Designer Tech: 6 Beautiful Gadgets You Know You Want

In our recent Designer Tech Series, supported by Lincoln, Mashable wrote about the intersection of tech, entrepreneurship, business and social good. This roundup showcases gadgets from some of the world’s most innovative companies, and we spoke to each company’s design team to learn about how the product’s design adds to its functionality. To read more, click through to get the full story.

1. Nest: The Story Behind the World’s Most Beautiful Thermostat

Nest Labs is turning up the heat in the gadget world with its beautiful, high-tech and smart thermostat. Designed by a team comprising ex-Apple engineers, medical technologists and machine learning experts, Nest isn’t just a pretty piece for your wall — the $249 device saves money and energy by learning user behavior and adjusting itself accordingly. It’s either the most brilliant new gadget category or the most nerdy case of excess tech of 2011. Either way, we love it.

2. Lytro: The Biggest Thing to Happen to Photography Since Digital

With all the snazzy cameras and lenses out there, you might think there couldn’t be a higher-tech photography tool on the market. And you would be wrong. Because the soon-to-hit-shelves Lytro camera is the world’s first consumer light-field camera. Unlike your DLSR or point-and-shoot, a light-field camera captures all the light information from all the rays in its field of view — not just color and intensity, but direction as well. The result is that you can focus the image after the fact, creating a “living picture.” Go ahead, try it below and read on to find out how it works.

3. Retro Speakers Find Style — and Big Sound — in Simplicity

Old is new again … and cool again. Case in point — the minimalist and retro Libratone speakers, the epitome of Danish design. “We design to stand out, but not like a sore thumb,” according to the company’s philosophy statement. “We design to blur the lines between furniture and stereo systems by applying the aesthetics of the Scandinavian heritage to our design thinking.” Check out Libratone’s high-end Live and Lounge speakers, which hit the market in the U.S. in recent months.

4. Microsoft Surface 2.0: From ‘Minority Report’ to Reality

Touch is quickly becoming the most important sense in technology — just take a look at today’s tap- and swipe-operated smartphones, tablets and thermostats. And now, we have surface computing, an area of technology previously reserved for the big screen, a la Minority Report. With Surface 2.0, Microsoft is taking surface computing to the next level. Here’s an explanation of the technology’s history and, more importantly, its future.

5. A Closer Look at the iPhone-Controlled Coffee Brewer

During a time when we’re all multitasking, it’s nice to know that you can brew four cups of coffee in one minute out of a stainless steel faucet with just a few taps on your iPhone while you get ready for the day in the other room. Yes, as you’ve probably guessed by now, the TopBrewer isn’t your standard coffee maker. Purveyed by Scanomat, a family-owned company in Denmark, the TopBrewer is the world’s smartest and sleekest — everything but a swan-neck faucet is hidden in a cabinet — coffeemaker to date. Here’s an explanation of how it works, along with a peek at the modern barista — an iPhone app.

6. The Android-Powered Smart Watch Marries Luxury and Tech

Another technology that originated on the big screen is the smart watch, like the one worn by Dick Tracy. And now it’s arrived in the real world. Italian designer tech company i’m has debuted its i’m Watch, marketed as “the first real smart watch.” The i’m Watch can run nearly anything on its customized Android interface, and it tethers to your smartphone (yes, even BlackBerrys and iPhones) to handle phone calls, SMS, music and apps. But in addition to supreme functionality, the i’m Watch is also incredibly good-looking.

Which of these gadgets most piques your interest? Let us know in the comments below.

More About: Designer Tech Series, features, Lytro, mashable, microsoft, Nest Laboratories, trending

For more Dev & Design coverage: