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Archive for February, 2011

ViewSonic Shows off Its Tablets and 3D Cameras

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:46 PM on February 12, 2011

Todd Cochrane spoke to Adam Hanin, VP Marketing Viewsonic Corp. He talked about a couple of products that ViewSonic is introducing this year. The first was the Viewpad 7 which is a 7 inch Android 2.2 Tablet. It has both a front facing and rear facing camera. The rear facing camera is in the middle. It is a wifi device, but it does have a sim card slot and if you have a sim card from a certain phone company, it can act as a phone. He also showed off the Viewpad 4 which is a 4.1 inch Android phone device. It has a Qualcom dual core processor and is very fast. It has a 5 megapixel camera and 2G of memory. it is coming in June and should be around $400.

He also showed off the Viewfun 3DSnap camera. It has dual 5-megapixel lens which permits shooting in 3D. It supports a camera resolution up to 12-megapixels in regular 2D. It has an auto-stereo screen, which allows you to take 3D pictures with out wearing the 3D glasses. The included software will convert the picture to red blue which with the included glasses allows you to view the pictures in 3D on any device. It uses a standard SD card. it will be available in Q1 2011 for around $149.99. He also quickly mentioned the Viewfun 3D Pocket which does video and stills. Which is available now for around $179.99. Finally the Viewfun 3D Pocket HD, which does 60 frames a second, 1080p, 3D video and will be available in early Q2 for around $199.99.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Vivitek: 3D Pico Projector

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:02 PM on February 12, 2011

Todd Cochrane spoke to Christopher Yang from Vivitek about their newest product the Qumi that uses the Pico Projector. The system can project 3D, which you can watch with active 3D glasses, or 2D up to 720P. It uses the Texas Instrument DLP processor with an HD chip set. A full projector with an LED bulb will give off from 800-1000 lumens.

This projector gives off 300 lumens and has a 2500:1 contrast ratio. It is not meant to replace a full projector, it is a great travel projector. It has a VGA, HDMI Connections, USB port, micro SD Card Input and audio-out. You can connect it to a camera, smart phone or laptop. It should be available in April or May time frame for about $499.00

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Horizon Portable Fuel Cell

Posted by Andrew at 4:51 PM on February 12, 2011

Tom interviews Kyle from Horizon Fuel Cell Technology which is introducing the world’s first consumer hydrogen fuel cell to the market. It’s been a long time coming and I think we’ll see more of these over the next few years.

Marketed as a USB charger for portable electronics, the hydrogen-filled HydroStik plugs into the MiniPak (the fuel cell) and generates electricity by combining with oxygen from the environment within the fuel cell. There’s a complementary home hydrogen generator, the HydroFill, that will re-fill the HydroStiks.  The MiniPak is hand-sized and each HydroStik will be able to re-charge a smartphone a couple of times.

The system will be priced at $99 for the MiniPak and two charged HydroStiks. The ‘Stiks alone are $9.99 and the HydroFill charger is expected to be in the $150-$200 range. Available towards the end of 2011.

Interview by Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Yale Real Living Lock System

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 9:43 PM on February 11, 2011

Yale Locks

Todd spoke to Jason Williams from Yale Locks about their newest locks called Yale Real Living. They are introducing two models, a less expensive keypad model and a acrylic touchscreen model. The touchscreen model is activated by swiping your hand across the screen, Then you input your code and your information is sent to the Control4 system. Based on how the system is setup for your code;  you could have the lights come on, turn your TV on, wakeup your computer or anything else that is integrated into the system. Each person can have their own code and can set the system the way they want. You can program it for up to 250 users.

It can be used for both internal and external doors. Jason Williams indicated the system can send you text messages or an email from pre-programmed alerts if you want. You can set it to remotely lock and unlock doors from any web-enabled device.  Even program user access by date and time.  It is highly customizable and very secure.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Promise Technology And DLNA

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:37 PM on February 11, 2011

Billy Harrison stops by to chat about Promise Technology.  Promise just released an app for Android and iOS devices (Windows Phone 7 is on the way) that works with DLNA compatible hardware, such as new Samsung TV’s, to browse and play back your media.

Media stored on a server can be played back on multiple DLNA devices in a home.  They also produce their own media server (although their software is compliant with their competitors).  There’s a whole lot of information in this video that makes it much more informative to watch than to try and explain.  Sit back and watch Mt. Harrison explain all of the great functionality provided and the multitude of devices that this technology in involved with.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News. and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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Vidtonic: Build Your Own TV

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:28 PM on February 11, 2011

Todd Cochrane spoke to Jeff Cody and Matt Miller from Vidtonics a company that is just launching and will be providing a kit to build your own TV. Everything you need is included in the kit, the LCD panel(22-42 inches), the board and anything else you will need. They made it clear that there is no soldering involved, if you can build a computer you can use this kit. It is made for hardcore coders and those who like to tinker.

Both the hardware and software are open source. Because it is an open development platform it allows for and in fact they encourage customizations and mod-ding, They are hoping for a lot of community participation and contribution.  It will have a Texas Instrument processors and will allow up to 1080P resolution. It also includes an expansion port for testing purposes and special uses. It should be available this summer on-line at Vidtonics, pricing is unknown at this time. If you like to build computers or tinker with things this maybe the product for you

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Toddygear: A Fashionable Cleaning Cloth

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:18 PM on February 11, 2011

Toddy Gear

Todd Cochrane and Tom Newman talked to Todd Gable founder & CEO of Toddy Gear. Toddy Gear is a fashionable microfiber cloth. It can be used to clean a tablet or smart phone screen. It is a double sided cloth. On one side is a silk microfiber with various artistic patterns and on the other is a plush microfiber material. It is machine washable and the anti-micro-bile coating doesn’t come off.

There are several lines, the one for men is called Hottie Tottie, the women’s line is called Chic E. Boutiquee. There is even a girl’s line called Misbehave. They also will make cloths with a company brand on it. It is $14.95 per cloth and is available through the Toddy Website, and at the Verizon store,

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central. andTom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Skype at CES 2011

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:01 PM on February 11, 2011

Skype

Todd Cochrane interviewed Rick Osterlash, VP of Consumer Products for Skype at CES 2011. Skype announce several new products and partnerships either at CES or just prior to it.

The first product Mr Osterlash talked about was a new version of Skype for the iPhone, which allows two-way video calling. The calls can be either phone to phone or phone to desktop. This update was issued just before New Years and over the New Year’s holiday there were more than 1 million video calls made from the iPhone. Apple was very helpful in getting the application on the iPhone. Second Skype announced a partnership with Verizon which will enable Skype on LTE Advance devices including Android. Furthermore they announced a partnership with various TV manufactures. Skype will come installed on certain TVs, allowing consumers to make video Skype calls directly from these TVs.  At the same time they also announced partnerships with some Blue-Ray manufactures which would allow customers to use Skype on older TVs. Finally they announced that the new version of Skype on the desktop will allow group video calls. This is available for both Windows and Mac, although the Mac version is still in beta.

Skype is doing very well in fact there was a study done by TeleGeography which said that 25 percent of all international calls are now done through Skype, and that number is only increasing.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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The Lenspen Sidekick

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 4:55 PM on February 11, 2011

Jeffery Powers and Esbjorn Larsen interviewed Peter Meurrens, VP of Operations for Lenspen, about the Lenspen Sidekick and the Laptop Pro. Do you remember your grandmother using a newspaper to clean a mirror. The reason that worked is because the print on newspapers contains carbon. Carbon absorbs the fingerprint oil .

Lenspen took this concept and created the Lenspen Sidekick. The tip on the Sidekick is made of carbon and when you rub it across the tablet screen it collects the oil from the screen. When you close the unit back up it refills the tip with carbon. There are about 150 cleanings per unit and will last for years when not in use.

He also showed off an improved version of the Lenspen Laptop Pro. This application can clean your entire laptop from the keyboard to the screen. In the center of the application there are two knobs. Slide the one knob forward and the hard brush comes out. You use it to clean the keyboard both on top and underneath the keys, Pull it back and then pull the other knob forward and you have the soft moleskin brush which will remove the dust from the monitor. The cap contains a carbon tip you can use to clean fingerprints from your monitor.

The Sidekick will be available in March at various on-line and local retailers. At this time they are looking at selling the Sidekick plus a supply of cleaning tips for $19.95 The Sidekick only will be available for around $9.95 and blades only for $14.95. The Sidekick uses no chemicals or liquids and because carbon is a natural product and last a long time the Sidekick is very green.  Both Jeffery and Esbjorn really liked this product and thought it was one of the best things they saw at CES 2011.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast.
Interview by Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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Jill-e Designs for Colourful and Stylish Gadget Bags

Posted by Andrew at 4:50 PM on February 11, 2011

Jeffrey and Esby get fashion tips from Jill Wight, President of Jill-e Designs, creators of stylish gadget bags. From SLR cameras to smartphones, there’s pretty much a bag for every device. But these aren’t boring grey or black – they come in a wide range of bright colours and fantastic patterns.

Although aimed mostly at women, there are some very stylish brown leather bags in the collection (see the Jack range) which would appeal to the men too.

Prices from $30 upwards.

Interview by Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com and Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast.

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