Tag Archives: bluetooth

Wistiki Tracking Tags by Philippe Stark



Wistiki LogoBluetooth tracking devices are fairly common but when the tags have been designed by Philippe Starck as “connected jewels”, it’s definitely worth taking a look. Lisa Despeyroux, Wistiki’s Communications and PR manager connects with Jamie and Daniel to tell them more about Hopla!, Voila! and Aha!

French outfit Wistiki have partnered with the famous designer, Philippe Starck, to create three shapes of tracking device (or Wistikis) in four colours. Hopla! is credit card shaped for wallets and purses, Voila! is rectangular for keychans and the oval Aha! dangles for pets or gear. Colour-wise, the choice is yellow, blue, orange and pink. It all adds up to Gallic flair!

As with most tracking systems, the Wistiki connects to an app on the smartphone and there’s a fairly standard set of features including ring, reverse ring and leash. There’s an additional neat feature where if someone finds a lost Wistiki, they can message the original owner to arrange return. And the ringtone is cool too.

The new range is launching on Indiegogo now with expected delivery in late 2016. Current perks offer six Wistikis for US$149.

Jamie Davis is the host of Health Tech Weekly at HTWeekly.com. He is a nurse, paramedic and health journalist.
Daniel J Lewis dares you to get started in podcasting with The Audacity to Podcast

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FreeWavz Wirefree Wearable Earphones



FreeWavz LogoBluetooth headphone are commonplace these days but usually there’s a connector between the two earphones, either as a wire or a band. The FreeWavz wirefree earphones are different, using Bluetooth to transmit the music to both earphones, so there’s no physical connection between the earphones. The earphones are smart too, as the blend between sound from the smartphone and the surrounding environment can be adjusted to match the wearer’s preferences.

That’s the “wirefree” part taken care of. What about the “wearable” bit? Aimed at the fitness enthusiast, FreeWavz aren’t only earphones, they’re fitness bands for the ears, measuring the wearer’s heart rate. As you’d expect, the data is reported back to the connected smartphone but the wearer also hears about his heart rate, calories burned, distance and steps in his ears via the FreeWavz. It’s all clever stuff and there’s more revealed in the interview.

The FreeWavz earphones are expected in the summer and are on pre-order for $219 (RRP is $249).

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor for the TechPodcast Network.

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iSet Smartwatch Improves your Tennis Game at CES



iSet LogoPeople who are playing a competitive sport need to know the score as the game goes on. Sometimes, in the middle of a match, it can be difficult to keep track of. The iSet smartwatch solves that problem. It keeps track of tennis match scores in real time. Use it to track your own or to check the win/loss ratio of your favorite tennis players.

Scott spoke with Lea Partouche about the iSet smartwatch. The watch connects via Bluetooth to a player’s smartphone. It requires an app that is free to download for either iOS or Android. You can connect one iSet smartwatch to one smartphone.

Two tennis players, who each are using an iSet smartwatch, can keep track of the score of the match in real time just by glancing at their smartwatch. One really nice thing about the iSet is that it can be used even if your tennis partner doesn’t have one. The smartwatch can still record the score into the app.

In addition to recording the score, the app will show your win/loss stats. It keeps track of who you played against and when the match took place. Or, you can put the name of a tennis player that you want to follow into the app, and it will show you that player’s statistics.

In addition to being a tennis tracker, the iSet smartwatch can do other things. It can show you the time. It can be used as a stopwatch or a timer. The iSet smartwatch is expected to be released in March of 2015 for a retail price of $129.00.

Interview by Scott of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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Monster and Adidas Team Up at CES



Adidas logo

Many big-name brands bring exciting new products to market during CES. And sometimes, a couple of those brands will team up and double the excitement. That’s exactly what happened when Adidas and Monster got together to create a new line of headphones and earbuds.

Nick got the opportunity to speak to both Johan and Kevin from Adidas. They both gave a rundown of this new line of listening devices. There’s everything from full over-the-ear headphones to bluetooth-enabled wireless earbuds that link up with the Micoach smart watch from Adidas.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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Phonotonic Makes Music While You Move at CES



PhonotonicIt’s one thing to make music. It’s another to react to that music. But the Phonotonic turns a person’s movements into real time music, changing the entire dynamic of the music creation process.

Scott spoke to Nicolas, a representative for Phonotonic. Nicolas performed an upbeat demo of his product, showing how the movements of his body changed the sounds produced by two Phonotonics, one for rhythm, another for melody. Phonotonic uses Bluetooth to transmit data to a smartphone app which then converts that data into musical sounds.

Phonotnic is currently only available in France but the product will receive a wider roll out as the year goes on.

Interview by Scott of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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Flic Coverage Continues at CES



Flic logoIf you’ve followed our CES 2015 coverage at all, you’ve probably seen a post or two about Flic, the Bluetooth-enabled programmable button. One Flic button can be configured to perform multiple tasks with a few clicks.

Brian was the latest correspondent to swing by the Shortcut Labs booth and speak with a representative of Flic. Using the Flic app, users can program a simple button to do things like move thru music playlists, send GPS coordinates and more. Flic is available thru an ongoing Indiegogo campaign. Pricing varies, depending on how many buttons you’d like to buy.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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HearNotes are Wireless Earbuds at CES



HearNotes“Audiophile,” “wireless” and “earbuds” you often see together. There are a couple of reasons for this but the main one is that Bluetooth isn’t really very good for music streaming, even with modern codecs like AptX. HearNotes believes they have solved this problem. Patrick Donohue explains what HearNotes can offer to audiophiles.

HearNotes wirefree earbuds are special for three reasons. First the earbuds are genuinely wireless with no wires even between the earbuds. Second the earbuds charge wirelessly in a matching case – there’s no plugging in to charge up – giving about 4 hours of listening between charges. Finally the wireless transmission uses a high quality wireless audio technology called Kleer. And of course, HearNotes uses top notch audio components in its design.

A small transmitter plugs into the 3.5mm audio port to support the Kleer technology so the HearNotes can be used in most situations, with most devices. This is undoubtedly a benefit but the audio output from most DACs in portable equipment leaves a great deal to be desired.

The HearNotes will be available in Q1 for a fairly pricey $349 from retailers nationwide.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Todd Aune of The Elder Divide for the TechPodcast Network.
Disclosure – HearNotes is currently an advertiser at Geek News Central.

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More Flic Coverage at CES



Flic logoConfiguration, customization and wireless connectivity were big topics at CES 2015. One product that combines all of these features is Flic, a programmable Bluetooth button.

Chris talked to Pranav Kasari fromFlic. Pranav explained that Flic is a configurable button that can be set up thru the Flic smartphone app. For example, a user could press a Flic button once to advance a Spotify playlist. Flic buttons can be programmed for up to three button presses, so each button can perform up to three tasks.

Flic is only available via the company’s ongoing Indiegogo campaign. Pricing starts at $30 for one Flic button.

Interview by Chris Davis from Tech PodCast Network.

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Program All The Buttons with Flic at CES



Flic logoFlic is a bluetooth-enabled button. It’s a simple idea that has many uses from taking pictures with a smartphone to autodialling or even working as a personal distress signal. Nick and Todd met with Pranav Kosuri, co-founder of Shortcut Labs.

Flic is a coin-sized button that can be stuck or clipped onto almost anything. When pressed, it sends a bluetooth message that is received by the Flic app (available for both Android and iOS) and actions include controlling music, dialling phone numbers, sharing GPS position, taking pictures, dimming lights and more. Different things can be done depending on the number of clicks or if the button is being held down: one click could be take a picture, two clicks take a video. The possibilities are huge.

The Flic is currently on Indiegogo and $99 gets 5x Flics with delivery in April 2015.

Interview by Nick DiMeo of F5 Live and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Griffin Technology’s Powermate Bluetooth controls anything on your computer



Product_PowerMateBluetooth_01

Griffin Technology, a top company that is known for innovative accessories for personal computing and digital media, shows an awesome little device that doesn’t just look beautiful, but also allows you to use it for almost anything for media production or consumption.

If you’re familiar with Griffin, you might already know about the PowerMate that they had. It’s a Bluetooth device that can be connected to a computer via USB and can be used for multiple purposes. Recently, Griffin unveiled a new wireless version of the PowerMate Bluetooth, which supports Bluetooth 4.0. Currently, the wireless PowerMate Bluetooth is compatible with Mac laptop or desktop that supports Bluetooth 4.0 protocol. It has a power requirement of two (2) AAA batteries included, but you shouldn’t have to change the batteries more than you would an Apple wireless mouse.

Essentially, the PowerMate is a programmable USB controller. There are six actions or movements that it can do; rotate it left to right, click on it once, click and hold, click and hold then rotate it right and left. Each one of these actions, you can assign to a particular keyboard function in all of your favorite programs.

The program is fairly intuitive and one of the software that you would be getting with your PowerMate is a program where you can connect a multiple PowerMates at a time to a single computer. Through this software, you can set several commands in just a few clicks. Unlike with the old PowerMate, the new PowerMate’s sensitivity can be adjusted so you can be as minute or as big as you want to be. No matter what you want to set it to—zoom in, zoom out, brush size adjustments — everything can be done easily by setting it up using the new PowerMate.

If you want to have your own PowerMate Bluetooth, you can get it for only $59.99. Griffin Technology’s PowerMate Bluetooth will be available starting Summer of this year. Learn more information about this wireless programmable controller at GriffinTechnology.com.

Interview by Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast.

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