Electro Hub universal wireless charger to debut at CES 2011

We have reported on many supposedly wireless chargers before, such as the Powermat and Wildcharger. There was also that one from Energizer that is Q1 certified, so that someday, we will all just lay down our mobile devices on charging pads and we’ll say good-bye to our charging cords forever.

This is the ElectroHub, another wireless charging station to join the club, and is planned to make its shining debut at CES 2011. As someone who is thrilled to see that their invitation to CES has been accepted, I can’t wait to see it.

One thing that is promised to make the ElectroHub unique is that it occasionally doesn’t require the device to have a special case, but actually provides ElectroHub batteries, which come in both AA and AAA. That means that you can take any device that takes those aforementioned batteries, like a Wiimote, and swap it out for an ElectroHub one. As far as the devices with non-replaceable batteries, it does require a protective case that works as a converter to charge the device’s internal battery. I guess we aren’t to the Q1 case-less stage yet.

The ElectroHub is slated to be on sale during the first quarter 2011, and should cost $39. There are other battery sets that can be purchased separately for about $10.

Use the Kinect to surf the web!

This is one of those posts that might be better if you hit the jump and see the video of it before you read about it.

Apparently, four young gentlemen from MIT’s Fluid Interfaces Group have figured out another use for the Microsoft Kinect. Instead of using your body as a controller in a video game, this involves the user’s body becoming a web browser.

You will note from the video how the user can navigate through open tabs, and then select the proper link. Scrolling and zooming looks like some weird kind of telekinesis.

I realize that this comparison gets overused, but it is a lot like Tom Cruise’s gesture-based interface from Minority Report, without the three-fingered gloves with the blue lights.

My Source mentions that the addition of a virutal keyboard by moving your fingers could help, but that would probably mean learning how to type again. Isn’t there some way we could do a speech to text feature? So if I wanted to say: “Search for Energizer”, it would lead me to the homepage for Energizer.

What these guys have here is definitely a way of surfing the net on your television without a keyboard or mouse. It beats the heck out of those keyboard remotes.