Innovations of 2014
1. The Real-Life Hoverboard
2. The Supersmart Spacecraft
3. A Reactor that Could Realize Nuclear Fusion
4. Wireless Electricity
5. 3-D-Printed Everything
6. Watches that Redefine Smart
8. The Smartphone that Puts Privacy First
9. The Cooler that Powers Your Party
10. The Chip that Stops Your Slouching
11. The Car that Makes Electric Enticing
12. The Tablet that Replaces Laptops
13. The Ring that Alerts You in Style
14. The Pillbox that Gets Personal
15. Bananas that Prevent Blindness
16. The Wheel that Gives Bikers a Boost
17. The Seamless Sign-Language Translator
18. The Filter that Fights Ebola
19. The Selfie Stick (and Hairbrush)
20. The AC that Lowers Your Energy Bills
21. The Prison Room that Helps Inmates Relax
22. The Tablet Toy that Gets Physical
23. The Coaching Basketball
24. Wrappers You Can Eat
25. Screens that Showcase Digital Art
