Hasta La Gadget!

Interested in checking out what Sony has to offer consumers for CES 2013? We’ve heard that Sony could be announcing new phones, one of which is a phablet by the name of the Xperia Z amongst other devices. Unfortunately for PlayStation 4 hopefuls, we doubt that CES 2013 will be the platform that Sony will be using to launch the console, but if you’re interested in checking out what Sony has to offer, check out our live blog at live.ubergizmo.com for the blow-by-blow updates!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Press Conference Live, AT&T To Launch Home Monitoring Service In March,

This week Ford has made it clear that they’re pushing forward with the app connection between their vehicles and apps of all kinds, not least of these being Amazon’s Cloud Player. This new integration works with Ford’s SYNC AppLink, here appearing with voice commands so you’ll be able to switch through songs and albums by speaking commands out loud. This release was joined by apps such as Glympse for navigation and point-of-interest locating as well as SINA (weibo.com) for instant updates for microblogging, news, and weather overseas.

With Ford’s AppLink system, apps are able to work in their own unique way with your next-generation Ford vehicle. Today’s Ford Developer Program takes the power that these high-powered and well-known app developers have and lets it go forth in the 3rd party space. Today’s offering of new apps included such gems as the Wall Street Journal, Rhapsody, and USA Today as well, several of them available via AppLink today.

Ford is aiming to show the public here how these apps are changing the way the vehicle is connecting to you, the user. Not just the driver now, the user. At developer.ford.com, developers will begin to take advantage of this space in the very near future, working with vehicles that are out now as well as autos that’ll be out in the near future.

Ford’s connection to the mobile smart device environment changed today – it evolved into an ecosystem. Instead of only working with developers that specifically have the audience that’ll capture everyone’s attention, they’re showing their willingness to open their platform up to the world. This system at its current state allows developers to integrate their apps with Ford vehicles at no cost (save the Developer Kit if they do so choose to pick one up.) Sound like a radical program to you?

Ford AppLink expands with Amazon Cloud Player and a developer-friendly future is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

[CES 2013] Walking around with your phone without having a backup battery pack, or at least your charger, isn’t considered the best idea these days seeing how much we all depend on our devices for everything. We can play games, chat with our friends and watch streaming video, which all sucks up energy from our phones like you wouldn’t believe. PowerSkin is a company that manufacturers cases that include batteries and external battery packs, and for CES this year, they’ve improved a number of their products.

PowerSkin is introducing two new cases with battery packs included inside of them. The first is called PowerSkin Pro and it features a soft-touch, hard plastic shell that packs a 2000 mAh battery and LED indicator lights in the front to give the ability to quickly glance at how much battery you have without needing to manipulate your phone.

The second battery case is for the iPhone 5 and features a new ultra-thin angular shape that feels comfortable while holding your phone in your hand. It features a 1500 mAh battery, an off / on switch that allows you to activate charging when you need it most and an LED battery level indicator.

The last product PowerSkin is unveiling at CES is its PowerSkin Hybrid Battery Charger which is a small battery pack that has 2000 mAh of juice inside of it. It features small, flexible suction cups that can be used to stick on your mobile device and comes with a number of connectors including micro-USB, Apple’s 30-pin connector and Lightning Connector.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Revealed: 75% Faster, Says Qualcomm, Sony Introduces Xperia Z With 1080p Reality Display, 13-megapixel Camera,

This week the folks at Ford have introduced their mobile app Developer Program for SYNC AppLink. This program works not just with its own developer groups, but with third party groups as well. What this means for you, the everyday awesome developer, is that you’ll be able to create apps that work specifically with Ford’s interfaces on their next-generation vehicles via USB or Bluetooth, and you’ll be able to do it really, really soon!

With SYNC, drivers are able to interface with their Ford vehicles both wirelessly and without needing to tap with their hands – voice control is seen here by Ford to be the wave of the future, and it’s included in their Developer Program, too. Having already worked with iHeartRadio, MOG, MLB, Scout for Navigation, Pandora, and more, Ford is ready to expand beyond their original partners. This next generation of collaboration with developers of all kinds will, as Ford notes, benefit not only the company and the driver, but the developer as well.

Each new app submitted to the Developer Program will be reviewed by Ford’s own engineers to make certain that they’ll all be up to their own rigorous standards. You’ll be able to submit apps, as a developer, to one of three categories – those being Music and Entertainment, Navigation, and Location, with more categories on the way for 3rd party developers soon.

Video content, rich imagery, apps that require reading extensive text, and video games will be instantly denied access to the program, but pretty much anything else will be good to go. Developers will be able to purchase a SYNC Ford Developer Kit in the near future, and you’ll be able to work with JacAPPS (another 3rd party development partner) to help you out if you need help with development on the front end.

The final submission of your app will not necessarily cost you a penny (again, as a developer), and you’ll be inside the next generation of Ford vehicles in no time at all. Sounds pretty nice! Have a peek at our Ford tag portal to see more on the development of the Ford app-connected universe and our CES hub for CES 2013 from top to bottom!

Ford Developer Program announced to bring 3rd party groups into the fold is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Quantified Self enthusiasts are getting their fair share of excitement at CES this week. Basis first unveiled its intriguing health-tracking watch at the event last year, but after hiccups and lawsuits, the company finally launched its product on the market in November. At launch, however, the band looked great and the entire package was very promising.

Unfortunately, the company hasn’t yet launched the mobile apps that will accompany its tracking band and web dashboard, yet today the company gave a glimpse into its first app — for Android — which will be made available in March.

For those unfamiliar, Basis’ band and dashboard allows users to continuously monitor skin temperature, heart rate, motion, calories burned and sleep patterns, among other things. The watchband comes with an LCD display that shows the date and time, BlueTooth support (to be activated once the apps launch) and, most impressively, is laden with sensors.

The watch has a 3-axis accelerometer that measures sleep patterns, an optical scanner to track blood flow and heart rate, skin and ambient temperature trackers that measure heat dissipation and workout intensity, etc. The startup then uploads all this information into the cloud, applies its algorithms and allows users to view heat maps and activity patterns, and then allows them to accumulate points, unlock habits (meant to gamify the experience), and so on.

The idea behind the accompanying mobile apps is, as one would expect, to be able to view all that health data on the go. But, beyond that, it’s been unclear how the company’s mobile apps will supplement its web experience. Thanks to Basis’ demo at CES today, we’ve got a little bit more of an idea. As the startup made clear in its blog post today, its new Android app will include automatic syncing, allowing users to sync data from their bands wirelessly to their dashboard.

Users will be able to sync the app with the dashboard “automatically in the background and on-demand” so that the dashboard is always up to date. On top of that, users can view their habits and insights from their phones and receive notifications, which will alert them when they hit targets and achieve goals, or offer reminders when in need of a push in the right direction.

The app will be available for beta users “by the end of March,” and Basis says that an iOS version is “also in the works” but would give no timeframe for its release. It will likely hit sometime this summer.

Again, it’s an active week in the activity space at CES, as Basis’ announcement follows Fitbit’s launch of its new $99 Flex wristband, which gives the popular health tracking device a new form factor, taking it from clip to wrist. Find out more here.

The new product isn’t available yet, but it’s clear the space is heating up, and some of these companies are already launching multiple product lines. Meanwhile, Basis is taking its time to roll everything out. It remains to be seen whether this approach will work to its advantage. So far, we think it looks great.

Check out our big year-end list of healthtech apps, gadgets and startups here. Full review here.