Chipolo Item Tracker Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The Chipolo Clip item tracker.
Josh Miller/CNET
I can’t go more than a few minutes without losing something. Whether it’s my wallet, phone, house keys or even sunglasses, I always seem to forget where I place them. I’m the perfect customer for an item tracker.
These small devices connect to your smartphone over Bluetooth and help you locate misplaced items. There are a variety of trackers to choose from that all have similar features, but most are designed to attach to your key ring or bag.
The Chipolo Plus.
Josh Miller/CNET
A company by the name of Chipolo, which claims to have the thinnest and loudest trackers on the market, has a different approach. The company offers three devices: the Plus, Clip and Sticker. All of them allow you to use a companion app to ping the tracker, which will emit a loud sound to help you find your items. You can also click on the tracker to ring your phone. Each tracker has a range of 60 feet (standard for Bluetooth), but also include a crowd GPS feature that uses other people’s trackers to locate your missing items when outside of Bluetooth range.
Each of Chipolo’s three trackers are slightly different in terms of design. The Plus model is primarily used for key rings and bags. It resembles similar devices from competitors TrackR and Tile, but Chipolo claims the Plus is the loudest tracker on the market. Meanwhile, the Clip, which Chipolo claims is the world’s thinnest Bluetooth tracker, is a little thicker than a credit card and is designed primarily for wallets. Then there’s the Sticker, which can be attached to the side of a camera or a pair of sunglasses.
The Chipolo Sticker.
Josh Miller/CNET
The downside with Chipolo’s trackers is the battery. The Plus and Wallet will last up to 12 months, but the battery isn’t user replaceable. You have to instead send the tracker back to Chipolo and then have the option to purchase a new one for half off. The Sticker will support a new wireless charging technology, called Wattup, from Energous.
The Chipolo Plus is available now for $25. The Clip is slated to arrive this spring for an undisclosed price, while the Sticker is expected to arrive towards the end of the year.
BACTrack’s new wearable told me how drunk I was at CES
At 7pm the exhibition center’s doors opened and hordes of journalists broke through the velvet rope line holding them at bay. They rushed down broad, carpeted hallways, deftly ignoring the staff’s pleas for calm and demands for proper identification. There was no time for pleasantries that night — it was a land rush, with limited table space and access to the precious few ethernet connections. Welcome to the Pepcom Digital Experience, where exhibitors and reporters alike jockey for the other’s attention in hopes of scooping their competition. It’s madness, enough to drive a man to drink. So that’s exactly what I did.
But where’s the fun in getting soused — on the clock and in front of my bosses, natch — unless I can keep score? That’s where BACTrack’s newest alcohol monitor, dubbed the Skyn, comes in. It continuously monitors the amount of ethanol molecules escaping through the skin and provides near real-time readings to its associated iOS app. So, rather than blow into a breathalyzer, as one would at their local DUI checkpoint, all you have to do is glance at your phone. The Skyn can also be integrated with the Apple Watch, replacing the normal band.
Now, this device doesn’t provide a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) as conventional breathalyzers do. Instead, it measures a person’s Transdermal Alcohol Content (TAC) from the inside of their wrist. The company is still working on an algorithm that will convert the continuously-generated TAC into BAC, which estimates your level of inebriation for a given moment in time. Currently, the system only spits out a .csv file with the accumulated raw data so, for that night, I was left counting drinks and making my own inferences to compare against a breathalyzer test scheduled for the end of the evening.
The Skyn’s underside hides its fabric-covered sensor – Image Credit: Engadget AOL / Will Lipman
Since this was technically a work night, I decided to start off slow and slugged down a vodka and coke on the way over to the BACTrack table to pick up the Skyn. The company’s reps gave me a quick runthrough of its functions before pairing it to a iPad, strapping it to my wrist and sending me on my way. What’s nice about the Skyn is that you don’t necessarily need to keep it within Bluetooth range of your phone or tablet. It can store an evening’s worth of data onboard and download it to the mobile device later. In this case, the iPad stayed at the BACtrack table.
Over the next two hours, as I bobbed and weaved my way through crowds of technology gawkers, overzealous PR reps, booth babes and cocktail waiters, I developed something of a system. On my way from the press table to a given exhibitor’s booth I’d drink a cocktail, either a Kettle and Coke or one of the event’s themed martinis — both of which contained around 1.5 to 4 ounces of liquor. After visiting my target booth, I’d return to the press table and eat a single serving of hors’ d’oeuvres — either a toothpick’s worth of andouille sausage or a couple waffle fries.
By my count, I visited eight separate booths over the course of the night. That translates to eight cocktails, at least two full andouille sausages and 16 waffle fries. I did also sneak two glasses of unadulterated coke when I felt myself getting overly tipsy (hey, I gotta keep it professional, people) just to keep myself in check. When the event ended, I sauntered to the BACTrack booth to return the device and take my breathalyzer test. I had stopped drinking 20 minutes beforehand (as is required for breathalyzers) and wound up blowing a .06 — that’s lower than the .08 limit which would have earned me a DUI had I gotten behind the wheel of a car (seriously, don’t drink and drive), and half of the .12 that I had initially guessed I was.
Again, while the data output from the Skyn was simply raw measurements, rather than a more easily interpreted BAC, the data’s graph shows a steady progression of intoxication as well as spikes whenever I downed a drink. So this device clearly works, but whether it’s as accurate as conventional breathalyzer tests remains to be seen. The company plans to release the Skyn for sale at some point in 2017, so they’ve got a bit of time to get the system in proper working order. Hopefully my liver will have recovered by then.
Casio WSD-F20 hands-on: Android Wear 2.0 that can go anywhere
Casio is one of a few watchmakers sticking with Android Wear for the time being.
Casio’s second Android Wear watch is just as huge, feature-packed and ostentatious as the last, and it’s running Android Wear 2.0. It’s the not-so-smoothly named WSD-F20, a follow-up to the F10, and just as the brand name and a single glance at the watch would lead you to believe it’s a perfect match for those with an active lifestyle.
Just as before we’re looking at a huge, hulking watch that will dwarf most wrists and even put my lowly Gear S3 Frontier to shame. The new watch has a bigger bezel than its predecessor with some extra wording to accompany its bevy of screws, knobs and buttons. The 1.32-inch display honestly doesn’t look as great as others out there (plus, yes, there’s a “flat tire”), but then again this watch is built for strength.
The WSD-F20 can go more places than your wrist should.
The WSD-F20 didn’t feel particularly heavy considering its size — perhaps that’s just a weight distribution thing — but Casio has put a ton of stuff inside, including standalone GPS, a considerable battery and storage to download offline maps. With a MIL-STD 810G rating and water resistance up to 50 meters, along with this brawny case, the WSD-F20 is likely to survive most situations in which your wrist would ever be in.
Playing around with the build of Android Wear 2.0 loaded on the demos here at the show the software seemed quick and had some very aptly designed watch faces that complemented the thick size and bold black and orange color schemes. The side buttons can also be mapped to instantly launch favorite apps. There are built-in tools for tracking your speed while skiing or snowboarding, finding your depth while diving or elevation while hiking.
Though Casio didn’t officially unveil pricing at the show, representatives from Casio informed us the launch price was expected to be $449 when the watch goes on sale in late April.
How Blue used its microphone know-how to design headphones
Blue’s USB microphones have been a podcasting staple since the Snowball was introduced in the mid 2000s. Before then, the company had years of experience crafting professional-grade studio mics that became go-to options for producers and engineers. It’s a reputation that Blue maintains to this day. In 2014, the company decided to tackle headphones with Mo-Fi — a wired model with a unique hinged design and a built-in audiophile-grade amplifier. Then, at CES this week, Blue took the wraps off three new models. Soon after, I sat down with CEO John Maier to find out how the company put its microphone expertise to use in a range of headphones.
Unless you have a recording habit, the name Blue may be somewhat unfamiliar to you. The company was founded in the mid ’90s as an outfit that refurbished pro-level studio mics. Around 2000, it decided it was time to make its own products, so it introduced the $1,000 Bottle microphone that’s still around today. In the years that followed, Blue continually moved toward more accessible, consumer friendly products. It started with a more affordable pro mic, the Blueberry, before using a similar setup to what’s in the 8 Ball condenser unit for the extremely popular $50 Snowball USB model.
How does a company that’s focused on collecting sound decide to move into beaming it out to your ears? As Blue tells it, the transition was natural. “We definitely knew the world didn’t need another headphone, especially after Beats had done an amazing job creating a whole new segment,” Maier told Engadget. “Everyone else in the world tried to copy them and come into that market.”
The company decided to stay on the bench for a while until it could develop something unique. “We knew that the technology is basically the same; it’s just going in the opposite direction from an audio standpoint,” Maier said. “We knew that we could offer some novel ideas, both in design and taking some of our pro audio know-how and bringing it to a larger audience.” Maier says that as the quality of streaming music started to improve over what we all listened to in the age of the MP3, there was a need for new headphones that offered better sound to match.
Blue’s Sadie headphones
“We said ‘what if we offered an audiophile product that worked well on a mobile device?’ and that’s where we landed on our approach,” Maier continued. He said the company started with a blank slate and focused first on the product design. Blue ended up with a unique hinged design that looks something similar to the suspension on a Formula 1 race car. It flexes in multiple places to better fit the user’s head. I’ve tested those first cans, the Mo-Fi, and the design does offer a somewhat custom fit, sitting securely on your head to help improve the overall sound.
Maier explained that the main idea for developing Mo-Fi was getting that audiophile power amp inside of the headphone and give the user control over whether it’s turned on and if they want to use bass boost. “It takes all of the pressure off of your mobile device so you can turn the volume down and let the headphone do the work,” he said.
At first, Blue partnered with popular headphone amp company Fiio on the tech for Mo-Fi. Since that first model, Blue has been working on its own amplifier components and those debuted this week. “Now that we’ve had a few years of experience, we’re actually developing our own amps,” Maier said. “In fact, Ella has a power amp we think is an improvement over the original Mo-Fi amp.”
It makes sense for Blue to begin making headphones, but there are challenges that the audio accessories create that don’t pop up when you’re making microphones. “One of the challenges we had was putting the power amp in that’s more than just a chip,” Maier explained. “It takes some juice and we had some early glitches with Mo-Fi where you couldn’t listen and power it at the same time.” The company worked those out, of course, achieving well over a full work day’s worth of battery life for the wired headphones.
Satellite, Blue’s first wireless headphones
As with most first-gen products, Blue learned some lessons from Mo-Fi, mostly in terms of overall design. Those headphones featured a tension control on the headband that allows the user to adjust how tight they fit. “We found out no one really cared about that, so it was a feature that we really didn’t need, but we really wanted it in there,” Maier admitted. He said that the company ultimately decided that the extra weight and cost gave them room to improve. There’s also the fact that users were confusing it for a volume switch. Blue nixed the tension adjuster for Lola, further reducing heft and increasing comfort for those headphones that came out in 2015.
“We were so concerned about sound on the first go-round that we made sure the clamping pressure was solid,” Maier continued. “That ended up being a negative for some folks because it felt like too much.” He’s right. The clamping pressure on the Mo-Fi was pretty intense. While a tight fit helps maintain sound quality, the headphones began to feel like they were pinching in on my head during long listening sessions.
Mo-Fi and Lola debuted in 2014 and 2015, respectively. This year Blue plans to ship all three of the new models, significantly expanding its headphone lineup in a short amount of time. “We knew that we were going to do a wired ‘no compromises’ first product and that was Mo-Fi before becoming Sadie, Ella and Lola,” Maier said. “We also knew we were going to do a product for more of the true consumer applications — someone who’s traveling or wants to be more mobile.” That more mobile option is the new wireless Satellite. Maier explained that even though headphone jacks are increasingly scarce, Blue wasn’t worried about the products it had in the works.
“We had to stick to our strategy of introducing ourselves to the world as a headphone brand,” Maier said. “We weren’t going to be the first mover on some high technology stuff like a Lightning version.” Maier noted that there are still a ton of devices that have the 3.5mm jack and Apple decided to include an adapter with the new iPhones, so Blue wasn’t too stressed during the development process. Audiophiles are going to want a wired connection anyway. Plus, the company had a wireless option in the works as well, which certainly eased any remaining doubts.
Blue’s Ella headphones
The new models include Ella, a high-end planar magnetic headphone with a built-in amp, and Sadie, an update to Mo-Fi. Then there’s my personal favorite: Satellite. Blue’s first wireless headphone has an all-new design that differs from the hinged form factor used on the other models. It keeps the on-board amp and adds in active noise cancellation (ANC) to keep the sound quality top notch. Unlike most noise-cancelling headphones, Satellite has dedicated drivers for both audio and the ANC so that the sound doesn’t suffer from a lack of power. All of that translates to a depth of sound I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced on a set of wireless headphones.
In terms of those wireless Satellite headphones, Blue was able to take all the lessons it learned from Mo-Fi, Sadie and Ella and apply them to a new model that didn’t require a cord. The company naturally focused on the sound first, and once they were satisfied with that, they moved on to see what they could accomplish with noise cancellation and Bluetooth.
“The audiophile power amp was key to make sure we still offered the same audio quality,” Maier said. “The next thing we wanted to do was see what noise cancelling would do. That’s why we broke it off into two drivers.” Blue says it’s the first company to offer dedicated custom drivers for sound and noise cancellation individually in a wireless headphone that also packs a built-in amp. There was a lot of work that went into how the two sets of components interacted with each other inside the earcups. It was also important that Satellite features the latest version of Bluetooth to make sure sound was as good as it possibly could be.
Blue’s microphones obviously influenced its headphone line, but the reverse is true as well. There’s an upcoming product that takes design cues from the headphones and offers an aesthetic blend of the two. “We’re working on a product now that will probably come out later this year that some of the design elements we learned on the headphones we’re actually bringing over to this mic,” Maier divulged.
Looking ahead, Maier said Blue will continue to make the work of what it calls “the modern-day broadcaster” easier. Whether it’s a gamer streaming over the internet or a podcaster at home, the company wants to make how they make content less of a chore. Blue has already debuted a number of products that work with mobile devices, the latest being the Raspberry mic that came out in 2016. Maier explained that Blue will also keep working on products that enhance mobility.
“The ability to be more untethered and more mobile is where we’re going to go,” he said.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.
Amazon’s Echo attempted a TV-fueled shopping spree
It’s nothing new for voice-activated devices to behave badly when they misinterpret dialogue — just ask anyone watching a Microsoft gaming event with a Kinect-equipped Xbox One nearby. However, Amazon’s Echo devices is causing more of that chaos than usual. It started when a 6-year-old Dallas girl inadvertently ordered cookies and a dollhouse from Amazon by saying what she wanted. It was a costly goof ($170), but nothing too special by itself. However, the response to that story sent things over the top. When San Diego’s CW6 discussed the snafu on a morning TV show, one of the hosts made the mistake of saying that he liked when the girl said “Alexa ordered me a dollhouse.” You can probably guess what happened next.
Sure enough, the channel received multiple reports from viewers whose Echo devices tried to order dollhouses when they heard the TV broadcast. It’s not clear that any of the purchases went through, but it no doubt caused some panic among people who weren’t planning to buy toys that day.
It’s easy to avoid this if you’re worried: you can require a PIN code to make purchases through the Echo or turn off ordering altogether. You can also change the wake word so that TV personalities won’t set off your speaker in the first place. However, this comedy of errors also suggests that there’s a lot of work to be done on smart speakers before they’re truly trustworthy. They may need to disable purchases by default, for example, and learn to recognize individual voices so that they won’t respond to everyone who says the magic words. Until then, you may see repeats in the future.
Via: The Verge
Source: CW6 News, Fox News
An enormous iceberg is breaking away from the Antarctic
A vast slice of the Antarctic’s Larsen C ice shelf is poised to break off in the next few months and form one of 10 biggest icebergs we’ve ever seen. If the iceberg does cleave, and it looks like it will, it’ll be the result of a rift on the ice shelf that’s been growing steadily over the past few decades. The rift suddenly grew by about 11 miles in December and is now 50 miles long with only 12.5 miles to go before it completely breaks away. The warmer water below and warmer air above the ice shelf could have contributed to the rift’s sudden growth, but scientists have no direct proof at this point in time.
Swansea University professor and leader of the team monitoring the rift, Adrian Luckman, told BBC that if the iceberg doesn’t “go in the next few months,” he’ll be amazed. “There hasn’t been enough cloud-free Landsat images but we’ve managed to combine a pair of Esa Sentinel-1 radar images to notice this extension, and it’s so close to calving that I think it’s inevitable,” he added.
The real problem with the iceberg breaking off is that it could affect the rest of Larsen C. Its neighboring ice shelf called Larsen B shattered into thousands of pieces back in 2002, after all. If Larsen C suffers the same fate, global waters would rise by around 8 inches and could damage coastal habitats.
Source: Reuters, BBC
Nikkei: Nintendo Switch will sell for less than $250 in Japan
It’s almost a tradition: Nintendo teases a new product and Nikkei reports a key detail just before its official reveal. The Japanese paper successfully called the Nintendo DSi, key details of the 3DS and got pretty close to the Wii U’s launch price. Now, the paper is back with a ballpark price for the Nintendo Switch. According to Nikkei, Nintendo’s next device will sell for ¥25,000 in Japan — about $215 at today’s exchange rate.
It’s an attractive price prediction for the Nintendo Switch, but take it with a grain of salt: Nikki has a good track of scooping Nintendo announcements, but international pricing can be tricky. even if it’s true, international pricing probably won’t directly correlate to the exchange rate. The Wii U, for instance, sold for $299 at US launch, compared to ¥26,250 — which actually cost significantly more than US models due to a strong Yen. It’s better to take the rumored Japanese price as a ballpark figure: the Nintendo Switch will probably sell at or less than $250 in the US.
Nintendo is expected to officially announce additional details about the console, including price, on January 13th. Hopefully, the prediction holds true. After all, the Switch will have to compete with falling Xbox One and PlayStation 4 prices. That’s no small challenge.
Source: Nikkei
Aisha Tyler on technology’s power to enable filmmakers
Actor, author, comedian, talk show host, filmmaker. Aisha Tyler is all of these things. She’s also the 2017 CES Ambassador, which is why we had to have her on the Engadget stage to discuss the role technology plays in professional career and its impact on her ability to do the projects she wants to. Watch. Learn. Enjoy.
RZA’s advice for starting out in music production
After a performance with electronic music duo Parisi here at CES, we sat down with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan to chat about Roli Blocks. The modular touch-sensitive pieces of tech snap together to create a user-friendly way to start making music in minutes. They’re a fun option for beginners and pros alike, and the hip hop producer offered advice for people looking to dive into music for the first time, what makes Blocks unique and the types of sounds you can expect from the gear.
Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.
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