Special Media Events

ClarityOne Earbuds with PureSound

Posted by Andrew at 12:26 AM on February 9, 2012

ClarityOne Earbuds

ClarityOne visited GNC at last year’s CES with their prototype earbuds and this year, Dean Kurnell returns to report on progress and to show of the new headset. Alex and Courtney listen in on the pursuit of sonic perfection.

ClarityOne’s PureSound processor is at the heart of their products and it completely eliminates distortion from the speaker, no matter how small. According to Dean, the dual-unity coupled coil creates a magnetic break by cancelling out the inductive reactance, which allows the audio signal to travel without distortion. We’ll have to take his word for that, but it’s covered by six awarded patents and two pending ones.

There will be three earbuds in the range. $149 for the pro music version that has inline music controls, $129 for the smartphone version which has a microphone and calling features, and $109 for just the earbuds. At the moment, only the $129 set is on sale but the other models will be along soon. Available on-line and in retail stores.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDR News and RV News Net.

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Tags: ces, clarityone, earbuds, headphones, Headset, hi-fi, Music, smartphone, sound

Posted in ces, Gadgets, Interview, MP3, Music, smartphone, Special Media

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Peel Recommends TV Shows For You

Posted by Andrew at 12:24 AM on February 9, 2012

In the “old days” finding enjoyable TV programmes relied on three sources – in programme advertising for another show, flicking through the channels or your friends saying, “Did you watch xxxx last night? It’s brilliant!” At CES, Andy and Courtney discover Peel, a fourth way of discovering great new TV shows.

Peel is an iPhone and Android app which offers show recommendations based on your viewing habits and the shows that your friends and family are watching.

The app offers “Top picks” based on what you watch and you can rate shows as favourites or as “guilty pleasures” – I think we all know what that means! The app also gives “Friends’ favourites”, the shows that everyone else is watching, so you can catchup with what’s hot.

It’s not clear whether Peel is US-centric or not, but it’s a free app, so there’s nothing to lose.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDR News and RV News Net.

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Tags: Android, Apple, ces, google, IOS, iPhone, Peel, Social, TV

Posted in Android, Apple, ces, Film, google, Interview, iOS, iPhone, smartphone, Social Media, Special Media, TV

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Music in the Morning with the iShower

Posted by Andrew at 1:01 AM on February 8, 2012

iShower Bluetooth Speaker At last year’s CES, iDevices showed off the iGrill, a Bluetooth-enabled cooking thermometer. This year, they’re back with iShower, a waterproof speaker. Andy and Don tune in with Jonathan Conelias from iDevices.

As with the iGrill, the iShower is Bluetooth-enabled, playing audio from iOS, Android and Blackberry phones. In fact, any device that can stream music via Bluetooth will work with the iShower and up to five devices can be paired. Naturally the iShower is waterproof, making it suitable for the shower, swimming pool and beach. Buttons on the iShower can control the music, skipping backwards and forwards through the playlist.

The iShower’s rich sound speaker cuts through the noise of the shower and in good taste, there’s no microphone. If you were thinking of taking a phone call in the shower, think again. A mounting bracket is supplied and complementary accessories such as a mirror make this a complete shower solution.

The iShower will be available from March both online and in good retail stores with an MSRP of $99.99.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net, and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: Android, Apple, Blackberry, bluetooth, ces, google, iDevices, iGrill, IOS, IPAD, iPhone, iShower, mp3 player, Music, RIM, smartphone, streaming, Tablet

Posted in Android, Apple, blackberry, ces, google, Interview, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, MP3, Music, RIM, Special Media, Streaming

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Social Media for Children – KidzVuz

Posted by Andrew at 12:57 AM on February 8, 2012

KidzVuz is an on-line community for children that lets them review and comment on kids’ gear. Andy and Don talk with co-founder Rebecca Levey about the site’s features and how they’re tailored to children.

Children are often left out of the on-line world as the major social networking sites such as Facebook enforce age restrictions on their members, and rightly so. KidzVuz encourages junior members to join in but addresses child protection issues by seeking parental permission, moderating all content and preserving anonymity. The site is completely COPA-compliant.

KidzVuz encourages children to upload video reviews of toys and games; to reward participation, many activities are turned into games with worldwide leaderboards. The site is categorised with different areas such as games, books and film. Food and travel has proved popular with children reporting back on family holidays.

KidzVuz is free to use by children and there is complementary blog for parents.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net, and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: ces, child-friendly, children, family, kids, KidzVuz, Reviews, Social Media

Posted in ces, Interview, Special Media, travel accessories, Useful sites

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Silentium Active Noise Cancellation

Posted by Andrew at 12:55 AM on February 8, 2012

Silentium Logo Silence is golden and Silentium are working hard to achieve this with their active noise reduction technology. Andy and Don keep it down with Yossi Barath.

Silentium has developed an active noise reduction system that can be implemented in a single chip. The complex (and proprietary) algorithms programmed into the chip use noise cancellation (destructive interference) to reduce the amount of sound coming from a machine to make it quieter. Ventilation systems, air conditioners, computers and data centers are all examples of where Silentium’s system can be used to reduce the noise.

At CES, Silentium are releasing QB2, a headrest-embedded system which creates a bubble of quiet around a person’s head, perfect for air travel or similar passenger situations. Generally, Silentium doesn’t produce products but sells its technology to other companies for inclusion in their own.

All sounds intriguing.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net, and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: ces, headphones, Headset, hi-fi, noise reduction, noise-cancelling, Silentium, sound

Posted in audio, ces, Interview, Special Media, travel accessories

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TPN Round Table #2 2012 WordPress Plugins Recomendations

Posted by geeknews at 1:43 AM on February 6, 2012

In this Round Table Jeffrey from Geekazine.com shares his recommendations for wordpress plugins. Todd Cochrane of GeekNewsCentral.com talks about PowerPress 3.0 and the new Meta Marks feature along with an assortment of other new features..

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Tags: Plugins, PowerPress, round table, wordpress

Posted in Special Media

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Siano Brings Broadcast TV To iPhones and iPad

Posted by Andrew at 1:15 AM on February 6, 2012

Although not present in the USA and Europe, viewing broadcast TV on mobile phones is very popular in Asian countries and parts of South America. Andy and Don talk to Guy from Siano Mobile Silicon about the technology behind this cultural phenomena.

Watching broadcast TV on mobile phones has been very popular in China, Japan and Korea, particularly with people who commute on buses and trains. Much as those of us in the US or UK listen to an MP3 player as we trundle to work, they watch TV. Siano produces the chipset which decodes the broadcast signal and they have a TV accessory that plugs into the Apple connector on an iPhone or iPod to show broadcast TV on the screen.

Phones that can show broadcast TV are expected in the US market during 2012, with coverage available in most major cities. Pricing to be announced.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: Apple, ces, IOS, IPAD, iPhone, Siano, smartphone, Tablet, TV

Posted in Accessory, Apple, ces, Interview, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, travel accessories, TV

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MakerBot Replicator Prints 3D Objects

Posted by Andrew at 1:13 AM on February 6, 2012

MakerBot Replicator If you’ve never come across a MakerBot before, think of it is an inkjet printer, which instead of printing on paper with ink, prints a three dimensional object with plastic. Andy and Don investigate further with Bre from MakerBot.

Announced at CES, the MakerBot Replicator is bigger and better, with an increased volume capacity and the dual extrusion, i.e. able to create objects from two materials, most usually two colours. Model files can be downloaded from Thingiverse in the STL file format and there’s no shortage of different objects to try out.

Bre shows off some different objects, from hard cubes to stretchy bands, all of which were printed out on the Replicator previously. The Stanford bunny puts in a special appearance for modelling geeks.

The new Replicator costs $1750 for a single extruder and $1999 for a dual extruder. There’s a bit of a lead time at the moment because of its popularity with deliveries expected in a couple of months.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: 3D, 3D printing, ces, Interview, Makerbot, modelling, Replicator, stereo lithography

Posted in 3D, ces, Interview, Special Media

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Not Just StuffIt! At Smith Micro

Posted by Andrew at 1:11 AM on February 6, 2012

Smith Micro is best known for its Mac software and StuffIt! in particular but the company’s portfolio is much wider than that. Andy and Don chat to Carla of Smith Micro Software to find out what else the company does.

Smith Micro has a portfolio of products in the mobile wireless space, delivering solutions for telcos and cable operators. As Carla points out, if you’ve ever connected your laptop to a 3G network, you’ve probably used some of their software.

Sprint chose Smith Micro’s Mobile Network Director to intelligently manage traffic between 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connections. A software client on the smartphone works with the carrier’s systems to select the connection technology that will give the best performance in the particular situation. For example, in a very congested 4G area, the software will transfer the data connection to a quieter and consequently faster 3G network.

From the interview, it sounds like Sprint has learnt from the CarrierIQ debacle and while the software on the smartphone works transparently, the owner can override the connection selection manually. Good.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tags: 3G, 4G, application, ces, Mobile, smartphone, Smith Micro, sprint, wi-fi

Posted in ces, Interview, mobile, smartphone, Special Media, sprint

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PrivacyStar Blocks Unwanted Smartphone Calls

Posted by Andrew at 1:08 AM on February 6, 2012

As on-line marketers transfer their cold-calling attention away from land-lines to cell and mobile phones, their calls are becoming increasingly an annoyance when you are out-and-about. PrivacyStar offers a multilayered solution for Android and Blackberry to cut unwanted calls. Andy finds out more.

PrivacyStar is a smartphone app to block unwanted calls and SMS texts. At its simplest, user-specified phone numbers can be blocked to prevent calls or texts coming through and bothering you. The app also features SmartBlocking which blocks the top 25 numbers blocked by other users in the past week, so if there’s a major calling campaign on, those numbers pretty quickly get blocked.

Other features include CallerID lookup, where if the phone doesn’t know who is calling, the app consults with an on-line directory and displays the caller. For really persistent callers, complaints can be filed directly with the FTC.

The app is currently only available for Android and Blackberry, an iPhone version will be released before the summer. The app is free for a week and then $2.99 per month after that.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net.

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