All posts by Todd Cochrane

my-Ditto Key

CES 2012, Gadgets,

my-Ditto Key Do you put data on a USB stick and then do you tend to lose that USB stick? Do your kids store their homework on a USB stick and then lose it? I sure for most people the answer is yes to all of the above. Let’s face it we’ve all done it; we’ve put data on a USB stick that we want to bring with us, then we put it down somewhere or leave it behind. That use to mean that not only was the USB stick was gone but all the data on it. No longer now the information on the USB stick can also be in the cloud.

That is the idea behind my-Ditto Key. You register your my-Ditto Key with my-Ditto and then all the information on the key is copied to the cloud. Now if you lose your my-Ditto Key USB stick or leave it behind you still have access to your data anywhere in the world. You can store up to 100 GB of space in the cloud. It doesn’t matter what type of data it is it can be music, videos, documents it’s up to you. Simple and easy to use, but effective that is what my-Ditto key is all about.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central

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Zagg Sparq Portable Power

Accessories, CES 2012,

Zagg LogoZagg’s protective films are popular “first purchases” for new smartphone owners and but Zagg offer other products in the mobile working space. Todd chats to Nate from Zagg to about the Zagg Sparq, a portable rechargeable battery pack.

The Sparq is mains charged, with two front-facing USB ports to recharge any portable device with a USB-type connector. The internal battery has sufficient capacity to recharge four times the average smartphone. Perfect for when you’re on the road.

Available now for $99.99 from Zagg online with free shipping.

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

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Intouch Remote Health Monitoring

CES 2012, Health,

Intouch Health InTouch Health along with Verizon had developed the RP Express and the RP 7 Mobile Robot and other similar devices to allow doctors to access their patients from remote locations. The RP Express is a mobile device for an individual to carry in the field. The RP 7 Mobile Robot is made for hospitals or other medical facilities. Both devices allow you to plug in medical instruments including EKGs, Ultrasound equipment and other devices directly into the machine allowing doctors to take and read vital signs from anywhere in the world. The video and audio are in real time and work over the Verizon 4G network, or wifi. (I am not sure what happens if the 4G or wifi networks are not available, hopefully there is a solution to that problem.) The doctor can control the RP 7 Mobile Robot and the RP Express from any computer that has the control station installed on it. The RP 7 robot allows for 178 degree field of view.

These devices are FDA cleared for connection to diagnostic medical devices on wifi. They are still going through the approval process for the 4G version. They hope to have those versions available for hospitals later this year. It is nice to know that now people in remote areas have a way to get access to the medical care, including the specialist that they need.

Interviewed by Jamie Davis of and the Tech Podcast Network

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G Form Extreme Gadget Protection -100k Drop test

Accessories, CES 2012,

G-Form Logo

G-Form is best know for its protective gear for high adrenaline sports but using this know-how, it’s protecting something much more precious – your expensive tablet with its Extreme range of cases. If you think this is gimmick, these guys dropped an iPad in an Extreme Portfolio from a weather balloon at 100,000+ feet….and it survived.

Todd talks to Rick Garrard to find out more about the high altitude drop and gets a demonstration of what happens when an 8 lb bowling ball lands on a packet of chocolate M&Ms covered with G-Form’s Extreme protection. Mmm, chocolate.

The Extreme cases and sleeves are from $34.95 upwards for the iPad and Kindle Fire (or 10″ and 7″ tablets).

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

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Zagg HZO – Waterproofing for Electronics

CES 2012, Mobile,

Zagg Logo

Zagg’s protective films are popular “first purchases” for new smartphone owners and at CES 2012, Zagg shows off their latest protection mechanism. Todd chats to Bill from Zagg to find out what it protects against.

The adage is that water and electricity don’t mix, and by extension, water and mobile devices don’t mix well either. Zagg hopes to change that with a new nanotech-based coating, HZO, that repels water so effectively that a dunk in the drink will have no effect on the device.

The HZO coating is applied during the manufacturing process so that every component is properly treated and waterproofed. There’s no physical skin or cover as the water-repellency is at the molecular level. Almost any device can be waterproofed – smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, headphones, but it has to be done during manufacture, not by the end-user.

Zagg is currently in negotiation with major OEMs so expect water-repellent devices to hit the market in 12-18 months and if you want to see an iPhone working underwater, then watch the video.

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

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Basis Wearable Health Monitoring

CES 2012, Health,

Todd talked to Jeff from Basis at the digital experience event at CES 2012 about their new product for health monitoring.

Basis is coming this spring with a wrist wearable health monitoring system to help you keep track of your overall activity level. Different from the heart monitors you would wear for working out, this new system will track your heart rate, temperature, perspiration, sleep and activity level as you go about your daily life. It will take that information and upload it to Basis’ cloud service and give you all the data along with some recommendations of things you need to do to get into better overall health.

The device and service will be available in early 2012 for $199. This includes a lifetime membership to the cloud service.

For more information, go to www.mybasis.com

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Toshiba introduces a USB 3.0 Thumb Drive!

Accessories, CES 2012, ,

Todd talked to Scott at the Toshiba booth about the new “SuperSpeed” USB 3.0 Thumb drives that will be available this spring. The drives are up to 10 times faster then USB 2.0 at 220mb/sec reading and 94mb/sec writing.

They will be available in 32GB and 64GB sizes and will be $100 and $200 respectively.

Scott also showed off Toshiba’s new SD Cards with wifi. The product will be called “FlashAir” and will be a 2 way wifi enabled SD Card. Other wifi cards have only been one way where you can pull photos from the card wirelessly. This new card will allow you to put files on the card from other devices as well as download from the card wirelessly.

For more information check out toshiba.com

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HP Envy 14 Spectre

CES 2012, Computers, ,

HP logoLast week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas computer maker HP unveiled the Envy 14 Spectre, a new 14 inch laptop with some fairly impressive specs behind it. It comes with either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, an option for a 128 GB or 256 GB SSD, 4 or 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, Mini DisplayPort, HD webcam, Gorilla Glass inside and out, and USB 3.0. Users also get a choice of Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate or Professional, but you will have to go with the 64-bit version, as this new notebook doesn’t come in a 32-bit version. HP claims a nine hour battery life, but perhaps the nicest touch is the keyboard, which has individual LED’s behind each key to make them easily visible in low, or even no, light conditions.

Although I haven’t seen the HP Envy 14 Spectre referred to as an “Ultrabook” that’s the first word that comes to mind when I see it. The sleek, thin design and the lack of an optical drive all point to that category, which was the hot meme at CES 2012. There is more to this notebook than just the specs I listed above, but you will need to watch the video below to get all of the details. The Envy 14 Spectre will start at an MSRP of $1399. You can also visit HP for more info.

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

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Belly-Bean Functional Workplace

Accessories, CES 2012, ,

Belly Bean One of the biggest problem with laptops is that they get too hot to use on a lap. Many answers to this problem aren’t very stylish and look rather dorky. Belly Bean is a stylish solution for this problem. It looks like a cross between a skate board and a surf board. Belly Bean is made of hard-rock maple and on the back is EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate) foam, which prevents heat transfer. EVA foam is also used in diving and dry suits.

Belly Bean is a functional workspace large enough for a 17 inch laptop with room left over. It is $49.00 and is available through the Belly Bean Web site. So now you can look great and be cool while you continue to work with a lap top on your lap.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central

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