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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..

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.

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.

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.

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.

Snowboarders, skiers, mountainbikers, sky divers, hunters – if you want to show off your latest adventures to your friends and enemies, then Contour’s new bullet cam is the way to do it. Andy gets the deets from Marie at Contour.

The Contour+ was launched back in spring 2011 and quickly gained a following among the extreme sports crowd for the great video quality but at $499, it’s a little pricey, even if it does come with GPS, Bluetooth and an excellent lens.

The new ContourRoam arrived in the autumn and is a more affordable $199. It doesn’t have all the features of its more expensive sibling but it does have the 170 degree wide angle lens and it’s very easy to use with a simple on-off slider switch suitable for gloves or cold hands. Battery life is around 3 hours.

In the video, Marie claims that the camera doesn’t support microSD cards, but all the literature on Contour’s website suggests otherwise. There’s some great video footage on the site, too.

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

Some of you may be familiar with Schlage Link, but they are now rebranded as Nexia Home Intelligence to give users more of an idea what they are all about.  They are working to bring total control of a user’s home right to the fingertips.  From security, to heating and air conditioning to home automation, you can control it all from the web or from an app on your phone.  Currently there are apps for iOS and Android, but Windows Phone is on the way.

Nexia Home Intelligence is using Z-Wave technology and their products are compatible with many others on the market.  In the video below you will get a look at the control interface in action.  You will find a lot of features in this demo, like the ability to lock and unlock doors remotely, text messages when someone enters your home, control lights, record video, and open and close shades.  You can check out the video below and also visit Nexia Home.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live.

Everyone loves today’s touchscreen keyboards, right?  Okay, most people love them, but for some users they are a real struggle because of large fingers or vision problems.  That’s where the new Invisible Keypad from 4iConcepts comes in.  The Invisible Keypad is a clear overlay of the iPhone screen that works with a custom phone case to provide a path for your fingers to find the correct keys.  It’s a simple concept, but an incredibly useful one for those who need it.  It’s also one of those things that is hard to explain, but easy to grasp visually, so check out the video below to get a real idea of how this works.

In addition to the keyboard the case also features an “extendable” back to make it easier to grasp and better for things like gaming and photography.  The case and Invisible Keypad will be available in May for $29.95.  You can find out more by visiting 4iConcepts.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDR News.

As well as being a really bad pun, iOnRoad is an augmented reality app that helps car drivers become safer drivers. Courtney gets into the fast lane to find out more about this app which was awarded a CES Innovation Honoree prize.

Available for Android smartphones now and the iPhone soon, the app uses the smartphone’s camera, GPS and accelerometer to provide warnings and guidance to car drivers as they drive. By looking at the white lines, the car in front and correlating data from the GPS and accelerometer, the app can warn about lane departures, tailgating and speeding. The iOnRoad includes a couple of other features, including reading text messages and a car locator.

Obviously the phone has to be mounted on the dash with a view to the front of the car, but you can test the app using the video here. The app is currently free with a charge of $9.99 to be introduced in the future.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDR News.

Magellan recently showed of the Roadmate RV, a specialty GPS unit made for recreational vehicles.  This isn’t the typical GPS device you would place in your car, but a very specialized unit made specifically for the RV.  For instance, automodile drivers don’t generally have to worry if their car will fit on a particular road.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Andy Smith of TPN got a look at the new Roadmate RV.  This GPS unit will let the driver know about specific road conditions based on the size of their vehicle, such as if the road is too narrow or if there are low bridges.  It can also direct the user to RV friendly campgrounds.

The Roadmate RV has a large 7 inch screen.  Users can also uncheck their vehicle profile and switch the unit to their car for standard navigation.  You can find more about the fautures and pricing by watching the video below and also by visiting the Magellan web site.

Interview by Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

Canon was recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to show off a new line of camcorders.  There are six new cameras in the Vixia line and the cool new feature is built-in WiFi.  With the WiFi users can now not only transfer their video to computers and other devices, but even upload and post it to places like Facebook and YouTube.  With this new ability comes a new app called “Movie Uploader” that will allow users to seemlessly handle all of their high-def video.

The new line of Canon cameras also allows users the choice of recording in AVCHD or MP4 format.  The cameras also have enhanced low-light performance, plus a new user interface, better stabilization, and higher zoom.  The entry level R series starts out at $349, so these cameras are affordable for average users, but go up to a level that is acceptable to professionals as well.

The video below packs a lot of information in about these new Canon cameras, so you will definitely want to check it out.  You can also visit the Canon web site to learn even more.

Interview by Nick DiMeo of F5 Live.

Fulton Innovation was a founding member of the Wireless Power Consortium and were recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to show off their latest, no pun intended, innovations.  They are working to unify a standard for wireless charging of all of your devices from phones to tablets and more.  The standard is called Qi (pronounced “Chi”) and it will bring together all of the makers of your favorite mobile devices and allow them all to charge wirelessly in a standards-based way.  Users will be able to charge a smartphone simply by sitting it on a table, or in many other ways.

Fulton Innovation is looking at a lot more than just phones and tablets though.  They are looking at entering your kitchen with such things as wireless blenders that will charge right on your countertop, induction ranges, even charging your electric car by simply parking it in a particular space.

All of this futuristic sounding technology has been developed and was on display at CES.  Now Fulton Innovation is working with third-party manufacturers to get their technology built and out into the marketplace.  You can visit them online to find out more and you will definitely want to watch the video below.

Interview by Nick DiMeo of F5 Live.

Logitech picked up an Innovation award at the recent Consumer Electronics Show for their new Cube, which is a combination mouse and presenter.  It acts as a wireless mouse while being used on any surface, but when picked up it becomes a presenter, or remote control, for your presentation.  The Cube charges via USB and has an on/off switch to save battery life.

Logitech was light on specs in their interview with TPN, but it’s a mouse so there probably isn’t really a lot to say.  For the most information ou can get about product such as this, you simply need to see the video of the Cube in action, which is posted below.  The new Cube will be priced at $69.99 and is available now.  You can visit Logitech to learn more.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDR News.

Turtlebeach, famous for their audio products, has a new line of headphones designed for use with tablets and smartphones, and geared specifically towards mobile gaming. They had the whole lineup on display recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Scott Ertz of F5 Live and The Tech Podcast Network got a tour.

The M3, for instance, is super portable because it is so flexible and foldable.  It will retail for $39.95.  The M5 is slightly larger, but has the same sleek design and will cost the user $49.95.  There is also a pair of full-size gaming headphones, the X32 and X42,both of which are compatible with the Xbox 360 and are now dual-band, unlike their predecessors.  Both will operate in the 2.4 and 5 GHz range.  There is also a new X300 and X400 line.  You can check them all out in the video below and also visit Turtlebeach for more information.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live.

Zimri Speakers was recently at the Consumer Electronics Show to display their latest line of speakers.  They have a full range beginning with tiny bluetooth speakers that can be used with a laptop or even tablets and smartphones.  What sets their speakers apart is both battery life and the lack of distortion, even at the highest levels.

Moving up the line from the smallest speaker already mentioned, Zimri’s next entry is nearly identical, but has a slightly bigger body for better base and also an SD Card slot, allowing it to be a stand-alone music player.  Zimri also offers battery packs that can not only recharge your speaker, but also your mobile device.

You really have to watch the video below to get the full concept of Zimri Speakers.  The demo of the bluetooth range, especially in a crowded and noisy CES show filled with other  bluetooth devices, is absolutely amazing.  For more information you can visit Zimri Speakers.

Interview by Nick DiMeo of F5 Live.

MXL joined Jeffrey powers last month at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas to talk about their new Tempo Microphones.  The new Tempo Mics work with both laptop and desktop computers, but they are also compatible with the iPad.  That last part is key because the iPad isn’t typically able to work with microphones due to power issues.  However, the Tempo works with the lower power by connecting with the camera connector kit, which requires an adapter, but that’s a cheap price to pay for this ability.

The Tempo will turn your iPad into a mobile recording station, allowing podcasters and others to travel much lighter than was previously possible.  These are condenser mics, not dynamic, so it will need power.  This will provide much better sound than the built-in microphone that Apple provides.  Of course, if you are just doing video chat then that mic will be fine, but for serious recording this is the first real option to come along.  To top it off, the MXL Tempo retails for $79.95.  You can check them out at MXLMics.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine.

If you’ve ever wondered how your gadgets talk amongst themselves to successfully play music from your PC through a media streamer, you’ll be interested in this interview with Dr Alan Messer, President of the UPnP Forum.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is the standard by which IP networked gadgets advertise their services and intercommunicate. Formed in 1999, nearly all the big vendors are signed up with over 1000 members, the notable exception being Apple who tend to do their own thing. Think Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Philips.

The most common example of UPnP (AV spec) is DLNA-certification which governs media management, discovery and control and this effectively determines how music is streamed from one device to another. Set-top boxes know how to use different router ports based on UPnP techniques. Almost any consumer device attached to the network in the home will have some element of UPnP built-in.

(No, Andy, it’s not the ISA PnP but thanks for the trip down memory lane.)

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

The Ivee Digit alarm clock looks like an ordinary bedside LCD or LED alarm clock…but would it be at CES if it was just that? Andy and Courtney finds out what makes Ivee tick.

The Ivee Digit understands natural language and can respond to 35 voice commands and speaks the date, time and temperature. The big sister, Flex, includes a radio as well. You can tell Digit to set the alarm, tell you the time or snooze for another five minutes as you roll over for more ZZzzs.

Here’s a typical conversation with Ivee.

You: Hello Ivee
Ivee: Say a command
You: Set alarm 1
Ivee: Please tell me the alarm time
You: Seven o’clock am
Ivee: Alarm 1 is set to 7:00 am

Aside from the novelty value, it’s great for people who are short-sighted.

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

The Altair Semiconductor Company specialises in 4G and LTE wireless chipsets for the mobile telecoms industry. Andy and Courtney chat to the CEO of Altair to find out more more about the transition to the latest wireless standards.

4G, LTE and mobile broadband were all key technologies at CES this year, with products incorporating 4G announced from Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and LG, to name but a few. When compared to the relatively slow penetration of 3G, 4G uptake is happening much faster and it’s even surprising the industry. Verizon is expected to have most of the USA covered by the end of 2012. China and India are not far behind with major deployments.

Tablets and smartphones are driving the market but Altair’s chipsets are included in 4G dongles, MiFi-type units and wireless broadband routers.

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

One of the things that make Hollywood movies fun are the great special effects. Soon with the help of Cinefy by Chairseven you will be able to add branded special effects to the home movies you make on your iPhone, iPad and Android device. Right now there are over 50 effects packages with 120 animations. Everything from robots to dinosaurs to fairies to war scenes, just to name a few. So now can you make that great robots take over the world movie you have always wanted to. Not only do you get some great effects, but you also get access to the Friendly Music catalog and over 500,000 copyright cleared songs. Friendly Music scores music for shows like Entourage.

Once the app is downloaded you can choose the effects packages you want to download. You can download them over 3G, but WiFi is recommended. All downloaded packages are available to you no matter where you are. The Friendly Music catalog is only available when you are connected to the Internet. You can add any music that is already on your device to a Cinefy Video. The app itself will be $2.99. The effect packs will vary in price and size, at the time of release they hope to have at least 30 effect packages for free with over 70 animations. Cinefy has been in development for over a year and Chairseven is looking to launch it on iOs in 4-6 weeks and on Android in 6-8 months. Chairseven is looking into a desktop version, but they want to have the mobile version up and going before starting on it. They are in the process of signing agreements with various media companies to have access to their special effects packages. At CES 2012 they signed an agreement with MTV to have access to Death Valley Zombies. Cinefy was also a Mobile App Showdown Finalist at CES 2012.  I can’t wait until this app becomes available, I am looking forward to all the great YouTube videos that people make with these special effects.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

OWC are more usually known for their line of Mac-compatible SSDs but unsurprisingly, they do have other products. Andy finds out more from Grant.

The unsightly profusion of mobile phone, tablet and other gadget chargers is a bane of modern life. OWC have a tidy and green solution in the shape of a standard power socket fitted with smart USB charging points which don’t draw power when not in use. It’s approved by UL, too, so it’s home safe. The Power2U is available now for $27.99. OWC – please do a UK version too.

Moving on, iPads are an easy target for thieves and corporate devices doubly so. OWC’s iPad GripStand Station securely stores, recharges and syncs up to 8 iPads at once, even when the iPads are fitted with a GripStand. The security bar and padlock make petty theft much more difficult. Available now from $379, which I gather is a somewhat of a bargain.

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

Veteran biker, Andy “Hog” McCaskey, checks out Vertix‘s Raptor helmet communicator. Let’s roll!

Vertix Raptor-i is a Bluetooth-based helmet communication system that brings together phone, intercom, radio and music player functions into a single unit. It’s perfect for any activity where wearing a helmet is the norm including motorcycling, motorport and skiing.

A microphone and speaker are fitted inside the helmet and Raptor unit goes on the outside. The unit’s controls are designed to be operated with gloves on and a remote control will be available in a few month’s time. Noise-cancellation and auto-gain control to ensure that voices can be heard clearly even at speed.

For the intercom function, two Raptor units can be paired together so that rider and pillion can talk or two riding buddies can chat between bikes.

The MSRP for the Vertix Raptor-i is $160 and it’s available now.

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

California Audio Technology, known as CAT, work with third-party hardware vendors in the home theater field to produce some of the best sound quality available.  They were recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showing off their latest top-of-the-line 2 channel audio speakers.  These aren’t speakers for the feint of heart.  Each tower weighs in at 120 pounds.

CAT makes more than simple tower speakers though, they precision-make each speaker and can design them for almost any installation, including hidden in-wall speakers.  Their custom-made speakers can be found anywhere from homes, to music studios, to mega yachts.  All of that massive weight comes in handy to prevent any speaker vibration, which is a common issue in cheap speakers.

To really understand everything that goes into these speakers you will really need to watch the video below for an in-depth explanation of how they are milled and how they work.  You can visit them at their web site.  CAT speakers are on the market now, but if you have to ask the price….well, you know how that saying ends.

Interview by Nick DiMeo of F5 Live.

HomeGrid Forum may not be a household name, but if you are looking to build-out the best home network imaginable then you may want to check out their technology.  HomeGrid Forum is made up of many major companies from around the world such as AT&T, Intel, Best Buy, Motorola, Marvell, and others.

Using G.hn, a home networking standard that you can learn more about from Wikipedia, you can stream up to 1 gigabit of data across any wire in your home.  That means everything now becomes a potential network connection – power outlets, coax connectors, and phone jacks – creating a whole-home smart grid.

Products are now coming to market that will make all of this work.  Consumers just need to look for products with the HomeGrid Forum logo on them to know that they are compatible.  Products from different vendors and even different chipset makers will all work flawlessly together.  HomeGrid Forums promises this new technology will be priced to compete with current solutions already on the market.  You can get more information at HomeGrid Forum and see demos of the technology in use in the video below.

Interview by Jon Wurm of F5 Live.

Swedish company Penclic think that the pen is mightier than the sword mouse so Andy gets to grips with the Penclic Mouse to see if it’s true.

A picture paints a thousand words and once you’ve seen the picture to the left, you’ll pretty much have grasped (sorry) the concept. You hold the Penclic Mouse as you would hold a pen and the base moves with your hand.

The Penclic Mouse is offered in two models, a wireless R2 and a corded D2, with all the features of a standard mouse, including left & right buttons and a scroll wheel. Available now from good retail stores at around $80 for the wireless version.

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