If you are a fan of Dwayne Johnson, then you would know that the actor is a morning person. On his birthday this year, he released a motivational alarm clock app. It has customised alarm tones from The Rock himself. It has two alarm settings -- one of which is the time when The Rock gets up. It allows you to set your goals for the day and if you complete it, you get a “Good job” from The Rock himself.
Dwayne Johnson is not the first celebrity to dabble with technology. Here are some who have proven quite successful in the tech world as inventors and innovators:
Hedy Lamarr: Many people know Hedy Lamarr as the Hollywood actor from movies such as The Female Animal and The Story of Mankind . But at the beginning of World War II, Lammarr along with composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for allied torpedoes. The principles of their work is now utilised for WiFi and Bluetooth technology.
Ashton Kutcher: Not far removed from his character in Two-and-a-half men, Kutcher is a tech enthusiast in real life as well. In 2013, he was appointed as a product manager for Lenovo. The actor is also the co-founder of an investment company called A-Grade Investments, which has invested in over 20 companies including Skype, Spotify, Airbnb, Foursquare, Fab, Uber, Dwolla and Pat
He is not only a fan of tech gadgets but is very much active on digital media. He was the first celebrity to reach over 1 million followers on Twitter. He also established a company called Katalyst to produce original content for digital media. But, the company was shut down.
Dr. Dre: Well-known for his rap career, Dr. Dre is also the founder of Beats Electronics. He released his first headphones in 2008. Hewlett Packard showed interest in this venture in 2009 and released a laptop with 15 Beats limited Edition. In 2014, Apple made a bid for Beats by Dre, making Dre the richest man in hip-hop.
will.i.am: From a singer/rapper to a tech fanatic. Singer will.i.am was appointed as a Director of creative innovations at Intel and works with interactive technology. From designing a special case that includes a lens to turn an iPhone into a quality camera for artists, to being the first recording artist to send a song to Mars in conjunction with NASA’s Curiosity Mars Space Lab, will.i.am has taken technology for artists to another level.
In February 2016, will.i.am introduced his smartwatch called Dial. The wrist watch is a treat for music lovers as it comes with up to 20 million songs along with a voice operated assistant called AneedA. The device has a 2MP selfie camera, 1.63 inch AMOLED display and a 32GB onboard storage. WiFi connectivity is also available.
