Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Intel's magic bowl

You can't buy one, at least not yet. But I bet you'll want one when -- and if -- it reaches the market.

Intel's idea for a charging bowl was one of the hits at International CES earlier this month. The idea is a bowl like the one you might have to collect your keys, spare change and other odds and ends. But this bowl would welcome your mobile phones, music players, Bluetooth headsets and anything else that needs a power charge. 

Users could drop in their devices for a power up using magnetic resonance technology. That sounds a lot better than the tangle of wires we have in our kitchen. 

But I'm not getting too excited. So far, it's just a concept. Intel had no release date and no price estimate. And at the time of the show, it only worked with one Intel-brand headset.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Capti app turns text into a podcast

My iPhone is stocked with my favorite podcasts for my daily dog walks: Freakonomics, RadioLab, Fresh Air, and Things You Missed In History Class. But sometimes I wish I could use that time to catch up on my reading. Wouldn't it be nice if would read me news stories, articles, business reports and other material from the web.

Yevgin Borodin had the same thought in mind when he developed Capti Narrator, an iOS app that converts text from websites, blogs, open-source ebooks and other sources into audio files. Borodin and his company, Charmtech Labs, introduced the app at International CES earlier this month.

The app takes text from a browser or storage service like Dropbox and uses speech synthesis technology to convert it into MP3 audio files. Borodin said his initial goal was to create a text-to-speech program to serve people with visual impairments, but later decided that the idea would also appeal to students, commuters or anyone who wanted to listen to what they couldn't read.

The iOS app is currently available in the Apple iTunes store and Borodin said an Android version will be released soon. The app is free but different voices cost up to $5.99 Capti currently has more than two dozen English voices with American, British, Australian and Indian accents.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Galaxy Gear is not the smart watch for everyone

I was intrigued with the idea of wearing a smart watch even before I saw more than a dozen of them at this year's CES. I wore Casio's Databank watch back in the day, so I would welcome a watch that could do a lot more than store my address book.

But Samsung's Galaxy Gear isn't that watch, at least not for me. After a week of wearing one of the models sold by Verizon Wireless, here's what I learned:

  • The display is easy to read and navigate. i liked the clock and weather screens and it was fairly easy to look find entries in my contact. 
  • Taking and making calls on your wrist is a little awkward, like using a Bluetooth earpiece. It's an acquired skill. 
  • The face of the watch goes dark after a few minutes, probably to save battery life. That means it takes both hands to see the time, which seems to undercut the whole reason for wearing a watch in the first place.
  • The watch requires a special cradle to charge. You can't connect it directly to a charging cable. And when it's fully powered, it won't last for more than two days.
  • The built-in camera takes very nice photos, but aiming and clicking takes more effort than it should.
  • The watch looks nice in photos, but it's too thick and heavy to be comfortable. 
Add in Gear's $300 price and the fact that it only works with Samsung Galaxy phones and its becomes a specialized product aimed at a very narrow audience. One that doesn't include me.  

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

This Mother keeps an eye on everything

If I told my mother I had trouble sleeping, she would probably ask if I was drinking coffee late at night. Now there's a digital Mother from the French company Sen.se that will watch over your house, your possessions and your daily life.

This Mother communicates with up to 24 digital "cookies" that use motion detection to compile activity data. They will count how many times the refrigerator door is opened, record how much walking you do, or note when a child returns from school. Attach a cookie to a toothbrush and Mother will know how often you brush your teeth.

And, like any good mother, this one will scold you if you're snacking too often, exercising too little or not practicing good dental hygiene.

A Mother and a starter set of four cookies costs $222 at the Sen.se website. The company plans open the technology so developers can create other jobs for Mom and the brood.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Mio Link puts your heart into your workouts

As the two-lane road in the French countryside headed uphill, Corey Posgay started pedaling as if he were wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. In reality, he was piloting a stationary bike while he watched a video that followed the route of the famous race.

Posgay was in the Las Vegas Convention Center at International CES to demonstrate the Mio Link, a new strapless heart rate monitor that lets users record and analyze their heart rate data. Using the collected information, they can fine-tune their workouts, whether they're training for an international competition or a run through a neighborhood park.

The Mio Link records heartbeats with a watch-sized wristband rather than the more traditional chest strap. "People don't like chest straps," said Mio founder and CEO Liz Dickinson. "They learned the importance of heart rate monitoring but gave it up because it's uncomfortable."

Using a Bluetooth connection, the Mio records and transmits heart rate data to an app on the user's smartphone. A colored LED light on the wristband gives the wearer an immediate indication of the zone their heart rate is in and the stored data can be compared to the workout route or routine. What's your heart doing when you're slogging up a steep hill or cruising on the flats? The Mio knows.

The app also lets you download trip videos from around the world so you can jog along a beach road in Mexico or try that Tour de France route from the comfort of your treadmill or stationary bike. The Mio Link and app will be available in February for about $99 at www.mioglobal.com.

Get a look at more new fitness monitors and devices from CES in my column at MyWell-Being.com.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Whirlpool's smart home has an interactive kitchen

Where's the best spot in you home where you can look up recipes, check the weather and keep up with Facebook friends? You might guess the TV or computer. Whirlpool thinks it might be your kitchen counter.

The appliance manufacturer showed off it's idea for an interactive cooktop at International CES in a display it called the "kitchen of 2020." The centerpiece is the Whirlpool Interactive Cooktop that integrates an induction cooking surface with digital displays of text and images from the Internet.

The company also showed it's designs for connected appliances. What's the advantage of having an appliance connected to the Internet? Typical smart appliances save energy and money by automatically washing dishes or drying clothes at times when electric rates are cheapest. They can do that trick if they are connected to a smart electric meter.

Most homes, however, don't have smart meters and utilities have been slow to build the so-called smart grid. Whirlpool's technology gets around that problem by using its Wi-Fi connection to check a database of energy prices, then adjust its run times accordingly.

The 2020 kitchen also included a refrigerator with built-in speakers that could stream music from any Bluetooth device. Who knew a refrigerator door could make a great bass?

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Dish plans new line of Joey receivers

Wireless Joey
Dish Network's brood of kangaroos just keep growing. The satellite service's home setup uses the Hopper as the base station and a small receiver called the Joey installed on remote TV. At our house, we have the Hopper installed in the family room and Joeys on the bedroom and kitchen TVs.

At CES, the satellite service announces three new versions of the Joey. New boxes coming later this year include a wireless Joey that can be used anywhere within your home Wi-Fi coverage. If you want to watch recordings of "Two Broke Girls" at poolside, this is the box for you.

Another version is the Super Joey that adds two additional network tuners to the system. That lets users record up to eight shows at the same time when using Dish's Prime Time Anytime recording feature.

The third new offspring is a software-based "Virtual Joey" that can be added to the Sony PS3 and PS4 game machines and to LG's Smart TVs.

CES was a spa for my iPhone

Rambling around International CES was hard on my feet but it was a visit to the spa for my iPhone.

It got an bacteria-killing light bath courtesy of PhoneSoap. The company's $50 charging box disinfects phones by bathing them in UV light. The PhoneSoap folks say the average mobile phone is 18 times dirtier than a public restroom. Yikes!

At the Tylt booth, we got a new screen protector applied using the Alin, Tylt's $25 idiot-proof alignment tool. We also picked up a colorful Tylt charging cable with a Lightning connector. The $30 cable is super-sturdy, looks cool and doesn't bark at me like the cheap Lightning cables I bought on eBay.

Last stop was the Evutec booth, where my phone was outfitted for one of their Karbon S cases. The $40 case is made of fused layers or DuPont Kevlar fibers. Less than 1 mm thick, it fits like a second skin. Evutec says the material is five times stronger than the equivalent weight in steel - and it doesn't block the cellular signal.
  


Monday, January 13, 2014

Where to get 5,000 free TV channels

You might have seen Rabbit TV for sale at Walgreens or Walmart stores. It's a little USB device that for $10 a year promises to deliver "free access to 5,000 TV stations."

Too good to be true? While the rabitteers might be guilty of hyperbolic marketing, they're not actually fibbing.

The device does deliver access to thousands of free movies, TV shows and radio broadcasts. It does it by scouring the Internet to find content available through websites like Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Crackle, Spike TV, and the major broadcast and cable networks. Then it sorts and organizes everything into a guide.

"Our spider crawls about two million links, most of them in the U.S.," said Kyle Moulder, who was explaining Rabbit TV last week at International CES.

In other words, Rabbit TV does the legwork. It finds what's available online, organizes it around a TV Guide-style interface and collects 10 bucks for its trouble. Not a bad deal for either side.
Want to watch Time Bandits, Supersize Me or A Very Brady Christmas? Rabbit TV will hook you up with a free stream on your computer. It also indexes and links to pay-per-view movies on Amazon and other sites.

Rabbit's news at CES is the company is working with cable systems and other bandwidth providers to package Rabbit TV with their services. The company is also working on a set-top box that will deliver Rabbit TV directly to a to televisions. The box is scheduled to be released later this year.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

CES 2014: Mopping up at CES

Moneual brought it's new robots to clean up at CES. One is the H68 Pro, which combines a vacuum with a floor scrubber. It's an upgraded version of the Rydis robot I profiled in this video for MyWell-Being.com.

And the company also used CES to demonstrate its Robo-Spin floor scrubber that cleans floor with a pair of spinning heads. Here's a couple of them at work.



Thursday, January 9, 2014

CES 2014: Look Ma no hands

Lines were long for a trip in the driverless BMW and Range Rover so I rode the Navia driverless shuttle cart. And had to sign a release.

The cart survived the oval track were our speed might have reached 3 mph. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

CES 2014: Watchapalooza

There are lots of smart watches at CES and this Toq from Qualcomm is getting more attention than many. It may be useful but I wouldn't call it light, thin or fashionable.

CES 2014: Digital practice swings

In a technology demo in the Sony booth, a plastic tennis racquet with sensors that measure swing speed, impact position, ball speed and spin rate.

My score was, um, no threat to Nadal. 

CES 2014: Olloclip broadens the iPhone's view

The Ollocip is a snap-on lens kit that broadens the photography options for the iPhone.

The latest version that was announced this week is the 4-in-1 clip that includes a fisheye lens, a wide-angle and two macro lenses.

Below is a photo that I shot of the main entry hall at CES using the fisheye lens.





Tuesday, January 7, 2014

CES 2014: Chillin at the gadget show

What's Sealy doing at an electronics show? These mattresses have a feature called Opticool that let's sleepers on each side lower the temperature for their half. Prices start at about $1,200 and Sealy is looking at electronics stores to sell them.

Monday, January 6, 2014

CES 2014: Vizio announces a pair of portable streamers

Best known for its TVs, Vizio today announced two new devices designed for portable audio streaming. The Portable Smart Audio devices feature 7- and 4.7-inch touchscreens. They run the latest KitKat version of Google's Android operating system and they use a WiFi connection to link to the Internet.

In a press release today, Vizio said it chose WiFi for the primary audio connection rather than a Bluetooth link to a smartphone to avoid interruptions from incoming calls, e-mails, text messages or other notifications.

Equipped with 802.11n, apps can be downloaded and accessed whenever the portable device is connected to WiFi. When out of wireless range, users can also play content from their smartphone or tablet using Bluetooth, or utilize the portable smart audio's on-board memory for local playback of their favorite tunes. The devices also have a USB port for additional storage expansion.

Vizio said prices for the streamers will be announced "closer to product availability."

Saturday, January 4, 2014

CES 2014: Hot trends for the new year

The first Consumer Electronics Show in New York in 1967 featured hi-fi stereos, color TVs and a the latest technology for portable entertainment. It was called the transistor radio.

When this year's International CES opens Tuesday in Las Vegas, there will be plenty of competition for this year's hot new products. Expect the super high-resolution 4K TVs and the curved sets from Samsung and LG to get lots of attention along with 3D printers, smart watches and other forms of wearable technology.  

I'll be looking for an electric-powered skateboard and my own personal drone.

What else is on my must-see list? Check out my CES preview at MyWell-Being.com.


Friday, January 3, 2014

CES 2014: Watch for more smart watches

Archos smartwatch
Got an itch for a smartwatch that communicates with your mobile phone?

You can buy Pebble's watch for about $150 and take advantage of the new app store that Pebble plans to launch early this year. The apps will include one that works with the Mercedes-Benz Digital DriveStyle app. You'll be able to see if your door is locked, check gas reserves and find you car after a night of frivolity.

And there's Samsung's $300 Galaxy Gear watch that works with Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, the company's hefty "phablet" that combines a phone and tablet.

Those watches are expected to get some competition next week with the arrival of new smartwatches from Archos. The French company says it will announce several "connected objects," including a health-tracking wristband, a connected scale, a dog-tracker, and a home weather station.

But the bigger news is expected to be a smart watch that is rumored to be priced at under $100. Archos has a photo of the watch on its website with a teaser that says its watches will be "the perfect companions for your SmartPhone."

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

CES 2014: Ask HAL for help

Lose your TV remote again? Check out HAL and you might just leave it between the sofa cushions.

This HAL isn't the rogue computer from 2001 A Space Odyssey, but it will do your bidding when you talk to it - or use hand gestures. Nashville-based WHYremote Inc. will be demonstrating HAL for the first time at International CES when the trade show opens Jan. 7.

WHYremote says HAL combines an Internet-connected set-top box and remote control. With HAL, users can change channels, set a DVR to record movies and shows, browse the internet, stream movies, make video calls and even play games. In addition to the TV, HAL will also control audio receivers, DVD players and smart devices that use iOS or Android.

HAL is expected to be available for sale in the fall with a list price of $199. 

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