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Tag: Tablet

Music in the Morning with the iShower

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

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

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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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Posted in Android, Apple, ces, GoogleTV, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, IPTV, smartphone, Special Media, Streaming, tablet

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Allure Energy Intelligent Thermostat with Proximity Control

Posted by Andrew at 9:09 AM on February 1, 2012

Allure Energy graphicAllure Energy introduced their latest energy management product, EverSense, at CES 2012. Andy learns how to save money on your electricity bill from Kevin, Allure Energy.

Allure Energy’s EverSense, a thermostat replacement technology, is based around a tablet device that can make intelligent energy decisions on your behalf. The proximity control feature raises or lowers the temperature in your based on how far away you are from your home. By using a GPS app on your iPhone (or Android smartphone) that sends back your location, EverSense knows where you and if you are coming home, it adjusts the temperature to your preferences. Cool.

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

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Posted in Android, Apple, ces, energy saving, google, Green Technology, iPhone, smartphone, Special Media, tablet

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Built To Tylt Designs for Smartphones

Posted by Andrew at 9:07 AM on February 1, 2012

Built to Tylt logoAt CES‘s Digital Experience, Andy talks with Built To Tylt about their funky designs for smartphones and other portable gadgets. Check their website as these guys have got some great stuff.

The Tylt Band is a smartphone car charger made of a colourful flat silicon rubber cable that is nearly impossible tangle. Micro-USB and Apple connectors are available there’s an extra standard USB socket near the base of the cable for plugging in another device.

Tylt also have two portable battery packs, the Zumo and the PowerPlant, with 1500 mAh and 5,200 mAh batteries respectively. The Zumo is intended for the emergency smartphone charging, whereas the larger PowerPlant can part charge a tablet or recharge a smartphone several times.

Finally, if you are an iPhone owner, you might be interested in Tylt’s new iPhone cases, one of which comes with a lens cover to protect the camera and another that has a built-in kickstand (kickband?) to angle the iPhone for movie watching.

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

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inCarBite iPad and Kindle Fire Car Mount

Posted by Andrew at 9:04 AM on February 1, 2012

inCarBite iPad car mountThese days, in-car DVD players are old hat – a tablet is where it’s at. Andy talks to Linda at inCarBite on how their car mount can keep up with the Joneses.

The inCarBite tablet mounting system is available for the Apple iPad 1 & 2 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which is gaining in popularity as an entertainment device. The tablet mount fixes onto the headrest stems of the front seats using a neat clamp, which is detachable from the mount itself to make fitting easier. Power is provided from the car’s cigarette lighter socket so the tablet is charged while it’s in the mount.

And if that’s not enough, there’s a matching home dock with surround sound which takes the same mount so the device can be easily switched between the living room, kitchen and car.

It’s available now for the iPad from $79.99 to $159.99 depending on accessories. The Kindle Fire version is coming soon.

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

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Posted in amazon, Apple, automotive, ces, IPAD, Kindle, Special Media, tablet, Transportation, travel accessories

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Blue Microphones’ Tiki, Mikey and Spark

Posted by Andrew at 6:38 PM on January 28, 2012

Blue Microphones LogoIf you’ve listened to the Geek News Central podcast for a few years, you might have heard Todd talking about Blue Microphones as his mic supplier of choice. Here Todd and Don talk shop with Jon Maier.

Blue Microphones returns to CES this year with three new mics, all in the portable space. The new Mikey Digital is designed for the Apple’s newer digital connector rather than the older analogue one, meaning that more digital processing can be done on the microphone itself. In particular, auto-level sensing can adjust the input gain depending on the loudness of the source.

The Tiki is a brand new small USB device that’s been in development for over a year. It plugs directly into the USB port on the side of a laptop and has intelligent signal processing so that extraneous noise, such as typing, is ignored. It’s aimed at Skype and Google Talk users but it’s still a high quality recording device, so if needed, the DSP can be turned off to record live music as naturally as possible.

The studio-grade Spark Digital is a USB and iPad version of their pro mike, the Spark, both of which have glorious retro looks. Sitting in a shock mount, it looks great. Utility-wise, the Spark Digital converts the iPad into a mobile studio.

All the mics are expected to be available in the spring. Prices are $59 for Tiki, $99 for the Mikey Digital and $199 for the Spark Digital.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor, for the TechPodcast Network.

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