Author: Sadie Hale
Staff Writer
Sadie has written for many UK publications and won the Clothes Show Live Young Journalist of the Year 2014. She loves travelling, live music and seeking out weird and wonderful events to go to. In her spare time she gets nostalgic about the '60s and explores (gets lost in) London on her bike.
Sony Xperia Z2 still works after 6 weeks under the sea
We know that Sony has been trumpeting the waterproof capability of the Xperia Z2 phone since it was released earlier this year, but it seems that even Sony could not have predicted how durable it is. According to reports from Sweden, a lost Xperia Z2's stubborn will to survive has allowed it to be pulled up from the…
LifeTip bra tag can detect heart attacks
A tag which attaches to a woman's bra in order to detect heart attacks is seeking funding on Indiegogo. The tag, known as LifeTip, clips on the front of any bra using a simple magnet. Resting just over the heart, the triangular ECG device immediately alerts emergency services upon identifying abnormal heart palpitations, the cause…
Shazam for Mac to recognise songs and TV shows automatically
You hear a song you like in a café. Desperate to find out what it is before it ends, you cast around for a member of staff to ask - but to no avail. And then, to the rescue: like a non-judgemental friend with an excellent ear, the popular music recognition app, Shazam, is subtly whipped out…
Meet the tech bikes of the future: Copenhagen Wheel, Denny, Merge and Solid
With special apps which promise to map you the best cycling routes, lights that make night cycling safer, bike-friendly lorries and the popularisation of peer-to-peer bike rental, this year has already seen cycling thrust into the limelight, partly fuelled by the horrifying increase in cycle deaths in the capital. Against this backdrop, there have of course been some brilliant…
New campaign uses iPhones to diagnose malaria
We've heard crowdfunding stories about cool new gadgets which need extra cash to get them into distribution, but this latest campaign is for something altogether more altruistic, and potentially life-changing: an app which can identify malaria. If caught in its early stages, malaria can be treated, but the traditional microscopic method of diagnosis costs both a lot of…
The Gherkin’s in a pickle: five alternative uses for the iconic building
Here at the shinyshiny offices, we have a bit of a soft spot for the friendly-looking Gherkin (real name 30 St Mary Axe) just around the corner. So when news of its imminent sale broke this morning, we put our heads together and decided there are some much better uses for the pickle-shaped building... 1. Giant greenhouse…
Bluetooth-enabled Casio watch automatically adjusts time
Electronics giant Casio has officially announced that the Casio Edifice EQB-500 will be coming to the UK in September - and this is exciting because it'll have Bluetooth 4.0 enabled. Bluetooth will allow the sleek-looking watch to connect with a smartphone, meaning it will automatically sync with the local time-zone. It will also detect summertime hours and adjust…
Wireless earphones from FreeWavz also track your fitness
Regular readers of shinyshiny will know that we recently covered a story about OwnPhones' 3D printed earbuds, and now there's another exciting Kickstarter project underway: FreeWavz wireless, fitness-tracking earphones. As the first 100% wire-free smart earphones with built-in fitness monitoring, they are useful for all forms of exercise. With runners' complaints in mind, the smart earphones have…
One for Katie Hopkins: intellectuals can be tattoo-toting, too. Here are some which may surprise you
According to research, the tattoo removal industry is booming, as more and more people begin to regret the now-faded blue symbols and transient sweethearts they've had inked onto their bodies. The ever-judgemental Katie Hopkins has labelled tattoos 'cheap', 'trashy' and 'common', while one writer for The Guardian has commented on her struggle to come to terms with the new wave…
The world’s longest tattoo chain: Alice in Wonderland, sentence by sentence, on over 5,000 human subjects
A company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has launched a Kickstarter campaign aiming to (temporarily) ink the entirety of 'Alice in Wonderland' onto over 5,000 separate bodies. Litographs, which is known for its literary-inspired T-shirts, posters and tote bags, wants to inscribe Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel sentence by painstaking sentence on eager bibliophiles, thereby hopefully creating the world's…
