Category Archives: Accessories

Panasonic 7″ Windows Toughpad

January 26, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, ComputersTodd Cochrane

Panasonic’s Toughbooks are legendary for their ruggedness and are used by armed forces world-over. Panasonic have now turned their attention to tablets with a line of Toughpads and on show here is a new 7″ Windows 8.1 tablet. Panasonic’s Toughpad Product Manager Dan Diliberti takes Todd and Don through it.

Running the latest Intel Core i5, the FZ-M1 is currently the only 7″ Windows 8.1 tablet on the market. As you’ll see from the video, there’s a dockable keyboard and there is also a pile of expansion options including desktop dock, bar code scanners and smart card readers.

Devices like the FZ-M1 don’t come cheap, with a base price of US$2099, but if it’s the kind of device you need, it’s worth every penny.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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D-Link NVR and Low-Light Webcam

January 26, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, Gadgets, Home, VideoTodd Cochrane

At CES’ Digital Experience, Ken from D-Link tells Todd about their new (NVR) and low-light webcam.

The NVR can record up to 9 IP cameras at once, storing the images on the SATA drive. The feeds can be viewed either via an attached HDMI monitor or else viewed remotely via D-Link’s mydlink solution which securely connects from the Internet back to devices in the home, using a web browser or a smartphone app.

The low-light web camera works down to 0.01 lux light levels and can still pick out colours. In complete darkness, a white LED provides illumination for up to 50 feet. As you’d expect, it’s 802.11ac wireless.

Both the NVR and the webcam will have an MSRP of US$379 when they go on sale in April ’14.

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

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Kanex Multi-Sync Keyboard

January 26, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, Computers, GadgetsTodd Cochrane

Todd chats with Tracy from Kanex at CES Digital Experience about their new Multi-Sync Keyboard for Apple devices.

Although touch is great way of interacting with tablets and smartphones, it really doesn’t replace a keyboard when it comes to large amounts of text entry. In response, many manufacturers have come out with add-on keyboards that typically connect to the tablet via Bluetooth. These are generally useful devices but usually it’s one keyboard-one device and often there’s already a keyboard on the desk for the PC, so the desk simply gets more cluttered.

Kanex’s solution the Multi-Sync Keyboard which allows 3 Bluetooth and 1 USB connection to be maintained at any one time – Mac, iPhone and iPad. The user can then switch between connections, entering text into just one device at a time but being able to connect to up to 4 devices. Brilliant! Currently, it’s only available for Apple devices, but future versions should support PCs.

On-sale now for US$69.95 at www.kanexlive.com.

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

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Omnimount PJT40 Projector Mount

January 26, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, Home, TVs, VideoTodd Cochrane

If you want to hang or support some piece of technology from a wall or ceiling, then Omnimount ought to be on your review list as they have a portfolio of mounts and brackets that will do the job for flat screen TVs, speakers and projectors. Todd and Don chat with Kevin Paulson, who has the latest ceiling mount, the PJT40, for digital projectors. They also discuss the merits of desks that go up and down to facilitate standing at work. Really.

The new PJT40 is a universal projector mount that offers easy one person installation and tool-less microadjustment in the pitch and roll axes, making it simple to get a perfect image in your home cinema. The PJT40 will be on sale in February priced at US$179, which Don thinks is a bargain. Omnimount products are available AV dealers throughout the US and there’s more information at www.omnimount.com.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Gazercam Gives Your Camera, Smartphone Stabilization

January 24, 2014Accessories, CES 2014calibrate, camera stabilizer, gazercam, gimble, live streamJeffrey Powers

When Gazercam walked up to the booth, I was instantly mesmerized. Bettina Schnell of Gazercam joined us for the TPN CES Live stream. Gazercam is an electronic stabilizer for your consumer camera or smartphone. Gazercam also can work for GoPro and DSLR cameras.

Once you calibrate, just point and shoot. You can run, jump and more and the video will be as smooth as possible. Gazercam makes multiple gimbles for your camera.

The gimble also has a recharging battery and up/down option so you can keep your hand steady and still keep people in frame.

Find out more at Gazercam.com

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Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Chris Montera of Health Tech Weekly

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Fitbug Orb, Kik is your Personal Training Coach

January 24, 2014Accessories, CES 2014different programs, fitbug orb, hand holding, kik, manage diabetes, personal training, sleep cyclesJeffrey Powers

Paul Landeau of Fitbug joined Daniel and I on the TPN CES livestream to talk about Orb and Kik. Orb is a wearable technology that you can put on your wrist, clip to your belt or put in your pocket. It tracks your steps, sleep cycle and much more. This year, they are pushing Kik — a digital coach that comes with Fitbug.

They unleased Kikplan at CES. Its about more than that wearable device.

“Most people need a bit of hand-holding, positive reinforcement to achieve what they are looking for” Paul says. “We arranged different programs, like “no more baby bump”, “ready for the big day”, and “manage diabetes”. Here is a plan that supports you.”

With each plan, you will get articles, audio and video encouragement and more to keep you motivated. They are creating the content, or getting video from partners that are experts in their fields.

I showed off my Fitbug numbers, sleep cycles and steps. I showed off my 10,000 step plan in May. You can look back at your activity for the whole year or more if needed. Paul showed off his sleep cycle for CES, which shows he needs a bit more.

For more information, check out Fitbug.com

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Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Daniel J. Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast

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Blue Microphones Mo-Fi Headphones

January 24, 2014Accessories, CES 2014blue microphones, high fidelity, high-end headphones, interesting concept, mo fi, sound qualityJeffrey Powers

John Mayer joins us on the TPN CES Live show to talk about the newest initiative of Blue Microphones – Adding headphones to the line. John states they are the last company in the genre that didn’t have the right strategy or approach to headphones.

Blue Microphones doesn’t have a product at this point, but they are currently unrolling the idea in the next few months.

“Essentially we are saying expensive high-end headphones that sound great,” says Mayer, “only kinda work (from the old days) when we weren’t listing through mobile devices. When you plug into mobile devices, there is not enough power — you cannot power the $600 pair of headphones. So today’s options take the low output and crank it up without a lot of sound quality. Its about getting the sound high. We are doing interesting things around that and bringing high-end headphones and solving that problem.”

Blue Microphones feels they have a new, interesting concept where they can start getting into the headphone market. They have over a million users of Blue Microphones out there. They are talking about Mo-Fi, or mobile hi-fidelity.

Check out unleashmofi.com for more information. Also check out bluemic.com

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Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Anne Montera of Health Tech Weekly

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Airdrop Gaming HipShotDot Helps Accuracy

January 24, 2014Accessories, CES 2014adapter, Airdrop Hipshot, call of duty, halo, led light, nes, older tv monitor, playstation, tom clancy, xboxJeffrey Powers

If you play Call of Duty, Halo, Tom Clancy or another first shooter game, the Hipshotdot is an item that will help your gaming. Its not a controller, in fact it was in replacement of the tape you might put on your TV. Hipshotdot is a LED light attached on a suction cup which will replace the tape trick.

I pulled up Call of Duty First Strike on my iPad to get an idea of what this product does. The Hipshotdot works better on larger televisions. Now you will have a guide to where you are going to shoot.

Newer TVs will stick right on, older monitors are a little more porous. An adapter on the TV will keep the adjoining cable straight. On larger televisions, the wire will disappear when gaming.

HipShotDot is machine agnostic, so it will work on XBox, Playstation, NES or PC gaming. If you need to improve your first person shooting ability, you can get HipShotDot right now for $29.95. Product will be in many box stores and online at airdropgaming.com

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Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Daniel J. Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast

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PeoplePower’s Presence App Turns Old iPhones Into a Security Cameras

January 22, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, Gadgets, Home, VideoTodd Cochrane

Todd and Don interviewed Gene Wang, from PeoplePower, at CES about their iOS app called Presence 2.0. Presence turns your spare iPhone or iPad into a free remote camera to monitor your home or office from anywhere in the world (Wi-Fi or cellular). Select Presence Motion Detection to receive free Presence Video Alerts and see what happened just moments ago. Or select Video and Audio Streaming to enable convenient 2-way conversations, and even the ability to remotely control robotic viewing stands. Supervise and control your energy consumption before your eyes with Presence, too. Turn lights and appliances on and off from your smartphone with Presence-controlled smart plugs. Automate your system with simple and powerful Presence Rules, helping you design an automated motion detection and energy plan for home or office.

Presence is available now from the iOS App Store for FREE! (hardware accessories are extra) See peoplepowerco.com/products/ for more information.

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Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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Eyetech unveils new eye-tracking technology

January 22, 2014Accessories, CES 2014, Gadgets, VideoTodd Cochrane

eyetech Eyetech, is company that focuses on the natural user interface, specializing in eye-tracking technology. This isn’t a type of technology that is new — you may have used it in such devices as the Kinect, which utilizes both voice and gestures to control your Xbox.

The new hardware can be imbedded into other devices — it’s essentially a large chip. It tracks eye movement, but the software can actually be removed so that the device can be licensed out to other companies. There are security implications involved with this technology, and you will need to check out the whole video below to find out exactly what is going and what you should expect from this tech in the future.

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Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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