The Phone of the Future! (It wasn't.)

Friday, April 16^th, 2010 Netcast 1070 

This is the Philips P100 Screen Phone, sometimes referred to as the Philips Enhanced telephone. It was one of the first high tech telephones that set out to do far more than make and receive calls. Along with higher end phone features like one-touch dialing, speakerphone, caller ID, etc., it had some really unique features. There was a full QWERTY slide out keyboard, a large 100 phone directory to store names and phone numbers, even a printer port. Plus there was even a credit card slot so you wouldn’t have to manually type in the CC info. (Credit Card companies never got behind the technology, so that feature was useless. There was a small tilt-up video screen to display info like phone number, caller ID and the phone directory entries. I recall it the screen had black numbers on a green background. The phone itself was available in black or white and it was fairly expensive.  I think it was $299.00 when it was first released, but then dropped to $199.00. But even at the lower price it wasn’t much a seller. So it became a catch-22 situation. Most of “gee-whiz” features never worked because Philips and other companies were waiting for the phone to be in a lot of homes first, and it wasn’t in a lot of homes because most of “gee-whiz” features couldn’t be used! About the only real use now for this phone is to take up space in Dick’s Gadget Warehouse! Above right: the slide out keypad.

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1070 

A great gadget for the car, boat and home emergencies.

Thursday, April 15th, 2010 Netcast 1069

The powerful, new Cobra Jumpstarter/powerpack can be used to jump start cars, run your 12 volt auto accessories outside the car via its DC output and even power small appliances via the built-in AC outlet. It's good for tools and household appliances up to 400  watts. But wait, there's more! There's also a 5V USB port to charge cellphones or other electronic devices and a 260 PSI air compressor for flat tires, air mattresses, etc.  Use the built in LED worklight for nighttime emergencies. The powerpack comes in 4 sizes/models based on the amount of power needed.  It has auto, home and outdoor applications. Charge it from an AC outlet with the included AC adapter. Use the four LED power meter to see when it's time to recharge the Jumpstarter/powerpack. The most powerful unit (the one I showed on World News Now) puts out 1800 watts and can jump start an V8 auto engine. It costs under $130. Smaller units start under $50. You buy the amount of power and the onboard accessories you need. Be sure to do a price search on the web. I saw the 1800 Watt unit for about $112.00.  

http://cobra.com/categories/power-inverters

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1069

Find your car from up to half a mile away.

Wednesday, April 14^th, 2010, Netcast 1068

Sure you can use your key fob  to blink the lights and sound the horn to help find your car in a shopping mall parking lot, or at the ball game. But what about if your car is really far away. The horn/lights option works within a 100 feet or so, but Auto-Findercan guide you to your car from up to ½ mile away. This technology is superior to GPS because it guides you to what you are looking for without the requirement of open sky for satellite signals. To find your car, press and sweep the small hand-held finder and let it the lighted arrows and sound guide you in the right direction. Patrick Franz from Auto-Finder stopped by my office to give me a demonstration. I told him the best thing to do would be to park his car some place in the vicinity of my office and let me search for it. He did, and at first I thought the Auto-Finder was wrong because it kept pointing ahead from my office. I had told Patrick to go right or left, and that's what I thought it would have done. But for a more sure fire test Patrick went straight ahead and parked in the next block. I was able to find his car using the Auto-Finder. There are three different sweeping techniques to finding a car and it pays to watch the videos on the company's website. Sometimes one technique is superior to the others, depending on where you are. Patrick said in New York City you get signals bouncing off buildings, so it was good I did two different techniques to locate his car. The basic kit is $99 which is all is need for a single car. It includes the receiver which Velcros to the car windshield, the transmitter & case, plus the batteries. They also offer a travel kit and family kits. All the info is at their website.

www.auto-finder.com

Hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1068 

Leo’s in love again. This time with his new iPad!

TTTT, April 13^th, 2010, Netcast 1067 

Leo was ecstatic about his new iPad as you’ll hear and hear and hear in this longish DGW episode. Like everyone else, Leo has the WiFi only version, which is the only one shipping right now. Out of the box Leo raved about the speed and responsiveness of the iPad. If you watch the video version you’ll see how fast the screen responds to his touch. He also loves the iBooks apps. It does even more than the Kindle and gives you access to the iBookstore’s content as well as the entire Kindle Store and any other digital bookstore. And you can instantly look up works as you read. Games are also blazingly fast. With the touch interface, tilt sensors and accelerometers Leo also couldn’t stop playing a game he brought up on the screen for a demo, because he was having so much fun! The iPad’s virtual keyboard, at least in the horizontal view, is big and lets you touch-type at a decent speed. And the iPad also supports most Bluetooth keyboards if you want to add one. I asked about battery life and Leo said it was outstanding. Apple says 10 hours or so, he figures more like 11+ hours. Then I asked about using the iPad outside a WiFi area and Leo said if that was the case, you would want to want till the end of the month when the iPad 3G will start shipping. That model will add an integrated 3G chipset and will be able utilize the AT&T 3G mobile network. The 3G models are priced at $129 more than WiFi-only models with the same storage capacity. But those models also add GPS. Don’t worry, I’m sure Leo will buy one of those too the minute it’s available and let us know about any other features that differentiate the two models! $499 and up depending on how much money you want. 

http://apple.com/ipad    

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1067

Here’s a "cup of coffee" that packs some real power!

Monday, April 12^th, 2010, Netcast 1066  

Sure, it looks just like a big cup of coffee, but it’s actually the Coffee Cup Power Inverter. This handy little gadget coverts your car's DC power into two 120-volt AC outlets. Perfect for powering or charging TV's, DVD players, game consoles, cell phones, and other portable electronics. But don’t go nuts, it rated for up to 200 watts AC. But wait, there’s more!! This coffee cup also has a USB charging port providing 500mA of power. Charge any of your small portable devices – iPods, cell phone, etc. that charges via a standard USB cable. You supply the cable for your device, but it plugs into the USB port right on the Coffee Cup Power Inverter. The unique coffee cup shape fits nicely in today's auto/boat/truck cup holders, preventing it from moving around inside your vehicle. A slide switch on the side of the plug lets you adjust it plug so it fits tight in your 12-volt lighter port.  If the fit is too loose, slide the switch forward. When you first plug the unit in, a red LED will come on. In a few seconds, if everything is okay, it will turn green. There’s a fan inside to help cool the inverter, but I’m not sure how well it will work when the coffee cup design means it’s going to be in a more or less enclosed space. Maybe that’s why the little gizmo has low voltage; high voltage and output overload alarms and automatic shutdowns. Under $30 at our friends from Think Geek.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/b29e/ 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1066