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CES 2013: Nectar's fuel cell pack claims to store up to two weeks of extra power
The Nectar mobile power system had its debut earlier this week at CES' Unveiled pre-show, and if nothing else, it's an impressive boast: The system claims to provide up to two weeks of power for your devices (including the iPhone) from a pack that fits very easily in a pocket. It's a pretty wild idea -- obviously, we haven't gotten a chance yet to really run the device through its paces just yet, but if the Nectar can do what the company says it can, it could be a very handy addition to your travel kit. The way it works is that you buy the core base unit for US$299, and then you can pick up extra fuel cell units for just $10 each. Use up the included fuel cell, and you'll have to replace it, but that much power should definitely be handy if you need it all while out and about. Other fuel cell tech like this can be heavy and bulky, but Nectar is designed to be both very portable and very powerful. The units will be available for sale at Brookstone later on this year, and we'll try to grab one then to see just how these claims stack up under trial. In the meantime, Engadget has a nice gallery of the unit showing just what it looks like in person.
CES Unveiled: Dexim's Lightning Power Skin and Music Talking Stylus
We looked at Dexim's chargers last year, but the company is rolling out a new Lightning port Power Skin for the iPhone, as seen above. It should sell for US$60 and be available at the end of January. For those of you who still have 30-pin iPhones, they were handing out samples of the ClickStick Bluetooth remote for the iPhone's camera. I'll have a review of that next week. One crazy accessory they were pushing as well was a Bluetooth stylus, which you can use to listen to music (you can actually plug your headphones into the end of it), or use it as a sort of pen phone, as it has a microphone on it. Crazy stuff, but it just might be a hit. Then again, it is called the Music Talking Stylus and will be available for $79.99 in February. Engadget has a gallery of the Music Talking Stylus here.
CES Unveiled: Sphero reveals new apps to roll around in
The good folks at Orbotix, makers of the little roly-poly robot Sphero, were also in attendance at CES Unveiled last night, where they were showing off a number of new apps coming to add more functionality to the robotic ball. Sharky the Beaver was shown off a while ago, but it was on display last night as well, and it features the robot's complicated augmented reality system, where you can use the camera on your iOS device to spot Sphero, making it be displayed as something else (in this case, a cartoony beaver). Orbotix also told us about Nyan Cat Space Party, another app for the ball that's out right now, that allows users to control the famous Pop-Tart/cat hybrid with Sphero itself. And the last app we saw was an upcoming release called Zombie Rollers, where you can use the ball as a hand-held controller to roll a little character around to crush zombies. The game looked really fun, and Orbotix told us it should be available in January for free. We asked about sales figures for the little ball robot, but unfortunately, Orbotix didn't have any clear numbers to share, only telling us that there are "hundreds of thousands" of the balls out there in the world right now. And when we asked for other plans for the ball this year, the company's rep just explained that it's focusing on software development for the moment, both working on things like the augmented reality system for third-party developers to use in making games and apps, and working on its own mobile Sphero-enhanced software as well. So it seems like a catch-up year for Sphero -- now that the ball itself is out and available (you can buy it online for US$130, or find it at a number of big retailers like Target and even the Apple Store), the focus seems to be on building up the library of software you can use it with. That's good news for Sphero owners, and of course the more apps that become available, the more luck Orbotix will have in convincing new customers to get on a roll themselves.
CES Unveiled: The HAPIfork aims to help you track your eating habits with Bluetooth
CES Unveiled was held last night in the Mandalay Bay conference center in Las Vegas, and served as the unofficial kickoff of one of the biggest gadget shows in the world. The Unveiled room was crowded with new product demos, but one product stood out: The HAPIfork. The HAPIfork, as you might guess from looking at it above, is a Bluetooth-enabled fork. Yes, really. The fork (and there's also a spoon version) uses a combination of sensors to measure just how much you're eating and how quickly, and then will translate those metrics to either an iOS or web app. The fork won't actually measure what you're eating (so it won't measure caloric content or fat content), but it will measure each "fork serving" you take, and it can even be set up to give you an alarm when you're eating too much or too quickly. And each app comes with a "coaching program" to help you eat more healthily (though, of course, actually listening to that coach is up to you). There are also a number of achievements to earn, so HAPIlabs has added a light gaming layer on the whole thing. It definitely seems like a interesting idea, and if you have a real issue controlling portion sizes, this might be worth a try. HAPIlabs is bringing out a USB-based version in the second quarter of this year that will cost $99, and then the Bluetooth fork isn't due until 2014. The HAPIfork definitely turned heads at CES Unveiled, but we'll have to wait just a little while to see how much the finished version actually helps fast eaters tame their habits.
VIA Technologies Leo U8500 hands-on (video)
When stopping by the ST-Ericsson booth at CES Unveiled tonight, we weren't expecting to stumble upon a phone we'd never seen before. Fortunately we were treated to a splendid surprise, as a new device designed by VIA Technologies was hanging out on the desk like a villain. The handset is designated as the "Leo U8500" and is touted as one of the first phones containing a full ST-Ericsson chipset. The yet-to-be-branded Gingerbread device sports the NovaThor U8500 smartphone platform, which rocks a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, Mali 400 GPU and 14.4Mbps HSPA+ radio. Its chipset supports cameras with up to 20MP sensors and 1080p HD video capture. While the phone is production-ready, it appears that VIA is still shopping for potential suitors, and it's most likely China-bound when all is said and done. A few images and a video can be found below. Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Marvell shows off ARM-powered Google TV, looks a lot like Google TV
Tonight at CES Unveiled Marvell gave us a peek at the future of Google TV with this tiny box, running the latest version of the software on one of its recently announced Armada 1500 ARM processors. It was controlled by a standard Logitech Revue keyboard/trackpad combo, and we couldn't really get a feel for any potential performance differences but the box was sitting there, fanlessly, cheaply and efficiently doing its thing. We'll probably know more about the actual hardware you'll be able to buy in the future tomorrow, but for now you can peep a few more pics of this reference box in the gallery. Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Fujitsu Arrows μ F-07D hands-on (video)
It was only a few short months ago that Fujitsu's F-07D cropped up at the FCC and took a swing at the "world's thinnest" smartphone title. Since that time, the handset's taken on a new name -- the Arrows μ -- and has launched on NTT DoCoMo in Japan. Today at CES Unveiled, we got a chance to get up close and personal with the device which, despite hitting a high water mark for slim profile, doesn't exactly attempt to compete with high-end specs. Instead this Android 4-incher runs Gingerbread atop a single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and is complemented by 1GB of RAM, 5.1MP rear camera and 1400mAh battery. So, does it hold up to its slight reputation? Join us after the break as we answer that question and delve deep into our first impressions.
Dish Network adds video on-demand streaming for iPad, enhanced Thuuz Google TV app
While Dish isn't yet ready to officially reveal the details of its new "Hopper" multiroom DVR setup or any wireless broadband plans, it has announced the addition of video on-demand streaming to its Remote Access iPad app. For users with the Blockbuster @Home package or premium movie channels like HBO, they can log in with their Dish Online ID and be in business. The remote viewing portion has also been refreshed, with what we're told is an updated guide. For Google TV owners, it also announced an official tie-in with the developers of Thuuz to record the live sports programs it alerts users to. Check out the details in the press release after the break, as well as a few hands-on pics of the iPad app in our gallery.
Mitsubishi's 'big year' at CES includes 92-inch DLP, 155-inch OLED displays
As we mentioned in our 3D roundup, the advantage of Mitsubishi sticking to DLP technology for its HDTVs is easily seen in square inches per dollar spent, and they're going to push that even further by introducing a 92-inch HDTV in 2011. We should get our eyes on the monster and its new "Clear Contrast" screen at the CES Unveiled event tonight, but you'll excuse us if we're slightly distracted by the 155-inch OLED that will apparently be on hand from its business division. No word yet on price or release date for the 92-incher, check out another picture and all available details in the press release after the break.
