Upcoming Latest Technology: Bluetooth 4.0 Q410

Today, a group of individuals has announced the upcoming arrival of the latest Bluetooth technology, the Bluetooth 4.0. This Interest Group has said that the new version, Bluetooth 4.0, will be coming in the 4th quarter of this year with the latest devices such as headsets, mobile phones and computers and other kinds of technology. It was also stated that with this latest technology, it will allows devices with smaller batteries to use the Bluetooth 4.0. Where in the previous versions of Bluetooth requires a device to have at lease a triple A-batteries or larger capacity battery to function. The Bluetooth 4.0 is also dubbed to consume lesser power than the old version, and has a higher transfer rate of data, in which it will carry the high-speed Wi-Fi feature introduced with Bluetooth 3.0. That allows devices to jump onto Wi-Fi 802.11 networks, where it can transfer data at up to 25Mbits per second. By the way the version 3.0 was launched last year although it does not become popular enough due to the power requirements needed. That’s why version 4.0 was created to solve this problem.

MyCuppa Mugs

Tar-like or wishy washy? You decide!

Everyone likes a nice cup of tea or coffee. Here at Firebox HQ our caffeine-intake is staggering. But then it has to be because we're up all hours searching for cool products. The problem is, much as we love our hot drinks it's difficult getting brews just right when you're making them for friends and colleagues. Enter MyCuppa Tea/Coffee Mugs.

These ingenious drinking vessels have got a series of coloured strips inside, a bit like those colour charts you see in paint shops. The idea is to ask what colour people prefer their tea and coffee and then match it to the selected strip by adding the right amount of milk. Clever, eh? And no more tar-like tea or insipid, dishwater-style coffee.

The colour strips range from Milky to Black with variations such as Dark & Strong and Builders' Brew in between. Just think, with a MyCuppa Mug you'll never mess up a friend's cuppa again - unless you do what we did the other day and chuck in two teaspoons of salt by mistake. Bleurgh!

MyCuppa Tea/Coffee Mugs are brought to you by the clever clogs creatives at Suck UK, the design team behind countless smart but forehead-slappingly simple household items. And like other Suck UK products we can't believe we didn't think of it first. Drat!

A perfect pressie for anyone who drinks or makes tea and coffee (that'll be everyone then) MyCuppa Tea/Coffee Mugs are destined to become must-have items in homes, offices and on building sites across the globe. So hurry up and hit the Buy button. Oh, and put the kettle on!

Horizon Hydrogen Powered Electric Hydro-Car

The Hydro car by Horizon is a truly innovative design. This ‘toy’ car helps showcase the benefits of using hydrogen as a power source while being a fun invention to watch in action. The Hydro-Car helps to make the latest technology in fuel systems an accessible idea to all.

Hydrogen is abundant on this planet as the main component in water. Being able to make use of this element as a power source would lead to truly sustainable and clean energy. The fuel cell of the Hydro-Car allows hydrogen and oxygen to combine, producing electricity and water. This water can then be reused to extract hydrogen and oxygen so the system is one continuous cycle that can be sustained naturally. The Fuel cell is a reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM).

The Hydro car uses electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen out of distilled water (provided by you). It stores this in the tanks located at the back of the car, to then combine the hydrogen and oxygen to power the car. The electrolysis though does require powering, and so the kit includes a solar panel to provide a clean source on energy to provide this. The kit does also come with a battery pack that requires two AA batteries that can be used instead of the solar panel.

Once the car has hydrogen and oxygen stored in its tanks it is ready to go. You can see when the car is running from its own hydrogen as two blue LEDs will light up and flash on top of the motor. The Hydro-Car is able to independently navigate around a room avoiding obstacles in its path, it can reverse until it discovers a clear path to travel along.

The Hydro-Car comes in kit form with detailed instructions. These instructions help to teach you about hydrogen power and its advantages and through making the kit and achieving a working car model you will have gained insight into how a hydrogen fuel cell works. The Hydro-Car makes a great educational toy to show children some of the latest eco-friendly energy ideas while being fun to operate.

Photos: Army designates year's best inventions