Items tagged with Gadgets
If you have a normal security system at your home or office, you know what a hassle they can sometimes be. If you are the sort who never seems to remember the passcode or feels rushed when you arm the system and then have only 30 seconds or so to get out, you know a normal security system isn't ideal. Nest has a new home security product called Nest Secure that wants to make home security easy and convenient for families. Nest Secure is an alarm system that has three different parts to it including the Nest Guard, Nest Detect, and Nest Tag. Guard is the all-in-one security base with an alarm, keypad, motion sensors and has the ability to speak to you in a friendly voice. Nest Detect is the sensor...
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The "Internet of Things" (commonly shortened to IoT) is a term you've likely encountered by now. At its core, IoT is a working concept of everyday devices and gadgets connected to the Internet, and it's the backbone of today's smart home movement. Whether it's pushing a button to re-order more Tide detergent from Amazon or upgrading your thermostat to a smart model that learns your routine and automatically adjusts the temperature accordingly, it's all part of the fast growing IoT market.How fast? Market research firm ABI Research predicts that the number of business-to-business (B2B) IoT connections will more than quadruple to 5.4 billion by 2020. The stat is cited in a Verizon reported titled,...
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Say what you will about the inconvenience of security checks, but this year alone the TSA found thousands of loaded guns, a hand grenade, and an enchilada with an 8-inch knife inside the carry-on baggage of forgetful travelers. Many of the people who lost knives to these checks simply forget them, or didn’t consider them to be knives because the blade was part of a larger tool. To give travelers some piece of mind (and style), Leatherman created the Tread multi-tool. Meant to be worn like a bracelet, the Tread hides its tools inside its stainless steel links. Each link has multiple tools, including hex drives, screwdrivers, a carbide glass breaker, and a cutting hook. The links are designed...
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Last month, news emerged that Philips was suing Nintendo over alleged patent infringements in the U.S., and the proverbial chickens are already coming home to roost in other countries. According to Reuters, Philips said it has won a patent suit in the UK (although no details about amounts for compensation have been shared). The patents concern motion, gesture, and pointing control that Philips licenses to companies that make set-top boxes and game consoles, and the company has asserted that Nintendo has been using the technology in the Wii U without a functioning license agreement. Philips spokesman Bjorn Teuwsen told the outlet that the company had been trying to come to terms with Nintendo...
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Google Glass costs $1,500 for the time being, but a teardown of the spectacles reveals that the total cost of the materials inside totals $79.78. That’s what you’d call a significant markup. TechInsight’s Teardown.com did the dirty work, and they found that the most expensive part was the Texas Instruments OMAP4430 processor ($13.96). Glass also has 16GB of Toshiba EGW1 64G NAND memory ($4.68), 512MB of SK Hynix mobile DDR2 SDRAM ($8.18), a 5MP camera ($5.66), and a 570mAh battery ($1.14). Source: TechInsights The full list is quite interesting, but as the teardown is brief and the prices approximated (a more in-depth teardown is forthcoming), there are some questions the list...
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Google’s charming little Chromecast dongle has proven to be quite a popular device, and the latest app to add Chromecast to its list of supported devices is Redbox Instant. The latest version, 1.5.1, includes Chromecast support as well as minor bug fixes. Redbox Instant allows users unlimited movie streaming on your phone or tablet--and now, your TV--as well as the ability to reserve movies as a Redbox kiosk or buy or rent movies, even if you don’t have a subscription to Redbox. Chromecast already supports quite a few choice apps, including Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Pandora, MLB TV, Google Play Movies and Music, and more. You can also “cast” a Chrome browser...
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Bacon is over. Or at least, it’s over in the sense that whenever a pop culture Thing makes it up the ladder to the corporate world, it immediately stops being cool. Thus, the official Oscar Mayer Bacon Alarm Clock seems to indicate that the nation’s cult of bacon has run its course. (Or perhaps bacon worship has reached its zenith by allowing corporate America to not just participate, but further the religion?) What would a “bacon alarm clock” be, exactly? If you guessed an iPhone accessory and companion app that wakes you up with the sound and smell of bacon, you’d be right. The accessory spits out a mist infused with the scent of bacon. Here’s a ridiculous...
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You want to record yourself playing music? Easy. Plug in to a Fender SLIDE, connect the SLIDE to your PC or mobile device, and have at it. DIY home recording has come a long way; a certain number of years ago (let’s not specify how many), if you wanted to lay down tracks with your band or just have some good demos of your burgeoning singer/songwriter greatness, you needed a 4-track tape recorder--and those things weren’t cheap. These days all you need is a relatively inexpensive digital recording interface, which is usually some kind of box with a couple of instrument or mic inputs and some USB (or FireWire, if you have a slightly older one) outputs so you can connect to a computer...
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Belkin has an intriguing suite of WeMo-branded smart devices for home automation, including light switches, motion detectors, integration with appliances, and more, but security firm IOActive recently discovered multiple vulnerabilities in WeMo--vulnerabilities that Belkin says it has now patched. Belkin’s statement on the subject reads in part: Belkin has corrected the list of five potential vulnerabilities affecting the WeMo line of home automation solutions that was published in a CERT advisory on February 18. Belkin was in contact with the security researchers prior to the publication of the advisory, and, as of February 18, had already issued fixes for each of the noted potential vulnerabilities...
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Chromecast is great. It lets you stream just about anything to your TV from the Internet, and it does so in a unique, simple, and brilliant way: instead of streaming directly from your smartphone or tablet, your device tells Chromecast to do the streaming. A group led by a pair of ex-Google employees has essentially done the same thing for audio that Chromecast does for video with its simple device called “Beep”. Beep (or is it “a Beep”?) is a metal dial that connects directly to virtually any speakers in your home via 3.5mm AUX, RCA, or optical input and connects wirelessly to your WiFi network. You can use the Beep app on your smartphone to tell it to play music, and...
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Human adaptability is a hell of a thing, and one needs to look no further than quadriplegics who refuse to miss out. There are many quadriplegic gamers out there, and thanks to the work of Ken Yankelevitz, they’ve been able to enjoy a great deal of gaming for decades with his specially-designed joysticks. However, Yankelevitz has been unable to continue his work due to age and health issues of his own, but the mantle has been picked up by Fred Davison, who is raising Kickstarter funds to develop the next generation of adaptive game controllers. His case is compelling. “Video games today are as much about the social aspects as they are about presenting an intellectual puzzle or entertainment,...
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“Iridium GO! is unlike anything the world has seen before,” reads the bold proclamation on the Iridium website. “Powered by the world's furthest reaching network, this compact, rugged and portable unit creates the first ever reliable global connection for voice and data communications on up to 5 smartphones, laptops or tablets.” The device looks a bit unconventional--a boxy little thing with a stubby antenna that pops up--which is commensurate with what it offers, which is global Internet access. The device relies on satellites for connectivity and grants users voice calls, apps, two-way SMS, GPS tracking, and SOS alert functionality via what amounts to a mobile hotspot....
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Amazon is testing the use of drones to make deliveries in populated areas, but the Lakemade Beer Company of Stevens Point, Wisconsin is testing the idea of drones in decidedly unpopulated areas--namely, ice fishing shacks. “Our tests are on vast, wide-open frozen lakes free of trees and power lines. Our drone can fly as the crow flies, straight to our target, based on GPS coordinates provided by an ice angler. Fish houses are very uniform in height, so we can fly lower than FAA limits, too,” said Lakemade Beer Company president Jack Supple. “It’s the perfect proving ground for drone delivery. Our initial tests on several mid-size lakes have been very successful. We’re...
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Just yesterday, a report emerged that TiVo was laying off much of its hardware design team, leaving only a skeleton crew to support existing devices, and getting out of the hardware business altogether to focus on the cloud. According to comments made by TiVo VP of corporate communications Steve Wymer to The Verge, the notion that TiVo is abandoning hardware is false. “It's not right to say that TiVo's out of the hardware business. We're just as fired up as consumers are about the Roamio and we expect to deliver on that for years to come. It's one of our core businesses and our shining jewel." He did, however, confirm the layoffs, and those would indicate that something is changing dramatically...
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Hasselblad is a something of a legendary name in photography and has been making medium-format cameras for decades, and now the company has made another step forward in innovation with the impending Hasselblad H5D-50c. The 50MP medium-format H5D-50c is similar to the company’s existing H5D-50 model except that it has a CMOS sensor instead of a CCD, which Hasselblad claims is a world’s first. Hasselblad says that the new sensor will enable faster capture rates, longer shutter speeds, and better ISO performance, as well as “greatly improved” Live Video in Phocus and multi-shot capabilities. "We believe this will provide a highly compelling option for professional photographers...
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Sometimes a company has an idea that hits everyone right in the zeitgeist. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter are terrific indicators of what people will be interested in buying, because they speak volumes with their support. We’ve seen it in the recent past with projects like Pebble, OUYA, and the Oculus Rift, and smartphone camera lens maker Moment is enjoying some of that same grassroots success. Moment was looking to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter, but it blew way past that amount right away, netting $100,000 in just 28 hours. Currently, with 25 days to go in the campaign, Moment has raised over $208,000, and it’s a virtual certainty that the number will be higher than that by...
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It’s a fact that for most of us, our primary camera is the one baked onto our smartphone. For some shots that’s been fine, and the ability to immediately share photos and video is tremendous, but the world could do without yet another shaky, far-away clip of kids’ soccer games, etc. Moment is addressing the issue of needing better lenses for our phones by developing high-quality external, easily-attachable lenses. They’ve developed wide-angle and telephoto lenses that attach to your smartphone using a tiny metal mount that doesn’t harm your device and can be mounted regardless whether or not the phone has a case. So far, the lenses are designed to work with iPhones,...
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On the list of things we spent an inordinate amount of time doing as children, making paper airplanes (and floating them to inappropriate places at inappropriate times) was easily in the top ten, and it looks like very little has changed in *cough* the last few decades *cough*. The PowerUp 3.0 is a smartphone-controlled paper airplane kit that actually appears far more compelling that you might think, and to date the group’s Kickstarter campaign is edging ever closer to $1 million. Currently, the amount of pledged funds is $965,447, and there’s still 13 days left in the campaign. The PowerUp 3.0 sports a smart chip with a Bluetooth module on the nose, and the rear of the device has...
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If Intel wanted to, it could maintain its status quo and churn out loads of processors for most of the desktops and laptops (and many mobile devices) in the world, raking in money hand over fist for years to come, but the company, under the leadership of new CEO Brian Krzanich, is demonstrating that it wants to maintain that innovative edge with two new unconventional technologies. One is the tiny Edison development board, and the other is a futuristic way to interact with computers called RealSense. Intel Edison development board Simply put, the Intel Edison Development Board is an SD card-sized computer that features an extremely low-power 22nm dual-core 400MHz Intel Quark processor that allows...
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Corsair’s spate of new goodies at CES this year includes keyboards, chassis, cooling solutions, and more, but the headliner is the Cherry MX RGB Project gaming keyboard. Based on a Vengeance K70 keyboard, the unit is equipped with Cherry MX RGB keyswitches and offers gamers 16.8 million-color backlighting. Users can opt for Cherry MX Red, Cherry MX Brown, or Cherry MX Blue keyswitches, but all options will be pretty with fully customizable lighting schemes. Corsair Cherry MX RGB Corsair has also lent its color backlighting to the Raptor K40 RGB LED gaming keyboard ($79.99) and Raptor M45 gaming mouse ($59.99). The K40 offers a membrane key feel and onboard macro storage, anti-ghosting with...
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The mouse and keyboard have been the go-to method of input for computers for ages, but touchscreens and even gestures (with projects such as Leap Motion and Microsoft’s Kinect) have revolutionized how we interact with our computing devices. Still unsatisfied, humans are looking to push thing further. A group from Tel Aviv is developing Grippity, a transparent tablet that’s actually more of an input device than a computing device. The display is semi-transparent, and you can type on the upward-facing surface as well as the rear. This allows you to type with all ten fingers while allowing your wrists and palms to remain in a relaxed position. The device runs Android and has a 7-inch...
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Portable devices are becoming ever more powerful, and users are increasingly utilizing them to keep up with news and friends, get work done, and for entertainment. Smartphones and tablets have never been so powerful, and if you're in market for either, it's going to be a fun holiday season packed with some great options to choose from. Whether it's for yourself or someone else, consider this your go-to guide for picking out the perfect tablet or smartphone. We're all about spreading the holiday cheer around here, and if it means sifting through dozens or even hundreds of devices to find the best ones, then so be it. This is what we do, and we'd much rather you spend your time this holiday season...
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