Tag: bluetooth 4.0

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Technology

Ockel Sirius B shrinks a PC into your palm

Some folks would just love to take their computer with them wherever they go, especially if they need it for work. But they just hate having to schlep such a large device around with them, even if it’s just a laptop.

Ockel Sirius B is an updated version of the Sirius B pocket PC from Ockel Computers. It’s a Windows PC with the power of a desktop computer, but the lightness and size of a smartphone that allows it to fit in one’s pocket. It comes in a choice of white or black housing with aluminum edges. The computer features a fan-free design, allowing it to operate silently. Other features include HDMI 1.4 output, an Intel processor, 2 USB ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a microSD memory card slot and up to 4 GB of RAM.

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Technology

Gole1 PC scores goals with small size, dual operating systems

There are many PCs and tablets on the market with Intel processors. But few of them can fit in one’s pocket or come with Windows and Android operating system compatibility out of the box.

Gole1 is being marketed as the smallest and cheapest all in-one Intel PC available. But it more closely resembles a tablet. It comes with a 5-inch, HD touchscreen display and the dual operating systems. Users can switch from Windows 10 to Android 5.1 by using the “Switch to Android” app icon on the Windows desktop. Gole1 is powered by the Intel Cherry Trail Z8300 processor and runs Windows 10 Home.

Other features include Bluetooth 4.0, four USB ports and a microSD card reader that supports up to 64 GB of storage. It can also be connected to a TV or projector via HDMI. The device offers two hours of power with the built-in 2600mAh battery, but its power can be extended by any 5V/3A Micro-USB power bank.

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Music Networking

TurnUp lets you turn up your with the flip of a switch

Wireless, multi-room speakers are becoming increasingly popular. But they don’t come cheap –- especially if customers want to install them on the wall instead of on a table or shelf.

patent-claimedTurnUp is a multi-room, wireless speaker that fits in a light switch or wall power outlet and can be used to control not only music, but a room’s lights. The speaker uses Bluetooth 4.0 and is easy to install. It can be controlled by voice from any computer, as well as from any smartphone or tablet.

Up to eight speakers can be connected. The device also answers phone calls. It works in conjunction with an Android and iOS app. TurnUp ships in December at future pricing of $129.99. But Kickstarter backers can get one for a pledge that starts at $89 for early birds. Its makers hope to raise $77,000 by June 10.

 

 

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Cell Phone Accessories

Rogo dock lets your smartphone run a smart home

Having a personal assistant in the home either means shelling out lots of money for someone to follow you around all day or going all in on some of the more experimental attempts to integrate robotics in the home.  Choosing either option overlooks the most powerful computing device in most people’s lives: the smartphone.

Rogo is a dock that uses the connectivity of a smartphone to power a range of applications aimed at giving users a true personal assistant in the home. All of Rogo’s apps are powered by a cloud platform and a conversational AI that users can speak to naturally. RogoTele is a telepresence app to keep users in touch with family or friends back home that takes advantage of the swiveling dock to track movement, while RogoChat is for all other times where message and event notifications will do.

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Input Music

The Oval percussion instrument rounds out digital music making

For many, the idea of learning a musical instrument inspires fear and dread. As such, many make attempts at smoothing the learning curve associated with it by using technology to rethink everything instruments can do. The Oval digital music instrument continues that trend in an effort to empower anyone to both learn and play music.

The Oval is inspired by the Hang, a percussion instrument based on the physical principals as the steelpan. The instrument sits on the lap, and is covered in a circular ring of seven multi-sensing, pressure-sensitive pads, with a single pad in the middle. Its MIDI-compliant design gives users the choice to use Oval with its iOS/Android app, or any other music creation software like Ableton. No matter the choice, a user can change the type of instrument being played, change scales, add effects, loop sounds live, and even upload their own sounds.

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Smart Home

Ola uses touch sensor, fingerprints to rock the smart lock

Smart locks have become one of the more popular components of the smart home product category. The one drawback of some of them is that they rely on the user accessing a smartphone app in order to open up a door, and that can sometimes take a while –- especially if the smartphone is buried at the bottom of somebody’s bag or, worse, the phone has been forgotten somewhere.

Ola is a smart lock that uses Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and capacitive fingerprint technology that makes it not only a keyless solution, but also a phoneless one. It’s able to store up to 1,700 fingerprints and takes less than one second to open the door once the fingerprints are read by the touch sensor, according to its maker. Ola is powered by four AA batteries and doesn’t require a Wi-Fi connection, so it will continue to work even if the power goes out. It costs $179 as part of its Kickstarter campaign and will ship in March. Retail pricing hasn’t been set, but is expected to be about 30 percent higher, said its maker, who set a campaign goal of raising $125,000 by July 23.

Ola is bound to appeal to a wide audience. Although it doesn’t require a smartphone for users to open a door with the smart lock, there is an app for Android and iOS devices (and soon Windows) to facilitate registration for new users. The “masters” of the house can also use the app to give or deny access to guests or manually unlock the door via Bluetooth. The only minor drawback is that it’s water resistant, but not waterproof, so if it’s submerged in water for an extended period of time that would break the electronic components of the lock. Its maker also warns that it’s best to dry off one’s fingers before opening the lock because water can impact the sensor’s ability to recognize fingerprints.

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Input Virtual Reality

The Gloveone virtual reality controller deserves a hand

Recent hardware announcements from companies like Oculus and HTC have promised new controller mechanisms to interact with the virtual worlds they’re building, proving how important the tactile aspect of virtual reality will be. However novel these controllers are, though, they’re just stopgaps to the eventual solution: a way to completely feel all sorts of feedback from weight to texture to temperature.

Realistically, it’s a long way off, but NeuroDigital is making an effort to get there faster with their Gloveone gloves. The gloves equipped with ten haptic actuators on each, capable of independently vibrating at different frequencies to replicate the sensations of feeling. With these actuators, the product can reproduce the sensations that go along with situations like rain, or the handling of a small apple, all to more fully immerse the participant.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

WAY shows the way to connected skin care

Proper skin care is essential in avoiding things like premature aging and skin cancer. Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to take care of their skin. Besides the fact that each person’s skin is unique, the environment they’re in also plays a huge role, and those complicated nuances can be confusing for most to understand.

The WAY personal skin care system consists of a lightweight, Bluetooth-enabled device that works with a companion iOS/Android app to keep users informed of best skin care practices. The WAY device focuses on two things. Its UV and humidity sensors keep tabs on the environment while a BIA, or bio-electrical impedance analysis, sensor analyzes the moisture content and oil balance in skin.

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Sensors/IoT

Air Mentor shows the lighted sides of contaminated environs

The carbon monoxide detector is a must-have device. But there are many potential toxins in the air other than carbon monoxide that can be dangerous to people also — especially the very young and elderly and those with compromised immune systems and respiratory ailments.

Air Mentor is a Bluetooth Smart device with built-in industrial grade sensors that measure home air quality and can detect pollutants including carbon dioxide, particulate matters and volatile organic compounds such as carbon monoxide, aromatic hydrocarbons and organic acids. The triangular device can be placed on any flat surface in the home or office, and is used in conjunction with an Android or iOS app. Cloud computing software automatically analyzes indoor air patterns.

One of five colors lights up on the device to signal the air’s quality: green for good air quality, yellow for moderate, orange meaning the air is unhealthy for sensitive people such as those with asthma, red meaning the air is unhealthy for everybody, and purple signaling very unhealthy air. The device costs $249 and ships in May. Its maker is hoping to raise $15,500 by May 8.

Air Mentor holds promise, especially for consumers with compromised immune systems and those with chronic respiratory conditions including asthma. But consumers looking for a more portable device that performs some of the same functions might opt for something like the Scarab wearable air pollutant detector.

 

Categories
Automotive Connected Objects

Loxet locks up the car based on your proximity to it

When drivers mistakenly think they’ve locked their car, or perhaps forget about doing so altogether, the result can be costly. While having one’s car towed can be frustrating, having it stolen is an entirely different and more aggravating experience.

Because preventing a car from being stolen is much easier than recovering a stolen car, the Loxet is a device worth checking out. Loxet is a smartphone-controlled proximity lock and anti-theft device for cars that should help drivers breath a bit more easily. Loxet works with Android 4.3+ smartphones and iPhones equipped with Bluetooth 4.0. Once installed, the device automatically unlocks a car as its owner approaches and locks the door right as the owner begins leaving the vicinity. The device prevents anybody from driving the car who isn’t either a) the owner or b) an individual who has been granted access via a setting on the accompanying app. Loxet costs $69 and is scheduled to ship in August. Its maker is looking to raise $25,000 by May 15.

Loxet certainly has potential. One potential barrier towards widespread adoption, however, is the setup process. While the device itself can be mounted in any car equipped with central locking, it will take a mechanic 45-90 minutes to install it, this according to the company’s Kickstarter campaign. Loxet can also be installed by the purchaser via an instruction manual, but if it takes more than an hour for a mechanic to install it, it’s likely too complicated for the average consumer to set up in the first place. Turning to a mechanic will, of course, add some cost to the device.