Category Archives: CES 2018

Powerful and Stylish Headphones for Outstanding Performance

February 9, 2018CES 2018, Entertainment, Home, MobilePLUGHITZ Live

Klipsch Heritage Headphones Klipsch has been in the audio business for 71 years and their name is well known amongst audiophiles for full bodied sound in their high end sound systems. New this year are the Heritage HP3 Headphones and the Heritage Headphone Amplifier.

The Heritage HP3 Headphones have a sophisticated design, made from the most functional and premium materials available. They feature die-cast steel, milled wood, premium leathers, and machined aluminum components. Boasting a 52mm KG-520 biodynamic driver housed in a back-vented design, the HP3 headphones deliver unsurpassed acoustic performance. Like their other products, these headphones are made to last with single piece, interchangeable parts. So whether you need to replace a piece or you want to switch up the look with additional ear pads or cables, it can be done at any time. You can order a pair from their website for $1,199.

The Heritage Headphone Amp is the perfect accompaniment to the HP3’s. They deliver a premium, audiophile-grade performance to maximize your headphone capabilities for true-to-life acoustic reproduction. Also exquisitely designed, from being encased in formed aluminum to the genuine walnut veneer, the Heritage Headphone Amplifier exudes quality even before being plugging in your headphones. They feature a high quality digital to analog converter, dual amplifiers for balanced output, and more. And the feel is unsurpassed. It brings you back in time with a retro design, but with all of the current tech that makes this a powerhouse of an amplifier. Get yours here for $499.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
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Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.

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Absolutely Brilliant Lighting and Smart Home Solutions

February 9, 2018CES 2018, Gadgets, HomePLUGHITZ Live

Brilliant Smarthome Solution We all love the technical/mobile revolution that has been transpiring over the last few years, and we’re happy that it is moving forward at full speed. And even though it is great to have apps on our mobile devices to assist with our smart home products, it would also be really nice to have a control built into wall mountable controls inside the home. For this very reason, Brilliant has developed the Brilliant Control. This smart light switch replaces an existing switch in the home and gives you and your family touch and voice access to lighting and your other smart products in the house. It connects with Sonos, Nest and more without the need for a mobile app. Amazon Alexa is built in, as is video capability that allows you to video conference between one or more controls that are installed in the house.

And don’t worry about not being super handy around the house. Installation is a breeze and only takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Once installed, you will instantly have voice and motion control. All of which can end up saving you between an estimated 5-18% on your overall lighting costs. There’s also a convenient touch screen that allows you to swipe up/down to turn lights on and off, as well as adjust dimming.

They also worked hard to make the design simple and elegant, to compliment your home décor. It’s available in multiple colors and switch configurations and they even include seasonal art that is automatically updated. The single switch starts at $199. There are also 2, 3 and 4 switch designs that increase in price by increments of $50 respectively. Their preorder sale exceeded their expectations and they are working hard to have them available in February.

Take a look at the available options and purchase yours here

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
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Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.

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You’ll Love the Sound Personalization of These Headphones

February 9, 2018CES 2018, Entertainment, MobilePLUGHITZ Live

BeyerDynamic Headphones New this year for beyerdynamic are the Aventho Wireless Headphones, which can be personalized to each individual via the MIY App. Thanks to Tesla technology, these mobile Bluetooth headphones offer optimum sound by acoustically adapting to the user’s hearing. This is accomplished with integrated sound personalization that delivers perfect sound from any music source. Individual sound profiles are created in the app, where you can easily adjust the sensitivity. Battery life is 30+ hours and there is intuitive handling using the touchpad that is integrated in the right ear cup. There is also a high-quality hands-free microphone built in for phone calls. The app is available for both Android and Apple and the price of the headphones is $449. Get yours here.

Also revealed at CES 2018 is their Tesla, in-ear headset called XELENTO REMOTE. They use highly efficient miniaturized Tesla technology drivers and high-resolution sound for an audiophile lifestyle on the go. With its Universal 3-button remote and mic for most Apple and Android devices, it is also has Ergonomically shaped casings that are coupled with perfectly molded ear tips which are available in 10 sizes. Exclusive materials are used in the design, like silver-plated detachable cable and high-gloss housing. They sit in the ear for maximum comfort to allow for longer play times. Pricing starts at $999 and they can be ordered on Amazon.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.
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Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.

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Quartz: Great-Tasting Water Instantly, Smart and Easily Portable

February 9, 2018CES 2018, Gadgets, HealthPLUGHITZ Live

Quartz Water Bottle Quartz has an exciting development in the water bottle market. A self cleaning water bottle that will keep your water cold, but also ensures that you are drinking pure and clean tasting water every time. We caught up with Justin Wang one of the co-founders of this new product at CES this year, who explained the technology and process which makes this product such a great option.

This product is all made possible by their new UV light technology inside the bottle which cleans and sanitizes your water bottle, but also purifies the drinking water within. This is an exciting feature to anyone trying to reduce their impact on the environment, but also provides an effective solution to keeping your water chalice clean and fresh smelling. The new more condensed version of this UV light technology cleans the water bottle every 4 hours, or with the quick push of a button. The LED light is rechargeable and will last 2 to 3 months on a single charge, making the process very easy and efficient.

Now, with Quartz’s new product, it will make drinking clean great tasting water a lot less expensive, and the cleaning process a whole lot easier without having to use the dishwasher or sink again. Take it to the gym, camping or on the road. With the easy-to-use USB adapter for charging, it truly can go anywhere you need it to go with you. This product will be available on Amazon in April for $99.00, the last money you should ever have to spend on a water bottle forever.

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Increase Your Energy, Stay Fresh and at the Top with BrainTap

February 2, 2018Accessories, CES 2018, HealthPLUGHITZ Live

BrainTap performance training The world is getting busier and crazier by the minute. We all get caught up in work, kids, school and life in general. All of the pressures that we encounter can really put us in a tail spin. We could certainly benefit from a simple, safe and easy to use solution. That’s why we were so intrigued when came across the BrainTap display and met Dr. Patrick Porter. So many of us want to overcome our major stressors and activate our brain’s peak performance. BrainTap has created a headset with seven different technologies built inside to aide with all that we have going on. Whether you want to simply instill a positive attitude and get refreshed, want to stop a bad habit, or you need help getting to sleep at night, BrainTap is for you!

It’s a brain meditation and training tool that can help you get more energy, focus, concentration and more out of life in general. You’ll be able to “reboot” your brain in an all natural way. Although Dr. Porter began developing this technology years ago, but it was quite a bit more cumbersome to administer. He now has it down to a user friendly and comfortable head set that anybody can use.

Relax your way to better energy and brain health. You can purchase your headset on their website here. There are also a lot of episodes available to help with a wide assortment of ailments. There are also episodes available on Amazon.

Interview by Chase Lowery of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.

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Take Your Notes With You to The Future

February 2, 2018Accessories, CES 2018, MobilePLUGHITZ Live

RocketBook erasable smart notebook Hey students… Let’s face it, buying normal notebooks over and over again for classes can take a toll on your wallet, as well as the environment after the life of the notebook has ended. Good thing Rocketbook has a solution to just that with their newest notebook on the market, the Everlast. The Everlast Notebook has so much to offer with a very small price and endless reusability so you never have to buy another notebook again.

All you need is the Everlast Notebook, any pen from the Pilot Friction line, and the Rocketbook App for iOS and Android. You can then take notes on any page, use the app to scan the notes digitally and now they can go anywhere you want them through email, iMessage, or even store them on a cloud service. When you’re done with a day’s notes and you have synced them to the app, you can then take a moist towel and start all over with countless notes taken on the same notebook.

This book has another special feature. The front of the notebook has seven symbols that you can pair with specific locations in any cloud storage. This mean you can write out a page of Calculus notes, physically check the specified symbol on the note page, i.e. Google, and when you scan the page in the app, the file will automatically be saved to your Google drive in the “Math” folder. What? That’s right. It’s the perfect solution for taking and storing any kind of notes, artwork, doodles or even your little black book… the possibilities are endless. And you don’t have to worry about dropping your notebook in a puddle on the walk home, or the dog eating your notes.

We simply can’t say enough about this ingenious product. Spend less, carry less, save all of your information and stay environmentally friendly to boot! Get your Everlast Notebook today on Amazon for $34.00.

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Vibes Audio is Going Modular in a Really Great Way

February 2, 2018Accessories, CES 2018, MobilePLUGHITZ Live

Vibes Modular smartphone cases Vibes Audio presents ROXON… an all new smartphone case system with modular accessories. This innovative system starts with a BASEROX smartphone case ($24.99), which is the shell of the phone case. It comes in either black or white and currently supports Apple iPhone models 6, 6s, 6 Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy models S7 Edge, S8, and S8 Plus, with Apple iPhone X coming soon.

To elevate your sound, add the VIBROX Sound Engine ($114.99). This lightweight and powerful little Bluetooth speaker, with a built-in microphone, also lets you set up 2-way calling with ease. Other features include a waterproof IPX7 rating, 10-12 hours of playtime, pause/play and song tracking features.

To back up that power, get the VOLTROX Power Bank (49.99) to provide up to 150% more battery life. Snap it on when you need a quick charge, then snap it off to add a different accessory when you’re done. Specs include a stylish thin form factor, 3000 mAH detachable battery pack, spring loaded button for easy removal, battery ON/OFF switch, removable power cord to plug into phone, LED battery level indicator lights and Micro USB charging port.

There’s also a Sticky Mount Adapter for adventures on the go. Mount your Vibes Modular products practically anywhere. Slap it on the side of your cooler, or in the garage, shower, on your tool box, your tacklebox, kayak, paddleboard, surfboard (it’s waterproof). Anywhere you go, it can go with you.

What we love about ROXON is not just the great accessories, but the fact that they, unlike other brands, will remain with you even if you change phones. If you get a different sized phone, all you have to do is update your BASEROX. The speaker, charger, and future snap on accessories, will still fit perfectly. Making this a green solution that grows with you. Finally, sustainable, swappable accessories for smartphones so you can Vibe Anywhere.

And keep your eye out for future add-ons like Qi Wireless charging and Recharging accessories.

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Amazing and Budget-Friendly Gadgets for your Peace of Mind

February 2, 2018Accessories, CES 2018, HomePLUGHITZ Live

Roost Smart Battery Technology When the smallest, most affordable gadgets can make such a big impact on daily life, we take notice. And we definitely noticed Roost when we came across them at ShowStoppers at CES 2018.

On display this year is their 9 Volt Smart Battery. This is a Lithium battery that will last 3-5 years, with an imbedded WiFi chip. This Smart Battery will actually change your existing smoke detectors in your home and instantly turn them into smart smoke detectors. How ingenious! By simply replacing your batteries with these smart batteries and connecting to your home WiFi via the mobile app, you will be alerted immediately if your smoke detector goes off. So no matter where you are, you will know, and can react, right way, if there is a fire in your home. The Smart Battery starts at $34.99. You can also order the next generation battery at Amazon.com.

Also currently available is the Smart Leak and Freeze Detector. For only $49, you will never have to worry about leaks or freezing pipes again. Simply place this detector anyplace in which you are worried about leaks to get a notice to your smartphone if one occurs. It also has a temperature and humidity sensor inside so you can set your own parameters to be alerted in time to ensure there isn’t a disaster in the home. It’s great for placement beneath toilets, under the kitchen sink, near the hot water heater, etc.

And a new addition to their lineup this year is the Smart Garage Door Sensor. Talk about a good idea!! We have all had that sinking feeling after driving away from the house where we wonder, “Oh no, did I close the garage door?”. Well, don’t worry about driving back to verify. This wonderful little device that clips onto the top of the garage door is Wi-Fi enabled with a built in accelerometer. It sends notifications to your smartphone to let you know the state of your garage door; open or closed. Place this sensor on the garage door, connect it to the Roost cloud through the free mobile app and become more engaged. Not only can you check on the door’s status at any time, but you can also set up notifications to let you know when there is any activity. The Garage Door Sensor will be available in the second quarter of 2018 at a price of $39.

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High Tech Workflow Solutions with OWC

February 2, 2018CES 2018, ComputersPLUGHITZ Live

OWC Other World Computing Oh what fun it is to see what’s new at OWC, especially for us here at PLuGHiTz Live.

This year they are showcasing the new version of their Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which was previously mainly for Mac. They have now added the Windows platform and lowered the price. The ports included on this new model: (2) Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports (downstream port can support USB 3.1 Gen 2 devices), (1) Mini DisplayPort, (4) USB 3.1 Gen 1 Standard-A ports (rear) – 1 compliant with Battery Charging 1.2 spec, (1) USB 3.1 Gen 1 Standard-A port (front) – compliant with Battery Charging 1.2 spec, (1) Gigabit Ethernet port, (1) S/PDIF digital audio port (output only), (1) SD 3.0 media card reader (front), (1) Hybrid 3.5 mm headphone/mic jack. This new model will be available in February/March of 2018 at a price of $279.

OWC has always been a storage company that is focused on any kind of media production. As more and more content is created, we not only need extended storage but also better transfer speeds. This next upgraded device will make life for us media professionals so much better. The Thunderblade V4 is a solid state, ray to ray, all flash storage (PCIE, MVME), passively cooled untie with no light in a flat black finish that is portable and fast. How fast? It has an almost 3 gig/second read with 2.5 sustained writes. When time is money and performance can’t be beat… this new unit is as good as gold in our book. All this and it is durably designed to be out on the road where the content is being created. It is available immediately post CES 2018. From 1TB to 8 TB with pricing between $1,600 and $4,999, it will honestly pay for itself in production time very quickly.

Take a look at all of OWC’s products, available at Amazon.com.

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The Lighter, the Better with Fascinating Nanoleaf

February 2, 2018CES 2018, HomePLUGHITZ Live

Nanoleaf led lighting panels We are no strangers to lighting effects, light boards and light walls here at PLuGHiTz Live. As a matter of fact, we are always in search of better lighting features and design. So when we came across Nanoleaf at ShowStoppers at CES 2018, to say we were excited would be an understatement.

Nanoleaf is not just a light, it’s an experience. It is comprised of lightweight triangular panels that actually enable you to illuminate your life in your own way, and change it up anytime you would like. The panels click together in any configuration you can dream of. Make a unique tower, or wall design and mix it up whenever you feel like it. Program various color schemes. You can awaken in the morning to sunlight and unwind at night with a colorful and soothing display. There’s also an add-on rhythm module that will transform your music and allow you to immerse yourself in a symphony of light. We truly can’t say enough about this incredible design.

Whether for a bedroom, home theater or multimedia studio, Nanoleaf is a green solution for amazing LED lighting design. They offer a 9 piece starter kit for $199, and 3 piece expansion packs for $49 on their website.

Also check out the kits and bundles available at Amazon:
9-piece Aurora Smarter Kit
9-piece Rhythm Smarter Kit
3-piece Aurora Expansion Pack