To wrap up this year's holiday guide, we decided to share some incredibly awesome gifts from the future. True, they aren't available yet, but these concepts are so great we just couldn't resist whetting your appetites for next year. If you do see one that catches your fancy, don't fret — they might be coming to a store near you…eventually.
In the meantime, glance back through the rest of our gift guide for last minute ideas that are sure to satisfy anyone's inner geek. (See below.)
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Forget today's phones. They are so 2010. How about one that floats? That's right, this phone spins in mid air while charging — thanks to some pretty strong magnets. But that's not all: when you get a call or message, the text and icons on the screen appear three-dimensional.
2. MIT Food Printer
Meet MIT's Digital Food Printer, otherwise known as "The Cornucopia." This baby gives you "ultimate control over the quality, origin, and nutritional value of your foods." How? We're not sure, but it stores, cooks and mixes ingredients together to create perfect little meals catered to your specific diet needs.
3. UCIM Camera
Not only is this camera adorable, we also think it makes a great 2030 gift. Why? Well for starters it has three USB ports. This way you can take a picture with friends and instantly share them via individual memory sticks.
4. iDropper Pen
Do you know someone who is constantly juggling data on PDAs, laptops and smart phones? Well, the iDropper is a great gift idea for the ultimate multitasker in your life. This stylus pen 'sucks in' and 'drops out' information from one mobile device to the next, allowing text, images and applications to be transferred directly.
5. Airport Compass
Okay, admit it — we've all gotten lost in the airport. Or, at least…temporarily turned around. Well, this handy little number acts like a regular boarding pass, except with a delightful twist. A small battery inside "points towards a specific RFID signal corresponding to your gate" showing you exactly how to navigate the labyrinth.
6. Shift Hybrid Watch
Attention car lovers, this watch is just the accessory you need for driving in style. With analog hands on a rotating disk brake, designer Menghsun Wu created one awesomely futuristic timepiece. And in case that isn't enough, he threw in parts of speedometers, gear shifts and seatbelts for good measure.
More holiday gadget gifts to consider:
- 10 great Doctor Who gifts for Daleks and Gallifreyans alike
- 11 mostly friendly giftable robots to automate your life
- 6 awesome gadget gifts for the bathroom
- 10 pixel-riffic gifts for the 8-bit gamer
- 7 non-Apple gifts for Apple-lovers
- 13 hardcore gadgets for extreme athletes and adventurers
- 7 tech toys for gadget-loving car-nuts
- 7 great gadgets for less than 50 bucks that don't suck
- 11 cheap gifts guaranteed to impress science geeks
- 7 tech gifts for hard to please billionaires
- 10 gadgets for the tech-head who frickin' hates Apple
- 10 handmade tech accessories for crafty and thrifty geeks
- 6 gadget gifts from 2030 that we want today