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The gear you need to celebrate 4/20 like a responsible adult
It's 4/20 everybody, the High Stoner Holiday where we burn our trees rather than decorate them! The celebrations mark a magical moment when everybody can get the giggles with reckless abandon while satiating their munchies with traditional holiday tidings like Abba-zabba and Taco Bell. Today offers neophyte cannabis enthusiasts and hardcore stoners alike an opportunity to indulge in the mild euphoric of their choice with like-minded friends and family, or really, anybody standing with a dutchie on their right-hand side. But just as Christmas suffers from SantaCon, 4/20 celebrations attract their own brand of red-eyed knuckleheads who make the rest of us look bad. So unless you want to get lumped in with the folks who still proudly display their Scarface poster from college, put down that comically large blunt and read on.
The Puffco Peak vaporizer is a quick hit of concentrated genius
Hell hath no fury like a stoner who has just had to dig his last nugget of honeycomb wax out of the carpet because the wad of sticky concentrate managed to fall off its dabbing tool. I mean, do you still fire it up -- carpet fuzz, cat hair and all -- or simply take the L and move on with your evening? Neither, you get yourself a tabletop cannabis vaporizer that doesn't require a menagerie of industrial tools to operate and which can be loaded as easily as a hash pipe.
The Puffco Peak is the future of dabbing
Dabs aren't just for Cam Newton. It's also a great way to consume cannabis concentrates. Problem is, dabbing traditionally requires the use of either a butane blowtorch and titanium nail or a clunky electronic heating ring (aka enails). But no longer! With the advent of the Peak by Puffco, consuming concentrates is now as easy as pressing a button.
RIP Basis Peak: The best wearable you've never heard of
If you don't already own a Basis Peak, then you'll probably never get the opportunity to see one up close and personal. The wearable has barely registered in market-share metrics but has suddenly made a name for itself after being recalled. Which is a shame, because history is likely to remember it as that watch that caught fire and burned its owners. That would be an enormous disservice to a gadget that's one of the most seriously underrated wearables on the market.
Basis recalls Peak smartwatch for burn risk from overheating
Back in June, Basis stopped sales of its fitness-focused Peak smartwatch following reports that the wearable was overheating. Today, the company issued a recall for the device, citing the risk of burns or blisters due the device running hot. When it first acknowledged the issue, Basis said it was working on a software update that would remedy the temperature problem and urged customers not to use the wearable until a solution was in place. However, the company revealed today that "despite our best efforts," it couldn't find a fix that wasn't detrimental to the overall user experience.
Basis Peak gets smarter with music control and activity editing
The Basis Peak fitness tracker just got an update that controls the music playing on an Android or iOS device and lets users manually enter the type and duration of a workout. Good news for music fans that get in shape with activities that might necessarily get tracked like yoga or surfing.
Basis' fitness tracker now comes in titanium, talks to other health apps
As useful as the Basis Peak may be for tracking your fitness, your data has largely been trapped so far -- you couldn't see it outside of Basis' own apps. However, you'll be glad to hear that things are loosening up. An app update rolling out to the Peak today will share the wristwear's activity data with either Apple's Health app or Google Fit, so you get a more complete picture of your health. If you only strap on your Peak when you're running, for instance, you can still merge its info with the walking data your phone collects. It'll also open a "Playground" for testing app features (such as an activity map and a Photo Finish selfie recorder) before they're available to everyone elseShould that not be enough, there's a firmware update coming on May 20th that will add a stopwatch and improve heart rate monitoring.
Basis' Peak fitness watch now gets notifications from your phone
A little later than promised, Basis' Peak fitness tracker behaves more like the smartwatch it arguably should have been all along. Grab a newly released update for the wearable and it'll give you a heads-up on calls, meetings and messages from your Android smartphone or iPhone. It's not as sophisticated as most smartwatches (even less expensive devices like the Pebble will show much more), but it should make sure that you aren't caught unawares when a friend texts you in mid-workout.
Basis Peak review: a good fitness tracker, with room to be a good smartwatch
Jawbone. Fitbit. Microsoft. And now... Basis. If you don't know much about the brand, you really should get up to speed: The company quietly put out one of the best fitness trackers, and now it's a part of Intel. Which means, it's officially one of the big names in health gadgets. Like the previous-generation B1 band, the new Basis Peak can automatically detect when you're exercising or asleep, making it one of the most automated fitness trackers around. This time, though, it brings a sharper design, a redesigned app and an improved sensor that can track your heart rate when you're working out, as opposed to when you're just sitting still. What's more, it will eventually be able to display smartwatch-like notifications on its 1.25-inch touchscreen, at which point it'll be way more versatile than your typical fitness band. Like before, the Peak costs $200, meaning it's still one of the more expensive fitness trackers on the market. As you'll see, though, I'm not sure that's a dealbreaker.
Basis unveils its first fitness tracker since getting acquired by Intel
You probably mainly think of Intel as the company trying to make 2-in-1s happen, but lately it's been dabbling in fitness, too. It all started when the chip maker acquired Basis, the creator of what was quite possibly the most sophisticated fitness wearable on the market. Intel promised it'd make it even smarter. Or something. Now, six months later, Basis is introducing the Peak, its first fitness tracker since joining Chipzilla. And it is indeed a bit smarter. Mostly, though, it's just a better-designed device.
Geeksphone Peak+ up for preorder at €149 with Firefox OS 1.1, 1GB RAM
Interested in jumping on the Geeksphone Firefox OS bandwagon? Its first consumer-oriented device, the Peak+, is up for pre-order and we now know a lot more about it. It doubles up the RAM to 1GB over its Peak and Keon developer siblings, while packing the same 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 4GB of storage (with a microSD expansion slot), 8-megapixel rear camera and 1,800 mAh battery as the original Peak. It's also boasting the latest Firefox OS flavor, version 1.1, which brings faster boot times and fewer bugs, along with 25GB of cloud storage. You can reserve one at €149 for a limited time with delivery promised by mid-September -- so, if you've been looking go above the usual smartphone OS fray, check the source. Update: A Mozilla spokesperson has reached out with the following clarification: "Today, Geeksphone announced the pre-sale of a new device based on Boot to Gecko technology. We want to clarify that this new phone that was announced is based on Boot to Gecko technology with pre-release software, but is not a certified or supported Firefox OS device."
Geeksphone preps upgraded Peak+ Firefox OS phone, 25GB of cloud space for new users
Geeksphone's Firefox OS-based Keon and Peak phones have mostly catered to developers; the company is now widening that audience with an upgraded phone for the public, the Peak+. While Geeksphone isn't saying exactly what's been tuned, it promises "new hardware upgrades" in response to community feedback. The firm is also offering 25GB in cloud storage to first-timers for all their web syncing needs. Reservations for the Peak+ will start in the days ahead, and would-be customers will likely want to sign up quickly -- Geeksphone is teasing a discount for the first wave of buyers.
PSA: First Firefox OS developer phones on sale now, open standards start at $119
As promised, Geeksphone is offering both of its Firefox OS smartphones starting today. While the Firefox orange-tinged Keon will set you back $119, the slightly more upmarket Peak is priced at $194 -- check out both of them in action after the break. The online retailer is willing to send both developer devices to anywhere in the world, so if you're looking to be part of the next billion smartphone users, place your order at the source. [Thanks, Kyle]
Firefox OS dev units coming to Geeksphone next week: Keon and Peak priced from €91
Two days ago, Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs reinforced what we already knew: Firefox OS will launch in four to five countries in Europe and South America by summer. Today, a newsletter from Spanish e-retailer Geeksphone fills in a few more details. According to the email, the Keon and Peak smartphones we saw at MWC will hit its site next week -- albeit as developer preview units. Still, Geeksphone says the two handsets "will be available for dispatch anywhere on earth." The lower-end Keon will cost €91 plus taxes, while the mid-range Peak will set you back €149. Early adopters can subscribe to the mailing list to stay updated; click through to the source link. [Thanks, William]
Mozilla reveals Firefox OS Developer Preview Phone
Mozilla said it won't be launching its own hardware to run the in-development Firefox OS when it's finished, but the company has just announced a "Developer Preview Phone" for putting the OS through its paces. It's not quite the same as the mystery device we saw sporting Firefox OS at CES, but its specs seem almost as basic. The handset will feature a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen and 3-megapixel camera on the outside, with a 1GHz Snapdragon S1 CPU, half a gig of RAM, 4GB of microSD-expandable storage and WiFi, 2G and 3G antennae inside. Sure, that processor isn't a beast, but an 800MHz S1 does just fine in the Lumia 610. A 1580mAh battery will keep the carrier-unlocked phone running, and Mozilla is promising OTA updates to Firefox OS to keep devs, well, up to date. At the moment, we have no idea how much the phone will cost, but the first units are expected to be available next month. The developer handset is called the Keon, according to creator Geekphone's website, and while not mentioned in the Mozilla Hacks blog post, it appears to have a more powerful cousin called the Peak. It's got a 4.3-inch qHD screen, 8-megapixel back-facing camera (with flash) and 2-megapixel shooter round the front. A 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU and larger 1800mAh battery are within, but storage, RAM and connectivity specs are the same as the smaller Keon. Mozilla may not be formally promoting this as its own dev handset, but it was still included in the picture which accompanied the announcement (see above: the Keon is in orange, the Peak in white). We're getting in contact with Mozilla to clarify, and will update you when we hear back. Update: Mozilla has confirmed that both the Keon and Peak are official developer devices.
Singulus CEO predicts Blu-ray machine delivery peak in 5 to 6 years
Sony's Rick Clancy spared no mercy when bashing claims that Blu-ray would be old hat within five years, but now we're seeing yet another bigwig predict a similar fate. Singulus, a German company responsible for pumping out Blu-ray duplicators and the like, has recently spoken up via its CEO to suggest that Blu-ray will peak (in terms of delivery of Blu-ray machines) within five to six years. Additionally, CEO Stefan Baustert suggested that the BD market will grow somewhat in 2009, and he boldly predicted that 50% of US households will own a Blu-ray player within two years; of note, he said the same level of penetration wouldn't occur in Germany before 2011 or 2012. Oh sure, it's not like this guy's a clairvoyant or anything, but we'd suspect he knows his business pretty well.[Image courtesy of The Master Shake Signal]
PS3 Fanboy gets its hands on Starpex's wooden guitar
Our friends at PS3 Fanboy recently had a chance to try out the guitar equivalent of the ION Drum Rocker: Starpex's premium (i.e. not plastic) guitar controller, which more or less looks like a gutted Fender Stratocaster. Their verdict is that the Starpex plays very well, but the $180 price tag is likely to turn off more than a few people. Bonus points for being fully compatible with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but no word on an Xbox 360 version. The Starpex will be available for PlayStation 3 and PS2 rockers, with a Wii version reportedly on the way later. Gallery: Starpex Guitar
Peak's Starpex wooden guitar controller gets the hands-on treatment
While there's likely nothing that will convince most folks of the merits of a full-size, $180 wooden guitar controller, those still on the fence about this particular piece of excess may be interested to know that the good people of PS3 Fanboy recently got their hands on one, and they've now offered up some initial impressions. As you might expect, they found it to definitely be a hefty device, but far from an unwieldy one, with the buttons as familiar as even and the strum bar in particular a significant improvement over other Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars. Peak also doesn't look to have cut any corners when it comes to the little details, with even the strap made of a thick fabric that makes it more comfortable to wear.
PEAK PlasmaBlade electrosurgery scalpel gets FDA approval
We're still a bit gun shy when it comes to surfing over to PEAK Surgical's website after watching that PlasmaBlade demonstration video, but a new release from the outfit affirms that said electrosurgery scalpel has just been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The "tissue dissection system," as it's so gruesomely called, has been given 501(k) clearance, meaning that PEAK can now market its tool for use in general surgery. So, anxious to camp out and be the first in the country to get sliced and diced by one of these? Bombard your local hospitals with phone calls starting next month.[Via MedGadget]
Netflix tidbits: DVD business could peak in a decade, Mac streaming on the way
Given Netflix's blatant plunge into the world of online content delivery, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the outfit's execs understand that physical media is at risk. Sure, DVD rentals far outnumber online rentals today, but Netflix is assuming that its DVD business could peak in around five to ten years. In a brief interview this week, CEO Reed Hastings told investors that "everybody peaks sometime," but he did note that Blu-ray was apt to make the "DVD ecosystem stronger." Even though the company is definitively moving at least some of its attention to online streaming, it's still quite aways from delivering a "standalone streaming service." On a slightly different note, we also learned that Intel-based Macs would be able to tap into the firm's "Watch Now" service "later this year," but unfortunately, it didn't get any more specific than that.[Image courtesy of ANPark]
