Two-wayRadio
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Cobra Vedetta speed trap detectors and CXT two-way radios make for a manly drive
There's a traffic cop on the road ahead and he's just waiting to slap a fine on your speed-freakin' self. But it's cool: Cobra's new Vedetta range of radar/laser detectors will tell you to hit the brakes 30 percent sooner than the previous XRS models, and they additionally come with 2.4-inch LCD displays, the ability to mount almost anywhere on your windscreen or dash, plus optional integrated GPS and access the company's AURA database of known speed traps. Soon as you're back down to 50MPH, you can warn the rest of your undercover convoy to do the same, thanks to the new Cobra CXT two-way radio line-up featuring a range up to 35 miles, NOAA Weather Radio and a dedicated button for crude one-liners. Read on for the press releases, but don't expect much detail on pricing or availability -- at least until CES rolls around.
'Stanford gurus enable two-way radio communications. Over.'
Call it the holy grail of radio transmissions if you must, but even if you're not about to toss that label on it, there's no question that the work being done in Stanford's engineering labs could destroy quite a few preconceived notions about wireless interference. Demoed as a concept last year, a newfangled wireless technology developed in Palo Alto is proving that signals can indeed be sent and received at the same time. Outside of the cellular telephony world, this seemingly simple occurrence doesn't really happen -- typical wireless signals have to take turns when it comes to listening and transmitting. As an example, it's impossible for a WiFi router to "shout" out signals while also being intelligent enough to quiet its own voice in order to hear "whispers" from a connected device. The breakthrough came when researchers found that radios could be tweaked to filter out the signal from its own transmitter, something that already happens within noise-canceling headphones. If this can be packaged into a commercially viable platform, it could instantly double the amount of information sent over existing networks, and on an even grander scale, it could allow airplanes to radio into control towers simultaneously (a feat that's shockingly impossible with today's physics bearing down). Head on past the break for a downright enlightening video on the matter.
Motorola lets loose TLKR T3 / T5 walkie talkies
Leave it to Motorola to unleash yet another completely corny prefix to label its newest two-way radios. Yes, we wish we were kidding about the "TLKR" part, but sadly, it's very real. Nevertheless, the TLKR T3 touts eight channels, up to 20-hours of battery life, around five-kilometers of range, a sleep mode, channel scan / monitor, an LCD screen, and comes in blue, orange and red colors schemes. As for the T5, it boasts a six-kilometer range, a backlit LCD, handsfree functionality, five call tones, slightly worse battery life, and arrives in red, blue, or black. Currently, pricing details haven't been nailed down, but you can snap these up (if you can get over the name) next month.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Garmin updates Rino GPS radios with SiRFStar III
Because you can never have precise enough location data when traipsing around the woods with the fam, Garmin has upgraded its Rino 520 and 530 GPS receivers / two-way radios with the highly-accurate SiRFStar III chip: meet the 520HCx and 530HCx. Like their predecessors, both models feature a 14-mile range (in an open field, we assume), built in basemap of the Americas, FRS and GMRS capability for chatting or transmitting coordinates between devices, and the rather impressive ability to hang out one meter underwater for up to 30 minutes without any ill effects. You also get a miniSD slot for loading additional urban and topographical maps, and if you step up to the 530HCx, a seven-channel weather receiver, electronic compass, and barometric altimeter. Look for these units to hit stores sometime next month, with $450 and $500 pricetags -- both of which are lower than the initial MSRPs of the earlier, less-precise Rinos. [Thanks, Allory D]
