Category Archives: Entertainment

DropMix Can Show You How to Make Game Night a Party

CES 2018, Entertainment, Gadgets, Mobile

DropMixMix up your game night this year with the newest, coolest game in stores called DropMix. DropMix is a music mixing game created by a partnership between Hasbro and Harmonix. The game comes with 60 music cards and the DropMix board that can Bluetooth connect to your device with the DropMix app. Each card has a large name artist and song that you have probably heard on the radio, but it may only be a portion of the song such as just the vocals, base line, drum line or strings. You can play the game by placing one of these cards on the DropMix board and the music is instantly playing through your connected device. Add other music cards to create a unique mix where the game automatically sets the tempo and the key that makes the songs work cohesively.

There are 3 game modes incorporated through the application. The Freestyle game mode allows players to create the sounds they want by navigating through their cards to find the mix that makes them want to dance. Players then have the ability to save their mixes and share them with their friends. The second game mode is Clash. This mode is a strategic game that can be one-on-one or two-on-two with a race to 21 points. Then there is Party mode, the fast-paced game that has everyone working together against the computer. The app will throw out quick challenges that require the players to be able to work together in a small amount of time to get the most points they can.

Get DropMix today for $99.99 and check out some of their latest expansion packs. The 16 card expansion is $14.99 and the 5 card Discover Pack is $4.99.

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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You Are Going to Love What Monster is Taking Over This Year

CES 2018, Entertainment, Gadgets

Monster ProductsMonster Products has a lot in store for 2018 and it includes what they’re calling a Monster Takeover. This Takeover has one goal in mind and that is to tackle new technology that Monster has not yet attempted. This includes but is not limited to music based voice activation, truly wireless technology, and new car sound systems.

Voice activation is coming to the music industry in the form of MonsterTalk. MonsterTalk is an all new take on requesting your music at a press of a button and a verbal statement using the AI music assistant, Melody by Speak Music. Monster brought this technology to life by debuting the use of a new 4- button ControlTalk sole purpose of activating MonsterTalk. This voice activation gives you the ability to have a truly hands free listening experience with no internet required.

The AirLinks are also new to the Monster 2018 lineup being Monster Product’s first truly wireless earbuds with a focus in sportswear iSport and the fashionable Elements. The AirLinks are equip with a strong Bluetooth performance for communication between the units and come packaged in a charging compact with the ability to recharge your headphones up to three times. The AirLinks iSport wil be available for $199.95; the AirLinks Elements will be available for $249.95.

Monster has one more major surprise up their sleeves and that is the product of a collaboration with Volkswagen in a new concept car that was unveiled on the first day of CES 2018. Monster created their first car audio system entertainment that has been implemented in the Volkswagen Concept R. At the CES Press Conference, Head Monster Noel Lee exclaimed, “Looks badass… and sounds better.”

Find the right sound for you at Monster’s website.

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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Realmax Qian is Soaring to Amazing New Reality

CES 2018, Entertainment, Mobile

Realmax QianShowStoppers is always a hit with our team while at CES and it was a delight to speak with Nigel from Realmax this year at CES 2018. Although we are not strangers to Augmented Reality here at PLuGHiTz Live, we were curious to see what was different and exciting about the Realmax Qian. And they did not disappoint.

Realmax has been around since 2003 and is a company that is highly involved in educational technology. With the addition of AR, they have the ability to not only bring learning to life but to also reach a much broader audience. For example, this technology can be adapted to smaller engineering and robotics programs where the schools cannot afford full labs. With Qian, the students can still get real experience on a full set of instruments and machines in this AR realm. The technology could also assist doctors with training medical students in a much more efficient and cost effective manner. The potential applications are limitless, which opens up usage in so many more fields than education, such as banking and other corporate settings.

Realmax has also set themselves apart from their competitors in some exciting ways. Their headsets are completely mobile with an Android CPU built inside. They have also increased their AR Field of View to an outstanding 100 degrees. The goggles have much better tracking to allow users to stay anchored in the real world to walk around the digital content. They are also working to offer all of this at a more affordable price point than their competitors in the consumer market.

Although currently in the prototype stage, Realmax expects to have the technology in the hands of software developers within Q2 of 2018, and begin consumer production in Q3. This is a product that we at PLuGHiTz Live will be keeping an eye on in the coming months as it launches with possibly even a full product review, so stay tuned for more information regarding pricing and where to purchase.

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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Native Realities: Everything You Love About Being a Nerd, All in One Place

Entertainment

Native RealitiesAfter conducting this interview, the crew and myself had to add a new word to our vocabulary: Indiginerd; a lover of indigenous nerd and pop culture.

Created out of a love for comics, all things pop culture and the belief that there was not a substantial or accurate representation of Native and indigenous people, Native Realities was born. Their goal? To entertain, and educate adults and children alike. The company publishes several books, available in print or digitally, from Native creators and starring Native and Indigenous characters with future plans to branch out into games and animated projects. This interview was a breath of fresh air for me. Being an avid comic reader, I was always disheartened with the knowledge that there were only a handful of books that had actual Native characters in them. However, for every one that was written in a real and believable way, there were two that were basically joke characters. It warms my heart to see something like this exist in today’s world.

In addition to the many things this company has coming down its respective pipeline, they are also gearing up for their second Indigenous Comic Con which will be held on November 10th through 12th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Please check these guys out, and to find out more about this great company, or to just go and let your Indiginerd flag fly, you can find them here.

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Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.

AI, Robotics and Augmented Reality Collide in the Amazing New Game Chancellor of the Universe!

Entertainment, Gadgets, Toys & Gaming

Brave New WorldAre you a fan of table top games? Do you love video games? Are you a robot enthusiast? If you answered yes to any or all of those questions then Chancellor of the Universe is the game for you!

Brought to life by the minds of Brave New World, Chancellor of the Universe is the first game to combine robotics, AI and board games. You play as a new hire who works for the Chancellor, but you aren’t just set on staying in your meager position, no, you have bigger dreams, dreams like overthrowing the Chancellor (and anyone else standing in your way) so that you can be the one true Chancellor of the Universe! The game comes with a game board and mini robot that will move around the board, give out tasks, and even berate the players on occasion. The only thing you need to do after that is to download the app to any phone or tablet, and you’ll be ready to go. Currently still in the Alpha stage (looking for a 2018 release) the game boast from one to four players, with future plans of extending that number to eight. The company also plans to create different shells for the robot, so other AI games can be played using the AI interface as well.

All in all, if you are a fan of Sci-Fi, games or gadgets this is the game for you. So you can play solo, play as a team, or double cross everyone else at the table so you become the sole, and one true Chancellor of the Universe!

For more info, visit their website.

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Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.

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Wimbify Provides Safe and Secure Travel for the LGBT Community

Entertainment, Live Show, Special Events

WimbifyMore than 50% of LGBT travelers do so all alone and that isn’t always safe nowadays. Now there is a mobile platform created for travel sharing called Wimbify. It allows you to find other people to become travel mates for safety.

In addition to traveling, you can be a Local Hero in your own city. These heroes are available to provide local tours for just a few hours or a couple of days. Wimbify has a recommended fee but the hero is allowed to set their own price. When you book a tour you pay a small booking fee and that is how they make their revenue. The Local Heroes are rated by the travelers who have used their services in order to be able to find the best match for you.

After being in business for 2 years the service is currently available in Milan, Italy and San Francisco, California with the next planned city being Berlin, Germany. The app is free and is available now for iOS and Android.

Sponsored by:
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.

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TripHobo Lets You Explore the World Like a King

Entertainment, Live Show, Special Events

TripHoboPlanning your trip or vacation is getting a big boost with an app called TripHobo. It is essentially a detail planner that helps you to see all the famous and important things you always heard about. It can also lead you to a lot of unknown venues and special places not as well-known, that may very well turn out to be the pinnacle of your trip.

If you don’t care to pre-plan the trip yourself, there are literally millions of published itineraries just waiting for you to use as there are over a million trip plans for over 90,000 cities. These itineraries are available now and they are free to use. The planner is available on the web and the companion app is available for iOS and Android.

This innovative company has been around for 2½ years and is a very exciting addition to the travel planning experience because it connects 2 groups of people: travelers who don’t know and venues who need you to know.

Sponsored by:
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.

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The Ultimate Noise Cancelling Headphone with the Best Sound

CES 2017, Entertainment

Blue MicrophonesThe products at Blue’s CES booth never disappoint. This year they are unveiling a prototype noise cancelling headphone. But it’s truly like no other pair you have ever seen before. The plan for these is to create the new benchmark in sound for modern listening experiences.

Blue’s Satellite headphones are being built with an audiophile grade amp to ensure listeners get a true Hi-Fi experience, even from a headphone. The active noise cancellation has been completely kicked up to a new level. Instead of one driver per ear cup, like all other sets have, they have two. One that is dedicated to cancelling noise and one that uses the audiophile amp to deliver the highest quality sound without interfering with the noise cancellation in any way. The also feature the latest Bluetooth wireless technology, onboard controls for intuitive operation, sophisticated design for superior performance, sound isolation and have comfort foldable construction for easy portability and storage.

Pricing and availability are still to be determined, but you can check them out and add yourself to the mailing list from their website.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events for the Tech Podcast Network.

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Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.
Meet the Microsoft Surface family, the most productive devices on the planet.
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A Great Mic for On The Go Recording

CES 2017, Entertainment

Blue MicrophonesGamers and podcasters who livestream or record their sessions love Blue’s series of plug and play microphones for their great sound and ease of use. At CES 2017 we got to see their newest addition to the line up and, based upon our line of work, we were very excited to learn more.

The Blue Raspberry is a podcaster’s best friend on the road as it was specifically designed to help you sound your best, no matter where you are. Transporting it with your other gear is no problem with the included soft suede carrying pouch and there is no complicated set up process as the integrated stand and plug-and-play design allow you to start creating immediately. It boasts pristine 24-bit audio that lets you record and stream professional projects. Blue’s own custom condenser is included for the same rich sound that you have with their studio mics and there is also the newly patented Internal Acoustic Diffusion. This is a great addition because you don’t always have the quietest of settings while broadcasting when you are out and about. It’s like having studio baffling built in to help defuse the background noise and pick up what is being recorded directionally into the mic.

Other features include an adjustable gain with color coded alerts if the surrounding noise interferes with your broadcast, allowing you to adjust in real time. There is also direct monitoring, allowing you to connect your headphones right into Raspberry for real-time, no latency monitoring of your recording. And there’s no need to worry about which format you are using as it is compatible Garage Band, Audacity, YouTube, Skype and other podcasting software. You can even use it on the video recorder of your iPhone.

With a price of $199, you can grab yours at Amazon.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.
Meet the Microsoft Surface family, the most productive devices on the planet.
Follow TPN on Twitter: Techpodcasts; Facebook: TPNTV; Google+: TPNTV

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Expand Your Sound with The Power of the 70’s

Auto, CES 2017, Entertainment

Cerwin Vega Mobile Cerwin Vega Mobile, the oldest running car audio company in the world right now, has brought back a blast from the past. Their latest creation is a new version of an old woofer that was designed in the early 70’s. It’s sole original purpose was specifically for movie theaters and pro audio. Known as a Stroker, it was exclusively used for the movie Earthquake for a sound process called Sound Surround. It even won an Academy Award.

This sound was as big as you could get and some people had the crazy idea of integrating them into their car stereo systems. This sparked a cult like environment of people who would have SPL (Sound Pressure Level) contests to see how loud they could play. The company stopped production about 20 years ago. Gone but not forgotten, they decided to bring it back and into the 21st century, totally redesigned but based upon that original 1972 version.

Weighing in at 97 pounds, the range is over 170 decibels in a car. It’s made in 15″ and 18″ sizes with prices start at $1,499.99. Get yours at Amazon.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.
Blast to the future with the Monster Blaster: the boombox reimagined.
Meet the Microsoft Surface family, the most productive devices on the planet.
Follow TPN on Twitter: Techpodcasts; Facebook: TPNTV; Google+: TPNTV

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