You can’t just do something dangerous and insane these days without filming it for posterity. And while action cameras let us relieve these life-highlights over and over, they aren’t all created equal. We decided to see for ourselves which one could handle your extreme adventures best.
Make way for another smart light in the room. Ion, currently in production-ready prototype form seeking $20,000 from the Kickstarter community for its final push to market, is best described as a digital updating of the 1960s classic slice of kitsch called the lava lamp. Read More
Hercules, Ion, evil polar vortexes and Disney movie marketing—the winter has come and United States is freezing. Scientists expect temperatures not recorded in two decades, as low as -30F (-34C). Here you can see it happening from space using NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites.
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Ion may not be the first name you think of when it comes to action cameras (or the second), but the company has been around for a few years. The original Air Pro came in third in our action camera Battlemodo back in June of 2012
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Wearable technology is all the rage right now, and I’m not just talking about Google Glass or Apple’s forthcoming iWatch. Companies large and small are getting in on the trend, and that was made all the more obvious as we roamed through CE Week’s ShowStoppers showroom.
As you’ll see in the video above, we venture from smart watches to bone-conduction musical hats to wearable portable video recording devices and blue-light therapeutic glasses. It’s a wild ride.
We start by visiting Basis, the folks who’ve developed the Basis smartwatch with more sensors than any other smart watch on the market. The company has thrown a little style into the mix with new interchangeable “fashion bands.” Some are leather, some are colorful, and some are made by legit artists. You can check them out here.
The next stop we made was with a company called MaxVirtual, which built a special hat called the Cynaps. The Cynaps uses Bluetooth to connect to an audio source and then pumps that music into the hat, and ultimately into your brain through bone conduction. With nary a headphone in sight, you can enjoy music and the shade of a hat bill all at once. The MaxVirtual Cynaps is available now for $79.
But what’s audio without some video? A quick tour of the Ion Camera station offered up a number of portable recording products, namely the Ion AirPro 2 and the Adventurer. The AirPro 2 bumps from a 5-megapixel sensor to a 14-megapixel sensor, complete with a microphone and one-click capture. The Adventurer, on the other hand, tracks speed, location, altitude, and direction natively in the file. You can check out more here.
Last, but certainly not least, we made our way to the Psio station, where I learned that Clockwork Orange-style stimulation can actually be good for you in the right circumstances. The Psio glasses offer up natural blue light, which helps relieve stress, boost mental acuity and regulate the Circadian Rhythm. The glasses come with 10 preloaded “exercises” and price starts at $399.99.
While hybrid planes like the the 787 Dreamliner and SUGAR concept are far more fuel efficient than conventional airliners, they do still rely on a non-renewable and increasingly limited supply of jet fuel. However, recent tests conducted at MIT suggest that tomorrow’s planes could take flight on the wings of an ionic breeze. More »
You may remember iON stepping out onto the action camera market back in spring, when we went hands on with the OG Air Pro. Fast forward to CES, and it’s back with a brace of new cameras to capture your every move. First up is the iON Adventure, a 1080p GPS-enabled helmet cam with a twist, almost literally. The device has the same tubular format as the original, but the lens is actually on one of the longer sides, rather than at the end of the barrel, making it more suitable for chest mounting. The Adventure also has two memory card slots, meaning you can pack in a whole lot more footage, battery willing. For those extended shoots, a new loop recording mode allows continuous, non-stop recording between the two cards — no more swapping out your micro-SD on the move. Other features include a vibrate-to-record function (it starts and stops recording when it detects movement) and a partnership with map / video sharing service Kinomap. The device has a sleek, gloss back finish, weighs just 4.2 ounces, and has a large, easily accessible record button on one end. While we only spent a short time with the camera, the quality of the build felt good, and the demo footage looked impressive. The Adventure will be available starting in March for $349.
The second new family member is the Air Pro 2. As you might have guessed, this is the second iteration of the original we saw back in March. Much of the external design remains the same, with the distinct octagonal accents at either end of the barrel. The main difference being the image sensor upgrade, which can now shoot at 14 megapixels, with 60fps for video and a 180-degree mode for those extra wide shots. Last time we liked the Air Pro, but we’ll be especially keen to see how the follow up performs. With more and more cameras launching into the market, differentiating can be difficult, something apparently not lost on iON, who has clearly tried hard to introduce new and distinct features. The Air Pro 2 also becomes available in March, with two versions — one with WiFi, one without. The wireless enabled one will cost you $299, or $249 if you don’t need the extra functionality.
Sean Cooper contributed to this report
Continue reading iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 sports cameras, we go hands on
Filed under: Cameras
[CES 2013] We’re not entirely sure why recent bluetooth conference call speakerphones seem are often shaped like UFOs, but who are we to comment on design choices of accessory manufacturers as we’re sure they have a good reason to create such futuristic speakerphones. ION is another manufacturer who thought their new bluetooth conference call speakerphone would benefit from a UFO design.
ION’s Talking Point is a conference call station for mobile phones whose microphone captures voices from any angle, which we’re sure is exactly why they decided for a UFO design. The Talking Point’s speaker is top-facing, which makes it easy for users to listen to the call as well as communicate clearly.
The Talking Point has a minimalist design that is highlighted by touch-sensitive controls where you can simply place your finger on top of the control, and the Talking Point will perform the action without needing you to push down your finger. You’ll be able to higher or lower the volume, mute the call, change Bluetooth devices and answer / end the call.
ION’s Talking Point will be available this June for $149.99 and will come in two colors: white and black.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Alleged HTC Sense 5 UI Screenshots Leaked, Apple Thinks Samsung Should Withdraw Its Lawsuits In The US As Well,
[CES 2013] When I’m walking around my apartment, I usually have music playing from my phone as I like to listen to tunes, but don’t want to have to carry around a bluetooth speaker or have headphones on to listen to anything. My iPhone 5′s speaker is a halfway decent way to listen to music, but if there was such a thing as a wearable bluetooth speaker, I’d instantly throw money at it so I can get my groove on while making my way through my apartment.
ION’s Clipster seems to be exactly what I’ve been looking for when carrying a bluetooth speaker is a complete bummer as not only is the speaker ultra-portable, but it features a large clip that I can clip onto my pajama bottoms or backpack, if for some reason I’m walking around wearing one. The Clipster can be synced with any Bluetooth-compatible device, has a built-in rechargeable battery and rubberized face buttons to ensure you don’t accidentally hit a button.
ION’s Clipster will be available this spring for $29, which is a complete bargain when you consider how portable this bluetooth speaker is. Just be sure not to be the kind of person who plays their Clipster while riding public transportation as we’re sure other folks won’t appreciate your taste in music, no matter how portable your bluetooth speaker is.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iHome iB85 Foldable Bluetooth Headphones Include Built-In Mic And Travel Pouch, iHome iBT20G Is A Bluetooth FM Clock Radio With USB Charging Port,
[CES 2013] ION is best known for its iCade, which if you’re unaware, allows you to dock your iPad inside of it to play games through its bluetooth connection. The company has dominated the mobile game controller market with its iCade Core and iCade Mobile, but the company has been producing some other products throughout the years, showcasing a number of them at CES this year. One that caught our eye was its new ION Party Rocker.
The ION Party Rocker is a portable speaker system with built-in lighting that streams music wirelessly from any Bluetooth music player, including iOS and Android devices, and also has an aux-in port so you can connect non-bluetooth devices to it through a standard 3.5mm cable. The Party Rocker projects colorful light patterns onto walls, ceilings and anything else in the room it’s located in and it can even change its pattern based on the beat of the music that’s being played. The Party Rocker even has a port for a microphone so your party-goers can attempt to sing along with the music that’s currently being played.
No word on when ION’s Party Rocker will be available or how much it’ll cost, but we’re sure you can pick it up for your party some time this year.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ION Clipster Makes Your Bluetooth Speaker Wearable, iHome iB85 Foldable Bluetooth Headphones Include Built-In Mic And Travel Pouch,
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