All posts by PLUGHITZ Live

R360UND Brings Science and Data to Your Action Shots

CES 2013, Gadgets, , , , , , , ,

Action cameras have been one of the latest crazes at CES. From GoPro to one of our favorites, Liquid Image’s Apex HD, the cameras have gotten better, have added Wi-Fi and can really take a beating. But something is lacking from those gadgets once you capture that stunt or trick – the data. Not the video itself, but the science behind the video, like the acceleration rate or G-force the rider got from that last jump. Well, R360UND (pronounced “rebound”) looks to give you all of that with a sensor device that captures anything you’d ever want to know about that successful (or not so successful) backflip you just pulled off. It can read altitude, location, acceleration, G-force and more. You can then take that data and lay it over the video itself or, if it was a failed trick, look at the data to see where exactly the problem lied. So before you jump onto the ski lift and hit Devil’s Curve in Aspen, be sure to check out this video.

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Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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Toshiba Really Brings the Ultra with New Line of Ultrabooks

CES 2013, Gadgets, , , , , , , ,

Toshiba's Ultrabooks
Toshiba’s Ultrabooks
Toshiba showed off some of the sleekest ultrabooks we’ve seen at any CES to date that weren’t just prototypes. I was able to put my hands on four different models, ranging from a 21:9 aspect ratio ultrabook made for watching movies without having any bars on the sides, to a really great convertible that maintains the battery life we’ve been expecting to find in ultrabooks today. Toshiba also introduced their first touchscreen at a very affordable price, proving that the big companies are really onboard with the Windows 8 user experience.

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Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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ION has Gadgets for Many Types of People, Whether You’re Musical or Practical

CES 2013, Gadgets, , , , , , , , , , , ,

ION Duo Deck Portable Turntable
ION Duo Deck Portable Turntable
ION introduced a bunch of products at the 2013 International CES. Some of the highlights include the DuoDeck, which is small and extremely portable turntable, where the vinyl record is larger than the device itself. This gadget is great for sampling, runs on batteries or USB power and needs no additional wires or drivers to work.

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Something else ION debuted at CES was AirCopy, a world’s first and something that makes you wonder why it wasn’t invented sooner. It’s a wireless scanner that generates its own Wi-Fi network so users can send any image over to their tablet or computer without needing to connect to an actual Internet network, or without having to load them into a computer, then sideload them to a mobile device. Call up the app from any device, slide the document in and off you go. It simply runs off a rechargeable battery that can charge via USB and gives you about four hours of use time in about half the time to charge and it works across almost every platform, iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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Corning Introduces New Gorilla Glass 3.0 with Native Damage Resistance

CES 2013, Gadgets, , , , , , , ,

Gorilla Glass 3.0 with Native Damage Resistance
Gorilla Glass 3.0 with Native Damage Resistance
Each year Corning tries to outperform its previous class of Gorilla Glass. With 2.0 at the 2012 International CES, we thought they couldn’t do one better, but this year we were proven wrong. Of course, with Gorilla Glass, it’s all about the live demo, but here’s a quick rundown. The new Gorilla Glass 3.0 with Native Damage Resistance (NDR) can be made as thin as .5 nanometers and up to 2nm and is able to withstand scratches of over 7 Newton of force and critical loads of up to 15,000 grams before cracks will start to appear.

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Corning says that the glass should be available to over one billion devices moving forward. So, if you’re in the market for a new phone in the coming year, be sure to be on the lookout for one with the toughest glass to-date on protecting that precious screen.

Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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Ubisoft’s Frag Dolls Talk Gaming, Lenovo, Conventions, More at CES 2013

Back Channel, CES 2013, , , , , , , , , , ,

Ubisoft's Frag Dolls
Ubisoft’s Frag Dolls
The Frag Dolls are a team of professional female gamers recruited by Ubisoft to promote their video games and represent the presence of women in the game industry. We were able to catch up with three of the ladies, Valkryie, Pixxel and Daze, at the Lenovo and Social Media Club party, where they were in attendance to show off a new partnership between Lenovo and Ubisoft. Plus, all parties need some eye-candy, right?

We sat down and discussed a range of topics from how the girls all ended up with the Frag Dolls, best experiences at conventions and what’s in-store for the all-girl FPS team in the future. You won’t want to miss this one!

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Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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Chrysler Introduces Via Mobile Package, Brings Integrated Life Into Your Vehicle

CES 2013, Mobile, , , , , , , ,
Chrysler Introduces the Via Mobile Package
Chrysler Introduces the Via Mobile Package

Talking with Chrysler at CES this year inside of a 2013 Dodge Ram took us on a very cool journey. Chrysler Group introduced the Via Mobile package, which allows full Internet radio into your vehicle from your phone. AM/FM, HD Radio and SiriusXM are all included, as expected, except Chrysler will be the first to offer the fully merged and integrated SiriusXM lineup into their vehicles with exclusivity for a limited time. There is also a media hub available in the center console. A USB port, SD port, aux port, USB charge-only port and Bluetooth streaming all compliment the 8.5″ resistive touch screen that resides in the dashboard.

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Enhancing the experience is a brand new navigation system that takes up the entire screen, complete with 3D models, pan-and-zoom, traffic (through SiriusXM). One cool, subtle feature that brings the entire nav together is called One-Step Destination Entry, where you can use your voice and give a command in one breath, such as “Navigate to (address).” You can also give the system points of interest, which commands such as “Find Nearest (name of place).”

Apps, with Buttons

What’s cool about the Apps Button is that all of your embedded apps, plus all of the apps from your phone, are displayed together through the dashboard screen, fully integrated using the Via Mobile package. Apps like iHeartRadio and more all connect to the dashboard, forcing the phone to turn off when the vehicle is in motion, which reduces distracted driving. Chrysler has partnered with Sprint as well and has embedded a 3G radio into their 2013 vehicles. With that, pressing the 911 button will take you immediately to a 911 dispatcher and not to a call center and queue. Better yet, it’s using Sprint’s integrated signal to make the call without tying up your cell phone line. Using the Assist app will display three different call centers: roadside assistance, uConnect to answer questions about your online account and smartphone app and the vehicle-specific call center to answer questions about problems you may have with your vehicle.

No announcements on timing, vehicle availability or pricing has been announced yet, but Chrysler said to stay tuned for news on that very soon.

Video by Scott Ertz of F5 Live.

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AblePlanet Lets Users Hear Things Like Never Before

CES 2013, Gadgets, , , , , ,
Able Planet True Fidelity PS400BG
Able Planet True Fidelity PS400BG

AblePlanet, the winner of over 30 CES Innovations Awards, has created a technology called Linx Audio, which is a technology that passively filters out undesirable noise and reduces distortion. This allows users to hear more of the sounds they want but at a much lower decibel range.

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From personal amplification systems and noise cancellation headphones to gaming headsets and even extremely affordable solutions, all members of the family can benefit from AblePlanet’s patented technologies. The company even offers a new gadget not seen before in portable headphones, an in-line balance adjuster. For those who are hard of hearing in one ear more than the other, this discrete cord simply shifts the sound to center it across your ears comfortably, without amplifying one side and damaging your good ear. AblePlanet seems to have the consumer’s health in mind as their first priority.

Video by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live.

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F5 Live is Ready for International CES 2013 – Are You?

CES 2013, , , , , , ,

Nicholas DiMeo and Scott Ertz, of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology are excited and ready for our fourth year of covering the International CES 2013 in Las Vegas, NV. For us, the holidays aren’t over until we’ve covered every inch of the now 1.8 million square feet of show space that is CES 2013. Our show is now fully integrated into the Tech Podcast Network coverage and we can’t wait to show all of you the coolest, most innovative and downright nerdy gadgets and toys that we’re able to find. From professional audio equipment to the next leap in processing power, CES has it all and we are interested in finding the products that will end up as holiday gifts by this time next year.

With the TPN booth being moved to just outside the North Hall, things are bound to get a little hectic and crazy so be sure to follow the news, as it happens, on your phone, computer or tablet as we bring it to you as live as it can be. We’ll be live streaming (quite literally), live blogging, live tweeting and doing pretty much everything we can do be the only source you need to log onto during the most important week of the technology world. From big time CEOs to the startups at Eureka Park, we’ll have 45 hours of content for you to enjoy from the moment the show floor opens, right here on this site. Then, once the show comes to a close, we will be providing you with more in-depth interviews from the show floor, as our team scoured the floor extensively to make sure we didn’t miss a thing. Oh, and don’t forget to keep the site up so you can catch all of the antics that happen during the afterparties and events that take place during the night. Those videos will also be right here for you to enjoy, as informative or as crazy as they might be!

It’s all going down on January 8-11, live from beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada so mark your calendars. We’re ready; are you?

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E3 2012 – Electronic Arts Recap – UFC

E3, Live Show

EA Sports
What a difference a few years makes. In 2009, head of UFC, Dana White, made it clear he didn’t like EA, and for good reason. He tried to have a meeting with them to discuss his idea for an MMA-based videogame. He thought it would work because the WWE had been successful for a long time with their games.

EA, on the other hand, refused to meet with him because they claimed that MMA disgusted them. He, of course, later went to THQ, who produced the official UFC game from their San Diego studio.

EA went on to make their own MMA game, unlicensed. Needless to say, he was not happy about this, and threatened to ban any fighter who appeared in EA’s MMA title. Suffice it to say, it was a pretty big surprise to see Mr. White standing on EA’s stage announcing his exclusive partnership with the company that had stabbed him in the back. Obviously EA was not happy with their non-existent sales, so they purchased the contract away from THQ, who has much less of a sports background than EA. I would imagine we will see new EA-powered UFC titles later in the year.

Conversation by F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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E3 2012 – Electronic Arts Recap – Star Wars: The Old Republic

E3, Live Show

Star Wars The Old RepublicEA and Bioware seem entirely committed to Star Wars: The Old Republic and they showed it with the E3 press conference. Dr. Ray Muzyka, founder of Bioware, spent some time showing the crowd what can be expected in the future of the game. He said,

Our goal is to create a living service that’s always on.

Fans of the game, and there are a lot of them, will be happy to know that they are committed to maintaining and expanding, and well as enhancing the experience. There are, in fact, so many fans of this title that it is the fastest growing MMO of all time. Because of that, there is always room for growth.

Conversation by F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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