Category Archives: Gadgets

SpnKIX Motorized Skates



Peter Treadway from SpnKIX joins us for the CES TPN Live coverage. SpnKiX is a motorized Skate that attaches directly to your shoes.

SpnKIX is a 6 lb attachment to your heel of your foot. It takes a little bit of coordination, but with a little bit of practice, you can get the hang of SpnKIX.

SpnKIX has over 5 years research and development. Top speed is 10 mph and a wireless handheld unit can control the power.

Pre-order now ($649) for delivery in March – the production was funded as a Kickstarter project.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

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Foxl SoundMatters: Worlds Best Pocket-Sized Speaker



Jim Bocash of SoundMatters came on the Live TPN CES show to talk about their range of small speakers, with Bass support.

The FoxL weighs a little over a pound, and incorporates the battery to turn it into the bass driver. FoxL comes in three versions – wired, Bluetooth and Apt-X codec for CD quality sound.

FoxL will be priced at $149, $199 and $229 respectively.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

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Duracell Powermat with Backup Battery for Emergency Charging



Beth Harrison Meyer from Duracell Powermat joined us for the TPN CES Live action. We’ve talked with them in the past, and the Powermat is always looking at ways we charge our devices.

This year, Duracell showed a Powermat backup battery.  It gives you an emergency charge, and can just sit on the Powermat when not in use. This backup battery also can be charged via USB.

Also check out the other Powermat video

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

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AgeTek – Aging Technology Alliance



AgeTek is helping seniors use technology to stay independent. The Aging Technology Alliance (AgeTek) is dedicated to bring the technologies to you, your parents, and grandparents to help quality of life. Items like the Life Station managed pill box that Jamie Davis interviewed earlier at CES.

Over 60 companies and organizations are part of this alliance to promote Agetek. They have a wide array of gadgets; Easy-to-use TV remotes to big button mobile phones (like the Jitterbug). The alliance is there to assist you and your loved ones to incorporate these items into everyday life.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

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Solar Focus: Solar Kindle Lighted Cover



The SolarFocus Technology Company Ltd  offers a CES2012 Innovation Award product, the solar-powered Kindle Lighted Cover.

E-ink technology offers an easy-on-the-eyes lightweight reading experience with the Amazon Kindle. But if you are looking for a way to protect that screen, and make sure that your Kindle never runs out of power, this is the product for you!

Plus, with the built in light, you can read in areas without good illumination (like on long flights) or while your sleeping partner enjoys an early bedtime.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Gazelle



Gazelle If you have old gadgets lying around your house, there are a couple things you can do with them, keep them, throw them in the trash, try to sell them on Ebay or Craiglist or you could use Gazelle. Option one isn’t very practical. Option two is bad for the environment and is illegal in most states. Option three can be a hassle. The best option to me is option four, Gazelle. Whenever I have an old gadget I want to sell or get rid of I go to Gazelle. Currently I am waiting for the box to ship my iPad version 1 to them. I am going to get $140.00 for it, which will go toward the purchase of an iPad 3.

Gazelle has been around 2006. You can trade in your old gadgets for money or recycle those that aren’t worth anything. Around 95 percent of all items they receive are worth something, the other 3 percent they will recycle properly. They handle products in 23 different categories everything including cellphones, gaming consoles, laptops and mp3 players just to name a few. Gazelle takes data removal very seriously any data that is on the device is removed using the most secure method. Gazelle gets most of their business from people who wanted to get the latest and greatest and trade in their old device. Since the release of the iPhone 4s in Oct they have received over 150,000 iPhones in trade in. They are currently getting ready for the release of the iPad 3.

The thing I didn’t know about Gazelle is they have a store, where they sell the items they receive that are in good working order. So when the iPad 3 comes out you maybe able to pick up a iPad 2 for a good price. In fact many people will buy a device from the Gazelle store and then later sell the same device back to Gazelle to get some money. In case you haven’t noticed I am a big fan of Gazelle, so if you have old gadgets you are trying to get rid of you may want to check out Gazelle.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Steve Lee of Wave of Tech

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Rocstor AES 256-bit Enctypted Hard Drive



Rocstor has unveiled a new portable external hard drive that practically guarantees that your data won’t be stolen. The hard drive, which comes in capacities up to 1 TB, has a slot for a smart card. Enter the card, punch in your code (which you choose), and you unlock the drive and all of the data you have stored on it. The drives are FIP certified and ship with multiple cards. For users that need additional cards, they can be purchased blank and inserted into a unit to be programmed to work with it. PIN Numbers can be changed an unlimited number of times as well.

These hard drives are probably not for average consumers, but more for business and government. They are designed to protect highly-sensitive data and eliminate those stories that are always in the news these days about stolen laptops filled with account and credit card information. The drives retail in the $400-600 range and are available now from Rocstor.

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

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CaseInity Cord On Board



Cord on Board was a Kickstarter project. The case comes with the custom sized cord included.  The case is $29.00 in their store at Casinity.

The idea is simple: have a cord inside the case at the ready for the user to either charge their device, or connect to a computer.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Interviewed by Jamie Davis of The 


Wi3 – Turn Coax Cable into Ethernet Jacks



If you don’t want to re-wire your house for Ethernet, then check this out. Wi3 developed a way to use co-ax wiring (which connects the cable to your TV) to carry more that just pictures. The Wi3 system replaces the wall jack with a modular unit that offers a range of connection or transport options. All without affecting the cable TV signal.

Installation is five minutes The first two modules are only available to dealers at present but they will be stocked in big boxes nationwide later in the year. Prices are $150 and $200 for the ethernet only and wi-fi models respectively.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.


Fitness Technology Underwater Mini Cameras, Lights at 3,000 Lumens



Fitness Technologies has been making waterproof MP3 players since 1996. This year, Fitness Technologies introduced a new line of waterproof video cameras designed for rugged outdoor use.

The first is a helmet-mountable cameras and lamps – up to 3,000 lumens. That is a bright light, no different than a headlight. The light has an interesting look, because they contain a heat-sink to keep the light’s heat down.

Fitness Technologies have mini cameras that fit into a waterproof case.

FitnesstechUSA cameras retail for $200 to $250 and are available now.

You can see all three cameras in the video below, plus you can get a look at a pair of tiny waterproof MP3 player and a new line of diving flashlights.  You can find more about these and other products by visiting Fitness Tech USA.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World

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