TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' technology from January 2018

Here is a quick reminder of the technology I mentioned in my January 2018 TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation:

LG 4K Ultra-HD projector

The HU80K could be described as the equivalent of a 150-inch 4K ultra-high definition television - but actually, it's not actually a television at all. Instead, it's LG's first 4K UHD projector, which has already won a CES Best of Innovation award.

What's most notable about this is the size: not the picture but the projector itself, which is around half as big as some of its competitors. Despite this, it can project a 150-inch image at 2,500 lumens - that's brighter than a number of rival products - and it even supports HDR for better contrast.

Unlike traditional projectors, it sits upright and can be moved around easily. There are a couple of 7-watt speakers for sound and it'll even connect to the internet like a smart TV, as well as offering USB, Ethernet and HDMI ports.

Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror

American company Kohler says this is the first announcement of a bathroom mirror that has Amazon Alexa built-in. Alexa is one of those intelligent assistants that can answer questions and interact with smart home appliances.

Inside Verdera you’ll find a dual microphone for voice control, stereo speakers in sealed casings, a motion-activated nightlight and LED lights for everyday use. The whole thing connects to your home broadband by WiFi.

Now, that’s all very clever. You can get Alexa to read you the news headlines when you’re cleaning your teeth. You can even turn on the lights in the mirror. But it can also control other 'smart' products from Kohler.

Maybe you'd like to control your shower or even run the bath by talking to the mirror. Water temperature, music, steam… all these things can be controlled by your voice.

Acer Swift 7 laptop

Here comes Acer with what they’re calling the World’s Thinnest Laptop. It’s the new version of the Acer Swift 7, which they’ve whittled down to 8.98mm thin. It runs Windows 10 on an Intel Core i7 processor and includes a 4G LTE connection, so you can use mobile data as well as WiFi.

Rather than running with a mechanical hard drive, it’s got a 256GB solid-state disc and a battery that’ll last for up to 10 hours. It’s equipped with a 14-inch touchscreen and a backlit keyboard, plus a fingerprint reader for extra security.

Kodak Mini 2 Instant Photo Printer

Portable photo printers - for phones, tablets and laptops - are getting smaller. The Kodak Mini 2 Instant Photo Printer prints credit card-sized photos (2.1-inches by 3.4-inches) using 4Pass dye-sublimation printing technology. (Dye sublimation refers to the heat process, while 4Pass means there are four layers of colour.)

This, according to Kodak, is the world’s smallest dye-sublimation photo printer. It’ll work with Android devices, iPhones and iPads – and it means you can print your own photos, stuff from social media or even web pages. There’s also a mobile app for editing shots and cropping them to fit on the photo paper.

The printer itself runs from rechargeable batteries and is 5.2 inches long, 3 inches wide and 1 inch deep. You buy the paper and the ink as a single unit that’ll print 20, 30 or 50 pictures.