Hasta La Gadget!

Long road trips can be boring for passengers and drivers. There are a number of connected devices that you can take with you in the car to help pass the time or at least allow you to listen to music or audio books if you’re driving. Audi has announced an interesting new feature that will be available on the 2013 A3.

Audi will offer optional 4G LTE wireless connectivity inside the vehicle – powered by second-generation Gobi multi-mode 3G/4G LTE chipsets. The specific chipset inside the vehicle is the QUALCOMM MDM9251. Audi unveiled the new feature at CES 2013 and promises peak data rates approaching 100 Mb per second.

The new 4G LTE connectivity will provide drivers with a range of Audi connect services along with an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot support. The 4G LTE connectivity will allow passengers to listen to Internet radio stations, use web services, and the connectivity will power an augmented-reality navigation system presenting street-level visual imagery that is streamed to the vehicle. While it sounds cool, it also sounds like one more reason to distract people without enough sense to pay attention to the road when driving.

Corsair has been a name in the computer accessory and peripheral market for a number of years. The company first made its reputation for creating some very speedy memory for enthusiast computers. Corsair also makes a number of USB devices such as flash drives and more. At CES 2013, Corsair unveiled a new mobile storage device called the Voyager Air.

The Voyager Air is an all-in-one wireless mobile drive and home network storage solution. The portable hard drive comes in capacities of 500 GB or 1 TB and has integrated Wi-Fi, a rechargeable battery, Ethernet, and USB 3.0. When connected to an Ethernet cable, the Voyager Air acts as network connected storage.

The integrated Wi-Fi means that the Voyager Air can also act as a wireless network hub and repeater. An internal battery promises seven hours of use per charge. Corsair also has apps available for computers and smartphones which will allow users to stream video from the Voyager Air directly to their devices. The 500 GB version of the drive will sell for $199(USD) and 1 TB version will sell for $229 when they launch this February.

[via Engadget]

There are a lot of people out there who feel the overwhelming need to share everything about their daily lives. I’m sure you know these people, the sort who have to tweet pictures of what they had for breakfast and lunch and are constantly updating their Facebook status to show what they’re doing right that moment. If you happen to be this sort of person, Panasonic has a new wearable action camcorder unveiled at CES 2013 that will let you stream your life to people who care.

The wearable camcorder is called the HX-A100 and it is both waterproof and dustproof with an IPX8 rating. That means the camera can be used in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes without damage. The wearable camcorder also has integrated Wi-Fi connectivity allowing you to broadcast live streaming video on Ustream in full HD resolution. It can also be mounted to a helmet or a backpack and has an ear hook allowing you to mount it on your ear as well.

It can record full HD resolution at 60 frames per second, 720p resolution at 120 frames per second, and 640 x 360 resolution video at 240 frames per second. Panasonic fits the camera with a low light optimized F2.5 lens and the camera features “Level Shot” for automatically correcting tilted images. The camcorder also features integrated image stabilization to reduce blurriness. The camera’s internal battery is good for 140 minutes of shooting on a single charge (with Wi-Fi turned off.)

While you might not want to wear this thing during your everyday life, it might be cool for streaming live action shots – assuming you have a smartphone Wi-Fi hotspot in your other pocket, and a decent cellphone signal.

The HX-A100 camera can be pre-ordered now for $299.99(USD).

Last year, we showed you an early prototype of technology from Tactus Technology which can turn a flat screen into a tactile surface. Now, at CES 2013, Tactus is showing off a full 7-inch tablet that uses the technology to dynamically add a keyboard to the screen only when needed.

This breakthrough tech is truly the stuff of science-fiction, adding a keyboard you can actually feel beneath your fingertips when you need it, and then instantly retracting back into the display when you don’t. Check it out in action in the short video clip below:

Amazing stuff, no? There’s no word on when the first consumer products with Tactus displays will hit the market, but I certainly can’t wait to get my hands on one. If you’re fortunate enough to be at CES this week, you can see the Tactus tablet up close and personal at booth #75110 on the 3rd floor of the Venetian.

Taking aim at the multi-billion dollar gaming industry, NVIDIA today revealed its own mobile gaming console, codenamed “Project Shield,” which is designed to combine the best of Android handheld devices with the best of console gaming.

The compact handheld is powered by NVIDIA’s powerful new Tegra 4 processor, which has a whopping 72 GPU cores, and 4 A15 CPU cores (though it’s not clear if it comes with the 4G LTE modem processor that’s offered in the Tegra 4.) It’s got a full console-quality controller built in, complete with dual analog sticks, a D-Pad and all the buttons you’re used to. You’ll also find a pair of tuned-port bass-reflex speakers which are supposed to provide higher-quality audio than typically found in a handheld.

It also has standard HDMI, microUSB and 3.5mm jacks, as well as a microSD slot for storage. At 5″ diagonal, its 720p touchscreen display is only about the size of a large smartphone.

There’s a complete Android Jelly Bean-based system built into the lid of the Shield, providing full HD video when connected to a TV via HDMI. They also are expecting to offer a wireless video capability like AirPlay down the road. It can even play 4K video, if you’ve got a high enough res TV for that. Of course, you can always play games, videos and music directly on the handheld’s small screen.

During the launch demo for CES 2013, they showed a set of Project Shield handhelds playing Hawken head-to-head, so it’s definitely capable of supporting multiplayer gaming. The device can even wirelessly stream and play games from your PC if it has a GeForce GTX GPU, though the CES 2013 demo of this capability stumbled a bit.

There’s no word yet on pricing or a release date for Project Shield, but I’m certain we’ll hear much more about it in the coming months.