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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.
Sony's Party-shot dock snaps incriminating Facebook photos while you drink
As if your Facebook profile doesn't have enough hard evidence that you're completely unfit for any job you might strike up the courage to apply for, here's a thoughtful accessory for producing even more regret-inducing snapshots. Launched tonight alongside Sony's DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1 Cyber-shot digicams, the $150 IPT-DS1 Party-shot (ships in September) is a newfangled camera dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees, automatically detects faces, adjusts composition and takes photos for you. It's like the GigaPan, sans the whole "useful panorama" aspect. The dock can churn for up to 11 hours on a pair of AA batteries (an optional AC adapter is also available), though at least for now, it only works with the aforesaid TX1 and WX1 models. Also of note, anyone with half an ounce of dignity will likely freak out and leave upon seeing this set up at your next shindig. Just sayin'.
