The fantasy technology of Star Trek has always been ahead of its time and has very much inspired future generations. You can see the influence of Gene Roddenberry’s universe in many of the gadgets we use today particularly in the developments of early mobile phones (remember the flip front communicators of the 1960s original?) and later in what we now know as tablet computers.
As tech in the 24th century (and the late 1980s) moved on we saw the USS Enterprise get a gadget overhaul and in Star Trek: The Next Generation we were introduced to PADD (Personal Access Display Device). This gadget allowed the crew to bring up vital information at a touch. Generally as a large screen it was also seen as a handheld unit which, to bring it up to date, bears uncanny resemblance to an iPad.
With all this in retrospect, we find it really interesting and exciting to find that an Official Star Trek PADD application has been launched on the iTunes App Store for Apple iPad. The fictional operating system and graphical interface that inspired the real-life gadget has come full circle and the app features replica LCARS (Library Computer Access Retrieval System) just like you’ve seen in the Next Gen show.
A touch of the rich, immersive graphical interface (including all the familiar sound effects for added realism) will bring up data on favourite characters, episodes, technical details on the Federation flagship and much more. It’s a visual database just like on TV, which even keeps you up to date with the added extra of real time Twitter and Facebook feeds – they didn’t get that on the USS Enterprise!
However the App Store does state “The official Star Trek PADD app database does not include all information within the Star Trek Universe. We will continue to update the database as information becomes available”.
You can grab the app from the iTunes Store now – Make it so!
Want to fully immerse yourself in Trek tech? How about really getting into the game with a replica Phaser with Playstation Move – It’s coming in 2012 but you can read about it now in the Gadget Helpline’s article HERE!
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