The Giz Wiz for the Week of November 20, 2012. Show 1391

Leo's still away and JuRY, a.k.a. Justin Robert Young, does the co-hosting for this week's show! Justin is also co-host of TWiT's NSFW with Brian Brushwood.

3M, famous for it’s mobile projection devices, and Roku – the folks who can stream content to your TV, have partnered to create a unique entertainment device. It’s the first of its kind, the 3M Streaming Projector. It allows users to have wide screen entertainment away from their living room big-screen TV. Anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi connection; you can use the 3M Streaming Projector to create an instant big-screen viewing experience. Even though this new innovative device is small enough to fit in your hand, 3M says it can project an image up to 120 inches. That makes it perfect for family movie nights while on trips, sleepovers and or for evening backyard parties. The 3M Streaming Projector can project almost anywhere – on a basement wall, a bedroom ceiling or even a backyard fence. (Obviously, the darker the room, or area, and the lighter the surface you project on, the better it is.) But wait, there’s more! The 3M Streaming Projector is equipped with a built-in Roku Streaming Stick! That means, via WiFi, the projector has access to over 600 channels; some you pay for like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video, and free channels like Crackle, so there is content for everyone. Battery life rated at 2 hours, 45 minutes in energy saving mode; while normal run-time is 1 hour, 35 minutes. So if you’re planning on a long movie night, AC power is the way to go. Here are the tech specs from 3M: Brightness up to 60 lumens, with 3 LED (RGB) bulbs with a life of 20,000 hours. Built-in speaker and audio out for external speakers or headphones, Dimensions: 4.3” x 4.2” x 2.0”, Projected image size: 6”–120” diagonal. It ships with a US & International Plug and the Roku Stick, which you can also use in your own HDTV assuming it has an available HDMI input. The 3M Streaming Projector is now available at Amazon.com for $299.

There’s more info at 3M website: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ConsumerProjectors/Home/Product/StreamingProjector/#misdTechnicalSpecifications

It’s here on Amazon. I haven’t shopped here:

www.amazon.com/dp/B008X1BV2Y/?tag=twnene-20

See or hear this show: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1391

Video of the Week -- How To Make Your Plants WiFi Enabled!!

It launched overseas and now the Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor is now available in the U.S. market, just in time for the Holiday Season 2012. So what is this thing? When I spoke to David Kurmann, one of the inventors, he said his Koubachi device connects your plant to the Internet, and uses the web (via a free app) to give you regular readings of soil moisture, ambient temperature and light levels. It’s a way you can easily monitor your plant’s health from afar. David told me set-up is easy. Insert the two AA batteries that ship with the unit, then go to the web and let the Koubachi site walk you through the connection and registration process. After that, you insert the Koubachi sensor into the soil of your favorite potted plant, and select that plant within the app. You can do it by name, or even by picture. Their database covers more than 500 types of plants. At first Koubachi needs to know when you water the plant so it can measure how long it takes to dry out. David said it takes several days, or two complete watering cycles before Koubachi learns to accurately measure moisture of that particular plant. Once it learns, the sensor can send you a ‘health report’ from the plant via the app. I asked David if you needed to buy a Koubachi for every plant you owned, because that could really expensive! David said once his device learns a plant, you can move to another plant and start the learning process over. The sensor is capable of keeping track of up to 27 different plants. The Koubachi WiFi Plant Sensor for indoor plants is $99, and the outdoor version is $129. So to have a green thumb, you need to start with some greenbacks! ($$)

Here’s the Giz Wiz video with the co-founder of Koubachi:

http://youtu.be/jh4-dVENH7g 

It’s available on Amazon here. I haven’t shopped here: 

www.amazon.com/dp/B008HT9PRK/?tag=twnene-20

See or hear this show: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1391

Looking for a Smart TV that's almost 6 feet across?

At a Pepcom event in NYC, in mid-November, (2012) Vizio premiered their biggest LCD TV ever! It’s the 70” 701i Smart TV. With built-in WiFi, VIZIO Internet Apps like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, VUDU, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Pandora, Facebook and Twitter, you can instantly enjoy online movies, TV shows, music, and more. My own personal opinion is that tweeting on a 70” screen will remove a bit of the coziness of Twitter and Facebook. Vizio says their new E-Series units, are the first of many large-size models to offer more screen space with a narrower border around the picture. The frame is little less than 1" thick and the entire TV is less than 2" thick. The unit comes with a two-sided smart remote. One side has the smart TV controls and the other side features a full QWERTY keyboard. The 701i offer 1080p Full HD resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Like it’s smaller brother, the 60", 601i model, the 70" unit auto-adjusts the picture to room lighting and features SRS StudioSound HD. The E-Series 701i 70" model retails for $1,999.99. If you can live with the slightly smaller 601i 60” TV, the MSRP drops in half, to $999.99. And if you happen to be reading this before Black Friday, Walmart & the Samsung website are offering the 60" model for $688. That's a lot of TV for not a lot of money considering the size and features.  There's more info at the Vizio site, but they don't have the best price.

http://store.vizio.com/e701ia3.html

See or hear this show: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1391

Justin Gets To Pick The Next Gadget! Is It A Treasure or a Turkey!

Justin picked the SHOT GLASS USB! Here’s the info on the Shot Glass USB via their website. But watch the show to see Justin demo it!

 What It Is

 This is a shot glass with a removable USB that comes loaded with Ali Spagnola’s Power Hour Album of 60 one-minute drinking songs. Use the music to play a power hour drinking game! Just plug in the USB to play the songs, copy them to your computer, put them on an MP3 player or burn a CD. The USB is also reusable to store 1GB of data.

How To Play

To play the drinking game: start the music and take a shot of beer every time the song changes. Everybody wins! Use the shot glass to get your drink on! It comes with a removable lanyard to stay safely around your neck for hands free fun! It’s scientifically formulated to be the perfect power hour party. Just add beer. Guaranteed to take you from 0 to 60 in one hour.

Where to Find It:    

http://www.alispagnola.com/powerhour/store/shot-glass-usb/

See or hear this show: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1391

Back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse with another viewer's video. (Read how to submit your video below!)

Giz Wiz fan Mariane Jorgenson send us this great email about the best gadget she ever got!:

The best gadget I ever got was a Ronco battery tester. 30-35 years ago, my husband went to the drugstore on Christmas Eve and bought me this for a gift, which he gave me wrapped in the drugstore paper bag. Well, it had been very useful for many decades testing batteries. But I am no longer married to that husband.

 (The crashing noise halfway through is my cat expressing his anger that I am talking to someone that is not the cat.)

Mariane Jorgenson

Mariane’s YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDfTgzFzXIU

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Letter of the week:

Here’s the email from Greg Franz about cool gadgets:

A site that I visit now and then Fishki (the english version) - has pictures (no text) of items called Cool gadgets.

http://en.fishki.net/comment.php?id=126914

See or hear this episode: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1391

Want to be a part of The Giz Wiz Show? Then submit your own video! 

Here's what we're looking for:

Your home made Videos -- two to three minutes long - in the any of the following categories:

I bought a piece of crap! Did you buy something you ended up hating? We won't get you a refund, but we might be able to give a platform to vent your disappointment. Remember, "family friendly" language applies.

I Invented This! Do you invent something? (Or did a friend or relative invent something.) We can't market it for you, but we can help get the word out. Show us what it is, and how it works. Even if it's a prototype, you can get our (and the audience) reactions.

My Gadget Warehouse! Okay, so you don't have a warehouse. It doesn't matter. Just tell us about your favorite old gadget(s). When and where you bought it, and why you're still hanging on to it. 

And a new category: My favorite gadget of all time! Show us what it is, tell us what it does and why you love, or loved it!

Post them on YouTube and send our producer, Jason, the link! We'll do the rest. (Or possibly nothing, but that's unlikely.) Remember, videos should be just 2 to 3 minutes long. Low production value is fine. Even welcomed; so our stuff doesn't look too bad by comparison. We've set the bar low. Don't trip over it.

All show submissions go to gizwiz@twit.tv