Tag Archives: wireless

Parrot Introduces Cool Products like AR Drone Mark 2

audio, Gear, Information, Special Media, , , , ,

Parrot There are some products that are shown at CES that are just cool and everyone who is a kid at heart just wants, the AR. Drone by Parrot is one of those gadgets. This year at CES 2012 they introduced AR. Drone Mark 2. The Mark 2 (aka AR. Drone 2.0) is controlled by a smart phone or tablet. It has a one button launch. Once it is launched it will sit and hove till the next command. The AR. Drone Mark 2 can fly up to 150 feet in the air, or as far as wi-fi will allow.  AR. Drone Mark 2 has stabilization and pressure sensor technology built into it. On the front is an HD camera and a standard def camera on the bottom. You can stream and record the video back to the phone via wi-fi. The video can then be uploaded to your favorite social site, including YouTube and Facebook.

It come with two hulls one for in home use and one for outdoor use. It is built to take some crashes, but if something breaks you can get replacement parts are on-line. The AR. Drone Mark 2 should be available according to Peter George of Parrot in the second quarter of 2012 for about $299.00

Once you are finished playing with the AR. Drone Mark 2, you may want to relax with a little music and some quiet time, well Parrot has you covered there too. They are introducing a pair of stereo cordless headsets that are noise canceling called the Parrot Zik . They work over either Bluetooth or the included cord. They run on a chargeable battery and give about 5 hours of listening pleasure. Once the battery runs down you can continue listening by connecting the cord. What makes the Parrot Zik headphones stand out besides the great style by French designer Philippe Starck are the controls on the headphones. There is a sensitive touchpad on the headphone which allows you to skip back and forth thru tracks by swiping right or left and control volume by swiping up and down. The headphones fold down flat to fit into a small carrying case. There is no price or launch date at this time, but they should be available sometime in 2012 at various retailers. All together Parrot introduced seven new products at CES 2012, including three additional products in the car environment and the asteroid marketplace.   You can take a look at all of them at their Web site Parrot.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of [Geek News Central](https://www.geeknewscentral.com ) and Don Baine The Gadget Professor of Geek News Central

Support my CES 2024 Sponsor:
$11.99 – For a New Domain Name cjcfs3geek
$6.99 a month Economy Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1h
$12.99 a month Managed WordPress Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1w
Support the show by becoming a Geek News Central Insider

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

GreenWave Reality Smart Home Services

awards, ces, energy saving, IPAD, iPhone, Special Media, , , , , , ,

GreenWave Reality LogoTodd interviews Greg Memo from GreenWave Reality, a global innovator in the emerging smart home services market including home monitoring and elderly care. On show is their home energy management solution that uses wireless (ZigBee) plug-in devices to monitor and control power consumption.

The system is not just limited to power management as other remote monitoring and control technologies such as lighting and video can be included. The complementary iPad app allows the homeowner to select individual rooms within the property and make adjustments if necessary – for example, a thermostat could be turned down or the timings changed to alter when the heat comes on.

The overall solution won a CES 2012 Innovations Award so congratulations to GreenWave. Available now, starting from $200.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast network.

Support my CES 2024 Sponsor:
$11.99 – For a New Domain Name cjcfs3geek
$6.99 a month Economy Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1h
$12.99 a month Managed WordPress Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1w
Support the show by becoming a Geek News Central Insider

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

IOGEAR Wireless Multi-Touch Pad

Accessory, ces, Home Theater, USB, Windows, , , , , ,

If you’re a touchpad lover, then you’ll be in heaven with IOGEAR‘s new Wireless Multi-Touch Pad (GTP520R), freshly announced at CES. As you might guess from the name, it’s a wireless touchpad that supports multi-touch, which is pretty cool.

IGEAR Wireless Multi-Touch Pad

Anyone with a smartphone or tablet will be familiar with multi-touch and gestures, but most laptop touchpads don’t support either of them. The IOGEAR Multi-Touch Pad can bring multi-touch and gestures to Windows-based PCs and home theater computers (HTPCs), making browsing, scrolling, image viewing and navigating the web quicker and more natural.

  • Multi-select: double-tap your finger and select multiple icons, or a section for drag’n’drop
  • 1 Finger Gestures: mouse click, right/left mouse click, mouse select, vertical scroll, back/forward command flick
  • 2 Finger Gestures: pan screen side to side and up and down, object zoom in/out, rotate object

As you can see from the picture, the Multi-Touch Pad has six hot keys at the top to control A/V media functions such as volume up and down, skip track and home. With a range of about 10 m, the Touch Pad is ideal for the wireless control from the couch of  home theater PCs and other media friendly devices. The 2.4 GHz frequency band is used and a USB nano receiver is included. To get an idea of size, the pad part is just under 5″ so it’s much bigger than a laptop touchpad.

“Multi-touch control is changing the way we interface with devices,” said Bill Nguyen, senior marketing manager at IOGEAR. “From tablets and smartphones to laptops and computer peripherals, people have trained their hands to use touchscreens comfortably and productively and our Wireless Multi-Touch Pad takes this control to the next level.”

The IOGEAR Wireless Multi-Touch Pad is available now for an MSRP of $79.95.

Cox Leaving Wireless Business on March 30, 2012

Technology, , , , , ,
Cox Logo
Cox Logo

A confidential document got leaked out stating the Cox cable has decided to get out of the wireless business. Within 24 hours, Cox officially stated this was true – on March 30th, 2012, Cox will end their wireless service.

Back in 2008, Cox bought part of the 700 MHz spectrum to start Cox Wireless. Last year they launched the service, however, the plan didn’t pan out. Maybe part of it was because Stephen Bye left in March (he headed the wireless division).

“Cox is working to make this transition as seamless and easy as possible for our customers,” said Len Barlik, executive vice president of product development and management.  “We are proud of our employees’ dedication to delivering the excellent customer service that Cox is known for, and we will continue to keep our wireless customers’ satisfaction a top priority during this transition period.”

This affects customers in the  Hampton Roads, Roanoke and Northern Virginia; Orange County, San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif.; Omaha, Nebraska; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; and Rhode Island and Cox communities we serve in Connecticut and Cleveland, Ohio. This only affects wireless and 3G services. Cox will be giving a $150 credit to those who had the multi-service.

 

 

No 4G in the UK until 2013…at the Earliest

mobile, smartphone, , , , , ,

Ofcom LogoOfcom, the UK’s regulator for the telecommunications industry, issued an update on its plans for the auctioning off of the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum bands. These are the frequencies that will be used for the delivery of 4G services.

There has already been one consultation on the auction of the frequencies but based on the responses received, Ofcom has decided to carry out an additional second consultation at the end of 2011 which will run for around 8 weeks. The outcome of the consultation and auction proposals will be published in the summer of 2012, with a delayed frequency auction expected in Q4 2012. More likely Q1 2013, based on their track record.

Ofcom think that this delay to the auction is quite acceptable because the frequencies involved won’t be available until 2013. The last region to turn off the analogue TV signal will be Northern Ireland on 24 October 2012, freeing up the 800 MHz spectrum. The digital switchover programme was announced in 2005 and started in 2008, moving by region until 2012. I don’t know what it takes to achieve this technically, but it seems rather slow. It’s not as if the UK is a big country.

Looking back historically, Ofcom awarded the 3G spectrum in 2000. Mobile telecoms company Three was the first to offer 3G services in 2003, so it took 3 years to move from award of spectrum to service availability. I’m really hoping the that telecos can move a bit faster than they did with 3G but frankly I’m not holding my breath. The whole digital TV changeover and 4G auction has been a farce here in the UK with the US and other parts of Europe well ahead. I won’t be surprised if us Brits are still waiting for 4G in 2015.

US Senate takes on 4G Providers

mobile, Politics, , ,

4g coverage map

Three US Senators have introduced a new bill aimed at getting the FUD out of today’s 4G coverage mess.  The “Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act” will attempt to do something that providers have done their best to avoid – state plain facts about their coverage and it’s speeds in their advertisements.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn introduced the act today.  It stems from the mess that came when providers began advertising 4G networks that don’t technically meet actual 4G standards.  To get a great technical breakdown of what real 4G is, and what many wireless companies (AT&T and T-Mobile for instance) are actually using (referred to as near-4G) head over to the article on Wikipedia.

The new bill would require providers to guarantee a minimum speed, provide real coverage area maps, and specify the technology being used.  It also would cover network reliability and pricing.  Finally, it allows the FCC to oversee the speeds of top carriers and provide comparison tests that users can look at when deciding which carrier they should enter into a contract with.

A similar bill passed the House of Representatives back in June of this year.  Expect it to be a harder sell in the Senate, where telecom lobbyists are sure to put up a tremendous fight.

Linksys RE1000 Wireless-N Range Extender Review

review,

Do you have a large home in which your wireless router signal is not available in some locations. I have that situation in my home, where the kids bedrooms wireless signal is 1 bar or less. Today I fixed that by installing a Linksys RE1000 Wireless-N Range Extender.

Total setup time of the wireless range extender from opening the box to having it installed was 10 minutes. The kids bedrooms now have 5 bars of wireless connectivity. I am not sure why I did not do this earlier, as it is going to cut the kids complaining considerably. While we have strict family policies on what can be done on the Internet in their own rooms, when it comes to doing homework I would rather have them focused in their rooms so my wife and I can be productive and make noise in the rest of the house.

Setup is simple, you use a computer currently connected to the network via your wireless network, you install the CD and it steps you through the process. Of all network upgrades I have made this was simply the easiest by far the only thing I needed to remember was the password for the wireless network.

The Linksys RE1000 also comes with a built in Ethernet port, which you could use to plug a set top box or other device into is that may not be wireless compatible to bridge to your wireless router.. Heck it could even be connected to a printer in another room, or a computer that may not have a wireless card in it.

Priced at 89.00 this is a great way to get more range and add flexibility to your current network configuration. It will plug into a wall plug or you can use the cable it comes with to hide it away.