USS Enterprise and Borg Cube PCs, and other Trek gadgetry

Got a round up of the latest Star Trek gadgets today, including USB sticks hidden in insignia badges, a wireless charger, and the latest Borg Cube PC. But first, the most extraordinary Star Trek PC so far released:

Remember the USS Enterprise shaped PC that Lenovo were showing off last year? Well they and Tiburn (aka Titanium Technology) only went and actually brought it to market! This starship-shaped computer has been licensed for release in twenty-five countries, which I assume is covering the Asian market, as so far it has been offered via crowd funders in China (via JD Finance) and Japan (Makuake) - These were run earlier this year, and the PCs are starting to arrive with backers now.

Check out this snazzy video which shows of the features of the starship computer:



The crowd funders offered three different specs, a fully fitted out gaming PC, complete with built in project at the front of the saucer (I think, there are some references in the crowd funders to this being a still in development feature), a mid-range (but still pretty darn good!) PC spec, and for those that just want a flashing model of the Enterprise, a bluetooth speaker only configuration - The speaker works independently in the PC specced versions too. Continue below for a closer look:

Note the measurements in that last image, this is a huge starship model, 77cm long!

The lighting on the ship can be controlled via a mobile app, which looks darn fun!

I'm particularly taken by the colourful options on the deflector dish (which also neatly hides the power button). The radial lighting here can even be used as a clock!

There's a Star Trek specific user interface for the PC too of course:

Here's a closer look at the technical details. The unusual shape requires a pretty elaborate cooling system, and they've neatly kept all the ports in the base.

Packaging:

And some real world applications:

Alas I didn't pick up on this up when the crowdfunders were active, so even if you're in China or Japan, you might struggle to find one of these. Hopefully it will find its way to a wider release in more markets. It looks amazing!

Also offered via a crowd funder by Titanium Technology in China were these ingenious USB drives, hidden in Discovery insignia badges. The split design of the badge hides a pull out USB section, and an adapter for USB-C ports is tucked in there too. The badges are offered in either command gold, science silver, or an almost Section 31 styled black version of the command design.

They were good enough to even provide styling advice for the badges! Alas this is also from a now expired crowdfunder, but surely this clever project is worthy of wider release too!

Another bit of hidden tech (albeit not quite so well concealed) comes from this new Starfleet Command logo Qi wireless charger from Fametek. The charger works with Qi compatible devices, and can charge while it is itself not plugged in, so works as a portable backup battery too. And it uses some of that power it holds to make it's Starfleet Command logo glow too! This one is available in Europe and North America right now.

Finally, going back to PCs, Cherry Tree have added another new Borg Cube PC to their range. Or at least a case. Their new ATX case is a substantial 15 inches cubed, and available in either black or translucent green:

Here it is compared to the smaller ITX model:

While the ITX is available as a fully built PC, the ATX is only offered as a case at the moment. The previously teased Picard Cube is also an ATX variant, so presumably there are more releases to come.