Polaroid Brand to Release a Set of Android Handsets

CES 2015, Mobile, Photography

PolaroidPolaroid is obviously a company known for their camera technology. As standalone cameras have become a smaller market, it was time for Polaroid to find new outlets for their cameras. As most people tend to use their phone as their primary camera, this was a natural place to explore.

The new Polaroid Android phones, shown off at CES 2015, might not revolutionize the industry, but they could certainly carve out a nice niche for themselves. Both handsets offer a 5.5″ screen and claim stock Android. Included on the handsets is a Polaroid photo app that simulates the experience of using a Polaroid Instant camera of days gone by.

The Selfie, which has an octa-core processor and a 13MP camera, has the ability to flip the camera around, allowing you to take a selfie or use Skype with the full power of the camera. The Flip, the lower-priced handset of the pair, is a quad-core phone with an 8MP camera that does not, as the name would suggest, offer the flip camera.

Both handsets will be available this Spring unlocked for $199 and $179 respectively from various retailers.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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A 3D Projection that Can Scale to Huge Heights

CES 2015, Entertainment, Video

PmScreenWe often find products at CES that are newsworthy, but it is not often that we find a display technology that is worth talking about. The technology behind the display at the Altec Lansing booth, presented by PM Screen was certainly an exception to that rule. In fact, it was their display that caused us to stop and interview Altec Lansing in the first place.

The display featured 3 of the company’s new Bluetooth speakers being emphasized by fire and water, showing off the speaker’s fireproof and waterproof capabilities. What was interesting about the display, however, is that it was all created with 3D projections.

In addition to the small screen presented at CES, the company’s technology is capable of scaling to large surfaces, too. In fact, they were responsible for a 12 projector setup on the ice hockey rink at the ice hockey world championship opening ceremony, whose video is available on their website. This is a truly interesting technology with wonderful potential. I look forward to seeing the places they find to implement it in the US and abroad.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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Businessfriend – A Business-Oriented Social Network with a Purpose

CES 2015, Mobile

BusinessfriendWhen it comes to the world of social networks, purpose is not necessarily a requirement. LinkedIn is good for finding a job, I guess. Facebook is good for… I’m really not sure what. But, in recent months, that trend is changing. Ello was created to rebel against advertising, but that isn’t exactly a purpose, at least not for the user.

Businessfriend is a social network with a true purpose, though. Created to help people collaborate with their colleagues and favorite brands, Businessfriend offers a number of personal and business-related features missing from any single platform.

For example, their Instant feature is a chat platform that allows you to keep your content private. No message boxes popping up when a new message comes in, making your private business public. There’s also the DigiDex, an organized contact list filled with your direct contacts and the companies you are connected to.

In addition to the unique takes on common features, Businessfriend also offers cloud features. You can share files through the system in a way that is controllable. You can revoke access to files and folders at will, and know that the content has been secured. You can also organize your content into Notebooks, making it easier to find.

It is definitely a platform worth trying out, currently available on web, iOS and Android, with Windows Phone currently in development.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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Altec Lansing Creates a Range of Almost Indestructible Bluetooth Speakers

CES 2015, Entertainment, Mobile

AltecLansingAltec Lansing has long been known for their mid- to high-end audio products, but recently the company has been expanding their product lineup, bringing their brand and quality to consumer products. This year, the company is expanding their lineup of Bluetooth speakers.

The products, mostly known for their “Jacket” branding, are waterproof, shockproof, and in some cases bulletproof, fireproof and bombproof. The product line ranges from $39 to $149 and many are available today.

In addition to physical quality, these speakers also offer Altec Lansing’s well-known sound quality. Even the small speaker, at only $39, sounds great and can still withstand quite a beating.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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Ericcson Is Making the Cloud more Secure at CES

CES 2015, , , ,

Ericsson logoIt wasn’t that long ago that businesses, and individuals started to use the cloud. There are those who love its convenience, and others who don’t really have a good understanding of how it works. The biggest concern is often security.

Nick spoke with Vance from Ericsson about the company’s plans to make a safer, more secure, cloud. Ericsson is looking towards the future and noting that in 2020 there will be approximately 50 billion connected devices. The company believes that a lot of that will exist over an industrialized cloud platform.

That platform needs to be highly programmable, highly accessible, highly governable, and controllable. Most of all, it absolutely must be secure. Ericsson is putting a fundamental paradigm shift into how we think about security in the cloud. Today, the concept people use can be summarized as “build a bigger wall” around your data. If you create an app, for example, you have to spend time working on its security.

That is still important, but in addition, Ericsson wants the structure of the cloud itself to provide security. Ericsson is currently at the start of their journey towards that goal. They want to be able to validate for you the authenticity of the data you put into the cloud and to mathematically validate that it has not been breached. Or, if a breach occurs, they will go through a series of events to determine where the data was comprised, how it was compromised, and when the event occurred. All of this should bring peace of mind to people who use the cloud.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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Denon Has New Gear for Professionals at CES

CES 2015, , ,

Denon logoThere’s definitely a real emphasis on consumer-focused products at CES. But there’s still much to be found at the show that’s specifically geared towards professionals. Denon is a great example of one company that’s not here to sell wearables or kids’ toys.

Nick caught up with Eric from Denon. Eric showed off several of Denon’s new products that are specifically designed to be used by audio-video integrators. The first is the Solutions series bluetooth-enabled receiver. It’s a box that transmits audio via bluetooth and can easily be integrated into a pro-grade sound system.

Next up is the Denon Envoy, a 360-watt chargeable PA speaker that comes loaded with different input options. Envoy can stream audio from a bluetooth-connected smartphone, it can play media from a built-in SD card slot or it can be connected to a standard external mixer. Envoy’s battery will run for up to 12 hours on one charge.

The last piece of gear is the DN300Z rack-mountable media player. This device is designed to play any type of media a user might have on hand. It’ll play CD’s, bluetooth streams, files from SD cards or USB sticks, even AM/FM radio. This unit would work great in situations where it’s necessary to play back multiple media formats in a hurry.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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iSet Smartwatch Improves your Tennis Game at CES

Accessories, CES 2015, , , , , ,

iSet LogoPeople who are playing a competitive sport need to know the score as the game goes on. Sometimes, in the middle of a match, it can be difficult to keep track of. The iSet smartwatch solves that problem. It keeps track of tennis match scores in real time. Use it to track your own or to check the win/loss ratio of your favorite tennis players.

Scott spoke with Lea Partouche about the iSet smartwatch. The watch connects via Bluetooth to a player’s smartphone. It requires an app that is free to download for either iOS or Android. You can connect one iSet smartwatch to one smartphone.

Two tennis players, who each are using an iSet smartwatch, can keep track of the score of the match in real time just by glancing at their smartwatch. One really nice thing about the iSet is that it can be used even if your tennis partner doesn’t have one. The smartwatch can still record the score into the app.

In addition to recording the score, the app will show your win/loss stats. It keeps track of who you played against and when the match took place. Or, you can put the name of a tennis player that you want to follow into the app, and it will show you that player’s statistics.

In addition to being a tennis tracker, the iSet smartwatch can do other things. It can show you the time. It can be used as a stopwatch or a timer. The iSet smartwatch is expected to be released in March of 2015 for a retail price of $129.00.

Interview by Scott of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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Immersis Brings Gaming out of the Screen and Into the Room at CES

CES 2015, Entertainment, TVs, Video, , , ,

Immersis logoVideo games have come a long way since the days of blocky bits bouncing ’round on a cathode ray tube.

The unrealized potential of gaming has always been to transport players to worlds otherwise unreachable in everyday life. And while game sound and graphics have improved a lot, those improvements are still stuck on a flat, two-dimensional screen. French developers Immersis are working on a new projector system that brings game environments out of that two-dimensional state and into an entire room.

Scott had a rendezvous with Daniel from Immersis. Daniel showed off a miniature mockup of the full-sized Immersis projector and he explained how the Immersis system will consist of the full-sized version of their special HD protector that’ll work with either a console game system or computer to project the gaming environment onto all of the walls surrounding a player, putting that player right in the center of the action.

Immersis is launching the product thru Kickstarter and the company has already reached its goal of raising $100,000 thru the crowdfunding site. Daniel believes that Immersis will be able to bring the projector to market by November of this year and that the retail price will be $2500.00.

Interview by Scott of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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No cords needed for this unique charger from 911Boost

Accessories, CES 2015, Gadgets, Mobile, ,

911BoostSo your smart phone shows 2% charge and you are hours way from finishing the day.  You start to search frantically for the cord you need to connect your device to your portable charger, computer, wall outlet or whatever other means you have to charge your device on the go.  Of course, the cord is missing and your phone is useless the rest of the day.

Jacques Emano, President of 911Boost, realized this issue and set out to develop a portable charger that didn’t need a cord.  The 911Boost is what they developed.

911Boost is about the size of a car remote with an attached keyring.  You smart phone connects directly to the device via the tabs that set around the outside of the charger.  Easy to carry and ready to boost 98% of the smart phones currently on the market including most Androids and iPhones.

Their motto is “Never be left with a dead phone again, always be in charge!”  More information can be found at http://911boost.com/

Interview by the “Guru of Geek” Marlo Anderson of The Tech Ranch for the TechPodcast Network.

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Meccano Brings Future Robot Overlords to CES

CES 2015, , ,

Meccano logo

We’ve all dreamed of owning our very own robot. Imagine, having a mechanical friend who’s always there and won’t mind when you tell it to fetch another cold drink from the kitchen. Well, those robot dreams are quickly becoming real thanks to the efforts of companies like Meccano.

Nick spoke with Fraser from Meccano. Fraser explained that many people had probably already heard of the Meccano brand, as it was known as Erector for many years in the U.S. He also gave details on an amazing new product, the Meccanoid, which Meccano will bring to stores in August of 2015.

Meccanoid is a four-foot tall humanoid robot that’s built from an easy-to-assemble kit. Upon construction, users can program Meccanoid by using a simple “record-and-playback” system built right into the bot, or via bluetooth-connected smartphone, or USB-connected computer. The potential of Meccanoid is endless as the kit can be broken down into a number of configurations, limited only by the imagination of the builder.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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