Geek News: Latest Technology, Product Reviews, Gadgets and Tech Podcast News for Geeks



3M’s Personal Projectors at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:28 AM on April 17, 2012

3M LogoPowerpoint and data projectors have become synonymous with business presentations and I dread to think how many people I have bored over the years. As with almost any technology, the data projectors have got smaller and cheaper, but this was the first time I’d seen how small personal projectors had become. As you can see from the photograph, most would actually fit in a (large) pocket.

3M Pocket Projectors

3M have a range of seven projectors, of which four were on show at The Gadget Show. Unsurprisingly, the different models have different capabilities and there’s more product information here (not all the new models are on the site yet), but I was genuinely impressed by how good the pictures were. The NEC is not a darkened room and yet it was easy to see the presentation or film that was being projected.

As you’d expect the different models have different features; battery size, wireless connectivity, in-built memory and a new model, the MP220, runs Android (it’s the one on the left side of the photograph). I chat with Peter from 3M about the new additions to the range.

Livestream Broadcaster Lets You Stream Without a Computer

Posted by JenThorpe at 1:53 PM on April 13, 2012

Livestream has something really exciting! It is called the Livestream Broadcaster. The device is a bright red, eye catching, piece of disruptive hardware that lets you stream live video through the New Livestream Platform without requiring you to use a computer. This makes it much easier for people to broadcast live events in HD right to the web, to mobile devices and to connected TVs.

The Livestream Broadcaster costs $495. It is fully integrated with the New Livestream Platform. A Livestream Producer account normally costs $45/ month. It gives you an unlimited amount of HD streaming, and is ad-free. When you buy the Livestream Broadcaster, it includes 3 months of free Livestream Producer service.

Connect your camera to the Livestream Broadcaster via the HDMI video input. It is very easy. The Broadcaster encodes real-time H.264 video and AAC audio at up to 2.3 Mbps. It supports most 3G and 4G modems from US carriers, including Verizon 4G LTE. It can also work with many international carries that enable wireless streaming in the field. This will easily allow people to record and stream live events that are taking place in locations that it would not be advantageous, (or perhaps even possible) to bring your computer to.

In short, it works very simply. Connect the Livestream Broadcaster to your camera. You can use the device to remotely connect with your Livestream Producer account. Or, you can connect with your Livestream Producer account through your iPhone using the Livestream Producers app. Just like that, you are broadcasting! No computer required.

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IDAPT Universal Multichargers at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 4:14 PM on April 12, 2012

The need to charge today’s mobile gadgets on an almost daily basis is one of the downsides of faster processors and bigger screens. Although companies like Palm have tried to introduce inductive charging, most gadgets need to be simply plugged in. This leads to the proliferation of wall chargers and a mess of cables.

IDAPT‘s solutions bring order to the chaos with multi-device chargers that have interchangeable charging tips to suit the device being charged – smartphones, portable game consoles, tablets, digital cameras, even rechargeable batteries.

The i4 can charge three devices on top with a fourth on the side (right) and the i2+ takes two on top (bottom left). The i1 eco is a portable charger (middle) and only charges one device but is made from recycled plastic.

IDAPT Charging Units

The bright yellow IDAPT S1 Universal Speaker is shown below with an iPad but it’s device agnostic and uses Bluetooth rather than the device connector to transmit the music. I’ve been looking for a decent speaker dock that works with something other than an Apple device so I’ll be taking a hard look at this one.

IDAPT Loudspeaker Dock

I chat with Myles Pomfret, IDAPT’s country manager at The Gadget Show Live to find out more about these versatile chargers.

Screen Cleaning with Stickems at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 3:37 PM on April 12, 2012

Keep Calm and Drink Tea StickemIf you have a smartphone, tablet or other fingerprint magnet, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve also got something to clean your screen, whether it’s a microfibre cloth or carbon-based wiper. However, these all suffer from the same problem….you never have it when you want it. Stickems solve this problem by sticking to the back of your phone or tablet, ready for use at anytime.

Coming in a good range of sizes and patterns, Stickems have ultra fine microfibre cloth on one side to clean the screen of dust, fingerprints, ear smudges and make-up, with a self-cling backing on the other side. The Stickem simply peels off for use and sticks back on when done. Prices range from £2.99 to £4.99.

I caught up with Alex from Stickems at The Gadget Show Live and he told me more. I suspect he hasn’t actually wiped 10,000 times and I don’t think there’s really a guarantee….

At The Gadget Show Live

Posted by Andrew at 4:00 PM on April 10, 2012

Gadget Show LiveThe Gadget Show Live bills itself as the UK’s largest consumer electronics event and they’re not kidding. While not on the same scale as CES, it still takes over halls 7 through 12 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. It’s also miles to walk from the train station just to get to the entrance…

The Gadget Show

The day started off well….I met Jason Bradbury, one of the show’s presenters in Starbucks and blagged some free mobile broadband from him (thanks!). We had quick chat about the state of mobile broadband and he thought that Three’s MiFi was the one to get.

Jason Bradbury

Inside the show, there was just gadgetry and gaming everywhere. Check out the Xbox zone with row upon row of Xboxes.

Lots of Xboxes

Certainly 3D TVs were popular but I’d say that audio, and wireless streaming in particular, was definitely the flavour of the month. All the big hitters – Bowers and Wilkins, Sonos, Denon, Phillips, Sony were showing off audio solutions in one shape or form. And the single most common product were the portable vibration speakers – I must have seen about ten different variants.

VW up!

Personally, the best “product” was a test drive in Volkswagen’s new city car, the up!. In this particular test drive, I had drive into a wall. No, really…only the car detects the wall and automatically applies the brakes. It’s a low speed system that works up to about 15 mph and is really intended to prevent those minor fender-benders in slow moving queues.

Quite a few car audio specialists at the show too, including Kenwood and this tricked out VW Scirocco. The matt silver paint was eye-catching.

Kenwood VW Scirocco

On a smaller scale, Jumbo were showing off the modern versions of classic children’s games that are now available for the iPad along with complementary game accessories. I’ll be reviewing the games later on.

Goose

That’s about it as a summary of the day – it was a lot of fun but tiring walking around. I have about 20 interviews from a range of companies that I need to get on-line as well, so expect those to trickle out over the next week or so.

 

 

GNC Hits The Gadget Show Live

Posted by Andrew at 6:25 AM on April 6, 2012

Gadget Show LiveNext week sees one of the major technology events in the UK with The Gadget Show Live at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Born out of the Channel 5 TV show of the same name, it combines exhibition space with theatrical performances, making it more consumer than business and a great deal of fun.

The show is the UK’s biggest consumer electronics event and there’s now a press and professional day at the beginning of the week. Fortunately I’ve been invited along on Tuesday so I’ll be reporting back on the latest gadgets and technology. Depending on bandwidth, I’ll try some live-blogging and I’m taking along a digital voice recorder too to get a few interviews. It’s the first time I’ve attended so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

There’s a list of exhibitors here though the floor plan is bit easier to handle as it’s split up into various zones – audio, gaming, automotive, photo, home and international. Many of the big companies are here – Samsung, Dell, Canon, EA, Sennheiser, AMD – plus quite a few smaller ones. If there’s any particular vendor that you want me to hunt down, just leave a comment below and I’ll do my best.

The iBrain Can Read Brain Waves

Posted by JenThorpe at 2:35 AM on April 3, 2012

NeuroVigil has created a device called the iBrain. It is a single-channel EEG recording tool. It can be used to record the waves of electrical brain signals of whomever is using the device. Once recorded, the SPEARS Algorithm is used to read the data. This provides an insight into a person’s brain activity that is not readily available through other types of technology.

The device reads a person’s brain waves, but, that doesn’t mean it can read someone’s mind, or record his or her actual thoughts. The iBrain was designed to be used while a person is sleeping, but it cannot make a copy of your dreams. Technology is not quite there, yet.

The original purpose of the device is to be used for at-home sleep monitoring. Instead of sending someone to a sleep lab to have testing done, the person can have it done from the comfort of his or her own bed. I believe this means that the iBrain could be used to determine if a person has sleep apnea, or other types of obstructive breathing disorders.

The iBrain device is a little box of electronics that is fitted inside a flexible and light harness that a person can wear like a combination hat and headband. The harness contains electrodes that can be easily applied to a person’s head while he or she is asleep.

Put it on, go to sleep, and the iBrain will automatically start recording. It can record for hours at a time. The data will be stored on the device, which has its own USB port to make data transfer easy. From there, the person’s doctor can evaluate the data, and use it in his or her diagnostic evaluation.

Right now, the device is used mostly for at-home sleep monitoring. However, the iBrain will function just as well if the person is awake and watching television, or doing other activities. Researchers could use the iBrain to assess if experimental neurological drugs, that are being used as part of a clinical trial, are working. There is the potential that the device can be used to monitor the brain waves of people who have autism, in the hopes of learning more about the disorder.

There is one thing about the iBrain that has me puzzled. Whenever I see a product name that begins with a small letter i, followed by a capital letter, I automatically assume that it is a device that was made by Apple. Yet, as far as I can tell, Apple is not involved with NeuroVigil.

Image: The Brain by BigStock