Be first to get a 3M MPro150.
Charge on the go with the WildCharge Pad
(Credit: Kent German/CNET)WildCharger's products have always left us a bit divided. Though the wireless charging pads certainly work as promised, we haven't rushed out to buy them. Sure the ability to charge several gadgets at once is convenient, and the technology certainly is novel, but we can be content with powering our handset the normal way.
WildCharge, however, is busily expanding its product line, and at CES 2010 the company (now called Pure Energy Solutions) showed the a new Portable WildCharge Pad. At 5.24 inches long by 2.7 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep, the pad can fit one cell phone comfortably. It weighs just 4.23 ounces so it slips easily into a bag or even a large pocket.
It accommodates all current handset skins, which are required to charge your phone using the company's wireless technology. The pad has an internal battery so it doesn't need to be plugged in to operate; just power it ahead ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Taser's cell phone software interface
(Credit: Taser International)Taser International, the company that makes Taser guns to help law enforcement subdue unruly suspects, now has a product aimed at children. At CES, the company announced the Protector Family Safety Program--a series of products designed to help parents monitor and control what their kids are doing with their phones.
Lets parents listen in
Protector goes further than most parental control products in that it doesn't just provide a summary of activity--such as the incoming and outgoing numbers of people the kids call or text--but allows parents to listen to actual calls and read text messages.
Depending on how the product is configured, parents will be able to intercept all calls and messages to or from their child's phone, according to Steve Tuttle, Taser's vice president of communications. The series of products includes software parents can load on the kid's phone so that their own phone will, according to Tuttle, route "any inbound call, text, or e-mail. Anything that comes ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Graphic from Taser's Protector website
(Credit: Taser International)Taser International has developed software that allows parents to monitor and control what their children can do with their cell phones. The service, called Protector Family Safety Platform, lets parents monitor their child's incoming and outgoing phone calls, texts and media. Parents can block calls or messages, listen in, and even record calls.
Taser International Vice President Steve Tuttle tells Larry Magid how the system works.
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The XP3.2 Quest Pro: not so durable after all
(Credit: Sonim)Leave it to the BBC to show us how it's done. At CES, BBC reporter Dan Simmons managed to break the display (click on the link for the video) on the seemingly indestructible Sonim XP3.2 Quest Pro. Simmons accomplished this feat after bashing the phone against the side of an aquarium in which it had previously taken a swim.
I have to hand it to Simmons. I've tested the previous Sonim XP3 Quest (we have our own video) and it survived whatever punishment we could throw at it. I dropped it 14.5 feet onto a concrete floor, I tried to hammer a nail into its display and I stood on a box with the phone underneath.
Simmons, however, managed to end its life. Apparently, it took him quite a while to do so, but he still managed to break the unbreakable. We still think the XP3.2 Quest Pro deserved to be a nominee in the cell phone category ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LAS VEGAS--CES 2010 didn't produce quite a showstopper like last year's Palm Pre, but there's certainly one theme that dominated the show in the cell phone and smartphone categories and that's Android, Android, and Android. After a false start at CES 2009--last year's show defied expectations to produce no Android announcements--Google's OS finally emerged from its shell this year.
The Nexus One wasn't at CES, but it was the talk of Vegas.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)Of course, there was plenty of buzz about it even before CES started, after the official announcement of the Nexus One. Though neither Google nor HTC were officially showing the Nexus One in Las Vegas (thus making it ineligible for CNET's Best of CES Awards) it went on to be the buzz of the show. We posted our review from Sin City the day before CES began.
Beyond the Nexus One, AT&T committed to launching five new Android devices in the first half of 2010, including the Dell Mini ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LAS VEGAS--We stopped by the Sony Ericsson booth at CES 2010 to catch a glimpse of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (check out Kent German's hands-on impressions here), but we also happened to stumble upon the Xperia X2. Remember that Windows Mobile smartphone announced a while ago? Yeah, we almost forgot about it too.
We took the opportunity to ask Sony Ericsson about it and representatives quietly revealed that the Xperia X2 will be available from SonyStyle stores this spring. Company representatives didn't provide a specific release date or pricing, but hopefully, it won't be as exorbitant as the Xperia X1. Check out some of our hands-on photos of the X2 in the gallery.
The YoGen generates power for cell phones
(Credit: Easy Energy)There are all sorts of devices that provide a quick charge for a cell phone or other gadget when you can't get to an electrical outlet. Most, like the Energizer Energi To Go products, require you to insert AA batteries that transfer energy from the AA battery to the device's internal battery. But Easy Energy has a battery-free solution.
Spokeswoman Allison Morrison told me about the company's YoGen product, which is like a yo-yo that generates power. It's a handheld device with a cord. Pull the cord a few times and it generates enough power to use your phone for a few minutes. It's probably not something you would ever use for a full charge, but it could be a lifesaver if you have to make an emergency call while your phone's battery is dead. The device costs $39.99 and is available online.
There is an iPhone adapters as well as adapters for most phones, including the BlackBerry. ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Touch-screen comparison between the iPhone, HTC Droid Eris, Motorola Droid, and Nexus One. Click for larger version.
(Credit: Moto Development Labs)Moto Development Labs devised a simple method of analyzing capacitive touch screens using drawing programs. They put the iPhone, the Nexus One, the Droid, and the Droid Eris through the paces and proved not all touch screens are created equal.
Using only your fingers and a drawing app, Moto shows how you can test out the accuracy of your smartphone's touch screen. The test is simple: draw some slow, steady lines across the screen with your finger. If they're smooth and straight, your touch screen is tracking with relative accuracy. If they're wavy or jagged, your phone might not be giving your fingers the attention they deserve.
Moto's test showed the iPhone tracking the most accurately of the four, with smooth, straight lines. The Motorola Droid fared worst of the bunch, its crossing lines tracking so jaggedly that the screen looked like a jigsaw puzzle. The Eris and the Nexus ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Once an Apple engineer, Andy Rubin went on to co-found mobile computing outfits Danger and Android. He sold the former to Microsoft and the latter to Google, where he is now vice president of engineering. He's also the guy quarterbacking development of Google's Android mobile operating system and the Nexus One--the smartphone with which Google hopes to fundamentally change the way people buy cell phones.
Walt Mossberg (left) interviews Andy Rubin at CES 2010.
(Credit: AllThingsD)In conversation with All Things Digital's Walt Mossberg Friday, Rubin talked about the mobile space, Google's plan for an enterprise version of the Nexus One, and its vision for the way phones should be bought and sold.
Walt starts off by asking Rubin about just how involved Google was in the development of the Nexus One.
Rubin replies, "We threw out crazy ideas to our partners at HTC, and they were pretty good about plucking the good ones out of the air and building them into the device."
Walt asks about the new business ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Story Copyright (c) 2010 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.
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(Credit:
Kent German/CNET)
LAS VEGAS--I've not been shy about admitting that I'm a big fan of Callpod's Chargepod. I've taken it on many trips and I love that I can charge my camera, cell phone, and MP3 player simultaneously. But not only that: leaving all those individual chargers at home saves room in my suitcase.
At CES the company raised the bar a bit higher, with the debut of the Chargepod V2. Like the first Chargepod, the V2 can power multiple gadgets at once, but it also includes adapters for powering your laptop (both Macs and PCs) and it has a three-port USB hub for transferring data between devices or for connecting peripherals.
At 5.2 inches wide by 4.88 inches long by 1.34 inches deep, the V2 is designed to be portable. It's covered in a black plastic skin and weighs 11.4 ounces. Small LED lights let you know a device is connected.
The V2 isn't cheap ($199), but it offers a lot of ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
