Five fantastic

Touch Not sure if you want to invest in a smart TV and don't want to get rid of your HD TV just yet? Samsung has just the thing to bridge that dilemma. The inTouch is a little Android-powered device which you can plug to your existing TV through an HDMI inlet and lets you browse the web and use a selection of apps including YouTube and weather. The device features a QWERTY keyboard and comes with a fancy Wi-Fi enabled webcam that allows you to turn your home television into a conferencing station via Skype. The Samsung inTouch is scheduled for release in March. Charge Bookworms who care about the environment can rejoice. Taiwanese company SolarFocus, which specialises in solar products, has launched SolarKindle for owners of the Amazon Kindle e-reader. Inclusive of a leather case and built-in battery, the device promises up to three months of usage for your Kindle in a "normal sunlight environment". Now, you can power up your e-reader as you lounge on the beach with your favourite title. Order online from www.solarmio.com Liquify As sleek new smartphones prepared to make splashes, a California firm was out to prevent water from being the death of them. Liquipel showed off a clear coating a thousand times thinner than a human hair that shields smartphones outside and inside from damaging effects of water. "Water will just run through the machine," said Liquipel president Danny McPhail as he casually tossed an iPhone into a tub of water and watched it sink. "It actually beads right on top of the circuit board and rolls off." He plucked the unscathed iPhone from the tub and shook the water from the gadget, which continued to work. Liquipel charges $60 (Dh220) to coat a smartphone, with shipping adding to the cost. Check out liquipel.com Slim Taiwanese computer company Acer unveiled what it calls "the world's thinnest laptop computer", the Aspire S5. With a 13.3-inch screen, the "ultrabook" is 15mm at its thickest point and weighs slightly less than 1.35kg. Laptops powered by Windows 8 will be released by Acer after Microsoft releases the new version of its operating system later this year. The company said it will begin shipping Acer Aspire S5 models in the second quarter of this year, with prices to be disclosed in coming weeks. Chill Forget the smart TVs and refrigerators that read barcodes and track your food purchases. Sometimes it's the little things that count. Korean giant LG launched a series of smart gadgets but our favourite has to be the Chill Blaster function from its new line of refrigerators. The blaster cools cans of sodas and other drinks in less than five minutes. No more having your guests embarrassingly waiting around for their drinks.