Tag Archives: ces

Wireless Power Consortium Shows Us The Evolution of Qi

February 27, 2016CES 2016, Gadgetsces, CES2016, charging, f5 live, gadgets, qi, standard, tech, wirelessPLUGHITZ Live

If there is one thing that Scott looks forward to, it’s visiting the Wireless Power Consortium. Last year, he and co-host Daniele were so impressed with what they saw, they awarded them a TPN Pick for the 1 kilowatt transfer standard.

This year, we saw a version of the standard that sits between the models available today and the prototype we saw last year. With the new 15 watt charging pad, some new things are possible. For standard electronics, you can charge them faster than the current models. More importantly, though, it enables larger devices to charge, like tablets and possibly even netbooks and laptops in the future.

In addition, we saw one of the features Scott has so longed to see: longer throw distances. Using these new coils, you can place the charging pad further below the surface of a desk, table or counter without having to drill and sand perfect holes. The drawback is that the chargers are less efficient, but that could change with additional time.

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Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

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Wireless Power Consortium Begins Showing New Features Possible Because of Qi

February 27, 2016CES 2016, Gadgetsces, CES2016, charging, f5 live, gadgets, qi, standard, tech, wirelessPLUGHITZ Live

This year the company showed us some of the new technologies and features that are made possible because of the existing Qi standard. Included in these technologies are the customizations of a room, a desk, a car and more.

While these technologies are possible right now, they have a problem: they require a lot of power from your phone. By integrating those features with the Qi standard, the power problem is no longer existent, and instead these features become simple.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

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Crosley Breaks From Tradition with Component-Style Turntables

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Gadgetsces, CES2016, crosley, f5 live, gadgets, music, tech, turntable, vinylPLUGHITZ Live

In 2016 it may seem strange to be reading about turntables, but the interest in vinyl has been growing in popularity the past few years. With that trend, it’s good to be a company like Crosley who has specialized in turntables since they were founded.

The company has been known for their self-contained turntable systems, occasionally featured in movies, but as the industry reemerges, there is demand from customers for a traditional component-style turntable. This year, they are showing off several, including one prototype for a future model.

The C10 belt-driven table is available for $399, the C100 belt-driven table is available for $199, the C200 direct drive table is available for $279, and the C20 prototype is hoping for a 2017 release.

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Altec Lansing Enhances Both Looks and Features of Their Speakers

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Gadgetsaltec lansing, boomjacket, ces, CES2016, f5 live, gadgets, music, plughitzlive, Speaker, techPLUGHITZ Live

Everyone loves to bring their music on the go and Altec Lansing’s latest take on its Boomjacket model is combining a great look with a ton of options.

The standard Boomjacket has a fabric finish in a variety of colors and features multi-point paring so users can put together their own surround sound setup. Consumers can mount the device if they choose, an option that comes right out of the box, and it offers 50 hours of battery life while also having the ability to charge another device. However, the Boomjacket is versatile as well and can be used in almost any type of setting seeing as it is largely element proof and also floats, making it truly water proof.

The Boomjacket retails at $199, but Altec Lansing also will offer a mini version that prices at $99 and has 16 hours of battery life. Those needing a little more than the standard can grab the Sonic Boomjacket for $300. That model has 60 hours of battery life with a 100 foot wireless range. All three options are expected to be available in the second quarter of the year.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

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Panasonic Lumix ZS100 4K Camera

February 21, 2016Cameras, CES 2016camera, ces, CES2016Todd Cochrane

The new Panasonic Lumix ZS100 comes with a raft of features that make it a little bit different from the average pocket snapper (and a price to match). Daniel chats with Darin Pepple from Imaging with Panasonic to review the ZS100’s features.

To start with, the ZS100 has a 1″ 20 megapixel sensor, which is huge for a camera in this class and gives good depth of field control. And then there’s a whole bunch of tricks such as taking a still from a 4K video or a post focus mode which captures a series of apparently out-of-focus shots from which you then choose the feature to focus on and everything snaps into focus on that point.

The camera comes with a companion app for smartphones and there’s wifi connectivity built in, so you can see on the smartphone (or tablet) what the camera sees.

Available in mid-March for US$699 online and from good photography stores. Outside of the US, the camera may be called the TZ100.

Daniel J. Lewis is the host of the award-winning podcast about podcasting, The Audacity to Podcast. Daniel helps others launch and improve their own podcasts for sharing their passions and finding success.

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Altec Lansing Adds Video Recording to Its DJ Headphones

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Gadgetsaltec lansing, bluetooth, ces, CES2016, f5 live, gadgets, headphones, music, techPLUGHITZ Live

In today’s headphone market, it is getting harder and harder to differentiate yourself. There are really 2 ways to do it: price and features. Altec Lansing, in their 2016 lineup, have decided to go both ways.

First, they have introduced a line of colorful Bluetooth headphones that come in at an astoundingly low price: $39.99. The company didn’t skimp on the quality to accomplish this price, either. These headphones will be great for people looking for inexpensive headphones.

On the other hand, they have introduced some headphones and earbuds with some really cool features. For example, waterproof individual earbuds that contain GPS so if you lose one or both, you can easily track it down to its last known location.

Additionally, there is the DVR DJ headphone. These headphones contain an HD camera which allows you to record point-of-view video right from your headphones. This is great for DJs, skateboarders and more. These are coming soon for $199.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

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TikTeck Sells Direct to Consumer

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Gadgets, Health, Homeces, CES2016, Gadget, home automation, toy, wearableTodd Cochrane

TikTeck are coming to market with the sole purpose of bringing affordable products direct to the consumer and cutting out the middleman. With only a few gadgets available, Daniel chats with Rex Chen, VP Product Development of TikTeck to find out what’s in store.

In the first wave of products, there’s a Bluetooth-controlled smart LED bulb displaying 16 million colours for only US$9.99. You don’t need me to tell you what a bargain that price is. The companion smartphone app runs on both iOS and Android, providing group controls and timers, much like some of the market leading apps. Available for pre-order now with delivery expected end of February.

Combining both security and fun, the next product is a wireless camera rover. It’s a digital video camera on a remote controlled buggy which can be steered and monitored by wifi from a smartphone. US$69.99 when it goes on sale. I want one – the black version in the interview looks positively menacing.

Finally, TikTeck have a smart finger ring that measures heart rate and tracks activity and sends the data back to the smartphone by Bluetooth. It looks far more like a man’s ring than it does a fitness tracker. Price not finalised but likely to be in the $50-$100 range.

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360fly Makes Immersive Video Available to Consumers

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Gadgets360fly, augmented reality, camera, ces, CES2016, f5 live, gadgets, tech, virtual realityPLUGHITZ Live

The proliferation of virtual reality and augmented reality devices is great, but there is not nearly enough content available to make it worth considering for most. The reason standard Internet video on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo has become so popular is because there is a lot of content, and it can be created by anyone.

360fly has created a camera that allows people to record fully-immersive video as easily as you currently record standard video. Slightly larger than a GoPro, this camera can record full 360 degrees horizontally and 240 degrees vertically. This means that your skateboarding, snowboarding or other videos can be seen with a VR headset as if you were there.

Adding even more to the platform, the company has announced a partnership that will bring the camera, in a slightly different body, to helmets to prevent the added bump that can get caught. The normal camera is available now exclusively at Best Buy for $399.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

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Rockchip IC Design House

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Mobileces, CES2016, VRTodd Cochrane

Started in 2001, Rockchip is a Chinese integrated circuit design company with 700 staff and three R&D centers in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. Daniel finds out more from Henry Chan, Director, and Yanyan Hsing, Brand Manager.

Although Rockchip probably isn’t a familiar name to most GNC readers, its chip designs are used in many products including Chromebooks and tablets, and on show at CES was a prototype Android wireless VR headset designed to show of the capabilities of their latest chip, the RK3288. With luck, we’ll see this incorporated into a consumer product in the next year or so.

(Apologies for the background noise in this interview.)

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Keezel Personal WiFi with VPN Security

February 21, 2016CES 2016, Mobile, Wirelessces, CES2016, security, smartphone, vpnTodd Cochrane

VPNs are great for keeping snooping countries, Orwellian agencies and thieving criminals at bay, but they’re not always straightforward to setup and when you have a laptop, mobile phone and tablet it’s a pain to maintain the VPN on each of them. Keezel has a solution in the shape of a personal wifi hotspot which has VPN software baked into the firmware. Daniel finds out more from Aike Müller, Co-Founder and CEO.

The way the Keezel works is that when out-and-about in coffee shops and other public wifi areas, you connect all your personal devices to the Keezel wirelessly. The Keezel connects to the public wifi network, establishes a VPN connection to a secure server and then all your communications travel securely across the network. Neat.

The standard price is US$99 for the Keezel and then $5 per month for the VPN service. The Keezel is currently on Indigogo’s InDemand having been originally 540% funded back in August 2015. There are some special perks available with devices are expected to ship in March 2016.

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