Coin

Coin is a new idea that is similar to the idea of Walla.by but slightly different. Currently on preorder for $50 (full retail $100). This idea provides a very convenient way to carry your credit cards around. You now can take up to 8 credit cards and store the magnetic bar code information in the one Coin. This involves the use of a dongle and a smartphone application. This is available both on Android and iOS. Now all you will really need to leave the house with is your ID, Coin, and cash if you want it. I have already preorded this device, and it is currently supposed to be available June 2014.

For people like me, who have several cards in order to maximize your rewards on your credit cards this is an amazing idea. If you are worried about security and losing the card, fear not. If you move out of range of the LE Bluetooth, the card will deactivate so you’re cards are still safe. There are still some snags that the company has to get through with the credit card companies. However, hopefully this will come to light because it is definitely easier that carrying around all your cards with you

Project Ara

Project Ara  is Motorola’s new attempt at a modular smartphone. There is another company that will be working alongside Motorola, that is Phonebloks For those that aren’t familiar with the modular design concept, it is not for all product designs, but for a phone this is a solid concept. The “modular” idea is that you can have a standard base platform alongside a series of peripherals, of which, these peripherals can be interchangable (i.e. screen, battery, storage, etc.) So as new, more efficient, products come out, you can just replace the single part/component and keep the rest of your phone design, rather than having to buy an entirely new phone. This also allows for customization, so if you work in the cloud, you can remove most of the storage from the phone, and replace it with a longer lasting battery. If you take a lot of pictures, you can exchange for a better camera. This concept provides a very novel change to the current design of smartphone replacements.

Here is a link to the Motorola Blog for more information.

Disclaimer: This should not be considered an official advertisement or promotion of any of the mentioned products or brands.