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Building community through arcades and beer
It's springtime in downtown Phoenix, and Cobra Arcade Bar is open for business. Wednesday afternoon sunlight spills through two massive open windows at the front of the bar, illuminating silver tap handles, neon-splattered paintings from local artists and shiny black booths. Organizers from a nearby business set up shop on the front patio, preparing for a company event. Even in the middle of a weekday, Cobra hums with activity.
Department of Energy 3D prints an all-electric Shelby Cobra
Carroll Shelby's iconic Cobra roadster has been making jaws drop for half a century now. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cobra's debut the US Department of Energy built one of its own. The new Cobra's entire chassis and bodywork--from the passenger monocoque to the grille and headrests--were 3D printed from carbon fiber reinforced ABS using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. And while the exterior of the new Cobra is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor, they look nothing alike under the hood. The DoE's Cobra is, in fact, completely electric.
Cobra Electronics demos power pack that can jump-start your car
Cobra Electronics is a big player in the automotive world, largely thanks to its line of radar detectors. What a lot of people don't know, however, is that the company has also been dabbling with products that jump-start your car. At this year's CES, Cobra is introducing the JumPack, which it says is a game-changing device for jump-starting -- an odd-sounding statement, no doubt, but we have to agree. The 7,500mAh portable JumPack (CPP 7500) looks suspiciously like your run-of-the-mill external smartphone/tablet charger, and it's the smallest jump-start power pack we've come across. It features a 200A starting current and gets up to a peak current of 400A, which is enough to give your car's battery a few jumps -- given that it only takes three to four hours to recharge, it should be more than enough to manage those unfortunate situations in a lonely parking lot. It also comes with a built-in flashlight as well as USB output (2.1A) in case you want to give your smartphone a power boost. When it makes its way to stores in March or April, you'll be able to pick one up for $130. Sean Cooper contributed to this post.
CES 2013: Cobra adds to iRadar lineup and more
Radar detector manufacturer Cobra is back at CES again this year, and the company is showing off two new additions to its smartphone-powered lineup. The iRadar S-Series is the new high-end model -- it's available right now in Europe, but won't be here in the States until around August. Unlike most of Cobra's other models, the S-Series is designed to be installed in your car under the hood, with the only interface on it being through the iPhone app via Bluetooth. That explains the higher price of US$299 as well: since it needs to be installed under the hood, this is a more premium model than your standard "stick-it-on-the-dash" radar detector. The iRadar Atom is the other new model -- it'll be out in May at a lower price of $199. This is a more traditional radar detector, but with some nicely updated stats: the device itself is about 30 percent smaller than the previous iRadar models, and the performance has been doubled. Both of these iRadar units work together with the company's app, which has reached 1 million downloads so far. The app itself has gotten some updates over the past year, and now has some mapping features included, though the maps used are just whatever's native on the platform (so Apple's Maps for iOS and Google Maps for Android) rather than any other third-party system. Cobra is also working with JVC to provide another head unit option for the iRadar line, and the company also told us that it was "talking to a bunch of companies" about possibly making the iRadar's output available to other app developers via licensing or an API. Outside of the iRadar line, Cobra was also showing off two brand-new devices that connect up to smartphones like the iPhone. The Cobra Airwave is a Bluetooth music bridge unit that will be available in February for $39.95, and will work (in a car or at home) to connect up streaming music from your iPhone to any speakers you want to connect it to. The unit is relatively simple, but Cobra sees it as a test balloon in the home audio market, and hopes to have other similar kinds of devices along this line available soon. Finally, the Cobra Gatekeeper is another test balloon of sorts -- it's a Bluetooth-enabled garage door opener that's designed to plug into your current garage door opening system. All you'll need to do is snap the Gatekeeper into the wires coming out of your garage door opening switch, and then you can activate the door opener directly from your iPhone whenever it comes into Bluetooth range. The included app can also be set to send out notifications whenever the door is opened -- if, for example, you want to be notified when another family member arrives home. The Gatekeeper will be available later this year for $59, and Cobra is hoping it's the beginning of a brand-new line for them. "We want to get into home automation," the company's rep told us, so the Gatekeeper may be only the beginning of a much bigger push for Cobra in 2013.
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.
Cobra Electronics unveils Cobra Tag G5 ahead of CES
In advance of the official start of CES 2012, Cobra Electronics has introduced a follow-up to its Cobra Tag dubbed the G5. The latest iteration of the Tag, which is a bluetooth device that pairs up to your phone and triggers alarms of your choosing when the two items become separated, now takes advantage of the Bluetooth 4.0 Low-Energy standard. This means the Tag will now offer more than six months of use before requiring another charge, and is interoperable with the Bluetooth 4.0-capable iPhone 4S in addition to its usual list of Android devices. Cobra expects to begin shipping the G5 sometime in Q2, and will maintain its predecessor's asking price of $60. Look below to read the full press release.
Cobra JoyRide car charger automatically flips your phone into Car Mode when you get on the road
Most Android phones offer a Car Mode app, either built-in or at least through the Market. Going into this Mode, however, can often take additional steps that slows you down if you're trying to get on the road in a hurry. Cobra Electronics has announced a way to get around this hurdle: a car charger. More specifically, it's the Cobra JoyRide, and should be available in Q2 of this year for $40. Here's how it works: as soon as you climb into your car and plug your Android phone into the JoyRide, it automatically triggers a companion app that pulls up your own customized Car Mode with several options you can switch around yourself. We're hoping to have some hands-on time with the JoyRide next week at CES, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to check out the press release below. Update: Check out our hands-on here.
Cobra Tag review
Phone, keys, wallet. Discovering that you're missing any of these three items could easily trigger a panic attack, yet they're all so easy to misplace. How many times have you spent twenty minutes looking for keys that were buried between the couch cushions? The Cobra Tag may help you win that losing battle. Acting as a Bluetooth device that attaches to your key ring and connects to your phone, it gives you the opportunity to find the missing item if it's less than 30 feet away. It can also send notifications when the two devices are out of range from each other. The concept sounds convenient, but how does it work in practice? Let's find out. %Gallery-131600%
Are iOS and a radar detector a good pair? A look at Cobra iRadar
I think so. I've been testing Cobra iRadar, a hardware radar detector that connects via Bluetooth to your iPhone for up to date warnings of police radar, and speed/red light camera detection. The system consist of a small radar receiver that attaches to your windshield, and a free app that pairs to the receiver and provides mapping, on screen warnings, and the ability to upload either false hits from burglar alarms or door openers, or real locations of cameras that may have just appeared and are not in the Cobra database. I'm a conservative driver, and don't tend to speed, but I do like the added feeling of security I get with the system running. In my test drives, the iRadar system found some sped cameras I wasn't aware of. At one point, I was surprised it appeared to miss one that I knew about, but when I looked around the cameras had been taken down and likely moved somewhere else. +1 for iRadar. The app doesn't require the radar receiver, and the radar receiver doesn't require the app. Used alone, the receiver will give you voice warnings of upcoming police radar, but unless it is paired with the app you won't get warnings of traffic speed or red light cameras. You also won't get warnings of new locations submitted by other users. On the other hand, you can download the app and get updates of police cameras, but you won't get radar warnings. The app is also used to set specific behavior of the radar detector, as there re only power/volume and mute controls on the receiver. I'm told earlier versions of the iRadar app were a bit flaky, but the latest version available, released this month seemed to be stable. I saw one problem where I clicked a button and the system became unresponsive, but closing the app and re-opening fixed it and I haven't seen the bug reappear. The app has 2 modes. A map mode, derived from Google, that shows you any known speed or red light cameras, and user reported incidents. ON another screen it shows your actual speed, which is often more accurate than your car speedometer. It also shows you cars voltage, and gives a visual warning of any upcoming activity. The app can run in the background and you will be alerted. You can also use the iPhone at any time without losing any info from the app. The Cobra iRadar unit is US $129.00 at retailers like Radio Shack and Best Buy. The price at Amazon is quite variable. I've seen it as high as $91.96 but I've seen it down to $84.00 as well. Remember that radar detectors are illegal in Virginia, Washington D.C. and on military bases. Radar detectors are also illegal in all commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds. I think the Cobra iRadar works well, and actually is less expensive than comparably priced units that put all the electronics in the receiver. It's probably not as good as some of the highest priced units, but it worked well and the marriage of the iPhone and the receiver worked very well. %Gallery-131870%
Cobra iRadar detection system for Android hands-on
We'd mentioned Cobra was porting the iRadar app to Android a while back and had a chance to actually have a peek at Showstoppers last night. Like its iPhone cousin, the iRadar system ships with a simple radar detector and an app for your set. Pricing is set at $129 for this kit and it is apparently shipping as of April 4th. So If you enjoy speeding and want a little help getting that done, the following video tour and gallery are for you.
Cobra Tag Bluetooth key tagging system to ship in July, iRadar and PhoneLynx coming to Android
Cobra's taking a step back from its usual array of radar detectors to make a showing down in Orlando, and as such, today's announcements are all about mobile. The company's Cobra Tag system -- which popped up initially back at CES -- has just been given a price and release date. The Bluetooth tagging system will be keeping track of your car keys (and other miscellaneous items) starting in July, with a Bluetooth key fob linking up with a smartphone app in order to constantly monitor the position of anything it's connected to. All's that required from you is a BlackBerry or Android smartphone, $59.99 and a mindful personality. In related news, the outfit's also making available the previously announced iRadar application for Android, which is used to link your smartphone and radar detector, as well as the PhoneLynx for Android, which enables users to use a landline handset while tapping into Android voice minutes. Hit the source links if you're hungry for more.
Cobra iRadar detection system coming to Android next month
iPhone users have been able to avoid radar speed guns using Cobra's iRadar system since late last year, and it looks like Android users will soon finally be able to get in on the act as well. Cobra used the gdgt Live event at SXSW to announce that iRadar will be available for Android phones sometime in April. That consists of a standard dash-mounted radar detector and, of course, an app, which also takes advantage of your phone's built-in GPS capabilities to provide warnings of photo enforcement zones and other potential impediments to your inability to drive 55 -- you'll apparently soon even be able to share radar alerts with other iRadar users. Head on past the break for a video of the iPhone version.
Cobra iRadar on the CES 2011 show floor
We liked the idea of the iRadar when we first heard about it, and Cobra put the device front and center at its CES 2011 booth (well, right next to the girls in skimpy police uniforms). The iRadar is a radar detector that hooks right up to Cobra's official iPhone app, and it will not only alert you when you see speed radar units out on the road, but it will also tune in to two different services. "Aura" is Cobra's own service that keeps a "verified" database of red light cameras and speed traps, and the iRadar ThreatCenter is a database specific to the iRadar that tracks, in real time, when the iRadar goes off. In other words, if someone with an iRadar drives by a speed trap right before you do, you'll be alerted ahead of time. Cobra told us that it has seen over 30,000 downloads of the app, so there's quite a bit of interest out there. The iRadar itself is designed to be a very simple radar detector -- it's just got a small button and a speaker, since most of the information is relayed through the iPhone. But Cobra confirmed that it is working on other radar detector models that will work with the app (as well as an Android version sooner rather than later), and it's even considering bringing the ThreatCenter system to non-smartphone enabled models. Eventually your iPhone may be alerting other Cobra users, even those without phones, about the speed traps you see. "That's why the app is free," the Cobra rep joked. iRadar is US$129, and both the detector unit and the dock come with the purchase. You may not have a need for speed, but if you do, Cobra's unit offers a nice integration with your iPhone. Please note that radar detector use may not be legal in some jurisdictions. TUAW reminds all our readers to always avoid distractions, focus on the road and drive prudently and safely. Be sure to check out the rest of our CES coverage on our CES page.
Cobra's PhoneLynx BT 215 Bluetooth adapter keeps your RCA landline handset ringing (in a sense)
So, your RCA 25055RE1 cordless landline phone is a lot more comfortable to hold upside your cranium for hours on end compared to that [insert smartphone here], but you aren't about to reinstate the phone service that you axed half a decade ago. What's a boy (or girl) to do? Enter Cobra's PhoneLynx BT 215, a Bluetooth-to-home phone adapter that funnels any call you receive on your cellphone to any handset that you connect to the peripheral. Better still, it's capable of distributing calls to multiple landline handsets at once, enabling the whole family to talk to Uncle Rickie when he phones in this holiday season. Oh, and did we mention that it creates a dial tone when you pick up the aforesaid RCA handset while also pushing calls out via your cellphone? You can get your retro on now for around $35.
Cobra brings radar detection to the iPhone and reckless endangerment to the app store
It was bound to happen sooner or later: an unholy marriage between an iPhone (or second gen or later iPod touch) and a radar detector. As seems most fitting, the peeps at Cobra are behind this one, and we must say that if this is your thing, the premise is pretty interesting: the handset, running a free app from the company, connects to the iCobra fuzz buster via Bluetooth and alerts the driver to things like cameras, commonly identified speed traps, rough intersections, and more. Suggested retail is $170, but we've seen it making the rounds for the $100 mark. Race your way to your favorite e-tailer to see for yourself.
Cobra XRS 9970G radar detector has a touchscreen, will not make radar detectors useful
If you're thinking switching between city and highway mode on a regular radar detector was pretty easy, well, you're wrong. What you need is a 1.5-inch touchscreen, as found on the new Cobra XRS 9970G and 9965, which replaces that baffling array of knobs and switches with a baffling array of icons. Of course, none of this will actually make radar detectors effective or relevant, but that's not really the point here, is it?
Peripheral adds tentacles to PSP for body-clinging fun
Who needs a game case when you can wear a PSP? That's the idea behind the aptly named "Multi-shape Cobra Stand Bundle Kit." The "Multi-shape Cobra Stand" measures 92cm long and will connect a PSP to almost any part of your body. Maybe you can make a make-shift PSP utility belt, or wear it as a (very gaudy) necklace. With this peripheral, you can take comfort in knowing your PSP will never let go of its cold, firm grip on your body. Yay?[Via Engadget]
Cosplay in Minutes a Day!
Here's a cheap, easy costume you can whip up for your next Halloween/convention/boxart-head meetup -- dress up as Dr. Kawashima's disembodied head! Here's all you need: some white posterboard a pair of scissors a sharpie marker a pair of glasses an aging Asian man Flickr user ClockworkGrue spotted this character last weekend at WonderCon 2008. Girls must have swooned over it, as there are lipstick kiss marks all around the Brain Age mascot. Why else do you think he goes around calling himself LL Cool K (Ladies Love Cool Kawashima)? Step past the break for more video game related costumers spotted at Wondercon 2008.
Cobra adds Bluetooth to CB radio, truckers rejoice
Maybe it's just us, but the integration of Bluetooth into a CB radio is long, long overdue. Thankfully, Cobra is stepping up to the plate and introducing the 29 LTD BT, which will go down as its first ever CB radio to include integrated BT technology. Essentially, it allows users to accept and terminate calls with a simple button press on the radio itself, and also enables handsfree conversations -- undoubtedly littered with 10-4s and good buddies -- via the noise canceling microphone and five-watt speaker. Granted, the transmission was a touch fuzzy, but we heard it'll be available at travel centers and dealers this summer for $189.95. Copy?[Via Blast Magazine]
Cobra announces NAV ONE 5000 GPS unit
While it's not specially-designed for truckers like some of the company's other GPS units, Cobra's just-announced NAVO ONE 5000 device certainly looks like it'll get the job done for the average driver quite nicely, even if it may not exactly stand out from the pack. This one's biggest selling point, it seems, is its "ground-breaking" OptiView ultra-bright, five-inch touch screen, which the company claims is easy to view even in "extreme lighting conditions." Otherwise, you'll get Cobra's usual speed and red light camera location alerts, a "My Favorite Brands" feature that'll let you know when your nearing one of over 800 well-known restaurant and retail chains, text-to-speech functionality, optional real-time traffic data, and built-in Bluetooth for handsfree calling, among other standard features. If that works for ya, you'll be able to get your hands one of these for $510, with a 15-month traffic service subscription setting you back another $160.
