Wowwee Cinemin Slice on display at CES 2011

Wowwee has done much with projectors, like the Cinemin Swivel, and they put their best foot forward on display at CES Unveiled last night with the Cinemin Slice.

The Slice is a portable pico-projector that is designed for Apple products such as the iPod, iPod Touch, new iPod Nano, iPhone and iPad. It comes with the docking trays for them all. It also has a Mini-HDMI and AV ports for other Personal Media Players (PMPs), as well as a VGA port for a PC, laptop, or netbook.

For those that want their content on the big screen, it can do this. It is able to make a 60-inch image from about 10 feet away, with a viewable range of 125 inches. The resolution is WVGA at (854 x 480), a 16:9 aspect ratio, and it is very bright at 16 ANSI lumens.

I have used projectors before, and have found that most of them are weak when it comes to sound. This doesn’t seem to be the case for the Cinemin Slice which has 6 watt stereo speakers.

Other features include a headphone jack as well as an infrared remote control. The Cinemin Slice is available for pre-order and should ship sometime in the first quarter. The price is pretty up there at $429.99.

The House of Marley rocks some new products, including the Roots Rock Speaker Bag

Last night at CES Unveiled, the House of Marley was on display. For those who have not heard, the House of Marley want to bring consumers premium quality and eco-conscious products that embody Bob Marley and the Marley family’s values of equality, unity, sustainability, and charity.

On deck was Rohan Marley, son of the Reggae music legend, and I got to see him and this Roots Rock bag that you see here. The Roots Rock is a speaker bag, for lack of a better word. I have never seen anything like it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I see a lot of imitators of it, assuming it is original.

The Roots Rock Speakerbag is designed to put an iPhone/iPod inside for docking and charging. It will blast your music with 4-inch speakers with 1-inch tweeters for 36 watts of sound. The Roots Rock is also designed for portable and permanent playing. It is battery powered or AC powered, and comes with a 3.5 mm cable and Aux-in cables.

I don’t have a release date, but the Roots Rock Speakerbag will sell for about $249.99, and the bag is interchangeable. So if you don’t like the pattern, you can switch it out with something like it for accessorizing.

Diving into the Kindle 3’s alternate features

The Kindle has several features you may not know about ....

The Kindle 3 was one of the hottest selling ebook readers of the holiday season. And for reading books, there’s really nothing better to curl up on a cold winter day next to the fire. But not many know that the Kindle has other useful features which may turn this eBook reader into a serious internet device.

Under the “experimental” option in the main men, the Kindle offers three pet projects they have added to the ebook reader for real world testing – Web Browser, MP3 player, and Text to Speech.

The web browser works just like your basic browser, only imagine that you’re trying to use it and your mouse is broken. Now you have to navigate with keys instead of pointing and clicking. This is the web browser experience. Not very great for every day use, but if you find yourself reading a passage of a book and you want to share it on Facebook or fire off an email to a friend, it’s certainly useable.

Next is play mp3. This is a nice feature in that users can load the Kindle with some of their favorite MP3s, and then listen to them while reading. Excellent if you find yourself on a bus or train for a few hours and just want to pass the time.

A useful feature for disabled readers or kids who just want a bed time story and mom or dad aren’t around to read. Users can start Text-to-Speech in the “text menu.” Press the Text key to enable (Aa button, right of the space bar) and the SYM key together to turn on/off. The Kindle will then begin reading to you.

In addition to these, users can also download PDF files free to their kindle by emailing them and tagging them with @ free.kindle.com in the email address. Finally, users can manage their social networks. Going into the settings feature under the menu button, users can log into both Twitter and Facebook and share thoughts.

If you’re new to the Kindle experience, check out these useful features.

Joby unveils two new iPad Accessories at CES 2011

Most of you are familiar with Joby, and they are most famous for their Gorillapod accessories. These are tripods with some very flexible feet for cameras, flashlights, and even the iPhone 4. At CES 2011 Unveiled last night, the company revealed that they have two new iPad related products.

The first is the Yogi, and it is a case for the iPad with those famous Gorillapod legs (seen on the left). Not only can the user take these two legs and twist them around to mount the iPad in many places, but it makes the iPad so it literally stands on two feet for viewing in portrait and landscape mode, perfect for those who like to watch iPad vids.

The second iPad product is the Ori, and it doesn’t have the Gorillapod feet. It does allow the iPad to stand up by itself. Not only can it stand it up in portrait or landscape mode like an easel, but the case itself can fold up and around the iPad, giving the user an extra layer of metal protection for their favorite Apple tablet.

I wasn’t able to get the release dates, but I do have the prices. The Joby Ori will sell for about $79.95 while the Yogi will go for about $49.95.

EyeFi Mobile getting cooler and cooler with apps and direct transfer

First came wifi capable SD cards. Then they added GPS. Now, Eye-Fi is turning it up to 11 once again with a cool bevy of iPhone and iPad apps, and a direct transfer capability for easy backup.

With the idea of making it easier and easier to share photos people take, EyeFi has created Direct Mode transfer so that your camera can transmit photos directly to a mobile device, beit smartphone or tablet. This makes it far easier to upload to photo sites like Facebook and Flickr. The Apps will also allow for simple one touch integrated sync with online storage sites.

Genius. I know that when I want to share something on Facebook, I tend to go for a my lower res iPhone, rather than shoot with my camera and have to jump through a few hoops to transfer to my PC and upload. This new direct mode transfer will enable me to easily shoot a shot and have it up on Facebook within seconds.

Look for it to appear later this year, with Direct Mode being an upgrade for all Eye-Fi X2 cards.

   

Kodak Adds two more HD cameras to its pocket line

Kodak's new ultraslim Playful HD Pocket Camcorder

I love CES. So many new announcements for new toys. And this one is great for those loving to capture the moment with a pocket video camera. Kodak is adding two new HD cameras to it’s line of great pocket camcorders.

The first is a very slim PlayFul, which will sport the usual autofocus and image stabilizaiton, but also smart face tracking and full 1080p HD video. And the dedicated SHARE button sends video directly to media sites like Facebook, Youtube and Flickr via USB and your PC. It’s available in silver, blue-silver, purple-silver and blue-black.

Kodak has upgraded it's rugged Playsport camcorder

The next is an upgrade to the Playsport camera. In addition to similar features in the Playful, the Playsport also has low light performance, shock and waterproof (to a depth of 10 feet) design, and a cool feature on it’s LCD which adjust automatically to the lighting conditions it faces. The Playsport is available in Black, Red, Green, White and Aqua.

Both cameras record to SDHC up to 32GB. Look for them in the Spring with a cost of $150 for the Playful and $180 for the rugged PlaySport.

AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System – Because we need all the help we can get

I don’t know about anyone else, but every single time I get in my car to go anywhere, I feel like I am risking life and limb. I guess I really am. I know that each time I arrive at my destination in one piece, I feel like I’ve won the lottery.

I’m pleased that someone is working to make our roads a little safer, Iteris’ AutoVue Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system consists of a camera, an on board computer and image recognition software that can detect when a commercial or passenger vehicle starts drifting off the road or out of a lane, when an unintended lane change starts to occur, the unit automatically emits an audible warning sound, similar to a rumble strip noise, alerting the driver to get back to the business of driving.

In addition to its lane departure system, Iteris sensors also offers forward Collision Warning systems and blind spot warning systems. Now if they could just make an idiot warning system that would stop some folks from driving altogether, we could all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The system is available as both an OEM and aftermarket option and can be easily installed within a few hours. Almost anything that improves vehicle safety is worth a try in my book.

AutoVue is already available as part of an option package on selected Infiniti vehicles

Vizio expands to the mobile gadget market

HDTV giant Vizio sets it's sites on mobile gadgets ...

Known for it’s low cost, but value added HDTVs, budget electronics manufacturer Vizio is setting it’s sites on the mobile gadget market with Android based smartphones and tablets that can interface with their TVs. Now that’s a huge broadside …

The gadgets are called the Via Phone and Via Tablet respectively. Both will be based on the latest Android Gingerbread OS and will have integrated IR blasters to control their HDTVs. In addition, these mobile devices will have 1Ghz processors, HDMI output, WiFi, Micro SD card slots and Bluetooth. The Via Phone will have a nice 4 inches LED screen, while the via Tablet goes to 8 inches.

No word on price just yet, but knowing how Vizio’s core customers are value based, you can bet they’ll be competing in that arena, and could be quite attractive to carriers looking to court new customers with a phone that does a lot for little money.

And although there are many low budget Tablets starting to flood the market, Vizio can wave the flag of quality by pointing out stronger processors and more up to date Android capability. It’s a win win for both sides of the marketing isle.

Look for an official announcement at CES.

Iomega shifts to a new media direction

Iomega's TV will feature Boxee and have iOS data backup for the iPhone

With it’s array of zip drives back in the mid 90s, Iomega was the kind of media storage. Then along came CD burner and larger hard drives and suddently, and zip drives were the 21st century equivalent of 8 Track tape players. Soon, the name Iomega was equated with “remember when.” Not that they died out. They just went under the radar, designing a smooth array of portable hard drives and other solutions. But with the world changing again and moving to the cloud, Iomega is changing with it, offering a cool new media device that marries the Boxee streaming software with the iPhone.

Iomega TV with Dlink’s Boxee will provide not only streaming of iptv over the internet, but also giving to 1 and 2TB storage solutions for saving of personal media. Known as a “hub,” Iomega TV will also interface with the iPod/iPhone through it’s Super Hero backup interface, and have a DLNA media server running as well.

Based on the Intel Atom CE4100 processor, Iomega TV will support 1080p HD video, work on both WiFi and ethernet, and have the signature Boxee keyboard remote control. The SuperHero iPod interface will backup contacts and photos to an SDHC card and provide a line-out audio. But don’t look for it to backup apps or movies and music just yet – that’s up to Apple.

Prices begin at $230 for an internet only version, with storage options at $300 and $350 respectfully. Coming next month.

Vizio to release the Via Tablet and Via Phone

Vizio, one of the biggest HDTV retailers in the world, is planning on releasing two more new products with the Via series, which include the Via Phone and Via Tablet.

These Via products are designed to be remotes for Vizio’s Google TVs. This Via experience combines “content consumption from one device and seamlessly transition the content to another device allowing entertainment to be continuously enjoyed anywhere and anyplace without interruption”.

The Via Plus Phone and Tablet will be on the Android operating system, and have a built-in IR blaster along with a universal remote control app, HD playback, with HDMI output. Both devices will feature access to the thousands of Apps in Android.

The Via Phone has a 4-inch screen, a 5 Megapixel rear facing camera, front facing camera, as well as an HDMI port. The Tablet has an 8-inch screen, front-facing camera, as well as 3 separate speakers.

The release of the Via Phone and Via Tablet comes just in time for CES 2011 in Las Vegas. It doesn’t look like Vizio has any booth on display, which is no real surprise. Their pattern is to rent out some space at the Wynn Hotel and allow people to come to them. If I have time, I’ll visit them myself.