There’s a device out there in the wild called the HTC Fetch. While we’re seeing places like Clove put the device up as “coming soon” already, even they don’t have full details on what this device does, exactly. If that seems strange to you, you’ll be surprised at how ravenous modern day early adopters can […]
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Sol Republic has detailed its new DECK Wireless Speaker, the first M4DE for Motorola accessory and introducing a new “Heist Mode” for communal play. The DECK, a slot-topped slab of Bluetooth speaker using NFC for easy pairing, supports up to 300 feet of wireless range with the new Moto X and can be connected to […]
Apple has acquired Passif Semiconductor, a low-power wireless chip specialist with a product range that includes Bluetooth LE support for wearables like smartwatches. The deal, confirmed by Jessica Lessin and AllThingsD, has been confirmed by Apple, but no financial details – nor examples of what the Cupertino company intends to do with the wireless expertise […]
Remember that SOL Republic Bluetooth speaker that made a sneak appearance at Verizon’s Droid event? Well, it’s actually official now and the company wants to ensure its first foray into audio outside headphones is a success. Dubbed the Deck, the speaker is the result of a team-up between SOL and Motorola, with SOL providing its audio know-how and Motorola handling the wireless connectivity bit. The $200 speaker features a flat design that might fit into a pants pocket. Vertically positioned drivers and a side-facing port provide 360-degree sound, and an outdoor mode boosts the highs and cuts the lows if you need to fill open areas with sound.
Additionally, deck boasts a usable range of 300 feet, a sprawling distance compared to the the usual 30-foot line-of-sight limit you’ll encounter on devices like the Beats Pill and Jawbone Jambox. Its Heist setting lets up to five devices connect without needing to enable a pairing mode and, like the name suggests, any user can steal the speaker by hitting play on their device. Rounding things out, you can expect roughly 10 hours of battery life, water-resistance (via a sonically-transparent bag), speakerphone functionality and a 3.5mm input / output. Interested? It costs $200 and is up for pre-order today in yellow, blue, red and “gunmetal.” Shipments are expected to begin before August is over. In the meantime, you can join us after the break for our initial impressions.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video
Source: SOL Republic, Motorola
While the current pre-production iteration of the Omate TrueSmart smartwatch might not be the most flashy wearable to appear this year, the proposition made by the company for a full-powered Android smart device is certainly enticing. This device works with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and a dual-core processor as well as Bluetooth, meaning you’ll not
Being a parent is a lot of work. There are times where you need a few extra hands, and another pair of eyes. Unfortunately, if you don’t have anyone else around, extra appendages are hard to come by. Thankfully, there are plenty of gadgets out there that can help with some of the issues that can come up while trying to raise a child (or two).
If you’ve ever taken your child out to the store, and lost sight of them, you truly understand what it means to panic. Despite being a good parent and keeping constant watch over them, children can disappear around a corner in the blink of an eye. This type of scenario is exactly what the Wootch was created.
The Wootch looks like nothing more than a brightly-colored digital watch for children. However, it’s more than just a portable timepiece. The watch also houses a Bluetooth transmitter that will talk to your smartphone, and let you know exactly where your child is. Should they get more than 16 feet away, you will actually get an alert on your phone, letting you know that they’ve wandered off too far. Finally, there’s a “FindMe” button, that your child can press, that sends an alert to your phone.
I think that this concept is brilliant. Sure, some people will say that good parents won’t ever lose track of their children, but those people are simply underestimating how sneaky a kid can really be. What I think is so great is that the device is hidden in plain sight as a watch. All you need to do is get your child in the habit of wearing their watch whenever you take them out of the house. And should the worst happen and someone abducts a child wearing one of these, they won’t think to remove the watch, so there’s a better chance of the child hitting the “FindMe” button, and being found quickly. You can get your own by funding the IndieGoGo project, and pledging just $30.
[ Wootch is a child locator hidden inside of a watch copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
LG’s big ticket items may take up most of our attention span, but the South Korean firm’s latest Bluetooth headset solution has caught our eye. Coming in at roughly the size of a matchbox (35.9 × 50.2 × 19.2mm), the BTS1 boasts an 8 hour battery life, features a built-in clip, supports the aptX codec and packs on-board controls for volume, pause and play, sifting through songs and handling phone calls. With the help of Bluetooth 3.0, the pack connects to smartphones, laptops, tablets and even TVs — yes, even those in LG’s 2013 line-up — with the wireless standard baked in. Of course, you could always lean on a Roku 3 if you’re hankering for a wire-free television experience for your earbuds. There’s no word of a US release, but if you find yourself in PSY’s homeland, you’ll be able to score one for 59,000 won (roughly $53).
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, HD, Mobile, LG
Source: LG (translated), LG (Flickr)
Headphones come in all shapes and sizes, yet offer more or less the same functionality. The folks behind Muzik aim to change this, announcing the soon-to-be-available smart headphones that allow users to natively share the song they’re listening to on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. This is the first of what will be a line of different wearable technology devices, says the company’s vice chairman John Cawley.
Unfortunately, not much was revealed in the way of specifications, with the announcement instead focusing on what Muzik offers that is different over other headphones on the market: Social Smartware functionality. As such, the headphones are being touted as the first-ever that allow listeners to share what they’re listening to on social networks from the device itself.
The company hints that the sharing functionality expands beyond just Facebook and Twitter, saying that in addition to sharing on those two networks, the headphones also allow users to “send a song anywhere in the world.” Furthermore, the Muzik website speaks of an Android and iOS app that “learns” while users listen to music.
As far as actual design goes, the headphones are over-the-ear and feature capacitive touch controls. Neither pricing nor a release date for the headphones have been released, but the company promises that a pre-order announcement will be made “shortly.” As for the actual launch, the device will hit shelves some time in the fourth quarter of this year.
Muzik President and CEO Jason Hardi said: “While the music industry has seen its challenges, technological advances have also created a world of opportunity, which Muzik is seizing to create an entirely new category. Headphones will never again just be for listening to music or talking on the phone – our headphones will improve the way we socially discover, share, listen and experience music. In addition to music exploration, I look forward to working with the developer community to create amazing applications leveraging smart headphones.”
SOURCE: Newswire
Muzik smart headphones let audiophiles share on Facebook and Twitter is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
There’s an accessory line in the making said to be coming from Nokia in the form of a so-called “Treasure Tag” NFC dongle. This device has been tipped to The Verge as an invention strikingly similar to what we’ve seen from Tile, bringing NFC-enabled miniature pieces of plastic that attach to your every beloved device and valuable. Here with Treasure Tag, Nokia will allow you to track a collection of tags in real time, using none other than Nokia Lumia devices’ LiveSight app to track these tags in augmented reality.
This system will be working with a combination of Bluetooth and NFC, the actual accessories appearing in at least one form: on a loop made with materials not all that different from what we’ve seen from the company in their ever-expanding Lumia-friendly family. There will also be a Treasure Tag app that’ll work with the tags exclusively, showing the location of each sensor on a map.
The phone you’ve paired the Tag with will be able to be located with a long press on the tag, the phone sending out a notification noise until it’s located. The Tag will be able to be found by the phone with the Treasure Tag app.
The tags will be powered by batteries – long lasting “six months of use” batteries, that is – that will be on all the time. An NFC tag cannot send out a signal on its own without a power source, while this system will work with both Bluetooth signals – Bluetooth 4.0, in this case – and NFC to keep your machines together.
Even in Bluetooth 4.0, the range of this technology stays within 100 m (330 ft). Bluetooth 4.0′s interaction with Bluetooth LE (Bluetooth Low Energy) allows the sensor technology to work with low energy, and doesn’t increase its range – it lowers it to half, in fact – making this next-generation innovation have little effect on Nokia’s proposed set of accessories.
So if you’re leaving your keys in the car and you’ve walked through the park and through downtown, you might not be able to see the sensor anymore. This setup would be much more for an “I can’t find my keys in the house” sort of situation.
Nokia “Treasure Tag” will keep your keys in place with Bluetooth and NFC is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
