10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015

Advertisement

Summer is the time of year when electronics manufacturers tend to take a break with new product releases. They don’t want their latest gear to be lost in the excitement of summer vacation.

quarterly review and outlookWe may not see that rumored Apple (AAPL) iPad Pro released in the next few months, and new iPhones won’t be announced until fall, but that doesn’t mean summer 2015 is a bust.

There are still manufacturers taking advantage of the relative quiet to release some cool gadgets. Here are 10 you can expect to see start hitting store shelves this summer, including smartphones, smart home devices and the new Pebble Time smartwatch.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6 Active

Cool Gadgets, Galaxy S6 Active
Source: AT&T

Technically, this one just snuck in to the gallery — it went on sale starting June 12 — but AT&T (T) scored an exclusive with the Samsung (SSNLF) Galaxy S6 Active.

One complaint some Samsung diehards had with the sleek new Galaxy S6 was that the glass and metal design meant the smartphone was no longer water resistant.

The Galaxy S6 Active goes back to the plastic shell and sheds the fingerprint reader on the home button, but it’s water resistant and gains a big battery upgrade (3500mAh vs. 2500mAh in the original).

Otherwise, it’s identical in specs to the Galaxy S6.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Sony Xperia Z4v

Cool Gadgets, Xperia Z4v
Source: Verizon

Next up is another smartphone arriving this summer, and another carrier exclusive.

The Sony (SNE) Xperia Z4v will be a Verizon (VZ) exclusive when it arrives this summer (the “v” denotes Verizon).

It’s an upgrade to the Z4 flagship announced by Sony in April, gaining a WQHD display in addition to the Z4’s Snapdragon 810 CPU and 20MP shooter.

It’s also water and dust resistant, it supports wireless charing, and you can stream games from a Playstation 4 to the phone over Wi-Fi.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Microsoft Surface Hub

Cool Gadgets, Surface Hub
Source: Microsoft

Remember that wall mounted Surface Hub Microsoft (MSFT) surprised everyone with at its Windows 10 event in January?

Now it has a launch date and a price.

If you want a really big, wall-mounted Surface tablet for Skyping and making notes on, you can order one beginning July 1.

Prices start at $6,999 for a 55-inch version and go up to $19,999 for an 84-inch Surface Hub.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Saitek Farming Simulator

Cool Gadgets, Saitek Farming Simulator
Source: Saitek

While you’re cooling your heels waiting to pilot an X-Wing in the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront video game, you can take the wheel of a very different vehicle.

Farming Simulator is an actual game and it’s popular enough to have spawned a $300 simulator bundle from Saitek.

On pre-order now, with shipping this summer, you get a tractor steering wheel, pedals and a control panel with joystick and 25 programmable buttons and switches.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: HP Pavilion X2

Cool Gadgets, HP Pavilion X2
Source: Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett Packard (HPQ) has a cool new entry in the affordable convertible PC category arriving on July 21.

The HP Pavilion X2 is a compact Windows tablet with a detachable keyboard that starts at just $299.

The 2.48-lb. device sports a USB Type-C power connector, quad-core CPU, up to 64GB of storage, and HP claims nearly 11 hours of battery life.

Plus it comes in red — that must make it faster, right?

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: New Kindle Paperwhite

Cool Gadgets, new Kindle paperwhite
Source: Amazon

Love reading but hate carrying around books? Or maybe you’re a longtime e-reader owner looking for an upgrade.

Either way, starting June 30 you’ll be able to order the latest Kindle e-reader from Amazon (AMZN).

The new Kindle Paperwhite sports a very sharp 300 dpi display, along with Amazon’s new “Bookerly” font that’s supposed to reduce eyestrain.

When it goes on sale, the new Kindle Paperwhite will be priced at $139, or $119 with Special Offers.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Pebble Time

Cool Gadgets, Pebble Time
Source: Pebble

The Apple Watch has been stealing Pebble’s thunder in a big way this year, but the smartwatch pioneer isn’t giving up without a fight.

The Pebble Time is the new entry from Pebble, featuring a color display, new UI and voice dictation. It keeps Pebble favorites like iOS and Android compatibility, water resistance and five-day battery life.

It set another Kickstarter record, pulling in $1 million in the first 49 minutes (doubling its initial goal), and hauling in an amazing $20 million by the time the project was funded. The Pebble Time is now available for pre-order at $199.99, with shipment expected in July.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Nest Cam and Nest Protect

Cool Gadgets, Nest Cam and NEst Protect
Source: Nest

Google’s (GOOG, GOOGL) smart device division Nest announced two new devices on June 17, and they’re significant upgrades to your smart home.

Nest Protect is the second-generation smoke detector that offers quicker detection and ditches the controversial “wave” gesture to silence it in favor of app control that’s less likely to cause accidental shutting off of the alarm.

The company also introduced the Nest Cam home-monitoring device — its first camera release after the acquisition of Dropcam.

Nest Protect goes for $99, Nest Cam is $199 (plus an optional Nest Aware online video storage plan) and both should ship by the end of June.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Devialet Silver Phantom Speaker

Cool Gadgets, Devialet Silver Phantom Speaker
Source: Devialet

Wireless speaker systems tend to max out at around 50 Watts of power and a decent one can be bought for well under $500.

If you really want your music to be heard (by everyone), the Devialet Silver Phantom is a safe bet, even if it does cost a mind-numbing $2,260.

This thing looks like nothing else out there and the sound should be awe inspiring — it has 3,000 Watts of power on tap. If the price is too steep, there’s a version for $1,900 with just 750 Watts to rattle the windows.

The Phantom is available now for pre-order, with delivery expected by the end of summer.

10 Cool Gadgets Coming Out in Summer 2015: Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1

Cool Gadgets, Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 smartphone
Source: Panasonic

Looking for a smartphone that can truly replace your camera?

Microsoft may be ditching its Lumia mega-shooters, but Panasonic (PCRFY) is stepping up to the plate.

Sure, Panasonic isn’t exactly a household name in smartphones, but it makes decent cameras.

The Lumix DMC-CM1 is a $1,000 hybrid running Android KitKat, with LTE connectivity, a pro-sized 1-inch, 20MP image sensor and a manually adjustable Leica lens. It will also shoot 4K video.

It should start shipping any day now and is available unlocked, directly from Panasonic.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

More From InvestorPlace

Brad Moon has been writing for InvestorPlace.com since 2012. He also writes about stocks for Kiplinger and has been a senior contributor focusing on consumer technology for Forbes since 2015.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/06/cool-gadgets-summer-2015/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC