Brush teeth while checking Facebook with US$7,700 magic mirror
Further merge your offline and online lives with the interactive digital Cybertecture Mirror
The Cybertecture Mirror looks just like any typical mirror we can find in a Hong Kong home.
The fog-resistant reflective surface measuring 50 by 80 centimeters could be the one that is innocently hanging in our bathrooms, but with a touch to the remote control, this mirror transforms into a computer screen in a science fiction-inspired moment.
This "magic" bathroom mirror is a cross between a smartphone and a flat-screen TV, allowing us to access the Internet while we're on the can, for stuff like updating Facebook statuses ("John Chan is on the can!"), checking the weather ("humid, overcast" -- what a surprise and good thing I checked), and getting the day's financial news so that we can get on the phone with our brokers earlier than our digital mirror-deprived peers.
"A mirror is something that we all use, it's ubiquitous," says James Law, chairman of Hong Kong-based firm James Law Cybertecture International and the creator of the digital mirror.
"With that captured audience, [we considered how] to benefit their lives, so we decided to design a new kind of mirror that can bring all of the powers of the Internet, applications, interactivity, multimedia, health, entertainment into a single product that you can install into your home."
At HK$60,000 (US$7,700) per gadget, not everyone will be able to afford to bring the digital dimension into the privacy of their bathrooms.
But those who do decide to take the leap towards near seamlessness will also be able to try "telemedicine" -- the mirror comes with an additional piece of hardware that resembles a scale and will auto generate users' weight, body mass index, fat content, bone mass, and water mass. The data can be sent electronically to the users' physicians.
Pre-ordering starts December 2010, but delivery of the Cybertecture mirrors won't be till Summer of 2011. Keep up to date with sales schedule at cybertecturemirror.com. See more demonstrations of the gadget at the Cybertecture Mirror Youtube channel.
