The Giz Wiz at Showstoppers 2013 at CES 2013. Show 1399, January 15th, 2012

Full-sized scanner features, in a pocket unit!

New from Hovercam, the Mini 5. Flatbed scanners are large, but the new Hovercam Mini 5 is small and portable enough to fit into your pocket. Multiple accentuation points allow the Mini 5 to fold into itself for greater portability. Take it with you to use on the go. And it’s fast; it scans a page with a snapshot. Use OCR to automatically build your expense reports and contact lists. It plugs directly into your laptop without USB cable. (But it does come with a cable in case you need one.) As document, receipt or business card scanner, the Mini 5 works better than trying to scan using the camera of a smartphone or tablet. Scan up to 30 items per minute. Instead of using built-in low-res webcam of your computer, the 5 mega-pixel hi-res Mini 5 can show documents clearly during web conferences. Fast refresh rate of 20 frames per second when set @ HD 720P resolution and 15 fps when set @ 5 MP resolution. It also features autofocus & focus lock. The protective carry case converts to optional stand with USB hub allowing connection with USB cable to notebook or desktop computer. The Mini 5 includes Hover Contact software, a digital Rolodex to capture, store, review and manage all of your contacts. Connect with them automatically via Facebook or LinkedIn. $299 retail. Available Spring, 2013. 

http://www.thehovercam.com/products/mini-5

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

Did you know your laptop can't charge your tablet.

ChargeDr charges your phone and tablet faster! It lets you charge your iPad through your laptop or desktop. At Showstoppers, Johan Abadie, showed me that your tablet won’t charge when plugged into your computer via USB drive. You’ll see a “not charging” message when you connect an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab to the USB port of a computer because the port’s power output is below the threshold required to charge your tablet. The ChargeDr solves this problem. It is compatible with all of the USB-based charging devices and adapters that you typically charge your tablet or phone with. Not only does it allow you to charge through your computer’s USB port 2x-4x faster, but it can also increase the charging speed of your wall adapter and car charger by up to 20%. It’s about the same size as a USB flash drive, making it ultra portable. Your devices have a power management chip regulating input power received to charge the internal battery. ChargeDr interacts with this chip to define the highest amount of power you device can safely handle and requests it from the computer or charger. Johan says it will not harm your electronics. Under $30.

http://www.digitalinnovations.com/chargedr-usb-charge-booster.html

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

Kind of weird stuff - An Android Oven & A Gyro Screwdriver

Dacor Adds Android Apps And WiFi To Their Newest Oven

Dacor announced the world’s first wall oven featuring the integrated Discovery IQ Controller for Android. (I think more than half the gadgets at CES were “world’s first” something or other.)  The Dacor Discovery Oven features Wi-Fi connectivity so home chefs can use the latest technology for the kitchen running on the Android. Powered by a Samsung 1GHZ Processor and 512MB DDR2 RAM, the oven is equipped with stereo sound and a 7” LCD touch screen. The graphic user interface (GUI) is collaboration from Dacor and BMW Group DesignworksUSA.  The home chef can remotely access the interactive cooking application and guide throughout the home via their own Wi-Fi enabled tablet or smart phone. It enables users to prepare a wide range of dishes by selecting recipes from the display menu. When the desired cook time for a dish has been reached, the oven places the dish on warming mode and notifies the chef via text message or push notification. Should the wall oven encounter a problem or require maintenance, IQ will notify the owner with an error message and an automated report will be sent to Dacor for troubleshooting. The new Discovery 30” Wall Oven offers a 4.8 cubic foot oven cell capacity to prepare large poultry or multi-rack cooking. Coming this summer, retail is $7499 for the 30” Double Wall Oven and $4499 for the 30” Single Wall Oven. 

http://www.dacor.com/ 

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

A new place to put a Gyro. In a screwdriver!

It's the GYRO Rechargeable Screwdriver Under $40. Black & Decker says this is the world’s first motion-activated gyroscopic technology screwdriver. You control both the speed and the direction with a twist of the wrist. Twist slightly right you're driving a screw. Twist slightly left you're removing the screw. There's a built-in LED to illuminate your work. I found that the Gyro does work with your wrist motion, but with a 4 Volt battery for power, I think it's better suited to lighter screwing jobs. It's available now and $40 or less. 

There more info from Black & Decker and a video here:

http://blackanddecker.com/gyro

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get it here $1.05 cheaper with free shipping: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008R5259Y/?tag+twnene-20  

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

USB Flash Drive Storage - How big can it get! And a new WiFi Storage device, both from Kingston.

Brand new from Kingston, and in Beta-form only is Kingston's MobileLite Wireless device. This looks, and in some ways, is similar to a device we saw last year, The Wi-Drive. The Wi-Drive uses Wi-Fi to give your iOS device like an iPad or iPod, or Touch plenty of extra storage space. The Wi-Drive had built in memory, while the MobileLite lets you provide the memory. And it offers a lot of option for storage. It will support a USB drive, microSD, or a standard SD card to give your iOS device lots of storage space. Kingston says the final product, due out later this year, will also be compatible with Android devices. The MobileLite device allows three users to share photos, videos, etc. over WiFi, all at the same time. You’ll notice in the photo, the beta unit says "Wi-Drive+," but at CES we were told that wasn’t the final name. It might be called MobileLite because that’s also on the unit. There’s no price yet, and no official release date.

http://www.kingston.com/us/landing/widriveplus

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

A big, 3.0 flashdrive! Big price too.

Kingston Digital announced the world’s largest capacity USB 3.0 Flash drive. It’s the 1TB DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0. It is shipping now in 512GB capacity, with the 1TB version due out in the next month or so. The DT HyperX Predator 3.0 is the fastest USB 3.0 Flash drive in the Kingston family, with speeds of up to 240MB/s read and 160MB/s write. It has also achieved SuperSpeed USB 3.0 certification. So now you’ll be able to store your entire digital world on a portable USB 3.0 Flash drive. The large capacity and fast USB 3.0 transfer speeds allow users to save time as they can access, edit and transfer applications or files such as HD movies directly from the drive without any performance lag. The casing is made of zinc alloy metal for superior quality, shock resistance and high-end design. DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 ships with a custom Kingston key ring and a HyperX valet keychain. It is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 for efficient data transfer rates. It’s backed by a five-year warranty and free technical support. The price of the 1TB model has not been announced, but the 512GB capacity lists for about $1750! It’s about half that price on Amazon, $874.00. (That's link that TWiT gets credit for. You pay nothing extra.)

http://kingston.com

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AV3XGPW/?tag=twnene-20

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

Time to vote on what Sky Mall Crap Leo Should Order Next!

If you're looking for the video convertor Leo showed quickly, but didn't try (because he has no VHS video tapes anymore), it seems it's no longer available on Sky Mall.

I did a web search and found a similar device that should do the exact same thing. Namely, allow you to take analog video (like tapes from a VHS machines and convert them to a digital format.) I haven't shopped at this e-tailer on Amazon, but this device sells for only $50, and can be compared to the $100 device that was on Sky Mall.

http://www.amazon.com/Honestech-VHS-DVD-5-0-Deluxe/dp/B0040FT30O

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

Could it be a big hit -- or a gadget warehouse contender?

In order to get an accurate heart rate you usually have to wear a chest strap, a bulky armband and/or a special wristwatch where you hold contact buttons. Liz Dickinson set out to change all that, and she did it with a very successful Kickstarter project. She’s the creator of the MIO watch, a company she started in the late 1990’s. MIO has many exercise watches in the marketplace, but this is their first to accurately measure heart rate with a high tech, strap-free device. Liz worked with Philips Electronics to create Alpha, a continuous-heart-rate monitor watch. At CES she told me it can measure EKG performance accurately at speeds of up to 12 miles per hour. The Alpha also tells time, has a timer, and gives visual and audio alerts to tell you when you’re in, or out of heart-rate zones. There’s no backlight, but if you’re running in the dark, an LED can tell you if you’re below your target zone, (blue LED), above it, (red LED) or in the zone,  (what else – a glowing green LED). Cost is $199.99

http://www.alphaheartrate.com/#alpha

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1399

The Wimm Watch is from CES 2012. It's not around any longer. Here's the info from January of 2012.

Leo & I both love watches. I especially like watches that do more than tell time. So when a PR contact asked if I’d like to try the WIMM One Android watch during CES, I said YES! It’s big, but I’m used to big watches. And besides since complicated watches display a lot of stuff, bigger is easier to read. The WIMM One does a lot. It connects to the web via WiFi, it connects to your cell phone via Bluetooth, and it has a bunch of built-in apps. There's weather, a stop watch, world time, and a CES app that will show events that are coming up and CES headline news. It’s not for sale in retail channels yet, but you can buy a WIMM One developer kit right now. WIMM is interested in getting people interested in writing apps for the watch. The WIMM One module snaps into a rubber watchband that’s included in the kit. It kind of looks like you’re wearing an iPod Nano. Unless you decide to buy an accessory that lets you carry the watch a different way, once you snap it in the provided band, it can stay mounted forever. To charge the watch, just lay it in the charging cradle, which holds it in place via magnetic force. The cradle connects to your PC via an included micro USB cable. An AC adapter is also included. The small, inch and quarter reflective color touch screen is easy to see outdoors. And there’s a backlight if you need it. You scroll through apps by flicking right to left and then up and down for various options. There’s even a Starbuck’s app, which you can use to pay for coffee at Starbucks with having to dig out your wallet. With Bluetooth & WiFi enabled, you’ll have to charge the WIMM One daily. I like being able to see who’s calling without taking out my cell phone. The caller info shows up on the watch face and gives you the opportunity to send the call to voice mail if you don’t feel like digging around to find your phone. $299 includes the module, strap, and charger.

www.wimm.com

See or hear this January 2012 Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1348