Todd Cochrane the host of the Geek News Central Podcast a 10 year veteran of CES discusses how the team coverage is going to shape up this year.
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Category Archives: Auto
YellowJacket unveils a shocking new phone case
It’s the sad nature of today’s world that brings many people to feel a need to carry protection, such as mace and tasers. Now YellowJacket is aiming to make protection a bit easier to carry along when you are out and about.
This one comes in the form of a rather average looking smartphone case. The difference is two tiny metal prongs protruding from the top which emit an electrical charge when the button is pushed. It’s a two-part case, with an inner one for normal use and protection of your phone, but the outer case can be added when heading out the door.
It is current available for iPhone 4 and 5 only, but a version for the Samsung Galaxy S5 will available soon. The case retails for $149.99. It is officially called the StunGun Case, and you can find more by visiting YellowJacket.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network
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Ford Electric Concept Car
Todd takes a look at Ford’s C-Max Solar Energi concept car, which amongst other things, features a solar panel roof that uses a special light concentrator lens similar to a magnifying glass to improve the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. Ford reckons that a day’s worth of sunshine is enough to charge the hybrid’s battery, which is good for 21 electric-only miles.
This is good news for the environment as it would reduce yearly carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions from the average US car by as much as four metric tons – the equivalent of what a American house produces in four months. This probably assumes a perfect sunshine record and maximum electric mileage each day, but, hey, every little bit helps.
Review by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.
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Mobio shows off its car mounts
Don Baine, also known as “The Gadget Professor” stopped by the Mobio booth during CES to check out what the company is offering this year.
The mobile accessory maker is showing off its range magnetic mounts for smartphones. These work both in the car and in the office. The products make ifor convenient mounting of your device, as it just sticks — no need to fiddle with adjustable holders, as many of the traditional car mounts have. All of the gadgets shown off in the video below are available now at Mobio, with prices varying depending on the product you choose.
Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor
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Panovise displays its camera mounts at CES
<img class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-47475″ alt=”panavise” src=”https://geeknewscentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/panavise.png” width=”228″ height=”71″ />Panovise makes mounts for may devices, including smartphones. Todd stopped by the booth to take a look at the mounting systems for portable cameras, such as the GoPro.
The systems are very advanced. You begin with the stand, such as suction-cup mount, and then add the various attachments for whatever device you are going to be using with it. The kit is called the Action Grip, and you can expect to pay somewhere in the $40 range for the starter set. You can find out more by watching the video below, and you can also visit <a href=”http://www.panavise.com/” target=”_blank”>Panavise</a> on the web.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a href=”https://geeknewscentral.com/”>Geek News Central</a> for the <a href=”https://tpn.tv/”>TechPodcast Network</a>
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Panovise displays its camera mounts at CES
Panovise makes mounts for may devices, including smartphones. Todd stopped by the booth to take a look at the mounting systems for portable cameras, such as the GoPro.
The systems are very advanced. You begin with the stand, such as suction-cup mount, and then add the various attachments for whatever device you are going to be using with it. The kit is called the Action Grip, and you can expect to pay somewhere in the $40 range for the starter set. You can find out more by watching the video below, and you can also visit Panavise on the web.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network
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Striker shows off some cool products for all sorts of uses
Striker Hand Tools Company is a unique corporation in today’s technology world. It makes a variety of items for various different purposes, including your home and car. Recently we got them to show off some of the coolest items.
Starting with the Simple Sucker, which is perhaps the simplest phone mount you will ever find. It is a simple rubber stand with suction cups at both ends to stick to a surface, such as a car windshield, while the other end holds your phone, making for an easy GPS mount.
Striker also showed off the Flex-it Light, a unique flashlight-type system that can be utilized during home repairs or while camping. It can be bent and manipulated into all sorts of shapes to light your way in most any direction. It has two rare-earth magnets so it can stick to metal surfaces — such as working on a breaker box when the power is off. Striker also shows off several other models of lights, but you will need to watch the video below to get the full details and demos.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network
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Velodyne Lidar for Driverless Cars (and other things) at CES
Todd and Don interviewed David Oroshnik from Velodyne about their lidar systems.
The lidar system David demonstrated has 32 infrared beams that can see 360 degrees from the spinning sensor and 10 degrees up and 30 degrees down for a 40 degree field of view. These sensors are used in self-driving cars and mapping applications.
Velodyne Lidar sensors are not available to the public and, as David said, would cost as much as the car does right now. Look for Velodyne Lidar sensors to become part of future consumer products.
For more information see VelodyneLidar.com
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.
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YourKarma Wifi Hotspot at CES
Todd interviewed Robert from YourKarma about their Karma Wifi hotspot device at CES. The Karma device is a pay as you go wifi device that lets you buy and use your data as you need it. It costs $14 per 1 gb of data with no other fees. Use it when you want and it never expires. You can even earn more data when a new person uses your Karma Wifi. Earn 100mb of free data for sharing each time.
This device would be real handy for someone that only uses it once in a while and doesn’t want a monthly fee. It is also priced so that the heavy user can use it and not blow the budget.
The Karma Wifi hotspot is available for $99 at yourkarma.com
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.
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Livio talks about its apps for cars
Livio, a company recently acquired by Ford, produces apps designed to work in cars — a technology that Ford obviously has a great deal of interest in. If you aren’t familiar with the company, it produces a library and developers can use this within their apps, which can then interact with the software, also produced by Livio, that is installed in the car stereo system.
Livio discussed its plans for moving forward in 2014, which, despite its new owner, include plans for an open format that all can use. A standard that will work in Ford, GM and other autos. The proposed standardization would benefit everyone if the company can pull it off. You can learn more by watching the video below.
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Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor
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