This is a page where you can find interesting products that we feel should get a mention, but which we’ve not yet had a chance to fully review in person. The content on this page will change as we learn about new upcoming products, or one of these products gets a full review elsewhere on the site. Check back often for updates!
TomTom is most widely known as a GPS company, but this year they’re debuting a fitness-tracking app called TomTom Sports. This app is compatible with many of their fitness wearables, including the Adventurer, Touch, Spark 3, and others. The device pictured is the Touch. The app can collate up to 12 different activities, like running, biking, climbing, and swimming, to really keep a total record of your exercise routine, no matter how diverse. You can see a history of your various sporting activities, and view your personal best in time and performance for each one. You’ll also be able to look at the route you took during your last activity, overlaid on a map, by using the GPS in your tracking wearable. Impressed with your performance one day? You can share it through social media right from the app. Not so impressed? Get helpful advice on ways to improve right there in the app. The app should release for Android and iOS near the end of January. Check out www.tomtom.com/sportsapp for more info on the app and www.tomtom.com for all of their wearable tracker products.
Under Armour, I know you’re thinking, isn’t a tech company but a clothing company, and you would be right…a smart clothing company. They released their new line of Record Equipped shoes at CES in January, which connect to the MapMyFitness app to provide you with workout recommendations tailored to your personal fitness level. Just by jumping up and down, the shoes and app can measure your muscle fatigue and recovery rate, and judge what intensity your workout should be that day. The shoes never need to be charged, and they’ll even notify you when it’s time to get a new pair. They’ve also come out with the Rest Win Repeat pajamas, touted as athlete recovery sleepwear, which are said to improve the quality of your rest by using Far Infrared technology. The bioceramic print inside the clothing absorbs your body heat and reflects it back in infrared waves, which can reduce inflammation, aid in recovery, promote a more restful sleep, and regulate metabolism. See all the available styles of each apparel line at www.underarmour.com.
PicoBrew has been around for a couple of years now, with their easy and fun consumer level micro-brewing devices. Their Pico machine lets you brew your favorite craft beers at home in a matter of hours. This is done through the use of PicoPaks, pre-packed containers with all the ingredients to make exact replicas of your favorite brands of craft beer. This year, they’re introducing the Freestyle PicoPak, available online on their BrewCrafter page. You start with a baseline for your favorite style of beer, which you can then customize by adjust the specifications of all the various ingredients to really make it your own brew. The BrewCrafter wizard will guide you through each customization step, and even let you know if you might be creating a frothy disaster. Your personal blend of hops, grains, and whatnot will be shipped to your door, ready to be put into your Pico machine for brewing. Jump on over to www.picobrew.com and take a look for yourself, at this new customization feature as well as their great Pico machine and other brewing accessories.
Gibson Brands recently showcased a variety of products at CES this year, to help you listen to your favorite music in style, or create your own with some truly beautiful instruments and accessories. Here’s a peak at 2 product lines from their associated brands, which were housed in the vast Gibson tent at the LVCC. The Widget line of plug-and-play microphones, from Neat, offers 3 very cool designs, combined with high-quality, professional grade sound capture. Strum, plink, sing, or yodel your way to a top-notch recording with these attractive, quirky desktop mics. Philips has released new models in the EverPlay and ShoqBox Bluetooth speaker lines. Listen to your music on-the-go, with trendy looking devices in a variety of colors and cool shapes. They all have great battery life, long Bluetooth range, and strong sound output. The Philips speakers aren’t quite on the market yet, but you’ll find them at www.philips.com when they are. You can see the Widget mics at www.neatmic.com, and all of the great Gibson Brands products, including some gorgeous new electric guitar styles, at www.gibson.com.
Nightingale is a smart home sleep system, which blocks out annoying environmental noise and helps you get an undisrupted night’s rest. You plug 2 of the devices into your wall outlets at strategic spots around your bedroom, set up your preferred sleep settings in the app, and enjoy a restful slumber brought to you through sound masking technology. Nightingale will emit what they call “sound blankets,” which tune to the ambient noise frequencies of your particular space, and allow your brain to filter them to the back of your awareness. You can also program it to emit soothing nature sounds if you’d like to fall asleep to a gentle breeze or babbling brook. Sounds great to me! Anything would be better than honking horns and my noisy neighbors. Check the system out at www.meetnightingale.com
The LiNX2 from ReSound is a mini behind-the-ear hearing aid which, combined with the ReSound Smart app, is helping people with hearing loss to overcome some of the limitations of other, less sophisticated hearing aids. The Spatial Sense technology inside allows users to pinpoint where a sound is coming from, avoiding what is known as “tunnel hearing.” The LiNX2 also provides superior speech recognition and advanced customizable functionality through the app. The app opens up user options such as direct music streaming, discreet volume control, wind reduction, and a locator feature for finding a misplaced hearing aid. Learn more about this model, and all ReSound’s other models at www.resound.com.
Hello Egg is a cute, voice-operated, egg shaped kitchen assistant, which can help you be a better home cook. Just tell Hello Egg what you’d like to cook, and it will find step-by-step recipe tutorial videos for you to watch. The videos are projected on its rear-projection screen, which displays an eye when not showing videos. As far as a shiny black egg with one eye is able, Hello Egg will convey different emotions to sort of interact with you, by changing the shape and expression of this eye on screen. Pretty sure this is just a way for it to be cute. If you need help beyond watching a video, you can be connected with a real life cooking support person. Use the device to plan your weekly meals, order groceries, and even listen to news updates and music. See this adorable little countertop companion for yourself at www.helloegg.net.
MobileStudio Pro from Wacom, is an amazing, full-featured, Intel powered, graphic interface, which will allow graphic artists of all skill levels to take their projects on-the-go. With impressive processor, video card, and RAM specification, as well as compatibility with all the major graphics and editing software, this device is a tempting purchase for any creative professional. It comes in a 16” or 13” model, and features the Pro Pen 2, a responsive, accurate pen stylus. There are far too many top notch features to list, so I encourage you to read all about them at www.wacom.com.
This new high-speed photo scanner from Epson, the FastFoto FF-640, is a top feeding device that looks like a printer, can scan a photo in as little as 1 second (depending on your chosen scan resolution), and can handle photo sizes from wallet all the way up to long panoramic prints. One of the coolest features about this device is its ability to scan both the front of a photo and the hand written notes on the back, at the same time, allowing you to quickly and easily capture and save all the important elements of your precious old prints. Another benefit is the photo enhancement software that comes with the scanner, which can automatically improve the look of faded images. I have had a difficult time finding quality photo scanners, so I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these. You can see it for yourself on their product page, here.
DIYZ is a free app, compatible with both iOS and Android, that let’s you search for your DIY project, and be presented with step-by-step instructions, tips, and how-to videos. It will even give you a supply list, which you can directly order through the app, to make sure you’ll start your project with everything needed to finish. If you get in the middle of a big job, and find that you need some additional guidance, for a small fee you can connect with an expert through live video chat, to help get you through the tough spots. Read all about it at www.DIYZ.com.
Boost from LEGO, is a super cool upcoming building and coding set for ages 7 and up. With the accompanying app, your child can build 5 unique robotic LEGO creations, and use the app’s easy to learn coding commands to bring them to life. Vernie the Robot, and Frankie the Cat are my 2 favorite build options. When building the models, the app will provide step-by-step instructions, easy for you child to follow. After they’re finished building, the app will walk them through the basics of coding, which in this case requires only dragging and dropping command options onto the screen, in whichever order your young programmer wishes the robot to perform them. The app provides even more options for extended play, to further unlock your child’s creativity and imagination. This awesome building set won’t be available until later in the year, but you can still learn more about it right now at www.LEGO.com/BOOST.
The Dosime is a small sensor that you can keep at home, work, or on your person while out and about. It senses when harmful radiation levels are elevated, so you can avoid those areas or take steps to eliminate the contaminant. By connecting wirelessly to the app, the Dosime will give you real-time detection of ionizing radiation, and keep track of your cumulative exposure over time. We can be exposed to various types of radiation without ever being aware, and this particular type can be present in a variety of sources, like soil, water, and even air. You may not think you’ll ever come in contact with harmful radiation, but you can consider this device to be like a CO2 detector, to use to protect yourself and your family for any unforeseen exposure. There are all sorts of data collation and mapping options contained in the app, but I’ll let you discover those for yourself on their very informative product site, www.Dosime.com.
LumiWave is an infrared light therapy device which uses hundreds of small LED bulbs, set into a flexible strip of body-conforming pods, to provide a safe and affordable way to target your stubborn pain. They say this system can improve both joint and muscle pain, and can even (in some cases) eliminate it over time. Want to know more about the science behind this type of therapy and get more specifications on the device? Go to www.lumiwave.com for a plethora of information.
The Norton Core, from the popular anti-virus giant, Norton, is their new cyber-security device, which protects all the smart device in your smart home. For starters, this wireless router is beautifully designed, with the intention of displaying it in your home instead of hiding it away underneath your desk. The Core protects all of your connected devices by fending off cyber attacks or potentially infectious data before it can even enter your network. It is super easy to set up, automatically detects all of your smart devices, and can be controlled through a mobile app. Keeping your home protected from cyber attacks is an increasingly necessary task, as more and more of the things we own become smart and interconnected. Hackers can find one device in your home network that is vulnerable, and use that doorway to gain access to your entire network. Norton Core is a stylish and powerful option to help combat virtual home invasion, and produced by a company that has been trusted with your cyber safety needs for many years already. Check this product out here.
The LevlPro Solution is a device that detects trace levels of acetone in a person’s breath to analyze their current state of fat burning. Currently it’s available to fitness professionals who use it to help guide their clients to a better workout routine and maximize their individual fat burning levels. Soon though, this device will be available to consumers, giving individuals the ability to track their own fat burning levels on a daily basis. Users will also be able to connect with fitness professionals via an app, in case they feel they need some extra guidance. If you’d like to learn more, visit www.levlnow.com.
Omron Healthcare exhibited their Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor at CES in January, a wrist worn device, which looks like a chunky wristwatch and can test your blood pressure at the touch of a button, with clinical accuracy. Paired with their app, you can track your blood pressure and heart rate throughout the day, without dealing with traditional cumbersome upper arm cuffs. They also unveiled the prototype of the next generation, Project Zero 2.0, which will look even more like a regular watch, while retaining the precision and functionality of the original model. With more people suffering heart issues at a younger age, having a device that allows you to monitor yourself, while being comfortable and stylish enough to actually wear out of the house, is a necessary evolution of this type of technology. Pop on over to OmronHealthcare.com for a more in-depth look at all of their monitoring products.
Robomow announced their new RX line of automated lawn mowing units at CES, which can free consumers from the tedious chore of constantly mowing their lawns. The little mower robots can be pre-set to leave their docking stations on whatever schedule you like, trim your entire lawn of grass to your preferred height, then take themselves right back to their docks to charge up for the next time. Leave a Robomow device to keep your property tended while on vacation, or sit back and watch it do all the work while you enjoy some free time. You can also control the device through an app, if you want a slightly more hands up approach. Check them out at www.robomow.com.
Propella Electric Bikes, a start-up company who just finished their Indiegogo campaign, is releasing their lightweight, minimalist, sleek looking electric bike. This bike keeps things simple, light, and cost effective, by giving you the function of an e-bike without all sorts of unnecessary bells and whistles. This cycle is for consumers who still want the bike riding experience, just with some added power for easy, efficient commuting. The removable 36-volt Samsung Li-Ion battery pack, which fully charges in 2.5 hours, can last up to 28 miles, and can also charge your devices while on the go. The lightweight aluminum alloy frame, with adjustable stem and seat, weighs around 35 lbs, and can be ordered with 3 different colors of tire rim. The 250 watt, rear hub motor, can get you going at speeds up to 20 mph, and can be engaged in 2 ways, by using the thumb throttle or the pedal-assist function. You can read more about these options, and learn how to pre-order the soon to be released Propella 1.5, by visiting www.PropellaBikes.com.
The Barracuda Collapsible Carry-On is the 1st of it’s kind, and has so much unexpected functionality. When not in use, this rolling suitcase collapses flat, and fits into it’s own hanging bag for space saving storage. When you’re ready to travel, the sides easily snap back into place, creating a full sized carry-on item. This attractive luggage comes in 6 colors, is waterproof, and has several added surprises. The Halo handle is ergonomic and rotates 360º, allowing you to adjust the angle, and lock it in place, so your wrist will always be in the most comfortable position while pulling the case behind you. Inside the back of the handle is a convenient tray table, complete with 2 cup holders, which can be folded out when the handle is fully extended. Use this as a table for your laptop, of up to 8 lbs, or as a tray for you food and beverages. Each case comes with a high capacity back up battery, concealed in a side compartment, which can power your phone up to 5 times over. Each one also comes with a large laundry bag and 2 shoe bags, so you can keep your clean and dirty items stylishly separate. As an added upgrade, you can even get a location tracking sensor and app, which will not only let you know where you luggage is if lost, but can give you a proximity alert so you can relax at baggage claim instead of staring eagle-eyed at the carousel. Find out more, and watch a fun video at www.barracuda.co.
The Skulpt Performance Scanner is a hand-held device, connected wirelessly to the Skulpt app, which can measure and keep track of your muscle quality and fat percentage, simply by pressing it to the area of your body you wish to scan. By periodically scanning 24 different parts of your body, the app can show you a full body map of your strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to make sure you are getting a balanced work out, and targeting each of your muscles effectively. After measuring your body, you can get advice on how to maintain or improve your total fitness, from Skulpt affiliated trainers and nutritionalists. You can learn more, and purchase a device, at www.skulpt.me.
Bartesian is a single serving drink maker, which crafts premium cocktails with the push of a button. The low profile, self-cleaning machine holds up to 4 of your favorite spirits, and uses Bartesian’s own recyclable mixer capsules. Each of the 6 currently available cocktail varieties contains only the highest quality, all natural ingredients, to make each cocktail perfectly delicious every time. You can host of fabulous cocktail party, and effortlessly please all of your guests, with the minimum amount of effort. They can even have the fun of crafting their own cocktails, since the process is as simple as inserting your desired mixer pod, choosing your alcohol strength on the LCD screen, and watching the Bartesian do the rest in under 20 seconds. The machine also comes with a traditional stainless steel cocktail shaker, to add that extra bit of style to your cocktail service. Pre-order you machine and see one in action at www.bartesian.com.
Polycade is a full size arcade interface for your home, which takes up a fraction of the space of a standard upright game cabinet, comes pre-loaded with 20 fun games, and connects to the Steam store for access to thousands of other titles. You may have used modern plug-and-play devices, which allow you to play your favorite classic games on your television with a handheld controller. The Polycade takes this a step further, and provides you with the real controls of a classic arcade console, like 2 player buttons, joysticks, and a trackball. You can either mount a unit directly onto your wall, or purchase an attractive wooden stand-alone base, so you can position the console anywhere in your room. Not only can you play individually or together at home, but the Steam connectivity and built-in microphone allow you to connect online for a long-range multi-player experience as well. You can even turn your Polycade into a jukebox by streaming music from your phone. There are several ways to customize your Polycade, including cabinet color, button layout, and the internal computer components. Customize yours today at www.polycade.com.
The Explorer, from Echobox, is a Bluetooth and Wifi enabled music player, with a quad core processor, the latest open Android OS, 64 GB of internal memory, with a slot to add more, and a battery that will last almost all day. The whimsical flask design is ergonomically curved, and constructed from your choice of 4 types of solid hardwood. Store your own library of music on the device, stream from your preferred music source, and create playlists from a combination of both. With unbeatable sound quality, and impressive and user-friendly functionality, you’ll never want to listen to music on any other device again. Go to www.echoboxaudio.com to find out more and pre-order your own Explorer.