This watch uses Bluetooth to pair with your iPhone 4S or 5. Then the watch will give you the time, plus notifications from your phone and even help you find your device if you misplace it. Demo above!
Author: Shy Mukerjee
CES 2013: Testing the Waterproof Sony Xperia Z Mobile Phone
The big news about this phone is that it’s waterproof, so we had to drop it in a fishbowl to see what happens. Plus it’s got great phone stuff, like a 12MP camera, Android Jellybean and you can use it while your fingers or the phone is wet. Seriously!
Video: New Lego Mindstorms at CES
Lego Mindstorms is awesome: it combines the legos we all know and love with a robot-building kit, because who doesn’t love robots too? Lego even has a special Mindstorm configuration built just for Las Vegas: a gambling robot!
The EZ DJ PRO is an awesome toy that makes mixing and scratching music easy
Launching later this year under $60, the EZ DJ PRO is a kids toy that adults will love too. The latest gadget from JAKKS Pacific connects to your iPad, iPhone or Android device, and using their free app you can turn your device into a DJ setup. While this is designed for DJing novices (it automatically matches the beat between two songs, a pretty important skill for real DJs to learn), the included effects, scratching, and mixer mean that this thing is definitely capable of being used to DJ a real party.
Meet Nessie – the newest $99 microphone from Blue!
Blue Microphones makes a variety of devices that let you record audio straight into your Mac, PC, or even iPhone or iPad. Their latest mic, called Nessie, seen in the video above, is the latest addition to their lineup and should be perfect for musicians or aspiring podcasters who are looking to get into recording. It packs in a lot of features for the beginner like a built-in pop filter to help soften harsh sounds in your voice, an internal shockmount to reduce vibrations, and built-in processing that will automatically control the level of your voice or instrument as well as EQ it in real time. But let’s say you start learning about how to process your audio yourself and you don’t need the features that Nessie includes for beginners. At that point, you can turn off that processing and just get the raw audio straight out of the device. There’s even a headphone jack that let’s you monitor the audio live, which is a must-have feature for anyone looking to take their recording more seriously.
Nessie is launching later this year for $99.
NVIDIA’s New Gaming Console: What It Means
One unsual announcement that’s already come out of CES is from the graphics card company NVIDIA. Yesterday they announced “Project Shield” a handheld gaming console based on their new Tegra 4 mobile graphics chipset. While their previous graphics card for tablet, called “Tegra 3”, has been powering higher-end Android tablets this past year, Tegra 4 promises to deliver next-generation level graphics
Both a handheld device and a controller that can stream your games wirelessly to a TV, the Project Shield gaming device from NVIDIA looks to fill a similar gap in the market as the Wii U—half-tablet, half console. Unlike the Wii U, however, Project Shield will be a portable device competing more directly with Nintendo’s 3DS and Playstation’s Vita console. It will be powered by the latest Android OS, so not only will it play games, it will run all of your favorite apps as well, just like today’s crop of tablet computers, albeit one with a console-grade controller built-in.
Can NVIDIA succeed? That’s a tough question. With Apple’s devices already eating into Nintendo’s marketshare in mobile gaming, and Sony already an established player in portable electronics, is there room for a 3rd contender that lacks the marketshare and exclusive titles that Nintendo and Sony have to offer? After all, being able to deliver world class graphics is one thing, but if gamers can’t get titles equivalent to Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Street Fighter and Assassin’s Creed, will they change systems?
Then there’s the question of price. Certainly, if Project Shield is to compete with consoles as well as portable gaming devices, it will need to compete on hardware with the next generation Xbox, Playstation, and the Wii U. Pack all that power into an HD touchscreen device and it’s hard to imagine NVIDIA bringing this to market for less than $400. When compared to the cost of a Nintendo 3DS at $169 or a Playstation Vita at $249, it’s hard to imagine that consumers will be enticed at that price point.
But in order to survive into the next millenium, this may be a crucial move for NVIDIA. In gaming, they have been struggling. While their chips power Sony’s Playstation 3 console, the better-selling Xbox 360 and Wii consoles use chips from rival AMD (formerly known as ATI). Nevermind the fact that the just-released Wii U from Nintendo uses AMD chips as well.
In mobile, Tegra 3 found mass-market success in the Nexus 7 tablet from Asus and Google. But it’s worth keeping in mind that the Android gaming market has a long way to go to catch up with Apple’s iPad and iPhone systems where the latest games are often launched first, sometimes exclusively. While the Nexus 7 is a great device for reading books, browsing the web, engaging on social media, and watching movies, it isn’t exactly known in the marketplace as a “gaming tablet.”
However, if NVIDIA can find partnerships like the one with Google to get Tegra 4 onto more devices and raise awareness around Android gaming, that’ll be the first step towards success with the platform. The trickier problems is how to make gaming on Android the next big thing.
Introducing the International Gateway at CES
While all of CES is technically “International” (after all, as the organizers of the event constantly remind us, the event is technically called the “International CES 2013”), a special section of the show floor is reserved for smaller companies specifically from China, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan called the “International Gateway.”
While these booths often lack the glitz and glamor of the main show floor, often the most innovative and unusual tech at CES comes from these smaller Asian companies who are looking for their big break at CES. This year, more than 3,000 companies are joining the International Gateway, so it should prove to be a treasure trove of innovation. We’ll be bringing you tons of coverage and all of the hottest products shown at the International Gateway starting tomorrow when the show floor officially opens!
What You Should Know About Apple & CES
First up, if you’re an Apple fan and looking for the latest iPhone, iPad or Mac news from CES, don’t hold your breath. Apple doesn’t actually show up at CES themselves, so there won’t be any major announcements from them this year. You’ll have to wait at least a few weeks to see if Apple has any new products at their own launch events.
But that doesn’t mean accessories for Apple’s devices won’t be here. In fact, with companies just starting to release new products that take advantage of the iPhone 5 and the latest gen iPad & ipad mini’s Lightning port, there are going to be tons of Apple-related products to show off. Plus, tons of apps and devices that work with apps will be launching at this year’s CES, plus everything from wireless charging solutions for the iPhone to the latest and greatest iPad cases, keyboard docks, and who knows what other innovations, there will be tons of accessories and innovative technologies that add value to Apple’s products on display this year.
So even though Apple themselves won’t be here, we’ll be checking out everything Apple all week long—stay tuned!
Will you be using the iPhone’s Photo Stream to Share Pictures this Holiday Season?
The latest Apple ad just hit the web, and it shows off one possibly-overlooked feature of the Photos app—shared photo streams that let you quickly and easily share your Holiday photos with friends and family.
It’s a pretty neat idea, but what do you think: Will you be using Photo Stream to share pictures this Holiday season? Or is there another service you prefer?
First Look at the Google Nexus 4
The Nexus 4 is the latest smartphone from Google and LG, and is available to own for the low, contract-free price of $299. Is it a good deal? Check out the video above to find out!
To order a Nexus 4, visit: