WebProNews

Tag: Gadgets

  • CES: Google’s Nest Gets A Bunch Of New Integrations

    Last summer, Google’s Nest Labs unveiled its first “Works with Nest” integrations. These are experiences created by third-party developers that enable Nest to work with different types of products.

    The first integrations included: one from Jawbone to adjust your home temperature as you get out of bed; warning-flashing lightbulbs from LIFX; a universal remote from Logitech; a Mercedes-Benz integration to tell Nest when you’re going to be home so it can start heating or cooling; and washer/dryer integrations from Whirlpool. Additional integrations from various parties have launched in the meantime.

    At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nest is announcing some new partners with additional integrations. One is the August Smart Lock, which can set the Nest Thermostat to Home when you unlock your door, and start warming or cooling your house. When you lock the door on the way out, it will set it to Away to help save energy.

    There’s also a Kevo Smart Lock, which tells your thermostat who’s home and what temperatures they like.

    Another integration is with Chargepoint, which lets your car charging station know when energy is in high demand to avoid charging your car when electricity is most expensive. There’s also an Ooma VOIP home phone integration, a Philips Hue integration, a Withings Sleep System integration, and additional Whirlpool integration, which lets your washer and dryer know when you’re home so they can automatically switch to quiet mode.

    Here’s a look at some other stuff that’s coming soon:

    The company will be showing off a lot of new stuff at the show. They have over a dozen booths and meeting venues.

    Image via Nest

  • Amazon Reports Big Increase In Black Friday Sales Of Its Devices

    Amazon Reports Big Increase In Black Friday Sales Of Its Devices

    This year was a lot better than last year when it comes to Black Friday sales of Amazon’s tablets and e-readers, according to the company.

    Amazon said Black Friday sales of Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets on Amazon.com grew “significantly” year over year. Fire tablet sales on the site were up over 3x year over year on Friday, while Kindle e-reader sales on Black Friday grew nearly 4x.

    The company didn’t provide exact figures, nor did it mention sales of its Fire TV, Fire Stick, or Fire Phone devices.

    “This holiday there are going to be a lot of customers opening up new Amazon devices,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices. “We’re energized by the year over year growth of tablet and e-reader Black Friday sales on Amazon.com, plus the success of the new product categories we’ve launched this year.”

    In September, Amazon unveiled its latest lines of tablets and e-readers, including the Kindle Voyage, a new $79 Kindle, a new Fire HD tablet, the Fire HDX, and the Fire HD Kids Edition.

    Amazon is running a Cyber Monday deal today for its Fire TV device at $69, which puts it at a 30% discount. Of course this is still twice as much as its Fire Stick streaming device, which is more of a direct competitor to Google’s $35 Chromecast.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon’s Echo Device Quickly Parodied

    On Thursday, Amazon unveiled Echo, its new $200 cylindrical device that listens to you and tells you stuff. Okay, it does more than that, but that seems to be the gist of what most people are taking out of it.

    As you might expect, someone has already put out a video parody based on the promo Amazon released. Honestly it’s not really that funny, but I doubt this will be the last one we see. Either way, it already has nearly 70,000 views.

    We’ll just have to wait and see if this one draws as much comedic interest as the original promo for Google Glass.

    Via Uproxx (and probably reddit).

  • Amazon To Expand Hardware Unit, Get Into Home Devices

    Amazon will reportedly invest $55 million in its Lab126 hardware unit’s operations in Sunnyvale and Cupertino, and expand its staff by 3,757 people or 27 percent by 2019.

    That is according to a report from Reuters, which cites a “little-known government document” and people familiar with the matter, indicating that by doing so, Amazon will get $1.2 million in tax breaks, and will create home devices.

    Such devices, in fact, are reportedly already being tested by the company. Reuters reports:

    Amazon is testing a simple wi-fi device that could be placed in the kitchen or a closet, allowing customers to order products like detergent by pressing a button, one of the people said. Lab126 is also interested in wearable devices, the other person said. Both sources stressed that such devices may never come to market.

    …

    In a statement, Amazon said Lab126 was moving “incredibly quickly” and cited the company’s 2014 devices, including the Fire phone, Fire set-top box and several new tablets and e-readers.

    Amazon’s first Fire phone hasn’t exactly been met with a great deal of enthusiasm, but clearly that’s not deterring the company from focusing more heavily on devices. The new tablets and e-readers were just announced last week.

    Investors have grown impatient with Amazon’s financial performance as the company continues to sink money into experimental projects. It doesn’t look like the company will be backing away from that strategy anytime soon.

    Image via Google Play

  • Amazon Announces A Bunch Of New Kindle Devices

    Amazon Announces A Bunch Of New Kindle Devices

    Amazon made a whole bunch of Kindle-related announcements late on Wednesday, including some new devices and a new OS.

    New Kindles

    First off, Amazon unveiled its seventh-generation Kindle, the Kindle Voyage. Amazon calls this its “most advanced Kindle ever”. Well, I would hope so. “Not as advanced as the last one” doesn’t sound nearly as appealing. The display is brighter, has higher resolution, and higher contrast. It also has “reimagined” page turns. It costs $199.

    The company says, “Kindle Voyage features an all-new design, with a beautiful flush glass front and a magnesium back, so it is strong, thin, and light. At just 7.6 mm thin and weighing less than 6.4 ounces, Kindle Voyage is the thinnest device we’ve ever built, making it even easier to hold with one hand and read for hours.”

    It has an adaptive, smarter front light, which is 39% brighter, and is available with free 3G. There’s also a new oragami-style cover design.

    The company also unveiled a new $79 Kindle, which includes a 20% faster processor, twice the storage of its predecessor, and a new touch interface.

    Both devices are now available for pre-order.

    The new Kindle family consists of the Kindle, the previously announced Kindle Paperwhite, and the Kindle Voyage. But that’s not including the Kindle Fire line, which brings us to the next announcements.

    New Fires

    Amazon also announced it’s most powerful tablet to date, the new Fire HD, apparently dropping the “Kindle” from the branding. It features a quad-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras, an HD display, and five color choices. It also comes in two sizes – 6” for $99 and 7” for $139.

    CEO Jeff Bezos says the device is the “most powerful tablet under $100.”

    Here’s the feature rundown from the announcement:

    High-definition display—Crisp and vivid with over 1 million pixels (252 ppi for 6”, 216 ppi for 7”), now brighter than the previous generation Kindle Fire HD, with vibrant colors and whiter whites.

    Ultrafast quad-core processor—Running at up to 1.5 GHz, the quad-core processor has 3x the graphics performance of the Samsung Tab 4—Fire HD can run even the most graphically intensive games.

    Front and rear-facing cameras—Video chat with friends and family with the front facing camera; take photos or capture videos in 1080

    Pocketable design—Small and portable so it fits in a pocket or purse and is easy to hold with one hand.

    Incredible reliability—With a Gorilla Glass display and a design that is engineered for best-in-class reliability, you don’t have to worry about Fire HD breaking. Many other tablets cut corners on reliability—in lab testing they are anywhere from 2x to 20x more likely than Fire HD to break if dropped. Even the iPad mini is 2x more likely to break.

    Five fun colors—Fire HD is available in black, white, cobalt, magenta, and citron.

    Profiles give everyone a personalized experience—With Profiles, each family member gets their own profile, including individual email, Facebook and Twitter accounts, page in the book, spot in a movie, and game levels.

    Family Library—Never again worry about whose account has the Prime membership or who bought that book you want to read. Family Library links your Amazon account to that of your spouse or partner so you can easily share apps, games, audiobooks, books, and Prime Instant Video content within your household without changing accounts. Family Library lets families share their content while using a single Fire tablet with different profiles, or also across multiple devices, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire phone, and Amazon Fire TV, as well as on all of the other most popular devices and platforms with the free Kindle, Audible, and Amazon Instant Video apps. Family Library will be coming soon as part of a free, over-the-air software update.

    ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction)—Customers loved it on Amazon Fire TV, so now available on tablets by popular demand, ASAP predicts which movies and TV episodes you’ll want to watch and prepares them for instant playback before you even hit play, so they start instantly.

    Amazon-exclusive features—X-Ray, Second Screen, Amazon FreeTime, Prime Instant Video Downloads, and more.
    Dolby Digital Plus Audio—The standard in high-end audio. Fire HD delivers crisp and clear sound without distortion.
    All-day battery life—Delivers up to 8 hours of reading, listening to music, watching video, and browsing the web.

    Stay connected and productive—Fast web browsing, email and calendar support, plus a new pre-loaded WPS Office app lets you create, edit, and view Office documents.

    World’s best content ecosystem—Over 33 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, and Android apps and games—including Facebook, Netflix, iHeartRadio, Twitter, Angry Birds Stella, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, and more—with free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content.

    There are also new accessories for the device, including a new protective cover and a series of adapters.

    Then there’s the Fire HDX, which is powered by a quad-core 2.5 GHz processor and a 70% faster graphics engine. The display features Dynamic Light Control which automatically adjusts the color. It’s also the first tablet with Dolby Atmos audio.

    Here’s the feature rundown on this one:

    Powerful 2.5 GHz processor with a 70% faster graphics engine for exceptional speed and fluidity, especially for graphically-intensive games.

    Exclusive HDX display with incredible pixel density (339 ppi) and perfect 100% sRGB color accuracy—now with Dynamic Light Control, which makes the pages of a book more closely resemble a real piece of paper in different lighting conditions.

    Startlingly light design—20% lighter than iPad Air.

    Exclusive new audio—twice as loud as iPad Air, with crisp, clear sound and no distortion; plus Fire HDX is the first tablet with Dolby Atmos.

    Fastest Wi-Fi, with support for 802.11ac MIMO which delivers up to 4x the peak bandwidth.

    Available with ultrafast 4G LTE wireless.

    New Fire Keyboard is the thinnest and lightest full-featured tablet keyboard, with a trackpad to make productivity and navigation easier than ever.

    Powered by the latest version of Fire OS—Fire OS 4 “Sangria”—with hundreds of new and upgraded features, platform updates, and Amazon-exclusive services.

    Family Library lets all members of your household access your apps, games, audiobooks, books, and Prime Instant Video content, even if they use a different Amazon account.

    Free, unlimited cloud storage for photos taken with new Fire tablets, automatically backed-up wirelessly.

    Front-facing HD camera makes it easy to stay in touch with Skype; 8MP rear-facing camera allows for high-resolution photos and 1080p HD video, and includes an LED flash, Electronic Image Stabilization, and a wide-aperture f/2.2 lens. The Camera application also allows customers to capture panoramas, lenticulars, and HDR recommended shots, and the film strip gives access to recent photos and videos, along with the ability to view, edit, share, and delete right from the camera.

    Firefly lets you quickly identify printed web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, plus over 100 million items, including movies, TV episodes, songs, and products.

    ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) predicts which movies and TV episodes you’ll want to watch and buffers them for playback before you even hit play, so videos start instantly.

    The Mayday button delivers revolutionary live tech support—one touch connects you to an Amazon expert who can guide you remotely through any feature—24×7, 365 days a year, and it’s free. Nearly 75% of Fire HDX and Fire phone customer questions now come via the Mayday button.

    Then there’s the Fire HD Kids Edition, which includes a two-year guarantee, so they’ll replace if if the kid breaks it. It also has a free year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, which gives kids access to 5,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games.

    It has a quad-core processor, an HD display, front- and rear-facing cameras, Dolby Digital audio, and access to Amazon’s movies, TV shows, songs, books, and Android apps and games.

    It costs $149 for a 6” and $189 for a 7”.

    New Operating System

    Finally, Amazon introduced its new operating system – Fire OS 4 Sangria, which comes pre-loaded on the new Fire HD and Fire HDX tablets, and will be available as a free, over-the-air update for all 3rd generation Fire tablets.

    “When we think about Fire OS, we start with what matters to customers—ease of use and performance,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices. “Fire OS 4 improves in both of these areas, and deeply integrates software, content, and the Cloud to deliver services that are only available from Amazon, including Family Library, Firefly, and free cloud storage for photos.”

    It’s based on Android KitKat.

    Pre-orders are available for all the new devices.

    Images via Amazon

  • Google Acquires Lift Labs To Help Those With Parkinson’s

    Google announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Lift Labs, with the team joining the tech giant’s “moonshot” branch Google[x].

    Lift Labs makes a spoon that uses a stabilization technology to counter tremors for those with Parkinson’s disease. Here’s a look:

    “Their tremor-canceling device could improve quality of life for millions of people,” says Google in a Google+ post. “We’re also going to explore how their technology could be used in other ways to improve the understanding and management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.”

    Lift Labs said, “We’re excited to be joining Google[x], Google’s moonshot factory. We will continue to sell our Liftware system, and Google will enable us to reach even more people living with Parkinson’s or essential tremor who could benefit from using tremor-canceling devices every day.”

    Lift Labs will join Google Glass, self-driving cars, Project Loon Internet balloons, glucose level-checking contact lenses, and the recently unveiled Project Wing delivery drones at Google[x].

    Last month, Google[x] acquired Gecko Design. Last year, it acquired Makani Power.

    Image via YouTube

  • Star Trek for Real: 5 Trek Gadgets That Came True

    The television series Star Trek — now referred to by fans as The Original Series, or TOS — cast a vision for the future that has endured for almost 50 years now. Between TOS and the spinoffs that followed — The Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, and all the feature films based thereon — the world was treated to the notions of space travel at warp speed, dematerialization transportation, and even time travel.

    Many of the fantastic notions from Star Trek are still firmly in the realm of science fiction. But there are some things that have found their way into our real world, right off the screen.

    Padds

    This is perhaps the easiest one to point out. The typical Star Trek “padd” was passed around with reports and other written communication. Now we have tablets and e-readers galore: Kindle, iPad, Android tablets, you name it.

    Universal Translator

    This is a bit different than it was envisioned by Roddenberry and gang, but we do have apps that can translate from one spoken language to another, acting as a translator. Examples include Voice Translate Pro and SayHi Translate.

    Vocal Computer Interface

    Majel Barrett’s familiar computer voice has become the stuff of Trek canon. The computers aboard the Enterprise and every other Federation Starship could accept voice commands, answer questions, and even off suggestions.

    And now we have Siri. It can’t initiate a self-destruct sequence or help you program a holonovel, yet. But Siri and its non-Apple cousins are certainly pieces in a puzzle that we no doubt will put together one day.

    Hypospray

    Believe it or not, this one actually predates Star Trek. It is called a jet injector and was used for administering vaccines to the masses without the use of needles. Nowadays they are used for insulin and other applications.

    Transparent Aluminum

    When Scotty cavalierly violated what we would later call the “temporal Prime Directive” and handed a 20th-century engineer the formula for transparent aluminum in exchange for some Plexiglas thick enough to contain some whales and sea water, most people probably just chuckled. But not everybody.

    Introducing ALON, a substance that is made much like a ceramic material, with aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen. The resultant material is clear, can be polished, and is used for armor, sandwiched with regular glass and polymer. It can stop a bullet.

    Image via YouTube

  • Anyone In The U.S. Can Now Buy Google Glass

    Last month, Google made Google Glass available to any adult in the U.S. for a single day in an effort to get the device in a bigger number of hands (or on a bigger number of heads, I suppose) without opening it up to everybody. It’s still not quite ready for primetime.

    Google announced, however, that anyone in the U.S. can now order the device, and get the Explorer Edition as long as they have them in stock.

    The Google Glass Google+ account said this last night:

    Last week we told you we’d be trying out new ways to find Explorers. Well, we weren’t kidding. We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta. We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand: google.com/glass

    We’re ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can’t wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.

    It’s unlikely that Google will have any shortage of interested parties, though the price tag will keep many waiting for a proper launch with a lower price.

    Right now, it’s going to cost you $1,500. You can go here, and pick your color, frames, and shades, and add it to your cart.

    Teardown.com recently found that Google Glass costs roughly $80 in parts. Another report has come out saying hardware and manufacturing costs total about $152.47.

    It will be interesting to see how many people participate in the newly open Explorer program, and how long it takes Google to make the device available in other countries.

    It’s probably smart of Google to get the device to more people ahead of Google I/O, which takes place in just over a month.

    Image via Google

  • Amazon’s Streaming Box Will Reportedly Launch with Netflix, Hulu Apps

    Amazon’s Streaming Box Will Reportedly Launch with Netflix, Hulu Apps

    Amazon’s still unconfirmed set-top streaming device will launch with third party apps, according to sources quoted by GigaOm.

    We’re talking a couple of big names here–Netflix and Hulu Plus–meaning that Amazon is choosing to make the device more appealing to more people by not just offering up its own content and streaming service, Amazon Prime Instant Video.

    But according to the report, “some mid-sized, more niche-focused video publishers told me that they haven’t been asked to join.” Is this simply an oversight? Has Amazon simply not gotten around to adding smaller apps to their lineup? Is Amazon going for a set-top device that only plays with the big boys?

    Rumors of an Amazon set-top streaming box have been around for quote some time, although Amazon has yet to confirm its actual existence. In early 2013, rumors said that the device would launch by fall of that year. When that didn’t happen, reports indicated that it would be a holiday launch.

    Then, the device was apparently delayed for unknown reasons.

    This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that the box, when it finally launches, will sport third party apps. Sure, Netflix and Hulu are direct competitors of Amazon Prime–but it appears that Amazon doesn’t want to launch a streaming device that fails to offer the most-popular video apps around. The box would have to compete with the likes of Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku–all of which boast a wide array of third party apps.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • A Fairly Ridiculous Amount of People Still Own VCRs

    The list of “things that killed the VCR” is pretty lengthy – I mean, just start naming semi-recent technological advancements in the way human beings consume TV and movies and you have your list right there. Digital cable, DVDs, Netflix, DVR – the VCR, though perfectly useful in its time, is simply a relic of the past.

    Right?

    Well, not exactly. Gallup recently conducted a poll concerning Americans and their tech preferences, and there’s a lot of good data there. But the most interesting piece of data (at least to me), is the one that says 58% of American adults still have a VCR. Sure, that’s dropped from 88% in 2005, but still. 58%?

    In fact, here’s a list of things that, according to the Gallup research, are found with less frequency in an American home than a VCR.

    • Desktop computers (57%)
    • Dumb phones (45%)
    • iPod (45%)
    • Gaming console (41%)
    • Streaming service (39%)
    • Tablets (38%)
    • Satellite TV (34%)
    • E-readers (26%)

    Yes, Americans apparently own VCRs at more than double the rate of Kindles.

    As you might expect, VCR viewership is more common among older adults. While only 41% of those aged 18-29 still own a VCR, 74% of those aged 65 and older do.

    I guess grandpa still needs some way to record those golf tournaments.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • iPad Mini With Retina Display Is Now Available For Purchase

    Apple announced today that the iPad mini with Retina Display is now available. You can order it through the Apple Online Store or through the company’s retail stores (for personal pick-up apparently due to a limited supply), as well as through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon or other authorized resellers.

    The device was unveiled last month at Apple’s big press event along with the new iPad Air and new Mac Pro and Macbook Pro models.

    “The response to iPad Air has been incredible, and we’re excited for customers to experience the new iPad mini with Retina display,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We think customers will love both of these thin, light, powerful new iPads, and we’re working hard to get as many as we can in the hands of our customers.”

    The iPad mini with Retina Display comes in silver or “space gray” (yep, that’s what they call it).

    The Wi-Fi model costs $399 for 16GB, $499 for 32GB, $599 for the 64GB model and $699 for the 128GB. The Wi-Fi + Cellular model is $529 for the 16GB, $629 for the 32GB, $729 for 64GB and $829 for the 128GB.

    The original iPad mini has been dropped to $299 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular.

    Image: Apple

  • This Watch Counts Down to Your Inevitable Demise

    Forget smartwatches. What the world needs is a good deathwatch. Enter Tikker, the wristwatch that literally counts down the seconds until you die. It’s a friendly reminder to stop wasting your time, and Tikker is running a Kickstarter campaign to get it in production.

    “Tikker is a wrist watch that counts down your life from years to seconds, and motivates you to make the right choices. Tikker will be there to remind you to make most of your life, and most importantly, to be happy,” says the watch’s creators. “Wearing a Tikker is a statement to the world that your biggest priority in life, is living.”

    All you have to do is fill out a questionnaire to determine your expected expiration date and set it up. Tikker will display the years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until you shuffle off this mortal coil. It’s also display the current time, if you were wondering.

    Tikker calls itself “The Happiness Watch,” although some may argue that having a constant reminder of your inevitable mortality strapped to your arm at all times is anything but.

    But the project is gaining traction. With more than 3 weeks left in its Kickstarter funding campaign, Tikker has already raised nearly $18,000 of its $25,000 goal. You have until November 1st to back it.

    “For all of us life comes with a best before date, and one day we’ll find ourselves at the end of the line. Gee, you’re thinking, this is really depressing! But, wait, there’s good news too! While death is nonnegotiable, life isn’t. The good news is that life is what you make of it – and oboy can it be beautiful! All we have to do is learn how to cherish the time and the life that we have been given, to honor it, suck the marrow from it, seize the day and follow our hearts. And the best way to do this is to realize that seconds, days and years are passing never to come again. And to make the right choices,” says the Tikker team.

    There’s no denying that there is beauty in human mortality. The fact that one day everyone will cease to exist certainly makes every single moment mean just a little more. Who knows? Maybe a constant, ticking reminder that you’ve only got a brief time here on this Earth is just the kick in the ass that some people need to stop acting like dicks and wasting their time. Not to mention it’s a nice looking watch.

    Images via Tikker

  • Wet Phone? DryBox Offers Rapid Drying Solution

    Now you’ve really done it. Your big, dumb hands have fumbled your iPhone and it falls, in slow-motion, straight into the pool, toilet, puddle – whatever. Panic turns to helplessness. Your phone is waterlogged.

    What do you do? Surround the device with silica gel packets? Throw it in a bag with some rice? HALP.

    DryBox says they have the solution. Their patent-pending hyper-drying chamber can completely dry your soaked device in less than thirty minutes, and apparently there’s an 80% success rate in restoring phones to their former glory – as long as the wet phones get inside the DryBox within 36 hours of initial exposure.

    “The DryBox Rescue system utilizes a patent-pending drying chamber as part of a process that rapidly removes moisture at the molecular level from small electronic devices…DryBox saves time, money, and frustration.”

    As of now, there are only a few DryBox locations where you can take your device – one in Austin, Texas and two in San Antonio. But DryBox wants to rent their devices to stores across the country, in a profit-sharing deal.

    [Drybox via Engadget]

  • Condoms for Your Smartphone Let You Protect Your Other Important Device

    Sometimes, your device needs protection. And sometimes, you also need to protect your iPhone (apologies). With Smartskin Condoms for Smartphones, you can keep your phone safe from rain, sand, or any other unsavory materials that it may come into contact with.

    These “rubbers” are actually made of soft and stretchy protective thermoplastic – and they’re water resistant. According to the product description, your smartphone will retain full touchscreen capability and 98% camera clarity with the condom attached. That 2% is a small price to pay when it comes to keeping your device clean.

    Just snap them on and apply the sealing tabs (which you should get at least three uses out of).

    “You never know when you’ll get lucky…enough to take your phone to the beach, or on a boat, or cycling in the rain, or driving a rally car, or riding a camel in the desert. But thanks to the sleek and stretchy Condoms for Smartphone, you’ll never have to say no to an unexpected bit of excitement again. Keep them in your wallet for that special situation or emergency occasion, and know that your smartphone has protection at a moment’s notice.

    You can grab a pack of 3 for $18.49. As of now, the Smartskin condoms are only available for the Galaxy S3, and iPhones 4/4S/5. Oh, and they’re also available for your iPad.

    Always pack protection.

    [Firebox via PSFK]

  • Roku Hits 5 Million Players Sold, 8 Billion Streams

    Roku Hits 5 Million Players Sold, 8 Billion Streams

    Roku has just announced a pretty significant milestone: 5 million players sold.

    Roku first launched in 2008, and the device was called “the Netflix player,” basically because its only function was streaming Netflix.

    Over time, Roku broke out of the “Netflix box” moniker by adding plenty of other high-profile apps – Hulu Plus in 2010, HBO GO in 2011. Spotify and Time Warner Cable support more recently. As of now, Roku boasts around 750 channels. And with 5 million players sold, it’s clear that Roku holds a firm place in a market filled with streaming options. It’s about half of what Apple TV has sold (globally), for a competitive reference.

    “What are people streaming on Roku? Tons of TV shows and movies. Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, HBO GO and VUDU are all top favorites. Music is extremely popular, and consumers enjoy Pandora, VEVO and Spotify among other choices. News, sports, science and foreign languages from around the world are also big hits. Did I mention games? In 2011, we introduced casual games to the Roku platform with the debut of Angry Birds, which took the leap from mobile to TV for the first time. Angry Birds remains the most popular game on Roku today – by our count more than 3 billion bad piggies have been eliminated!” says Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood.

    Roku says that these 5 million boxes have streamed over 8 billion individual items of content of video and music, and that 25% of all Roku players stream over 35 hours per week.

    Roku just launched their new device, the Roku 3 box, last month – and it’s been getting some good reviews. Are you a Roku user? What do you think the furutre holds for set-top boxes that pretty much exclusively stream online content to TVs?

  • Android Smart Watch In The Works [Report]

    In recent months the rumors have been picking up that both Google and Apple are working on smart watches. A new report from the Financial Times indicates that Google is indeed working on one, and it has its Android unit developing it.

    To be clear, this is still in going to have to be filed in the rumors department, and the report is careful to make note of that, but it does say:

    While Glass is being created in its X Lab, home to experimental “moonshot” projects such as the self-driving car, Google’s smart watch is being developed by its Android unit, according to a person briefed on the project, to act as an extension to the smartphones using that operating system. The project is separate from Samsung’s efforts, the source said, although there is no indication of when it might launch.

    Google has been going to great lengths to build buzz for its “moonshot” Glass concept, but if the Android team is working on a smart watch, such a device getting into consumers’ hands (or on their wrists, rather) in the near future seems like a real possibility – particularly with Apple (allegedly) and Samsung getting into the space. It looks like Sundar Pichai has quite a bit on his plate.

    Two months ago, reports came out that Google was “actively exploring the idea of making its own smart watch,” and “looking at ways it might be able to market” it.

    Google secured a patent for such a device last fall.

    A smart watch would be one more device Google could sell in a retail store should it ever decide to open a chain.

  • This Wooden Spoon Doubles as a Stylus

    This Wooden Spoon Doubles as a Stylus

    In products that are so simple that they’re kind of genius news, I’m probably going to spend a few bucks and grab this new wooden spoon/stylus for my kitchen.

    As sites like CHOW, Food 52, and even All Recipes as well as apps like Epicurious continue to replace traditional recipe books for many home cooks, sticky, contaminated iPads and other touchscreen devices become more and more of a problem.

    For $7, you can avoid most of this hassle. Meet the ispoon kitchen stylus, a wooden spoon that doubles as a stylus for your in-kitchen touchscreen-using needs.

    Just imagine: You grab a handful of ground beef and throw it in the skillet. You grab your wooden spoon to start breaking it up. Oh crap, how much cumin was I supposed to put in there? Now you can either wash your hands, or you can just flip over your spoon and tap your screen to find your answer. Hooray! No more E. coli on your iPad!

    Sure, you could wash or wipe your hands between contacting your cooking ingredients and checking the recipe on your iPad. In this regard, this isn’t an essential product. But damnit, it’s cool and I want it.

    [Umbra via Gizmodo]

  • Another Day, Another Cool Oreo Separator

    Another Day, Another Cool Oreo Separator

    Remember earlier this week when that awesome physicist with that awesome mustache built that incredibly complicated machine to separate the Oreo cookie from the Oreo creme? Because he hated the creme?

    Well, these two guys did the same thing, in a different (and cooler) way. And at least one of them is sensible enough to appreciate the creme.

    [Oreo]

  • Guy Builds Cool Oreo Separator. Twist? It’s to Get Rid of the Creme Altogether

    I get that you built a super-complicated machine to separate the Oreo cookies from the Oreo creme. Seriously, I get it. It’s so you can harvest all the creme and make one mega creme-filled cookie, right?

    No? It’s because you hate the creme? What the hell?

    [Oreo]

  • This iPhone/Cup Holder Is the Ultimate First World Problem Solver

    A new solution to a first world problem wants your money.

    How often do you find yourself unable to properly text, Facebook, or play Temple Run because you’re forced to use one of your free hands holding a cup of coffee. If this scenario hits home, help may be on the way.

    It’s called the UpperCup, and it’s the iPhone/cup holder that you never knew you wanted.

    “No more one handed typing. No more spilling coffee. Have your hands free for your optimal texting, gaming and social networking pleasure,” says Dutch marketing agency Natwerk.

    Awesome! You want one, right?

    Well, you can’t have one – yet. Natwerk is currently crowdfunding the project on indiegogo. They’ve set a goal of $25,000 to get the UpperCup into production and say that if/when it hits the shelves, it will do so with a $35 price tag. As of now, the’ve only managed to collect a little under $800 with 36 days left in the campaign.

    This is admittedly a little ridiculous. But I can totally see it selling.

    UPDATE: It looks like I, like many others, have written up a publicity stunt.

    [via BuzzFeed]

  • Coolest Lamp Ever Mimics the Weather Outside, Frightful or Not

    If you have ever wished that you could bring the weather indoors, this prototype chandelier is the unnecessary-but-incredible device for you.

    It uses Wi-fi to obtain weather data, and then puts on a show for you that matches nature’s show outside. When it’s sunny, it’s yellow. Overcast? Well, that’s when it gets fun. The Nebula 12 uses liquid hydrogen and water to produce a cloud.

    “In the standard mode, Nebula 12 predicts the weather for the next 48 hours. A threatening low-pressure area is announced by a red cloud, and sunshine is shown in yellow. At the same time, the user can adjust the settings and define the source of information themselves.”

    According to Micasa Lab, Nubula 12’s creators, “the light but stable creation can be used in many ways: Nebula 12 can, like a natural cloud, change in colour and brightness and thus can be used as a variable source of light for romantic evening meals, when doing homework, when reading or just chatting.”

    Don’t worry, the Nebula 12 won’t precipitate. And that cloud won’t spread all over your house, the device’s vacuuming system makes sure of that.

    “With Nebula 12, Micasa wants to expand the definition of what a lamp is. It is important for us that we not only challenge ourselves, but also our customers. And Nebula 12 is something completely new which should stimulate people to think beyond the boundaries of conventional lighting systems”, says Matthias Wunderlin, manager of Micasa.

    Of course, it’s only a concept right now. And it only works via weather data sent to the Nokia Lumia 920. You’d think that if they ever mass-produced the fixture, they would open it up to be compatible with a wider range of devices. Aside from having to constantly refill the liquid hydrogen and water (its life is only 72 hours), I don’t see many other nuisances. All I see is my friends coming over on cloudy day and exclaiming, “Holy shit, you have a cloud in your living room!” Awesome.

    [DVICE via Sync]