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New Gadgets for Travelers at the Consumer Electronics Show
Our resident tech gadget reviewer John Gordon wasn’t able to attend this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but Dave Sniadak is popping in as a guest reviewer to give us the lowdown on what’s new and interesting this year. Take it away Dave!
The Consumer Electronics Show is a massive meshing of man and technology: some gadgets already implemented onto the market, others merely concepts hoping to catch the eye of a box store buyer or visionary venture capitalist in search of the”next big thing”. While the overwhelming message from this year’s CES was predominantly 3DTV and tablet technology, I was able to find a few gadgets that play nice with those of us who prefer to hit the road in search of real 3D images, instead of those seen only through the eye of technology.
As our tech gear demands increase, so will the need to power the gadgets that get us from Point A to Point B. While we want to stay connected, it’s important we remember the impact our energy demands have on the world around us. That’s why I was so blown away by the nPower PEG (or Personal Energy Generator), created by the amazing folks at Tremont Electric (Cleveland, OH).
Using the science of kinetic energy generated by our own forward motion, the nPower PEG claims to be the “next generation of hybrid chargers”. The nPower PEG is 9″ long, 1.5″ wide in diameter, weights 11 ounces, retails under $160 and stores user-generated energy in its’ 1,000mAh lithium polymer battery. By using the natural up and down motion of movement – whether walking, running, biking, horseback riding or hiking – you’re able to plug in your USB 2.0 cable to power up your cell phone, camera, mp3 player, GPS or other travel gadget. Plus, it fits nicely in the side pocket of your backpack, so no worries about finding a place to store it on your waistline. Tremont Electric says their kinetic energy device taps into the “renewable energy of motion”; I call it “the next major movement in keeping us connected”. Find more info at www.npowerpeg.com.
Along the lines of energy consciousness, California-based TravelersChoice has introduced a new line of EcoTraveler Solar Powered bags. The one that resonated with me, as a father of two young kids and a family that loves to take nice long road trips, was the EcoTraveler Cooler Bag. Yeah, I’m all about keeping the string cheese and juice boxes chilled and at the ready for when the kids start in with the “Are we there yet?” pestering. It’s a bit spendy – around $180 – but worth it if it means you can say goodbye to an extra charger or two.
What makes this bag great is the flexible, durable solar panel at the top of the bag. The included battery allows you to soak up the power of the sun via the photovoltaic (PV) technology embedded in the solar panels, made by Konarka Power Plastics. While the EcoTraveler doesn’t provide enough juice to power a laptop, it can easily give you extra hours of fun with your smart phones, mp3 players, and portable gaming devices. The waterproof cooler is designed to keep your perishable goods cool while on the road – meaning the juice will be ready, for both the kids AND their toys. At the moment it only seems to be available at SkyMall and on eBay.
Dave Sniadak writes at HDHubby.com and is a self-prescribed airport addict. When he’s not busy dreaming up his next trip that involves as many connections as possible, he’s producing video content for clients at Minneapolis-based agency, Axiom Marketing Communications. A proud father of two young children, Dave is enjoying daily diaper duty (again), as well as the ups and downs of being a new homeowner. Connect with him on Twitter – @davesniadak
Posted by Tim L. in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on January 12th, 2011
Road Test: Cydle T43H GPS Navigator
The GPS field is very crowded these days. But there’s one manufacturer, Cydle, you might not have heard about—yet. That could change as the upstart company plans to introduce some interesting auto electronics products later this year.
I first ran across Cydle at the 2010 International CES in Las Vegas. While I’m waiting for the release of some of their other products, I wanted to check out their T43H GPS.
The T43H navigator offers turn-by-turn directions with a bright, clear and wide (4.3″) screen. The maps seemed accurate in my driving and the receiver was solid, with quick satellite locks and no dropped signals. It comes with pre-loaded maps for the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
One unique feature is a built-in FM and HD radio. It may seem a bit self-defeating to listen to HD radio on the small built-in speaker on the GPS unit. But there is an audio output in case you want to listen with better-quality speakers in your car.
The T43H also maps and displays traffic information that’s fed over HD Radio signals. I didn’t receive any alerts while driving around Dallas. But at the time, there were no major wrecks or traffic jams. According to Cydle, HD Radio traffic updates normally require a paid subscription, but the T43H receives them without charge.
The GPS unit also includes a media player for pictures, video and audio. And there’s a slot for an SDHC card to add up to 16 gb of memory.
One really nice feature is a display of the speed limit on major roads. And the T43H will give an audio warning if you’re driving more than five miles per hour over the limit.
In a side-by-side comparison with my Garmin GPS, I found the audio cues from the Garmin to be louder and more distinct. The Cydle sounded a bit muffled, but still understandable most of the time.
I also thought the screen layout of the Garmin was less cluttered, and found some of the information on the Cydle screen (such as time, arrival time and distance to turns) was too small for my liking.
Cydle’s suction-cup mount works very well. I still prefer Garmin’s combination mount and power cord, which is sleeker and not as bulky.
The list price for the T43H is $279.99, with a 24% discount currently offered at Amazon.
Overall, the T43H performs well. And it also offers a glimpse at what’s coming in the future.
Cydle is also working to add features such as Bluetooth, Mobile TV, Wi-Fi and more. The company plans to launch other GPS units with 5″ and 7″ touch screens and Blackbox, a camera to record your driving data.
Also in the works is the Cydle M7, a mobile Internet device that will run on Google’s Android operating system and offer features such as Mobile TV, a camera and camcorder.
Cydle is not yet a household name. But if the company is able to deliver on its vision for mobile devices, that could change very quickly.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on March 30th, 2010
CES Report: Mobile Digital Television to Go
LAS VEGAS—Streaming video on your mobile phone is often a less-than-satisfying experience, with fuzzy pictures and interruptions for buffering. But 2010 International CES offered a glimpse of how we may soon be watching local television stations on our cell phones and laptop computers.
I’m departing a bit from Practical Travel Gear’s usual format of hands-on testing of gear that’s available today so we can take a look into the future. Broadcasters, programmers and technology companies are working together in hopes of making Mobile Digital Television a reality. Some of the products are expected to hit the market later this year.
USB adapters could turn laptops and netbooks into digital TV receivers. Small, standalone receivers are also planned. The quality of the video demonstrated at CES is impressive.
Compelling content is something often lacking in streaming video that’s available now. But if local broadcasters jump on the standard, mobile DTV receivers will be able to pick up local and network programming, local news and emergency broadcasts.
The Tivit mobile TV viewer from Valups won several innovation awards at CES. Tivit is a small, portable receiver—about the size of a credit card—that picks up digital TV signals and sends them via Wi-Fi to an iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry phone or laptop.
About 30 stations are already on the air with the mobile digital signals. Local broadcasters see it as one opportunity to stay relevant—they can either lose audience to mobile devices, or offer their own signals in hopes of holding on to or expanding their audiences.
There’s still some work underway to gauge consumer demand for Mobile Digital Television. A showcase is planned later this year in the Washington, DC area, with local residents getting a chance to sample up to 20 channels of programming.
Brandon Burgess, chairman of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, believes the new gadgets will lead to a “new era in over-the-air TV broacasting.”
How would you like to see local television channels on your mobile phone or other portable devices? The technology works. But it will only be successful if there’s an audience.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on January 12th, 2010
CES Report: Year of the e-Reader?
Interead's newest e-readers are introduced at CES
LAS VEGAS—E-readers generated a lot of buzz at the 2010 International CES. And for many travelers, being able to carry around thousands of titles in an electronic reader less than the size of one book has a lot of appeal.
Amazon’s original e-reader is the best-selling item on the company’s website and now Sony and Barnes & Noble have introduced models of their own. But keep an eye on an upstart company, Interead, which is promising to ratchet up the competition with lower prices and a broad selection of titles.
“2010 is going to be the year of e-readers because of the content in our product,” says Phil Wood, marketing director for UK-based Interead.
Interead plans to bring three new models to the market by mid-year—the COOL-ER Compact, smaller than its competitors; COOL-ER Connect, adding Wi-Fi capabilities and a touch screen; and the COOL-ER 3G, adding high-speed connectivity via AT&T mobile phone channels. In addition, new case colors will be offered for the company’s current model, the COOL-ER Classic.
The new models fit well in in the inside pocket of my jacket. In fact, they were specifically designed that way. The COOL-ER Compact measures 6.7″ tall and 4.6″ wide and is less than half an inch thick. The 2 GB of onboard memory can be expanded to 6 GB with an SD memory card, easily holding thousands of titles.
The COOLER-ER Connect is expected to be competitively priced at $249 or less.
“We’re passing along the economy of scale and savings these new models have created,” says Wood.
The e-readers will work around the world and support e-books in every language, with menus in eight languages.
One of Interead’s strengths is its selection of titles—more than two million strong. About half of those titles are free Google e-books.
Also, a new application available from the company’s e-book site gives access to more than 1,400 global newspapers and magazines, along with millions of Twitter feeds. The prices of e-books are usually substantially less than printed volumes.
Sales figures are difficult to come by, since Amazon avoids releasing numbers for its popular Kindle e-readers that were first on the market. But industry estimates are that nine million e-readers were sold last year. Wood estimates industry-wide sales of 15 million units this year. He says Interead’s current model is positioned at number three in U.S. sales and number one in Europe.
Keep in mind that e-reader screens are still black and white. Wood says models with color screens should be available by December. While black and white screens are fine for most books, the color screens will make magazines and other periodicals look much better.
I know there are some purists who still like the smell and feel of physical books, just as some music lovers enjoyed the look and feel of vinyl albums. But e-readers, in the very near future, may well do for the printed word what the iPod did for music.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on January 11th, 2010
The Future of Driving: High-Tech Cars
Ford made a splash with its announcement of MyFord Touch, described as a “driver connect technology” and the next generation of its current Sync system.The system is scheduled to roll out first this year on the 2011 Lincoln MKK and be added to future new and redesigned Ford and Mercury models.
MyFord Touch will cause “people to fall in love with their vehicles again,” says Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, global product development.
“It’s not just a technology, it’s an experience—one we hope will have people across the globe looking forward to spending time behind the wheel of their vehicle.”
It’s encouraging to see Ford’s commitment to this technology, which was developed with Microsoft on the software side. And remember, Ford was the only U.S. automaker that didn’t need a federal bail-out.
But right in the shadows, literally, of Ford’s booth at CES was a little-known player—Telemetria, with a very interesting product. And I always like David and Goliath stories.
Telemetria, a small company based in San Jose, CA, has already released its DashTop safety and “infotainment” system with a price point around $1,000.
Installed in the center console, the DashTop combines a 7″ color screen and touch interface for broadband Internet access for web browsing and e-mail, GPS navigation, playing music and video, engine monitoring and diagnostics and more. It can even turn the entire car into a Wi-Fi hotspot.
“We can continually add new apps for safety, efficiency, for social networking and for security,” says Allen Nejah, Telemetria’s founder
The system is built on Windows 7, which makes it easy to update and add features, according to Nejah.
The company is still working to refine the system’s voice-recognition capabilities. But after taking a test drive with the unit and meeting some of the company’s employees, I have little doubt they will get that part working as well as it should.
These kind of high-tech gadgets can surely make driving more interesting and more connected. I’m not certain a high-tech car can make it fun to commute through bumper-to-bumper traffic. But it might help find your way around the traffic jams.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on January 9th, 2010
