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DeLorean DMC-12 EV eyes-on at CES (update: video of its show floor exit)
This isn't the first time that the DMC-12 DeLorean EV has graced Engadget's pages, and we feel certain it won't be the last. However, we know how much you love Doc Brown's ride, and when we saw it on the show floor we had to snap some pics for your viewing pleasure. So head on down to the gallery below to see the electrified version of Hill Valley's most famous whip inside and out.Dante Cesa contributed to this report.Update: And now we've got a video of the DeLorean leaving the show floor. Check it out after the break. Thanks, Angel.
Oregon Scientific's App In Sports watches sync with your phone, grab apps from it
One of the many new products we spotted at Oregon Scientific's CES booth was the App In Sports range of watches. As the name suggests, these wearables can link up to your Android phone (via ANT+ wireless connection) to grab up to three app profiles, and the range of profiles available depend on the model of the watches due to their different sensors: for the RA900 (Expedition) you get cardio, weather, hiking and sleep; whereas the SE900 offers coach, running, workout and sleep. More profiles will be made available, though it's not clear whether they'll make it before or after the watches launch in a few months time. Either way, users will need to install the matching Android apps according to their watch models, but both apps can sync with the watches for exercise summary data (including heart rate, exercise time, distance and speed). Demo video after the break.
MakerBot Replicator hands-on (video)
Sure, there's really not much of a DIY presence amongst the shiny new mass produced gadgets that line the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES, but MakerBot's public appearances at the show managed to leave an impression on just about everyone who spotted the company's newly announced Replicator 3D printer. Founder Bre Pettis stopped by our stage at the convention center's Grand Lobby, becoming our final interview of the show. We managed to get him to print something out during our conversation, but the real draw was, no doubt, the large plastic rocket ship lamp sitting at the end of the stage, a pretty solid visual reminder of the concept of being able to print out just about anything you can imagine with one of these devices.MakerBot is one of the driving forces in bringing 3D printing to a mainstream audience, and the Replicator takes yet another big step in that direction. For starters, there's the fact that, unlike past products from the company, the units ship assembled, taking the difficult and time consuming construction process out of the equation -- at less than $2,000, it's also a good deal cheaper than a fair amount of the competition. Pettis also insists that the printing process itself is rather simple. There's an SD slot on the front -- pop in a card and choose a project from the simple LCD.There are pegs for the spools of plastic on the rear of the device. Opting for the $1,999 version lets you do dual extrusion -- using two different spools for two-color objects. When the printing starts, the plastic spools (made of ABS, the same stuff that Lego is made from) feed through tubes, getting melted down, hot glue gun-style. The layering of the plastic creates a ribbed effect on the objects, though Pettis points out that some people sand down their projects after they're finished.The process is a bit time consuming -- Pettis was printing out a small plastic cupcake that didn't finish during our 20-minute-long interview. Apparently it takes closer to 45 minutes to finish something like that. But this model has a key competent its predecessors lacked: the ability to print large objects. You can print things up to the size of a loaf of bread using the Replicator.We're working with MakerBot to get a unit that we can spend a bit more time with -- and believe us, we can't wait. In the meantime, watch Pettis give a guided tour of the device after the break.
Engadget's gear of CES 2012
We see an enormous number of gadgets each year at CES, and while the veil comes off a handful of notebooks, cameras and smartphones during the show, the gear that really makes the week for Engadget is our own. In each editor's gear bag, you'd likely be able to find a notebook, camera with external microphone, an Android / iOS / Windows Phone device, an AT&T LTE USB modem and enough bottled beverages to make trips to the "posh restroom" as routine as checking email. Pizza, pasta, chips and beef jerky keep us going during 20-hour days in the trailer, where a stable (and pricey) Ethernet connection let us bring you dozens of posts each hour without interruption. Jump past the break for a look at our gear in a bit more detail.
DXG docks with cameras in them are of limited use
While making our rounds on the show floor at CES, we came across the DXG booth, which displayed an interesting piece of hardware: An iPhone dock. No really! In what we originally thought was an interesting twist, DXG has some iPhone docks with cameras in them. Well that is certainly something we haven't seen before, it doesn't seem like anybody has done a dock with a camera in it. Let's find out more! Well, we tried. We kept asking about how the camera worked, and they said it worked with an iPhone. Then we asked what apps you could use it with (thinking Skype and FaceTime would be nice with a dock that might have a nicer camera than the iPhone front cam), and they said they have their own app that uses the camera. As far as we could tell, you can't use these with anything but their own custom app. After a variety of attempts to break through the language barrier failed, we took their sheet of product information and moved on. The only problem is that the models with cameras aren't mentioned on the DXG site, nor in any printed materials. So we're going off of the image you see below, which discusses the IVB-300. DXG is also clumsily touting "dock+Peek" but we've no idea what that means. It could be referring to their app, which we never saw. But in the end the primary utility here appears to be motion detection, which will then trigger the camera to snap a pic or video, which can then be sent elsewhere via email or FTP. Useful? Perhaps. It's too bad they spent all that money on a booth just to flub basic communications, however. It's also entirely possible these will never make it to market, but we'll keep an eye out for them.
CES 2012: tablet roundup
Couldn't keep up with the 600+ posts we wrote covering CES 2012 in Las Vegas? We're here to help sift the wheat from the chaff, and if you're hoping to see the best of what CES had to offer in the world of tablets, you've come to the right place. As you can imagine, finding the best slate is much easier said than done, since it seemed as though nearly every major company brought a tablet in some shape, form or color. Head past the break to see our personal favorites from the show.
Padlette, for those times you need a giant rubber band on your iPad
The Padlette solves one problem: How do you strap your iPad to your hand quickly using a big rubber band? Insofar as that one problem is concerned, the Padlette (patent pending) does a great job. You stretch the loops around the corners of your iPad and you're able to slip your hand in between, securely holding the iPad with one hand. How secure is it? I stood over a bed and shook my hand around but wasn't too worried the iPad would fly off. In fact, you might be surprised how secure this thing is -- the rubber sticks well to the iPad but won't rip the hair out of your hand (I have moderately Hobbitish hand hair, YMMV). I suppose you could attach the iPad to a golf club or pole or use the Padlette to hold your magic wand between wizard duels, but that isn't its primary purpose. Anyway, the Padlette isn't new, but they were at CES hoping to score some larger notice and distribution. There's also a few versions of this, but frankly I couldn't figure out why -- they appear to be grippable in different ways? There's the deefour, the deethree and the new yinyang, all using the same idea but with a different hole cut in the middle of the rubber band. I don't think this would sell well in a Target, as it seems primarily suited to trade shows or teaching or somewhere you might need to hold the iPad safely in one hand. Which isn't that often, frankly. The Padlette comes in a variety of colors and costs $19.99 on Amazon. Oh, and it supports any full-size tablets for you cross-platform fans out there.
A giant pulsing blacklight for your iPhone or iPod
This has been out for a while, but in the same booth where Engadget found the Watch Your Bag crapgadget there's a giant blacklight dock that will pulse to the beat. Oh, and it has speakers. You can opt to leave the black light on if you want (no sync to music), or have it strobe. Naturally it'll work with iPods as well, so you can practically set up a nightclub in an instant. Provided you don't mind toting a 4-foot iPod dock around. At $149.99 from Sharper Image, I doubt these are flying off the shelves.
QNX finds a home inside a Porsche 911 (video)
Blackberry's QNX division wants to expand its footprint and the next major push is inside your car. To that end, a handful of QNX engineers ripped out the stock (and pretty damned good) Porsche head unit on a 911 convertible and stuffed it with a new capacitive screen running the latest build of the OS. As you can see in the video after the jump, it's an attractive and quick setup, that does everything from VOIP calls to navigation, and since it's running the same software as the Playbook, it can theoretically run Android apps to boot – even if the reps on hand wouldn't admit it.
TUAW visits Scosche at CES
Yesterday we got a chance to stop by the Scosche booth at CES. While we were there, we got to see all manner of items, from the just released to the recent but also pretty cool. Here's what we saw: Kelly's top pick: A new car charger. Why? It has three very important features all in one convenient package! It is not only a dual USB charger, but both ports will charge iPads, AND it's the teeny compact style that just barely peeks out of your power port. It's coming soon, and when it does, I'll be getting several. Victor's top pick: freedomMIC Bluetooth Wireless Microphone. Not only is it a wireless mic that is handy for recording nicer audio when you are shooting with your iPhone, but you can also use it as a remote to start and stop recording, or snap a still photo with your iPhone camera. If you use your iPhone for reporting (as I have done), you'll find this mic super handy. We saw a number of other neat things in the Scosche booth as well. We saw a case with two pieces for the iPhone that has a silicone sleeve to protect the back and front of the iPhone, and then an aluminum Element case style band that buckles around it (think springform pan) for extra protection (and aesthetic coolness). This was really neat to see and very sturdy to use, the latch was solid and it really did look sharp on the iPhone. Plus, unlike the Element, you don't need a tool to get the metal band off. Also there was a really interesting cable. I know, cables aren't THAT interesting, and that's true, until you see one cable transform from one you always have to carry into the other one you always have to carry. Since I basically only need two cables, it was nice to see them both in one. You take the 30-pin end and it lifts up and pivots over, unveiling a micro-USB end as well. Generally I only need to charge on micro-USB, and this way I can have the "emergency" iPhone cable as well without taking up another cable's worth of space. It's called the syncABLE Pro. Speaking of iPhone cables, another nice thing to see was that Scosche has expanded on their line of flipSYNC cables, a compact cable about the size of a car alarm remote that unfolds into a USB charging cable. Now they have the clipSYNC which includes a carabiner-style clip to attach it to your bag, and also a flavor that has a battery in it and is still really compact. One thing I personally liked a lot about their booth was all of the hands-on they had available. There were a lot of companies with things set up under glass or back on a wall where you couldn't really get at them, so it was nice to get the chance to touch all of it and really see what it was like.
CES 2012: Smartphones round-up
The Superbowl of smartphones? Why, that would be Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. But that didn't stop the mobile industry's heavy hitters from giving us a taste of the year in wireless to come at CES. With Windows Phones finally getting LTE, Intel's Medfield CPU making its handset debut, Sony synergizing under its mega brand umbrella and fringe manufacturers wowing attendees with stock Ice Cream Sandwich and super-thin profiles, it appears phone aficionados have plenty to anticipate. So, while you sit slack-jawed in front of that computer screen, let's revisit some of the highlights of this past week.
CES 2012: Ultrabook round-up
CES is drawing to a close, and the gadgets released here will define the market for the year. Intel is betting the farm on its Ultrabook concept as its hardware partners continued to push out the first real wave of laptops designed to take on the MacBook Air (who thought we'd be saying that four years ago?). Whatever your feelings on these devices, given Santa Clara's billion-dollar advertising push, you won't be able to ignore them this year. So, let's take a look at five of the best products that rolled off the keynotes into the hands of our editors.
Boxee explains dropping PC and Mac clients at CES
We found Boxee at CES' ShowStoppers event this year, and when we cornered them to complain about dropping official PC and Mac support late in 2011, they were appropriately apologetic. Boxee's Liz Dellheim said that yes, they're sorry that they've abandoned that part of the company, and says that with just 20 people in their employ, and customers not connecting their PCs up to televisions that much anyway, Boxee just couldn't justify that support any longer. Instead, the company will focus on providing software for televisions and set-top devices, which Dellheim said offer "a more complete Boxee experience" than having to run inside the OS of a PC or Mac. That, and Boxee really wants to bring live TV to the service. Licensing that content for a standard PC client would be much harder than a more limited TV service, so Boxee decided to focus in on making the best set-top service they could, rather than being forced to support individual users. So if you were a big fan of Boxee on your Mac, that's probably the end of that. The client is still available on the website, but the company isn't supporting the official release. Fortunately, as we described in the original post, there are quite a few alternatives to look out for. There is one piece of Boxee software that will be running on an official Apple product: Dellheim confirmed that the Boxee Remote app for iPhone hasn't been forgotten, and while no big updates are planned, the company will continue to include that bit of the Boxee ecosystem in future plans. It's good to know that Boxee hasn't completely abandoned us Apple fans, but yes, for now, the company prefers to build for its own hardware, not our computers.
CES 2012: Automotive roundup
It's always a nice break from ultrabooks, smartphones and massive OLED TVs to catch a glimpse of the new auto tech that will be rolling out in the months to come. This year's focus at CES was infotainment and software add-ons for a handful of manufacturers and models. Sure, the plug-in Fusion was a highlight, but for the most part, the emphasis on on-board screens and content delivery while you're blazin' down Route 66. Read on for some highlights from the week that was.
Street Fighter IV HD on Android filmed at CES
Wondering how different Street Fighter IV's mobile version looks on Android's balkanized landscape of devices? You can start by seeing it on LG's exclusive Android devices for now.
Matias Tactile One, SlimOne hands-on (video)
We already covered the announcement of the new Matias tactile-keyboards but couldn't resist descending into the show floor in order to get a quick hands-on with the Canadian-made kit. The USB-powered boards contain a Bluetooth module and a physical button (with a blue LED) that you can switch between typing on your desktop and wirelessly to your device. The "Island-Style" SlimOne replicates the look and feel of the current Apple island-keyboard, but with scissor keys, which pleasantly resist your fingers. The '90s style Tactile One forces your hands to readjust back two-decades, but the mechanical board was a joy to use, with no lag between typing and it appearing on a compatible phone. After the break we've got a short video where we learn that retro keyboards can send people into such a frenzy that they forget to type the word "movie" correctly. Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
GoPano 360 degree camera with new app updates, case at CES
We originally took a look at the GoPano lens attachment from EyeSee360 last year when it was released -- the lens sits on the back of your iPhone, and allows you to take a full 360 degree picture with a free iPhone app. Since the project went live (it was funded by Kickstarter), EyeSee360 tells TUAW at CES that it's sold very well, and there are updates coming for both the product and the app. For the app, the company is planning an update soon that will add some social sharing options. Already, the app will upload 360 degree video to the main GoPano.com site, which it would like to be seen as "The YouTube of 360." These videos don't need an iPhone or any special software to be viewed, so while the original video may be warped (the lens basically shoots a circle of video on the iPhone's screen, and must be put through the company's software to be seen correctly) users can both save and share their videos online through the main site. The app will be updated in a few weeks, however, and that update will bring options to send the videos directly to Twitter, Facebook, or services like Dropbox, so we'll see more 360 videos than ever online. There will be a Facebook app for embedding the 360 videos, too. "The goal," according to the rep from EyeSee360, is to eventually "take it to broadcast" television, so the company was also showing off a prototype version of a full lens made for a high-end Red camera as well. The RED camera rig Finally, the company is also planning an update to the lens, though all they had to show us so far was a very early model, not anywhere near ready for release just yet. The new model follows what they said was a whole lot of customer feedback -- customers are worried that the lens (which currently is just inserted into the custom iPhone case) might fall out, so EyeSee360 is working on a version that instead slides and locks in to a slot over the iPhone's camera, meaning that even if the phone is moved around, the lens should stay securely fastened on there. Again, that model isn't set for release just yet. But it's clear EyeSee360 has plenty of ideas on how to improve its lens, and plenty of orders post-Kickstarter to fulfill. As more and more users upload and share 360 degree videos created with the GoPano, it'll be interesting to see where those videos end up and how they're used in the future.
Incipio shows off licensed, interchangeable, and battery charger cases at CES
Incipio had a nice booth on the show floor at CES this year, and kindly showed TUAW some of its new offerings in the world of iPhone cases and spare batteries. The latest and greatest news from Incipio is licensed cases -- the company has secured licenses to print cases with art from Magic: The Gathering, Hasbro, Alpine Stars, and gaming accessory company Gunnar, so we got to see those cases displayed at the show. Incipio told us that while licensed cases don't normally sell quite as well as plain cases (we heard last year that black is always the best-selling color for iPhone and iPad cases), licenses can often bring in interest to the company, from consumer buyers to retailers and other companies. Some of the licensed cases from Incipio Elsewhere in the booth, Incipio was also showing off its popular NGP case, which consists of two different pieces: a hardshell back that fits directly on the iPhone, and then a silicone case that snaps onto that one. Customers have really been drawn to the case, Incipio told us, because it's pretty easy to remove and change up. That's a trend they've noticed recently: That more and more customers are looking for iPhone cases that can come off easily, either because they want to try on multiple different cases for their iPhone, or just to allow the iPhone to connect to or sit in a dock. Incipio was also displaying the Off Grid Pro, which is a battery pack that follows up on its Off Grid series. The Off Grid Pro kicks up the juice to 1700 mAh, and it features a very slim set of batteries that can be replaced inside the iPhone case itself. I thought it was surprisingly thin, so users looking for a extra battery boost that doesn't take up a lot of room might be interested in checking it out. The Off Grid Pro will be out at the end of February for $89.99. Finally, Incipio showed us a prototype case it was working on that had both rigid and flexible parts. The rigid parts looked like an "X" and reached out to the corners of the iPhone, while the sides were flexible and allows for protection without making the iPhone much larger. That case was still in the making, a designer for the company told us, so it may never actually see store shelves in its current form. But Incipio and all of the other various case companies on the floor at CES are innovating as best they can, trying to both come up with new options and respond to consumer taste as quickly as possible. A case prototype Incipio's cases definitely stood out from the flood of similar accessories at the show this year. And just like last year, it was interesting to hear what kinds of trends and patterns are showing up in the world of iPhone and iPad add-ons.
Moshi releases Clarus headphones at CES
Moshi, makers of a variety of accessories for your Mac and iPhone, have announced a new set of headphones at CES called Clarus. They have two interesting characteristics, one inside the headphones, and one outside. Outside they are a little different than a number of in-ear style headphones in that they have the ear loop to hang over your ear and keep the earpiece in place. They do offer a few sizes of covers for the earbud itself, which is handy, but even better is that you don't have to rely on that to hold them in your ear. Made of a semi-rigid material, the loop is soft to the touch and flexes enough to let you wiggle them around to get the perfect fit. Inside, there is a great big difference: there are two drivers! Generally headphones will have a single driver, and that driver has to be all purpose since there's only one. This tends to mean you have to choose whether you want clear crisp sound in the high end, or a bumping thumping low end. With two drivers, you no longer have to decide which you prefer. I don't know how they managed to fit two drivers into these compact little headphones, but I can tell you how happy I am that they managed to do it. I got to listen to a pair on the floor, and unlike some booths that were using a specific sample or only one variety of sound to show off, I was allowed to plug in my iPhone and play whatever I wanted. First off, putting them on was really easy. That flexibility in the earpiece helped me settle them in, and then I tried samples from four different songs (a mashup, guitar-heavy rock, electronic, and acoustic guitar/piano) and got really impressive results. They were a variety of bitrates, and everything sounded clear and balanced in every sample. It was really nice to get to hear something I was really familiar with so I could tell how it would sound compared to all the other places I listen to the same music. There are other details that are nice, like the braided cover on the cord, the iPhone mic/control capsule on the cable, and the color detail on the earpiece to help put them in the correct ear. Retail price is $200 and they are available now at Moshi's website. More Moshi headphones seen at CES
Engadget HD Podcast 282: CES 2012 - 01.13.2012
As CES comes to a close, we've got the second and final Engadget HD Podcast of the show ready for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. The guys of Ceton Corp were good enough to stop by, and they brought their slick six tuner Windows Media Center Embedded DVR and extender boxes with them. After that, we moved on to the rest of the things we've seen here in Las Vegas, including the latest from TiVo, the new LG and Vizio Google TV hardware, Ultraviolet, gesture control and even the fight that broke out on the CES show floor (in the ring, it was a promo for ESPN 3D).Get the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).[RSS - AAC] Enhanced feed, subscribe to this with iTunes.[RSS - MP3] Add the Engadget HD Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace[MP3] Download the show (MP3).Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)Guests: Jeremy Hammer (CTO, Ceton @JeremyHammer), James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno), Michael Welter (@Mikinho)Producer: Trent Wolbe00:00:50 - Ceton previews multi-room DVR and Echo extender (hands-on)00:27:10 - Boxee Box Live TV dongle hands-on (video)00:28:50 - Updated TiVo Netflix, YouTube interfaces and iPad streaming hands-on00:33:00 - Samsung's Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App00:33:30 - Samsung shows off integrated TV streaming apps and DirecTV RVU... again00:34:00 - Verizon FiOS TV app to deliver VOD and live HD to LG TVs00:36:20 - Panasonic HDTVs show off Time Warner Cable IPTV app with live streaming channels, DVR access00:39:10 - The Engadget Interview: Google TV Product Manager Rishi Chandra at CES 2012 (video)00:39:36 - LG Google TV and Magic Remote Qwerty hands-on00:40:50 - Vizio ultrawidescreen, Google TV and Cinema 3D HDTV hands-on00:44:00 - Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video)00:46:25 - Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event00:46:50 - Samsung outs compact BD-ES6000 Blu-ray player, less compact ES6500, get down with UltraViolet00:47:30 - Panasonic unveils Infinite Black Ultra Panel plasmas for 2012 (eyes-on)00:50:50 - LCD vs Plasma00:51:30 - Sharp 8K Super Hi-Vision LCD, 4K TV and Freestyle wireless LCD HDTV hands-on00:53:50 - Behind the scenes with live ESPN 3D boxing at CES 2012Hear the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)
