All posts by Todd Cochrane

MyCharge Gets Style at CES 2013

CES 2013, Mobile

myChargeWe have all been there — you are out and about and suddenly find that the battery in your smartphone has died. There are, of course, portable solutions for this. I spend a good deal of time hiking and camping in remote locations and have used a solar charger in the past to solve this problem, but it is a slow process.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, MyCharge unveiled a whole new line of portable charging solutions. Depending on your choice from the new lineup, you can potentially charge up to three devices at one time. There are a variety of choices and also a variety of colors and designs to suit everyone’s tastes.

The new line, which will include the Lightning connector for Apple, is expected to launch in the April-May timeframe. Depending on the charger you decide on, the price can range from $39 to $129.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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LG Uses NFC to Connect Smartphones to TVs

CES 2013, Mobile

LG Logo

NFC has been a solution looking for a problem for some time, but products using NFC to solve real world issues are finally beginning to appear. Todd speaks with Brad from LG about how NFC is helping get video off smartphones and onto TVs.

Most people wanting to show video from their smartphone on their TV would automatically reach for a cable and then probably spend the next 10 minutes hunting around for the adaptor to plug the TV’s HDMI cable into the phone’s much smaller socket. NFC eliminates all this by wirelessly providing the information needed to stream the video to the TV using Miracast and all the person has to do is place his or her smartphone on the NFC tag. It’s not limited to sending video to the TV from the smartphone as the reverse is also possible: they can view what’s on the smart TV on their smartphone. Watch the video to see it in action – it’s very cool.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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IOGear Wireles 5×2 HD Matrix announced

CES 2013, Home

Welcome to IOGEAR USA - Rackmount KVM, Wireless Audio VideoIOGear makes some pretty cool hardware, some of which I use in my own home. Most recently the company made a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada to show off one of its newest offerings — the Wireless 5×2 HD Matrix.

The name may be a bit cryptic, so an explanation is required here. Perhaps you have heard rumors of wireless HDMI? Well, it is here now and this device has five ports and a receiver to prove it — that is four inputs and one output. There is full switching capability and it has a claimed range of one hundred feet. Plug in all of your devices and then place the receiver with a TV in another room and control everything wirelessly, even when two TV’s are displaying content from different devices. For instance, one can be using the Blu-Ray player while another plays DVR content. No more need for two boxes.

A two TV setup will run you $399 and the device will be available at the end of March. But honestly, you need to watch the demo posted below to really appreciate this technology.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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LG Optimus G Android Smartphone

CES 2013, Mobile

LG Logo

Regular listeners of GNC will know that Todd has been rocking an LG Optimus G Android smartphone (on loan from LG). Impressed with this device, he finds out more from Amy.

The LG Optimus G is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor which takes everything in its stride, with super smooth graphics and slick multitasking. Todd rates the camera, too, with both stills and video footage looking fantastic. Overall, it’s a great package that’s worth checking out if you are in the market for a new smartphone.

Available through AT&T and Sprint in the US on range of contracts.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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GoPro Hero 3

CES 2013, Gadgets

GoPro, the popular mobile camera that has been used to capture video of everything from spectacular mountain bike crashes to shark encounters under the sea, was at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

GoPro showed off the Hero 3 Black edition, which is 30 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the previous model. The new Black Edition has a 12 MP sensor and can shoot 4k at 15 FPS. While shooting video users will also be able to tap a button on the camera to grab a quick still image. There are also dual mics and a photo-burst mode.

The new version will retail for $399 and include a WiFi remote. The camera is available for purchase now.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor

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Lenovo shows off the Thinkpad Helix ultrabook

CES 2013, Computers

Lenovo, the company that bought out the IBM PC business, has become a favorite of businesses, as its Thinkpad and Thinkstation can be found in offices everywhere.

Now the company, in keeping with the times, is moving into the realm of Ultrabooks, which is the latest catchphrase in the tech world. The Thinkpad Helix is an 11.6-inch notebook that packs an Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 1080p display and 256 GB SSD for storage. Those are all impressive numbers, but that is not really what the Helix is about.

The real magic, providing everything works as expected, is that this ultrabook separates to become a tablet. When in laptop mode Lenovo claims 4 four hours of battery life, but when it is converted to a tablet the company is touting six hours. It can also sit backwards in that keyboard base, making it a tablet stand.

The price starts at $1499 and the Thinkpad Helix will be available in the first quarter of this year.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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PhotoFast an easy solution for getting mobile pictures

CES 2013, Mobile

These days everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times. Heck, it is not even just smartphones these days — as annoying as it sometimes seems, there are even people in front of you at events who are holding up iPads and snapping images. PhotoFast has a solution to the problem of saving those precious pictures, but it is only for iOS devices at this point.

In fact, PhotoFast has the only officially licensed Apple iOS flash drive on the market at this time. You can then plug the device right into your PC or Mac to grab the images or videos. It goes both ways too — you can also move images and videos from a computer to the iPad or iPhone. In addition, there is a dedicated app, AirPlay support, security and contact backup.

Sizes start at 8GB and range up from there, meaning prices also head up, with a starting point of $99 for the 8 GB model. It will be available through Amazon and a number of other retailers “shortly”.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network

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Satzuma Toys at CES

CES 2013, Gadgets

Satzuma was at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to introduce an alarm clock. That may seem like no big deal, but this one packs a few additional features that the clock radio setting on your nightstand is likely not to have.

First of all, it doubles as a four-port USB hub. It also has a bit of a different look — it appears to be one of those tiny director chalk boards with the snapping top that claps as the word “action” is yelled. But that wasn’t all — there was also a mini LED fan to keep you cool when that heat is radiating off of your computer.

Prices were quite reasonable as well, ranging in the $15-20 market. You can grab the goods from Satzuma directly or check them out at retailers like Staples.

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Pure Jongo at CES Unveiled

CES 2013, Home

Pure LogoAt this year’s CES, Pure launched Jongo, the world’s most affordable (and colourful) multi-room music system. Vicky tells Todd all about it.

The Jongo range will shortly include a couple of wireless speakers and a hi-fi adaptor, all with both Bluetooth and wi-fi built-in. Music can be streamed using the Pure Connect app via wi-fi to any speaker in range or else smartphones and tablets can stream music directly to the speakers using Bluetooth. Both Apple iOs and Android devices are supported and it uses the existing wi-fi infrastructure: there’s no need for special transmitters.

The S340B speaker will be available soon and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. Price is listed as $229.
The stereo speaker (T640B) and the hi-fi adaptor (A140B) will be on-sale in the summer with MSRPs of $329 and $119, respectively.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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The Joystick all-in-one remote control and hotspot

CES 2013, Mobile

One of the cool devices that GNC found at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the Joystick from Noitavonne. This device is kind of a one-stop-shop for many cool features.

It acts as a remote control for your devices, like an Android phone or tablet or a Windows 8 device. When paired with your TV, it turns your big screen into an Android device and if your phone rings you can answer it through Joystick’s built-in speaker. It even has a full QWERTY keyboard to add to the functionality. The keyboard is hidden beneath a small flip-up 1080p screen.

The product is expected to be released in the spring of this year with a price point of “between $249 and $349”.

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Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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