Year: 2017

CES: NVIDIA Spot brings Google Assistant to every room in your home

Dan Uff January 5, 2017 0

There's a common gripe with the Amazon Echo, Google Home and other voice-guided helpers: You have to stand within their listening range to make use of them. Not quite the Star Trek future you were promised, is it? NVIDIA, however, might have a fix: It just introduced the Spot, a hybrid mic and speaker that brings Google Assistant to every nook and cranny in your home. You need the new Shield TV to serve as the central hub, but you're otherwise free to turn on lights, ask questions and otherwise use Assistant knowing that you'll be heard.

The catch: Spot costs $50 per unit, and NVIDIA will only say that it's due to arrive sometime in the months ahead. It won't be cheap to outfit every room. However, this still makes Shield decidedly more compelling. Spot is likely to be more affordable than getting multiple dedicated smart speakers, especially in apartments and other homes where those speakers could easily be considered overkill.

Source: Nvidia

iPhone Power Users know about these secret features – DO YOU?

Dan Uff January 5, 2017 0

“How long have you been an iPhone user? A year? Three years? Five years? Did you buy the original iPhone all the way back in 2007 like we did?” Zach Epstein reports for BGR. “Whatever the case, and however long you’ve been an iPhone user, we can promise you with absolute certainty that there are features buried in your smartphone that you had no idea were there. It’s completely unavoidable; there are so many features baked into iOS 10 these days, that it would be impossible to remember all of them.”

“Some of the lesser-known features in iOS 10 that you’re unaware of are probably useless to you, so it doesn’t matter if they stay hidden forever,” Epstein reports. “But other features you’re currently unaware of could completely change the way you use your iPhone, and that’s why we share hidden iOS features as often as we can here on BGR. Today, we came across a nifty little resource with some secret iPhone features that only power users know about for the most part, and we would be remiss if we didn’t share it with you.”

“Reddit user ‘slidescream2013’ took to the site on Wednesday to ask a simple question of the folks in the Apple subreddit. He or she recently purchased a new iPhone 7 Plus, and while it’s unclear if a jump was made from another platform, the user was looking for good examples of ‘little features or tweaks that aren’t super obvious or featured,'” Epstein reports. “The resulting tips were a good mix of key iPhone features that less savvy users are typically unaware of, and lesser-known features that only power users typically know about.”

More info in the full article here.

Elago W3 Charger makes charging your Apple Watch look very unique

Dan Uff January 5, 2017 0

Elago has announced a very unique charger for charging your Apple Watch. The charger looks like a mini Macintosh 128k computer. When the user inserts the watch into the charger, the screen of the watch looks like the screen of the classic Mac.

To prevent scratching the outside of the watch, the charger is made out of silicone.

For more information, click here.

CES: Fisher-Price announces exercise bike…..For Toddlers

Dan Uff January 4, 2017 0

(CNN): The company announced on Wednesday the Think & Learn Smart Cycle, an exercise bike with a tablet holder tacked onto the handlebar.

The bike, aimed at 3 to 6 year olds, lets kids interact with gaming apps while pedaling. The Smart Cycle ($150) comes with one free app and works with four others, including SpongeBob SquarePants and Shimmer and Shine apps ($4.99 each).

The included app features an age-appropriate curriculum based on math, science and social studies.

"They're learning and mastering content as they peddle, fast or slow, forwards or backwards," Amber Pietrobono, a spokeswoman with Fisher-Price, told CNNMoney. "It's also how they level up in the games."

The system is Bluetooth-enabled so the bike could work with the apps played on platforms such as Apple TV and Android TV. App dashboards tell parents how much time their child has spent peddling and what he or she has learned in that duration.

This is Fisher-Price's second iteration of the Smart Cycle, one of its most successful product launches ever. The company launched the first version in 2007 using basic TV plug-and-play technology.

The toy came with gaming cartridges that connected it to a TV. Kids pedaled through different environments, used a joy stick to learn letters, numbers and colors and were able to race against virtual vehicles. Fisher-Price said some kids used the original Smart Cycle for up to an hour at a time.

Toy industry analyst Jim Silver said its popularity was fueled by a growing trend to encourage kids to be more physical.

"Fitness and childhood obesity were hot topics at the time," Silver said. "This got kids to exercise as they learned."

Considering concern around childhood obesity is greater than it once was, the latest version will likely appeal to parents in a similar way, Silver added.

In the 10 year gap between the two Smart Cycle versions, Fisher Price has also updated the technology to make it relevant for kids.

"It uses apps with powerful and engaging graphics," Pietrobono said. "Kids can also save games and resume them when back on the bike."

The Smart Cycle, which will hit stores in the fall, is part of Fisher-Price's line of activity-based toys. Last year, the company launched the popular Code-A-pillar toy from the same line.

However, it appears the Smart Cycle might have some competition on the horizon. Silver hinted that competitors are already working on a similar product to launch later this year.

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 4, 2017: 2:58 PM ET