Hyundai is set to showcase a number of new vehicles at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and the company has announced that they’ll all include Siri Eyes Free technology. The feature allows iPhone owners to perform a whole host of tasks using the intelligent assistant — such as taking calls or creating Reminders — without taking their hands off the wheel.
You wouldn’t normally associate HP devices with the Android or iOS platforms, but the company’s latest gadget plays nicely with them both. It’s called the Pocket Playlist, and it allows you to stream all of your media wirelessly to all your smartphones and tablets. It boasts 32GB of internal storage, and it can stream to up to five devices simultaneously.
Griffin has a new lineup of charging accessories at CES in Las Vegas, one of which is ideal for those who have collected an entire family of iOS devices. It’s called the PowerDock 5 and it charges up to five devices at any one time, storing them away neatly to save space on your desk.
G-Form is a case manufacturer that’s famous for taking expensive devices and running them over, throwing them off balconies, and dropping bowling balls on top of them. The company is so confident its cases can withstand damage of this magnitude that it’s more than happy to prove it. Its latest trick sees Apple’s latest iPod touch take a 100,000-foot free fall inside the company’s new Xtreme iPhone 5 case. It survives without a scratch.
Corning has today announced its third-generation Gorilla Glass, and as you’d expect, it’s significantly tougher than its predecessors. Gorilla Glass 3 boasts a new feature called Native Damage Resistance (NDR), which promises to provide three times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2. It’ll be on show at CES next week before making its way to the next generation of smartphones, tablets, and more.
Apple’s much-anticipated television set has entered its initial testing phase at Hon Hai Precision Industry, a company source has revealed. It’s expected to feature a display between 46 inches and 55 inches in size, and shipments are likely to be “huge.” Don’t expect to have one in your living room anytime soon, however; it doesn’t look like it’s going to get its grand unveiling during 2013.
The season is fast approaching for tradeshows, and with it the need for desperate booth-builders to find newer and more gimmicky ways to hawk their wares. I predict that the iPad mini will be the hot ticket this year (or rather, early next year), and New PC Gadgets seems to agree, for it has just launched an acrylic security stand for the little tablet.
I’m undoubtedly the least musically inclined person I know, which makes me furiously jealous as I watch my guitar playing friends pick up a guitar and serenade girls à la John Mayer. I need to learn how to play guitar, which is why I’m excited about this new iPad guitar accessory we came across at CES. Ion Audio, makers of the iCade iPad arcade machine, unveiled their newest accessory that helps users perfect their guitar shredding chops on the iPad, so that even those of us without musical talent can look cool playing guitar.
For a company not officially at the Las Vegas-based CES, Apple sure does have a huge presence. Not only is the tech giant molding the smartphone and gadget exhibits, but the Cupertino, Calif. firm also overshadows video vendors. Indeed, Apple’s planned entry into the TV business is ‘the elephant in the room’ at the massive technology trade show.
UPDATE: iLuv has since clarified the price of the RockWall to be $29.99, not $129.99. iLuv’s rep misspoke during our interview. For $29.99, including Apple charger compatible international plug adapters, this is a very good deal indeed.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – iLuv’s pretty much known for making button-cute accessories at super affordable prices, so when they broke out a mysterious, secret $129.99 device they were keeping away from prying eyes and not on display to the majority of the CES public, my eyes lit up. This must be something special, as awesome as it was a total bargain, even at that price.
“What does it do?” I asked earnestly. “Some sort of Bluetooth-enabled, app-controlled atom smasher? An iOS-compatible home Lasik kit? Is it GOD? Is God in that box?”
Nope. Meet iLuv’s seemingly inexplicable, $100+ USB wall charger.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – Wandering the showfloor of CES as a juiced-out gadget writer, charging solutions can take on a bizarrely exotic appeal. That external battery pack you passed over the press release for with a yawn months ago can suddenly become this season’s must-have gadget, all because your MacBook’s battery icon is blinking red, all the outlets are taken in the press room and you’ve got three stories to file.
As such, it’s hard to tell if I like iLuv’s DreamTraveler so much because I’ve got a desert wanderer’s thirst for electricity or because it’s genuinely a sexy, useful product. Certainly the Cult of Mac team could have used one in the press room this week. But I’m definitely leaning toward ‘sexy’ and ‘useful’, because the DreamTraveler isn’t just a good looking power strip, it’s also a dock that can charge six Apple gadgets at a time from just one outlet.
TomTom’s navigation apps for the iPhone and iPad are going social with Facebook and Twitter integration that will allow you to navigate to your friends, places, and events more easily. Version 1.10 of the official app, which will launch during Q1 2012, prides itself on using social networks as a source for turn-by-turn navigation.
Apple’s iPhone is now available on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon in the U.S., but T-Mobile customers are still waiting for the popular smartphone to come to them. According to the company’s CEO, Philipp Humm, the reason the device still hasn’t arrived is T-Mobile’s unique 3G band, which isn’t used by other carriers.
Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPod, iPhone, and iOS product marketing, Greg Joswiak, was spotted roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas yesterday, despite no official appearance from the Cupertino company. Joswiak admitted he was there “scouting the competition,” but it seems he’s not the only one. According to one report, more than 250 Apple employees altogether are in attendance this year.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – This Chinese case maker, the Shenzhen Reflying Corporation, is already hyping their apparently incredible iPad 3 cases at their iLounge booth.
Unfortunately, upon being asked to see one of the cases, Reflying’s representative sheepishly admitted that they didn’t have any inside intel on the iPad 3, or any prototypes knocking about. Instead, they apparently want everyone to know that when the iPad 3 comes out, their company will continue to boldly figure a way to wrap vinyl, rubber, leather and latex around a whole new generation of tablet, and not, in fact, immediately disappear in a puff of vapor, their purpose on this green earth completed.
And thus, the eternal wheel of CES continues to slowly and inexorably revolve.
With CES in full effect, it’s been an extremely busy couple of days for Android. In fact, I was so absorbed in CES news, I forgot to post yesterday’s Android roundup (I bet you thought it was going to go away). Good news is we’re still here, and for anyone interested in what has been going on in the world of Android, we encourage you to head over to Cult of Android. Here’s a recap of some of the news-making headlines today.
Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief over at iLounge, claims to have gotten up close and personal with a rear shell from Apple’s next-generation iPad 3. Thanks to his hands-on, Horwitz can reveal that the new device will indeed be slightly thicker than its predecessor (though you won’t notice it), with a much-improved iPhone-like camera, minus the LED flash.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – Like many TV makers at CES, Apple’s rumored entry into the HDTV market was the specter in the room at Samsung’s Monday afternoon press conference. However, unlike other makers who are flailing around blindly trying to add new bullet points to their spec sheets in the face of Apple entering the industry, Samsung’s next-gen Smart TV has a plan… and it’s just compelling enough that you wonder if Samsung has been tipped off on just what the iTV will entail, and is preparing in kind.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Last night the Cult of Mac staff was given a sneak peek at the latest and greatest products at the CES Unveiled event. Here is a small sample of what was shown.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – One of the challenges facing audiophiles these days is keeping their cherished old speakers while still taking advantage of your iPhone, iPad or Mac’s advanced AirStream capability. The Griffin Twenty is a sleek new accessory that lets you keep your old warm, room-filling speakers and make them AirPlay-compatible. And it looks damn nice to boot.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Although most of Intel’s ultrabook presser was a wash for Mac fans, the chipmaker did drop one extraordinarily interesting slide, showing exactly how Apple could make its next MacBook Air redesign almost 66% thinner. Holy crap. Here’s how Apple would do it.
All that was missing was Steve Jobs. That’s how close Acer’s promotion of its new AcerCloud service was to Apple’s iCloud. Although imitation is flattering, some observers charged Acer of a ‘blatant ripoff’ of iCloud – down to even the promotion images used by netbook kingpin.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Intel talked a lot at their press conference today about ways PC makers could take the ultabook form factor and distinguish it from the juggernaut that is the MacBook Air, but perhaps the most interesting concept of just what a MacBook Air-killing ultrabook would look like was the Nikiski, a hybrid ultrabook that looks like it just leaped straight from a sci-fi concept design.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – iPhone cases are like the condoms of CES: with an insinuating wink, everyone’s always handing you a free one. Speck’s latest case, though, managed to impress us despite the perpetual bombardment of its competitors. It’s called the Candy Shell grip, and it’s a sporty looking case aimed at gamers with a couple of neat little twists.
The popular video sharing service Vimeo is at CES in Las Vegas this week to announce new mobile apps for the Android and Windows Phone platforms. However, it also has some exciting news to share about its existing iOS app.
An update set to hit the App Store later this month will not only bring support for the iPad, but also full HD video streaming, and lots of great new features.
