All posts by Andy McCaskey

Netgear: How Many Devices Are on Your Router?

CES 2012, Home, , , , ,

Double the Count in One Year

Connected devices – tablets, streaming video, smartphones,thermostats – are growing rapidly, with the average home deploying over seven devices on a home router – almost doubling over the past year. Netgear announced eight new products, optimized to serve all of these devices. Products such as the Netgear N-900 Router give better range, and the ability to give priority to certain types of traffic, such as gaming or VoIP.

In the interview, we also discuss PowerLine Carrier as an alternative in the home. Netgear just announced a 500Mb/sec version, with a 1Gb system on the roadmap.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Ivee: The Talking Alarm Clock That Listens

CES 2012, Gadgets, ,

Ivee is a personal digital assistant – equipped with speech recognition circuitry that offers Natural Language Processing. By analyzing digitized portions of the voice signal as they are spoken, ivee determines the most probable word given the phonemes you spoke.

That’s the tech story. What that means is that all you have to do is ask the time, date, weather or temperature. Ivee can generate three different sleep sounds, and understand 35 commands. Price class  $50

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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I’m Watch : Fashion, Tech, Jewelry, and Marketplace

CES 2012, Gadgets

The world’s first real smartwatch: With a Smart UI

Multi-tasking, easy to use and love:  touch, drag, swipe or pinch.
Get your intuitive interface in a complex world.

Slick, thin and ergonomic, i’m Watch claims that the product is made to be part of you: phone, web, music, radio, organizer, photo, video, and whatever App you may come up with. While other personal items may have some of these applications covered, the I’m Watch is the only unit that combines them into a user interface that is consistent across all applications.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Armour Group PLC : Q2 Internet Radio

CES 2012, Gadgets,

A novel unit out of the UK simplifies Internet Radio.

The Q2 Internet Radio has one of the most interesting interface systems for selecting station presets and adjusting volume that we saw at CES2012: Simply flip the cube. The listener can pre-select stations or podcasts in the control interface online , and choose from five color schemes. Price class $110

 

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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4iConcepts: Better Smartphone Typing Accuracy

CES 2012, Mobile, ,

All thumbs ? Almost anyone can feel that way on the iPhone keypad.

That’s where iConcepts and their unique 4iThumbs2 invisible keypad saves the day. It is a transparent plastic overlay for your glass screen that has built in ridges between the letters. You have the tactile feedback that you need to increase accuracy and speed while texting or emailing from your iPhone.

It’s easily removed and re-installed when needed – if your game of Angry Birds needs to resume.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Vertix: Wireless Helmet Communicator for Motorcycles, Skiers and Drivers

CES 2012, Mobile, , , ,

Communications with your co-rider or with other bikes on the road is always a challenge.

Vertix Ltd introduced a sophisticated system they project will reach the North American market for about half the retail price of conventional motorcycle communications gear at CES2012.

The VERTIX Raptor-i provides convenient and uninterrupted mobile communication while on the move., and features models for bothfull-face and open-face helmets. The EZ-Mount system also allows easy “attack angle” adjustments of your control unit for improved aerodynamics when you change bikes with different riding styles. The unit combines intercom, mp3 player, FM radio and features on the move charging that keeps the unit ready to go at all times.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Tylt: Adding Style and Design to the Everyday Wireless World

CES 2012, Mobile, , , ,

No matter what technology is involved, consumers are still anxious about their battery levels – and mobile connectivity is “critical path” to almost everyone’s business and personal lives.

That results in a bag full of cables, backup battery packs- usually one for each system. Add in wall adapters and tangles and the opportunity for a more elegant solution is right in front of your eyes.

Bringing Design to the world of power cables, Y adapters, power blocks, and battery chargers captures the innovative approach that comes when products are Built to Tylt.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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PrivacyStar: Call and SMS Blocking for Android and Blackberry

CES 2012, Wireless, , , , , , ,

If you want to insure that you are on the Election Year “Do Not Call” list, this is the app for you.

Privacy Star allows you to block numbers from annoying pollsters and solicitors, and if they get really obnoxious, report them to the Federal Trade Commission.  Similar calls from bill collectors including date, time and frequency are logged for action.

There’s also an optional Do Not Disturb mode, which forwards all non blocked incoming calls to voicemail with the option to send a custom text message acknowledging the call.

 

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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iTwin: An Infinite Capacity Thumb Drive ?

CES 2012, Computers, , , , ,

There is nothing more handy than having a USB stick – the ubiquitous “thumb drive” or “jump drive” with your critical documents.

The problem is – the document hanging around for years on your desktop system is NOT on the thumb drive.

You need it Right Now! ASAP !

That’s the problem that iTwin solves.

You plug in Plug one half of iTwin into your online office computer. Drag’n’drop files into the iTwin window to share them. Take the other half of iTwin with you. You will have instant access to all of the shared files, from any other online computer.  No configuration, no VPN token card, no login.

Available for both Mac and PC, price class $100.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Allure Energy: Proximity Energy Management

CES 2012, Home

Allure Energy’s patented Proximity Energy Management system is the advanced solution to energy management with today’s active and somewhat unpredictable lifestyle. Older internet enabled thermostat systems allowed changing settings from smartphone apps – but the user still had to remember to manually intervene.

Allure Energy’s system does the resets automatically, based on the reported position of the smartphone from GPS information to the system. Thus, the home is always at the proper temperature when occupants are away,but when they leave or return throughout the day, the energy is automatically adjusted for maximum energy efficiency.

 

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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