Flowboard’s Painless Publishing Coming Soon To The Mac, With PDF Export [Exclusive]

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Photo: Flowboard

 

We’ve gone on and on about the merits of Flowboard, a web-based platform that lets users easily create  media-rich stories or presentations and publish them onto its servers. Until now, the service has only been available as an iOS app — but that’s about to change, as a Flowboard authoring app hits the Mac this spring.

Exotic, Three-Driver IEM And New Over-The-Ear Headphones From Audiofly [CES 2014]

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Product designer Iain Finlay shows off his creation, Audiofly's first set of cans. Photo: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug LAS VEGAS — Audiofly has been busy since we last visited the company at CES two years ago. This year, Audiofly is finally ready to ship its long-promised AF140, albeit with a radical redesign, and are introducing the quad-driver AF180.

The Aussie crew also showed us the over-the-ear set of cans they’ve been working on.

Eton’s Solar-Powered Rukus Speakers Now Bigger, Badder And More Efficient [CES 2014]

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The aerodynamic Rukus Xtreme on the left, Rukus II on the right. Photo: Eli Milchman.

 

CES 2014 bug

LAS VEGAS — Eton has improved the wedge-shaped, solar-powered Rukus Bluetooth speaker it introduced just over six months ago, and are now calling it the Rukus II; they’ve also built a second, bigger, badder (and more expensive) version they’ve naturally dubbed the Rukus Xtreme.

STM Likes That I Cuss. On A Side Note, Here’s What Looks Like Another %#@&* Cool STM Bag [CES 2014]

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STM owner and co-founder Ethan Nyquist models the Drifter for us. Photo: Eli Milchman

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LAS VEGAS — It’s a bit odd to be thanked for cussing; but that’s exactly what STM Bags owner Ethan Nyquist did when I walked over to the STM table during a press event at CES. Apparently he was considerably impressed with an enthusiastic exclamation I made about STM’s bags, in response to the announcement of one of their new backpacks*. Hey, what can I say — I’m a bag junkie, and I get passionate about stuff I like.

So here then, is a prediction: STM’s new Drifter will deepen the outfit’s rep as a maker of stellar bags.

TYLT’s Energi Wall-Charger Battery Is The Kind Of Smart Tech We’ll Actually Use [CES 2014]

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TYLT hates bright colors. Photo: Eli Milchman

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LAS VEGAS — There’re a lot of seemingly brilliant, sexy tech here at CES. razor-precise, slightly annoying miniature flying drones! A case for your iPhone that gives it weird, infra-red Superman eyes!

Wonderful. But would we really end up using this stuff? I mean, yeah, we probably would. But not every day. Probably not every month. On the other hand, TYLT’s Energi 2K — a wall charger with a USB port that also houses a battery — is the kind of brilliant idea that we imagine we’d actually want to use every day.

Kinda Serious, Hardcore Or Crazy Fitness Maniac: Wahoo’s Trio Of New TICKR Bluetooth Heart-Rate Straps [CES 2014]

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The little dots on the sensor's face are lights that tell you whether the sensor is connected, or if the battery is low. Photo: Eli Milchman

Cult _of_Mac_CES_2014_80x80 LAS VEGAS — Rather than come out with a more casual-oriented wearable fitness tracker like everyone (and we mean everyone) else, Wahoo stuck to its athletic roots and took the more serious route of improving the heart-rate monitor strap and accompanying training software the company introduced a few years ago.

In fact, Wahoo has created three new versions of its Bluetooth HR strap. The company even tried to restructure the way athletes think about training with the new “burn or burst” approach for the Wahoo iOS app.

Garmin’s Sophisticated Vivofit Fitness Band Is Goal-Focused, Never Needs Recharging [CES 2014]

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I think fuchsia is your color. Photo: Eli Milchman

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LAS VEGAS — It was only a matter of time before the behemoths of the fitness world jumped into the fitness-band fight; although considering Garmin has been making wrist-borne fitness gadgets for ages (in the guise of their Forerunner line) one might have expected their new Vivofit to have arrived much sooner.

Olloclip Agonized Over Bringing Out An iPad Lens, But Here It Is [CES 2014]

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Yes, that's an Olloclip lens on an iPad Air. Photo: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug

LAS VEGAS — For years now, Olloclip has been making stellar lenses that slip over the iPhone’s camera lens and enhance iPhoneography with the ability to take fisheye, telephoto and macro photos. But there has apparently been a struggle within Olloclip about whether or not to offer an iPad lens. Now the struggle is over, and iPad-loving photographers have won: The first Olloclip lens for iPad will be available soon.

Chong Pak, the company’s design director, told us there were only a few hurdles to clear before Olloclip went iPad — but those hurdles were tall.

Shure’s Newest Canalphones Are Almost As Affordable As Apple’s Buds [CES 2014]

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Shure's new $50 SE112 IEMs. Photo: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug

LAS VEGAS — Shure has hit the extremes lately in terms of how much they think music lovers are willing to pay for headphones and earphones, but their latest in-ear monitors cost just $50.

The new SE112s are just half the price of Shure’s previously cheapest IEMs, the SE215, and only $20 more than Apple’s iconic, earbud-ish EarPods. It’s quite a change for Shure: Earlier this year, the company came out with the ultra-high-end, $1,000-plus SE846 canalphones. And their exotic, carbon-fiber SRH1540 headphones arrived just a few months ago at a robust $624.

Weather Geeks Rejoice: Netatmo Adds A Rain Gauge [CES 2014, Exclusive]

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Netatmo's rain gauge looks like modern sculpture. Photo: Netatmo

CES 2014 bug LAS VEGAS — With the throng of tech bloggers covering CES, it’s not often that the heavily covered show hands us a surprise — but here’s one.

Netatmo, the French outfit best known for its fancy cloud-connected micro/personal Weather Station (and now also a device that measures your level of sun exposure), is about to add a hard-core new component: a rain gauge.

Schwinn’s Mouthy CycleNav Tells You Where To Go [CES 2014]

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The CycleNav: Putting the "win" back in "Schwinn." Photo: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug

LAS VEGAS — Remember the Hammerhead? It’s a device that attaches to your bicycle, links to the GPS on your phone via Bluetooth, and guides you along a pre-chosen route by flashing a left or right light when you need to turn.

Schwinn‘s new CycleNav does one better. Like the Hammerhead, it attaches to your bike (via quick release) and flashes an LED light to alert you to an upcoming turn. But it also speaks voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation to you through a speaker, just like your iPhone does.

Cloud Crockpot Is Just The First Thing Belkin Wants You To Connect To Net [CES 2014]

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Probably the world's first connected crockpot. Shiny! Credit: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug

LAS VEGAS, CES 2014Belkin is really hopping onto this connected-home thing with fiery fervor. They already have a formidable array of Internet-connected devices in their WeMo line — switches, plugs, motion detectors — and now they’ve added light bulbs and a DIY WeMo interface that can be adapted for use with practically anything that’s powered by electricity. Oh, they’ve also just come out with a big, shiny cloud-connected crockpot so you can cook dinner from the office.

Parrot MiniDrone Is Most Lusted-After CES Revelation So Far [CES 2014]

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Journalists flocked to the Parrot booth. Credit: Eli Milchman

CES 2014 bug LAS VEGAS — Maybe tech journalists are prone to ADHD, and simply attracted to things that flit about. Or maybe the rest of the gadgets strewn about the room at CES Unveiled, the press-only event that customarily kicks off CES for journalists, just weren’t all that zingy this year. Or maybe Parrot‘s Lilliputian drone really is that cool.

Whatever the reason, Parrot’s new MiniDrone — a miniaturized version of their AR Drone with no camera but detachable wheels that let it roll about on the ground or “climb” a wall — drew throngs of tech bloggers and had camera crews lined up to film.

iCitizen Turns Your iPhone Into A Powerful Political Tool [Daily Freebie]

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One of the most phenomenal — and frankly, underrated — aspects of the handheld computing revolution ushered in by the iPhone and its ilk is how much power, in the form of knowledge, has been placed, literally, in people’s hands.

Case in point: iCitizen is a new, free app that clearly and elegantly places pretty much all the information you need to know in order to make informed voting decisions — right in the palm of your hand. There you go: Direct democracy in the palm of your hand, courtesy of the iPhone (and the app’s developer).

Aspyr Shrinks Entire Star Wars Galaxy Of Knights Of The Old Republic Onto The iPhone

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Aspyr has figured out how to shrink an entire galaxy (one far, far away, of course) onto the iPhone and iPod; all the Wookies, Jawas, Jedis, Tusken Raiders and bounty hunters — all now made tinier as Aspyr updates the previously iPad-only Knights of the Old Republic as a Universal App.

To celebrate this feat of quantum mechanics (or simple coding, your pick) Aspyr has slashed the app’s price in half, from $10 to $5.

Pyle Audio Offers New Inexpensive Connected Bluetooth Body Scale

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UP! DOWN! UP! DOWN! STOP SMILING!

Pyle Audio makes one of pretty much everything. If it has wires, knobs, plastic or is made of a material that can be found in or near our solar system, Pyle makes it. Cover for your boat’s stereo? Yes. How about a thingy that detects leaks from microwave ovens? You bet. And a waterproof telephone handset for the shower? Try not to gurgle when your boss calls.

Add one more gadget to the (wait for it) Pyle. This time, the prolific company has proffered up a scale — one of the fancy Bluetooth-connected ones that comes with its own app.

Transport Tycoon’s Lite Version Should Be On Every Strategy-Lover’s iPad [Daily Freebie]

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Yes, the beatings and bright lights of GTA: San Andreas have finally been squeezed onto iPad and iPhone screens. But that’s not the only good news this week regarding iOS ports of big-name classics.

Transport Tycoon, an elegant SimCity-like game that focuses on planning, constructing and managing a transportation empire, has just released a free version of its iOS port, which was originally released at the end of October.

Pelican’s Ruggedized ProGear Vault iPad Air, iPad Mini Cases Come With Nifty Covers

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The Pelican ProGear Vault case for the iPad Air.

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Unlike LifeProof‘s iPad Air case, Pelican’s new ProGear Vault iPad Air case isn’t waterproof. Also unlike LifeProof’s iPad Air case, the ProGear Vault iPad Air case actually exists, now (since LifeProof’s iPad Air case isn’t here yet, we’re obviously assuming it’ll be as fully waterproof as all the other LifeProof cases).

Watch An iPad-Controlled Hoist Quickly Clean Up A Garage [Kickstarter]

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The myLIFTER is a Kickstarter project for a small-yet-powerful, Bluetooth-enabled winch controlled by an iOS app — and it’s loaded with all kinds of other ingenious features, like programmable distances and the ability to link a chain of myLIFTERS together to lift heavier stuff.

Yonder Is Pinterest For Outdoor Junkies [Daily Freebie]

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Pinning, posting or tweeting one’s way through a wilderness adventure always seemed a little antithetical to me; isn’t one of the reasons for going out into nature to get away from all this artificial electronic junk anyway? Yes, of course, I too am guilty of the odd flirt with Facebook from the bush — but I always feel so dirty afterward.

Yonder, a free app that creates a social circle for outdoor enthusiasts, won’t change how I feel about Tweeting from the trail — but at least it might push me closer to an equilibrium by turning the tables by inspiring me to get out there (boy, are those pictures gorgeous), and putting the outdoors in my social media instead of the other way around.

RadPad Is An Easy, Picture-Rich Way To Find An Apartment On Your iPhone [Daily Freebie]

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Apparently, Americans like to pull up stakes and move to greener pastures more often than almost anyone else — which would explain the swirl of activity at the umpteen websites that help renters find an apartment. As one of the umpteen, RadPad is a relative newcomer to the group that stands out because of its user-friendliness.

RadPad is sort of the graphic novel of the apartment-hunting site breed: It emphasizes big, pretty pictures over a dull jumble of text. RadPad says their staff tries to ensure all listings have at least three up-to-date images by actually calling the author of each listing as they’re posted to verify.