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3feet Universal Smartphone and Tablet Stand

Posted by Andrew at 11:00 AM on February 19, 2012

3feet Universal Smartphone and Tablet Stand3feet almost need no introduction. Their universal smartphone and tablet stands are well-known for their neat design and their (probably) unique feature of being dishwasher-proof.

Being universal, the 3feet stand works with iPads, TouchPads, Playbooks, Xooms, iPhones, Nexus, Galaxies, Lumias, Nooks, Kindles… Pretty much anything that’s reasonably flat and you want to see. The 3feet can hold a device at three different angles.

Moving away from the gratuitous product placement, there’s now a wider range of basic colours (11) and the opportunity to have different colours for different parts of the stand. The stand is made from recycled plastic and it’s all made in the USA.

Available from good retailers for around $20.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.

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Posted in Android, Apple, ces, HTC, Interview, IPAD, iPhone, Kindle, Nook, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, travel accessories

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Breffo Spiderpodium for Smartphones and Tabets

Posted by Andrew at 9:00 AM on February 17, 2012

Breffo Spiderpodium Smartphone CradleThe Breffo Spiderpodium is a flexible yet somewhat disturbing cradle for smartphones and tablets. Nic McMahon from Breffo chats with Andy and Courtney about the success of the Spiderpodium over the past year.

The Spiderpodium has had a good year with a Nasa mission and a starring role on The Apprentice (not Dragon’s Den as suggested in the video). Nic reveals a marketing tip…despite myriad uses, people have difficulty imagining how they could use the Spiderpodium. However, show the Spiderpodium in action as an iPhone holder on a bicycle and they’ll need to have one.

The smartphone version is $19.99 with the bigger tablet model priced at $34.99 and they’re available in a range of colours.

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

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Posted in Accessory, Apple, ces, Gadgets, Interview, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, smartphone, Special Media, tablet

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RHP Multimedia MirrorCase for Sneaky Snaps

Posted by Andrew at 8:44 AM on February 16, 2012

RHP Multimedia MirrorCaseAfter years in surveillance industry, RHP Multimedia have gone out on their own with MirrorCase, an iPhone case for taking sneaky photos. Andy and Courtney take a peek with John Palmeri.

Taking a photograph with a smartphone (or any camera for that matter) is somewhat obvious and there are times when you’d like to be a little more discrete. The MirrorCase is an iPhone case with an angled mirror which allows a photo or video to be taken when the iPhone is held horizontally. A free camera app is included which has a “boss” mode, showing a fake app screen with a flick of the finger.

The MirrorCase is on pre-order at the moment for $80, with deliveries expected before the summer. An iPad version is in development.

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

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Posted in Apple, application, ces, Gadgets, Interview, iPhone, smartphone, Special Media, tablet

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GreenSmart Eco-Friendly Gadget Gear

Posted by Andrew at 8:37 AM on February 16, 2012

GreenSmart Laptop SleeveA good bag can make travelling a pleasure and it’s important to choose the right bag for your needs. It’s even better if its a “green” bag. Andy and Courtney interview Tom Larsen from GreenSmart on their range of eco-friendy travel bags and gadget gear.

GreenSmart’s unique selling point is not just that the bags are good-looking and functional, it’s that the bags themselves are made from recycled materials, hence both the “green” and “smart”.

On show are laptop and tablet sleeves in a neoprene-like material made from recycled plastic bottles. There’s also a backpack made completely from recycled materials.

To reduce packaging waste, GreenSmart designs the retail display of the product as part of the bag itself. For example, a carry handle is used to hang the bag from the display rail while it’s on show in-store.

GreenSmart bags are on sale on-line and in select retail locations.

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

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Posted in ces, Green Technology, Interview, mobile, Special Media, tablet

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Second Line App for Smartphones from Line2

Posted by Andrew at 10:15 PM on February 14, 2012

Line2 PhoneIf you’ve ever wanted a second line on your smartphone but don’t have a dual SIM phone (and let’s be honest, who does?), you’ll be interested in this app from Line2. Andy and Don get a demo from Peter on what the app offers.

The Line2 app provides a second line by using a VoIP connection over 3G or wi-fi. All the features of a telephony service are present with a phone number, voicemail, text messaging, call-forwarding and so on. There’s also HD audio if you are calling another Line2 user.

Being a data service and able to use wi-fi means that it’s possible to send and receive calls where there’s no mobile phone signal but there is a wireless connection. SIM-less devices such as iPod Touches or wi-fi-only tablets can become phones too.

Available for both iPhone and Android, monthly subscriptions start at $9.95 a month.

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

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, ces, google, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, mobile, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, voip, wifi

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nVidia and Windows 8 Tablets

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 12:53 AM on February 8, 2012

nvidia logoAs you have almost certainly already heard, one of the big things coming in Windows 8 will be it’s support of ARM processors.  The main feature of the new operating system, though, is the radical new Metro interface.  The Metro Start screen displays a series of “live tiles”.  These are the apps, some of which come with Windows 8, and some which will be installed by the user from the new Windows Store, which are constantly updating with new information.  You could display such things as current weather, Twitter, news, and a lot more on your personalized start screen.

nVidia was at the Consumer Electronics Show last month to show off their Tegra 3 quad-core processor running Windows 8 tablets.  The new chipset allows these tablets to be extremely thin, have longer battery life, and high-resolution graphics.  In the video below you can get a look at a little bit of what they are capable of, such as HD video playback, and full Windows multi-tasking.

The exact specifications and pricing aren’t yet available, but you can learn more by visiting the nVidia site.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine.

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Siano Brings Broadcast TV To iPhones and iPad

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

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

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Altair Semiconductor Powers 4G and LTE

Posted by Andrew at 10:43 PM on February 4, 2012

Altair Semiconductor logoThe 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.

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Posted in ces, Interview, Nokia, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, USB, wireless

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The Toshiba Excite X10 Tablet

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:21 AM on February 3, 2012

Toshiba was recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showing off their new Excite X10 tablet.  The X10 is impressive upon first view because it is currently the world’s thinnest tablet at just 7.7 millimeters.  Toshiba senior product manager Duke Dang explains that using magnesium and a bonding method between the touch panel and LCD  helped them achieve this.

The tablet features a micro SD slot, micro HDMI port, a micro USB port, headphones jack, a 2 MP front-facing camera, a 5 MP rear-facing camera, and Corning Gorilla Glass.  One unique software feature that Toshiba has introduced is a file manager, which gives the Excite X10 more of a PC feel with the ability to create folders and move files around.  They have also added a screen rotation lock button to the side of the tablet.

The Toshiba Excite X10 is running Android 3.0, also known as Honeycomb, and should be available very soon – they are looking at first quarter 2012 release.  There is not yet a price available.  For more info you can visit Toshiba and also check out the video below.

Interview by Jon Wurm of F5 Live.

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Shodogg Unleashes Video From Your Smartphone

Posted by Andrew at 9:10 AM on February 1, 2012

Shodogg Video's Best Friend LogoShodogg is a brand new content delivery technology that takes content shown on your smartphone and passes it to any web-connected device, such as a smart TV. Launched at CES, Andy talks to David, co-founder of Shodogg, to find out more.

Frankly, it’s probably easier to watch the video than to try and explain how it works but basically Shodogg lets you find video content on your smartphone but then play the video on a smart TV, PC, Mac or anything that can view a web page.

It works by giving a unique ID to each “screen” and once you’ve plugged the screen ID into your smartphone, the phone can then pass the video to this screen. Amazingly, you can swap screens during playback, with the new screen picking up at exactly where you left off.

Shodogg is in an alpha release at the moment and will be available late spring on iOS devices, followed by Android about a month later. It’s a great idea, simple to use, and I can see it being a very popular way of finding and then viewing online content.

Fetch, Toss, Share. Shodogg.

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

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