As promised, the running of the nerds continues with a few more new things that caught my eye. As those of you who read my previous column will recall, there were a reported 140,000 attendees doing a lot of running to try and see as many of the 2700 displays available. One of these, I promise, will surprise you. Not only is it perhaps the least costly of any CES item, but it's useful for lots of things! You'll know it when you get to it, so see if you don't agree it's pretty surprising! Most of us who have done it before rely on the media events and press conferences to maximize the number of exhibits and exhibitors we get to see and talk to. So, here is part 2 of “the running” beginning with a couple items seen at Lunch at Piero's.
Lunch at Piero's
Stay connected to what matters most with mydlink enabled cameras - Throughout your busy week, stay connected to everything that you love 24/7. View your home and keep an eye on your kids, your pets and your valued possessions from anywhere over the Internet and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing everything is safe and secure. Whether you're out for an evening, at the office or away on vacation, mydlink-enabled cameras let you keep a close, constant eye on all that's important to you.
mydlink-enabled Wireless N Network CameraThe mydlink-enabled Wireless N Network Camera (DCS-930L) comes with everything you need to quickly add a surveillance camera to your home or small office network. It works right out of the box.
Simply connect the cables, plug in the camera, run the short installation wizard and setup is complete. To view what the camera is seeing, simply log on to mydlink.com, choose your device, and start viewing - there is no need to configure your router to open up ports or remember hard-to-memorize Internet addresses.
Features
- Easily View and Manage Your Camera from mydlink.com
- Sleek and compact design that fits in the smallest corners of your home
- Wireless Connectivity
- Ready to Use in 3 Simple Steps
- Works with the mydlink iPhone app for on-the go viewing
Benefits of mydlink - mydlink products are created for people who long to embrace a world connected through the Internet, but are afraid they lack the technical expertise to do so. mydlink products remove the learning curve that is typically associated with today's high-tech devices because they are truly Plug-and-Play compatible with zero or extremely easy configuration. mydlink provides you easy and straightforward access to your digital life all from our intuitive, convenient website makes it easy to get the most from your digital lifestyle without the learning curve.
Convenient Access, Anywhere, Anytime - As a mydlink-enabled device, you can access the DCS-930L anytime, anywhere you have Internet access. Get peace of mind by keeping an eye on your kids, pets, home or office from almost anywhere by simply logging on to the mydlink website and selecting your camera. Since the DCS-930L comes with a built-in microphone, you can see and hear for yourself that everything is well at home.
Camera Management - For advanced users that want more out of their camera, the DCS-930L also comes with D-Link D-ViewCam™ management software. D-ViewCam comes with a host of features including the ability to record directly from the camera to a local hard drive, trigger motion detection, set recording schedules, set e-mail alert notifications, and even support for up to 32 cameras. D-ViewCam also allows you to upload a floor plan of your home or small business and create a realistic layout of where your cameras are located, providing you with better access to your camera. For even greater recording flexibility, you can record video directly to a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, eliminating the need for a dedicated computer to store video.
Hanspree's Hannspad TabletHannspree is almost ready to release its Hannspad tablet, which the company says it is working on the final tweaks before production. The 10.1-inch Android 2.2 tablet runs Froyo and potentially has the ability to play Adobe Flash 10.1 videos. The neat thing about the device is that Hannspree has created a custom user interface, based on widgets that gives users three panes akin to a desktop or PC experience with windows. Basically, you can drop widgets–such as news, weather, and other information–into any of the three panes, called portlets, and the panes will synchronize and update your content. That’s something that tablet makers should consider with apps too to really have true multitasking! The device is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and supports a micro SD expansion slot, HDMI output, headphone jack, 8 hours of battery life with 16 GB of memory on board.
Nike/TomTom SportswatchNike and TomTom announced a sports watch with a touchscreen display and integrated GPS, available from April 2011 onwards.
The touchscreen display is intended to make it easy for runners to check their progress en-route, while TomTom's GPS system can track and map each run.
The watch combines traditional timer features with personal bests and a nag feature to get runners pounding the ground, as well as a handy USB port that lets users upload run data to the Nike+ network for sharing and comparison.
It can also link up with a Nike+ Sensor attached to a running shoe, or a compatible heart-rate monitor for more detailed readouts.
Rival fitness brand Adidas has been involved in something of a turf war with Nike over fitness gadgets, countering early Nike+ success with the miCoach suite of devices, which were more expensive but included a heart-rate monitor from the get-go.
Adidas also matched Nike's paid iPhone app, which had GPS functionality, with a free miCoach equivalent designed to attract athletes to the miCoach scheme.
Speak With Me voice control for devicesSpeak With Me - Always ready. always fast, just say the word. No Internet connection is required for the Speak With Me platform or apps to function, so you can control devices with your voice while on the go. The platform also responds 50 times faster to your queries than server side solutions.
It's like talking to a human.
Speak With Me features voice-activated technology that truly understands and provides what you want, when you want it, without having to follow a pre-set script.
Larger vocabularies, more accurate. Speak With Me delivers an industry-leading 99% accuracy rating - 400 times more accurate than competitors – and recognizes nearly 1 million words in a person’s vocabulary.
The Boogie Board TabletThe Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet - This product is the first paperless writing tablet to utilize a pressure-sensitive Reflex LCD for the writing surface. While most other LCDs are made on glass, the Reflex LCDs used in Boogie Board tablets are made of impact-resistant, flexible plastic. They are mass produced exclusively in the U.S. on the world's first roll-to-roll line for fabrication of flexible LCDs.
Because all Reflex LCDs are reflective and bi-stable, the Boogie Board tablet requires no power to generate or retain an image, and only a small amount to erase (supplied by a small watch battery, which will execute over 50,000 erase cycles). At a retail price of $29.97 USD, the Boogie Board tablet's cost per erase is 15 times less than the per sheet cost of paper in a comparable steno notepad.
Written and graphic images are created with an included stylus or any other instrument that will apply the desired pressure (even a finger nail). Unlike traditional LCDs that have a poor response to pressure, the Boogie Board's Reflex LCD is highly responsive to variable amounts of pressure. This allows different line thicknesses to be easily created (great for sketching) and provides a writing experience very similar to paper and pencil.
Part of Kent Displays' Push Green™ initiative, the Boogie Board tablet provides a highly-effective vehicle to reduce everyday paper consumption. While most reduction strategies have focused on computer-related activities, an equally significant amount of paper is used for everyday writing tasks such as writing memos, jotting down ideas, making reminders/lists, practicing handwriting/arithmetic (young children), playing games, drawing pictures, and diagramming plays (coaches). The paperless Boogie Board tablet can be used for all these activities, replacing memo/note pads and sticky notes in the home, office, school, car and field. It also replaces chalk, magnetic and dry erase boards. Like all the above writing and drawing mediums, the Boogie Board tablet consumes no electrical energy to produce an image.
EmWave Personal Stress Reliever by HeartMathHeartMath - Would you like to reduce stress, anxiety, depression or sleeplessness? HeartMath presents the emWave2, small enough to fit in your pocket but with cutting-edge mobile technology to help you reduce the negative effects of stress, improve relaxation and build resilience with just a few minutes of daily use. EmWave Personal Stress Reliever provides advanced mobile technology that will help you reduce the negative effects of stress, allowing you to experience greater health, more energy, and improved emotional and mental clarity. Developed from the Institute of HeartMath's 15 years of research on the relationship between the heart, brain, stress and emotions. emWave is both innovative and practical. It enhances your life through it scientifically validated technology, helping you reduce stress and gain a new sense of inner control any time...anywhere.
Technology EmWave technology is an innovative approach to improving wellness and facilitating personal growth based on learning to change your heart rhythm pattern to create coherence; a scientifically measurable state characterized by increased order and harmony in our psychological and physiological processes. EmWave technology collects pulse data through a pulse sensor and translates the information from your heart rhythms into graphics on your computer or into easy to follow lights on the portable EmWave Personal Stress Reliever.
Sonomax Sculpted Eers | |  A perfect fit to your ears. |
Sonomax - Would you like a pair of custom-made in-hear headphones, but flinch at the $1K price tag attached to something like JH Audio’s incredible JH|13? The new Sonomax Sculpted Eers promise to deliver a true custom fit at a fraction of the price.
This device is the fitting system that you'll wear in the store while the earbuds are fit to your ear canals. The silicone material used to fabricate the tips expands inside your ear, creating a perfect fit in four minutes and retaining that shape permanently.
Don Sonomax’s new SonoFit Custom Fitting System at a participating retailer and it will produce a set of silicon ear tips molded to the interior of your ear canal in just four minutes. Manufacturing custom ear buds in the traditional way requires a trip to an audiologist for a custom mold that’s sent to the manufacturer, and a week or two wait for your buds to be fabricated. It took only a few minutes to do the easy-fitting and I had a set of earbuds, perfectly fitted to my ears. I used them on the way home and was impressed with the quality of the sound. The fact they fit perfectly also serves as a noise cancelling feature. The earbuds themselves resemble most other mid-range in-ear headphones. I found them to be quite comfortable during my almost 6 hour flight home.
With iTwin, files can be shared securely between two computers anywhere in the world over the Internet
iTwin - a double-ended USB key that someone buys, unplugs the two halfs and sends one half to a friend, relative or business associate. A really nifty idea I think!
When both USB keys are plugged in, files can be shared securely between two computers anywhere in the world over the internet, as if the two halves of the device are joined by an invisible cable.
This makes it easy enough for your grandmother to be able to share large files such as videos and family photo collections.
"The beauty is that there is no software to install, no settings to configure. The only requirement is that both computers be connected to the internet - anywhere in the world! ...keep an eye out for the iTwin, it promises innovative changes to file transfer."
"Setup is a breeze... You just plug the two attached iTwin plugs into one machine, setup a folder for file transfer, and then plug one half of the iTwin into the next machine. Voila! Instant portal to your home desktop from work!"
Independa Smart Reminders ServiceIndependa - As a recent caregiver, I was very impressed with Independa’s products. This San Diego start-up launched its Web-based software products for family caregivers that help seniors live independently. Products include a Smart Reminders service, which has a medications reminder, a calendar for important appointments and a life stories feature that helps caregivers record memories of their seniors. It also showed off a prototype of a tablet that could serve as the centerpiece to Independa’s platform for helping seniors live life longer at home. The tablet isn’t on the market yet, but it will come into beta-testing phase this year, said Kian Saneii, chief executive of the company. It aims to engage seniors with technology that is simple to use yet provides them with a host of services that will keep them independent longer. “It’s an overlooked emographic,” said Saneii, “It doesn’t matter how old you get. You want to use fun things and engage with them.”
That’s it for this version. I’ll be back, next time with a final list of pretty exciting and useful things, electronic. Enjoy all the new things that are available, but be careful on the www as you will remember, one of the Ws is for “wild”
Aloha, Lou
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