Hasta La Gadget!

We’re seeing more and more tiny Bluetooth devices that are good at keeping track of useful information, such as your heart rate, electric consumption or the whereabouts of your wallet. The DropTag on the other hand tracks a closely guarded secret: whether or not a delivery package was mishandled before it got to its recipient.

Invented by Cambridge Consultants, the DropTag has an accelerometer that can sense, track and relay if the package was dropped or vigorously shaken. As you’ll see in the video below, it will work with mobile apps that could interpret the data in a simple way – it’ll just say if your package is in good or bad condition – as well as display more detailed graphs and timelines.

Cambridge Consultants is also looking at adding more sensors – such as one that measures temperature – to the DropTag to increase its functionality. But the company is also adamant in keeping its final price down, both for ordinary folks like you and me and for enterprise users, which is why they want to make the DropTag to last for weeks on a single coin-cell battery and be reusable. Delivery guys may have met their match.

[via Cambridge Consultants via OhGizmo!]

One company that’s looking to break into the wireless speaker market for gamers is Divoom, who just announced today a new Bluetooth gaming speaker called the ONBEAT-X1. The speaker has specially-designed suction cups on the back that allow you to easily stick the speaker onto the back of a smartphone or tablet for better audio quality.

The new speaker features force feedback, which Divoom calls “Vibration Bass,” and it essentially reacts to gaming actions with shakes and vibrations for a more realistic experience when it comes to gameplay. The ONBEAT-X1 Bluetooth gaming speaker also provides 8 hours of music playback, thanks to the built-in lithium ion battery that’s rechargeable via microUSB.

The speaker works with all Bluetooth devices, including pretty much all smartphones and tablet, but if you don’t have a Bluetooth-enabled device, you can plug directly into the speaker using a traditional 3.5mm audio cable that comes included with the package. You’ll probably get better quality through the cable anyways, since Bluetooth tends to degrade audio quality just a tad.

As far as pricing and availability, the ONBEAT-X1 will be on sale starting later this month, and it will be available in either black or white. You’ll be able to pick one up for $39 once they become available. The speaker comes with suction cups to attach to your device, a microUSB cable for charging, and a 3.5mm audio cable for connecting to non-Bluetooth devices.

Divoom announces ONBEAT-X1 Bluetooth gaming speaker is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A Swedish audio company called Audio Pro has unveiled the new wireless speaker that supports Apple AirPlay. The speaker is called the Allroom Air One and supports DNLA devices. The wireless capability of the device allows users to stream music from their iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and other devices.

Users can also stream music to the speaker directly from a Mac or PC running iTunes. Windows Phone and Android users are able to stream music to the speaker using DNLA technology. The wireless speaker also has a Direct Link feature to allow streaming of music when wireless network isn’t available.

The speaker has a pair of one-inch soft dome tweeters and a pair of 4.5-inch bass units. The device is driven by a 100 W amplifier achieved using a quartet of 25 Wt class D amplifiers linked to a Digital Sound Processor. The speaker is covered in leather and is available in black, white, or red.

Other connectivity options include a USB port, 3.5 mm port, and an optical digital TOSLINK input. The speaker also ships with a wireless remote control allowing you to control the volume, track, and pause or play content from across the room. The device also has an app giving greater control functionality designed for the iPhone. The speaker is available in Europe right now for €700.

[via Audiopro]

Audio Pro Air One wireless speaker breaks cover is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Many of us have had the misfortune of receiving a package that has been roughhoused in transit, and we might not have even realized it until we burrowed through the cardboard and tape. Cambridge Consultants’ upcoming DropTag might just serve as the insurance we need. The badge can detect a drop or other violent motion, like earlier sensors, but carries Bluetooth 4.0 to transmit data and alerts in real-time to a mobile app, whether it’s on the courier’s smartphone or a tablet at home. As one watch-grade battery could power the sensor for weeks, we could know whether the box took a tumble at the warehouse or at the door — a help not just for customers wanting their items intact, but for companies that can avoid delivering already-broken goods. At less than $2 in raw costs, DropTags would be cheap enough to slap on many packages. We just need Cambridge to line up clients to make this a reality and, just possibly, prevent a few overly hasty couriers from long-bombing our orders.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Source: Cambridge Consultants

It was inevitable that Logitech would expand its Ultrathin iPad keyboard cover lineup to include an offering fit for the iPad mini, and the time has finally arrived. Priced 20 bucks less than it’s full-sized counterpart, the $79.99 Ultrathin Keyboard mini brings tactile typing and some added protection to Apple’s 7.9-inch slate. Like the bigger version, it offers full size keys to please tapping fingers, has an aluminum cover and comes in your choice of black or white. Folks looking to pick one up won’t have much longer to wait, as the Ultrathin Keyboard mini will make its retail debut in the US and Europe later this month.

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets

Comments

Source: Blog.Logitech