All posts by Todd Cochrane

Energizer iSurge Travel Protection @ CES 2012

CES 2012, Gadgets, ,

Energizer Energizer introduced their newest Isurge Travel Charger at CES 2012. The newest charger is specially made for micro USB powered device. It has a cable which allows you to plug-in a micro USB powered device. It has two USB ports which have 2.1 amp shared. If you plug-in one device it will use all 2.1 amps. If you plug both it will share the 2.1 amps.

Iphone iSurgeThere are three surge protected outlet on the side. The plug rotates 180° which allows it work no matter how the outlet is set up. This new charger should be available later in 2012 and will run $59.99.

Energizer has already released a charger which is specially made for the iPhone. It has a 30 pin connector at the top, that the iPhone plugs directly into. It also has the two USB ports and the three surge protected outlet on the side. It is also $59.99 and is available now

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central

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Roku Hardware & Channel Update CES 2012

CES 2012, TVs

Roku I am a big fan of Roku. I currently have version one of the Roku 2 XS which I love and version 2 is even smaller. However both have the problem of being separate boxes which means more wires to run to the TV and another power cord to plug-in. Roku has an answer to this problem the Roku Streaming Stick. Ed from Roku showed off the product at CES 2012

The stick is a little larger then a regular USB stick and plugs directly into a HDMI port. It is Roku’s answer to smart TV. It has the same chip and ram as the Roku 2 XS with the same great performance. It is based on the MHL standard. The one problem I see is that for this to work the TV has to be MHL capable, which I suspect many TVs especially with the lower price models are not.

This may confuse consumers, Roku needs to make it clear which TVs this will work with or what to look for It will come with a motion control remote that has WiFi built-in. The remote control will have power and control out. The Roku Streaming Stick can also be controlled by the TV remote.

Roku Streaming Stick

The Roku currently has 400 plus channels. The channels are organized in the store by categories, including favorites, religion, sports, movies and more. Among the channels available in the Roku store are TPN.TV and the Blubrry Network. Roku is continuing to update the channel store, to improve its interface and usability. The Roku is currently in over 2 1/2 million households and is still growing. The Roku Streaming Stick should be available in fall of 2012 and run between $50 and $100 depending on model.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast network

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PowerBag the New Way to Charge Devices on the Go

CES 2012, Mobile, ,

Powerbag logoDan from Powerbag shows off the latest in geek fashion, a messenger bag that has a built-in battery and charging system. Up to four different devices can be charged in the bag at the same time. Included are a selection of charging tips, including the Apple connector and USB variants. The battery capacity should charge a smartphone several times, or a tablet once.

Available now for $139 to $249 for a rolling bag with a bigger battery.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast network.

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GreenWave Reality Smart Home Services

CES 2012, Special Events

GreenWave Reality LogoTodd interviews Greg Memo from GreenWave Reality, a global innovator in the emerging smart home services market including home monitoring and elderly care. On show is their home energy management solution that uses wireless (ZigBee) plug-in devices to monitor and control power consumption.

The system is not just limited to power management as other remote monitoring and control technologies such as lighting and video can be included. The complementary iPad app allows the homeowner to select individual rooms within the property and make adjustments if necessary – for example, a thermostat could be turned down or the timings changed to alter when the heat comes on.

The overall solution won a CES 2012 Innovations Award so congratulations to GreenWave. Available now, starting from $200.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast network.

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LaCie Thunderbolt at CES Unveiled

CES 2012, Gadgets, ,

LaCie LogoMike Mihalik from LaCie shows off their new Thunderbolt-connected hard drives for the Apple Macs, including the previously announced Little Big Disk and the new 2big, which has two internal 3.5″ drives. Also announced was the eSata Dock, a docking station that connects legacy SATA devices via Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt offers seriously quick data transfer speeds with write speeds of 252 Mb/s and read speeds of 459 Mb/s shown in the video.

The Little Big Disk is available now, but the 2big and eSata Dock units won’t be available until later in the quarter, with pricing to be announced.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast network.

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Sony Bloggie Live Wifi Unboxing – CES 2012

CES 2012, Gadgets

Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central unboxes the Sony Bloggie Live with WiFi connectivity at the Sony Event on January 9th. The Bloggie Live is available today starting at $249.

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Wifi Compatible Sony Bloggie Live with Live Streaming from Qik

CES 2012, Gadgets, , , , , ,
Sony Bloggie Live
Sony Bloggie Live

Monday, 9 am, Todd Cochrane and Jeffrey Powers head to Ceasar’s Palace and the Sony Lifestyle store to talk about the newest version of the Sony Bloggie – The Bloggie Live.

The Bloggie Live itself is an update of last years Bloggie Touch. With a big touchpanel and 1080p video (at 30fps), you can do video and stills on the camera with the 12 MP still image capture and 1080p /30 and 720p/60i. You can also do video and stills at the same time (but not while streaming).

“We keep the Bloggie very simple and easy to use,” says Amy. “The large red button remains, your power button and photo button are the other two. It is fully PC and Mac compatible.”

The fun comes in after you shoot. You can live stream into Qik (which needs to be set up ahead of time). People on Qik can send messages – you cannot respond, but you can see that information on the screen.

Play Memories Mobile Lets You Tether Your Bloggie

With a cellular signal, download the Play Memories Mobile (for iPhone or Android) and you can use your phone as a hot spot for your photos or video.

The Bloggie Live is available on January 10th for $249

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Callisto.fm a TPN – CES 2012 Sponsor

CES 2012,

The team is pretty excited to welcome Callisto.fm on-board as a sponsor of our coverage of CES 2012. Callisto.fm is going to be introducing a new product in the spring, it is a new type of audience analytic platform. One of the questions content producers ask themselves is how many audience member are actively engaging with their shows. There solution will include real-time analytic that will integrate with existing media players and works across mobile, web, desktop and set-top boxes.

To be one of the first to get access to this new system when they launch. Visit Callisto.fm and enter your email address.