You can only keep so many photos and videos on your iPad until you run out of space. But you still have files you want to take with you. Seagate is helping you out with its new Wireless Plus mobile device storage. More »
Earlier today we told you about Griffin‘s new PowerDock 5 charging station, and today at CES, we ended up getting our hands on the new device. Essentially, it’s a multi-device charging station that includes transparent plastic walls that help keep your devices organized and separated for quick and easy charging of all your mobile devices.
The PowerDock 5 charges up five devices at a time (hence its name), and includes five separate bays, each with an accompanying USB port. On the bottom is where the AC adapter plugs in, and there’s two short pillars to wrap the AC cable around to shorten it if need be. You’ll also find a small notch on the end where the cable sits in so that the PowerDock sits flat on the table.
Essentially, any mobile device will fit in the five slots, including smartphones and tablets. It’s also incredibly lightweight, almost too light — it feels like it could break any second, and might have the tendency to slide around on your desk since there’s no weight to it, but the rubber coating on the bottom may help alleviate that. The PowerDock 5 will be available this spring for $99.
Pure is on a mission, and that’s to steal the streaming music crown from industry heavyweights Sonos. The strategy to do that is make Pure Jongo cheap, undercutting Sonos’ premium price tag with a range of affordable wireless speakers and WiFi music adapters at up to a third of the price of a Sonos box. And, just as you’d expect, there’s on-demand playlists and internet radio from iPad, iPhone, and Android remote control apps.
There are three hardware parts to the Jongo system, kicking off with the Pure Jongo S340B speaker with an RRP of $229. It includes both WiFi and Bluetooth – for whole-home streaming – as well as more direct playback from a nearby phone or tablet, and surround audio with five speakers and individual amps spread around the body of the speaker.
Pure Jongo official video:
Multiple audio profiles can be toggled through with a dedicated button on the back, and there’s a choice of mono or stereo playback. Unlike Sonos’ PLAY range, the Jongo S340B can be used away from a power socket, thanks to a rechargeable battery pack good for up to 10hrs use.
The Pure Jongo T640B is a more beefy version, with 100W pushed through 5-inch full-range drive units and dual-concentric tweeters. It can be fitted on a stand in portrait or landscape orientation, or wall mounted, though doesn’t have a battery. No word on pricing at this stage.
Pure Jongo live:
Finally, there’s the $129 Jongo A140B, a HiFi adapter with no onboard speaker, to bridge the Jongo system to an existing stereo. It has both WiFi and Bluetooth like the others, plus a 24-bit DAC, optical and coaxial digital outputs, and dual phono analog outputs. Again, no word on pricing.
For software, Pure uses its new Pure Connected app, available for Android and iOS. It streams from Pure Music, the company’s own Spotify rival, and can send different music to each Jongo speaker, or synchronize to all of the speakers. It also features an Explorer section for finding new content.
The Pure Jongo S340B will arrive in Q1 2013, with a choice of optional speaker grills at $29.99 apiece. The other components will land in the first half of 2013. The new Pure Connect app will arrive in Q1 2013.
Today the folks from Belkin are expanding on their WiFi enabled household light products. Their WeMo home-automation has continued to improve already in 2013, and today in Las Vegas for CES Belkin announced two new Android-controlled options. We knew home automation would be a big part of the show so read on for more details.
The newly announced WeMo Light Switch, an Internet connected light switch to remotely control wired household lighting from anywhere was just announced and will enable you to easily control your entire household lighting with ease. No longer does the app require the same WiFi network for use, as you can now control everything right from your Android smartphone.
Leave the office late, just simply launch their new app and control the lights all from your Android smartphone or tablet. Not only can you turn the lights on/off from anywhere, but you’ll also have full scheduling options, not to mention reminders and alerts. Leave for a work trip and forget to turn out the lights? No problem as the Belkin WeMo light switch solves the problem.
Until today, Belkin’s WeMo option has only supported iOS, but today they’ve integrated Android into their options and will be showing it off here in Las Vegas tonight for CES Unveiled. The product is expected to launch in beta later this year. We’ll be sure to stop by their booth and give the new home automated light switches a try on Android. Stay tuned and watch our CES portal for all the news.
[CES 2013] Now here are a couple of notebooks that you might want to consider if processing power is right up there at the top of your shopping criteria, and you would not mind having a spot of gaming when the situation gets too stressful. The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E431 and E531 should get the job done on your behalf, where it carries up to a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processor, boasting a slimmer design with a choice of either a 14″ or 15″ HD or HD+ touchscreen display (which has been optimized for the Windows 8 experience, of course) at 1600 x 900 resolution. (more…)
[CES 2013] Here we are with a couple more Lenovo devices that have set CES 2013 alight this year, and they are the Lenovo Ideapad Z400 Touch and Z500 Touch, and both of them will come in a 1″ thin design with standard voltage CPUs, matching covers, a frameless bezel that makes life easier on your eyes whenever you work for long hours on either device, with an overall weight that is under 5lbs. If you need processing power, fret not, you can call upon a third generation Intel Core i7 processor, and if your budget permits, throw in an NVIDIA GeForce GT645M 2GB graphics card to keep the 1TB hard drive and 8GB RAM company.
High-speed uSB 3.0 connectivity is also thrown into the mix, and depending on the model that you have selected earlier, you cah choose from the multi-touch 14″ or 15.6″ LED backlit HD widescreen displays at 1366 x 768 resolution. Dolby home Theater v4, an integrated DVD/Blu-ray drive, and a dual digital array microphone rounds off the list of features.
[CES 2013] When I first took a look at the Lenovo Erazer X700 gaming desktop, I could not help but think of this as a more angled version of an Alienware offering, and I do not think that I am the only one in such an observation. The smart and stylish design would definitely make you look more menacing than you already are as an accomplished gamer, and the Lenovo Erazer X700 would definitely elicit positive responses from whoever looks at it. Carrying Extreme Intel X79 processors, you know for sure that dropped framerates are not part of the Lenovo Erazer X700′s vocabulary. Along with that kind of muscle, you will find dual graphics support, a hot swap drive bay, a USB 3.0 docking station, and of course, liquid cooling to keep everything running fine and dandy even when all the performance settings have been turned up to the maximum level in your games.
Each purchase of the Lenovo Erazer X700 will come with an accompanying gaming keyboard and mouse, not to mention having it support overclocking via software thanks to Lenovo Overclock 1.0. Got to love the cold blue LED effect that surely adds to the air of mystique around you at a LAN party or BYOC event.
[CES 2013] Lenovo has just announced the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27, a massive 27″ touch PC that can be used as a Table PC, and All-In-One or as (Trans)portable computer with a short battery life. Yes, you can actually unplug this computer and move it around if you want. By introducing this form-factor, Lenovo wants to push the envelope of what can be done with a touch PC. If you remember the original Microsoft Surface table PC, it did cost tens of thousands of dollars, and it wasn’t clear what could be done with such computers. Others like Pioneer, looked at it and ultimately flopped.
Lenovo brings a smaller form factor to the market (27″ versus 42″), but with a price tag of $1699, it is clearly more affordable than previous “Table PC”. In terms of usage models, Lenovo did present a few situations, like using it as a workstation, or getting three or four people to play a game together. Monopoly could be really cool on the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27.
In the end, it’s about the apps, and that’s why Lenovo has joined forces with Ubisoft to provide a better out of the box experience. The system will come pre-loaded with a number of family-oriented games and I had the opportunity to try a couple of them for myself, such as King of the Opera (a game where you get points for staying in the spotlight), DrawRace 2 and Raiding Company (a shooter). Playing on the same screen was definitely a great experience, one that’s closer to a board game than a networked video game, actually. What would you do with a 27″ table PC?
[CES 2013] Here is an all-in-one PC that some folks might actually confuse it to be some sort of Apple product, especially when you check out the black-edged bezel of the monitor and the aluminum body and hinge. No, it will not run on the Mac OS platform, but rather zips about in Windows 8, while being christened as the Lenovo IdeaCentre A730 all-in-one PC. Boasting powerful quad-core Intel Core i7 processors with a maximum 1TB hard drive and 8GB RAM, you can also throw in a Blu-ray disc drive if your budget permits. USB 3.0 connectivity and a memory card reader are also thrown into the mix to maximize your investment.
What we’re stoked about the Lenovo IdeaCentre A730 is the monitor’s resolution – it is touted to be the world’s slimmest QHD panel at 2560 x 1440 pixels, delivering 27″ of frameless Full HD widescreen viewing alongside an accurate 10-point PCT multi-touch experience. Boasting an adjustable screen angle of -5 degrees to 90 degrees, the IdeaCentre A730 will also carry a 720p webcam with Skype certification, HDMI in and out connectivity, and voice recognition. Each purchase will be accompanied by a matching 2.4GHz wireless mouse and keyboard.
[CES 2013] Lenovo does not only make great business machines, they have also branched out to deliver mobile touchscreen displays. Case in point, the Lenovo ThinkVision Mobile Touch that has arrived at CES 2013, where it is touted to be the first and slimmest touch mobile monitor from Lenovo. Forget about seeing this as a secondary display, the ThinkVision Mobile Touch is much more than that, boasting a 10-point touch digitizer pen and wireless connectivity, delivering the full Windows 8 touch and writing experience to those who tend to live out of a suitcase.
Measuring just 7.2mm at its thinnest point and tipping the scales at just 1.6lbs, you know for sure that the ThinkVision Mobile Touch is one svelte and highly portable device. It carries a 13.3″ backlit display at 1600 x 900 resolution, and has a 256-degree pressure digitizer pen to accompany it. 3-year warranty adds to overall peace of mind, in addition to Gorilla Glass for that added degree of protection.
The battery is said to last for up to four hours on a single charge, and you can also use this as a mobile Internet kiosk by hooking it up to a nearby WiFi network. A single USB 3.0 port adds to its expansion options, but that is not much. Will the ThinkVision Mobile Touch be able to find a niche for itself in the mass market? We sure hope so.
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