Engadget readers like yourself are probably more tech savvy than the average person. That means you may get roped into helping older family members with email woes, new phone setups, or deciphering if a message is legit or a phishing scam. In my family, I’ve become my mother’s unofficial IT support hotline, which makes me wonder about older adults with adult kids who are short on time. Turns out there are a number of resources staffed with actual people who will calmly walk seniors through just about any tech trouble they may face. Many local libraries and senior centers host classes and even one-on-one tech assistance to seniors for free, but if they can’t make it to a live session or there aren’t offerings in their area, phone hotlines and online services may be the answer.
For the past couple weeks, I used my mom and her frequently asked questions to try out a few of the senior tech hotlines out there and found three services that are refreshingly helpful, two of which are completely free and a third that includes a free option. If you know a senior who could use help with their tech, directing them to one of these services won’t feel like pawning them off, but rather like you’re sending them to an IT pro with endless patience.
Top three free senior tech support companies
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-tech-support-helplines-for-seniors-according-to-my-73-year-old-mom-140013739.html?src=rss
Nowadays, there are already plenty of choices when it comes to pet trackers, and some can even monitor heart rate, but apparently none could detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) until now. At CES 2024, GPS tracker specialist Invoxia unveiled the Minitailz, the world's first pet tracker that can keep an eye out for early heart disease symptoms on your cats or dogs. Together with other vital stats and activity log, the companion app then uses conversational generative AI to generate easy-to-read reports on your pets.
According to the French company, Minitailz is able to track respiratory and heart vitals with an accuracy of 97 to 99 percent, thanks to its advanced biometric sensors combined with AI. Using deep learning algorithms, the set of data is then used to spot digital biomarkers that indicate stress, aging and pathologies. The device can also differentiate the types of movements, such as walks, runs and zoomies, as well as alerting you when your pets wander beyond your preset geofences.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
The Minitailz module houses a built-in SIM card for LTE-M connectivity, which enables real-time tracking in conjunction with GPS. This can be attached to any pet collar, which is an advantage over many competing devices that are stuck inside a physical neckband, according to Invoxia.
The Minitailz is already available for dogs via Invoxia's website for $99, followed by a cat version due in March for the same price. You'll also need to buy a subscription starting from $8.30 per month.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-dog-tracker-from-invoxia-can-also-detect-your-pets-abnormal-heart-rhythms-160021010.html?src=rss
The technology industry loves to breathlessly sell you its latest and greatest and best-est new idea. Pitches have to be fast and aggressive because if you took more than a second to think about what they were selling, you might not reach for your wallet. As flashy as the products at CES 2024 in Las Vegas can be, they often have one fatal weakness. Which is to not have any sort of answer to the most important question of them all: “y tho?”
LG came to CES showing off a 77-inch wireless 4K OLED TV that is transparent for some reason. You can play footage of a singer, or an aquarium, or other screensaver-y type things as a talking piece in your home. But it turns out, being transparent isn’t great for actually watching TV, so it ships with a roll-out black background to make your transparent TV no longer transparent. I can imagine this used as an advertising screen or as an installation in a museum or corporate office. But why would you spend so much money on a TV where its key feature is an impediment to its proper function?
It’s important that devices are designed with accessibility as a primary concern, rather than tacked on at the end. Nobody would hate on a voice-activated toilet that could help folks with access needs get through their day. But Kohler’s bidet seat is deeply integrated with Alexa or Google Home. Why on earth would you spend more than two grand to give Amazon or Google detailed insights into your bathroom habits?
Lockly’s Visage smart lock uses facial recognition to allow access to your home, opening the door if it spots you approaching. Setting aside the hideous privacy and security implications of smart locks, a thing you should never connect to the internet, this is a mad idea. Why would you leave something as important as access to your home at the whims of a sensor or some unproven gadget?
The Urtopia Fusion is an e-bike equipped with a 540Wh battery promising 75 miles of range, a beefy mid-drive motor and air suspension forks. It is also, for some godforsaken reason, equipped with ChatGPT which, the company says will enable you to “talk” to your bike. Its custom assistant will, when asked, help you “explore new routes,” “get real-time information” and even “engage in entertaining conversations.” Why on earth would you want to have a conversation with your bicycle when you should be focusing on literally anything else.
Hyundai showed off a new VTOL air taxi concept that, it’s hoped, would take people on short hops of up to 40 miles. It can reach a top speed of 120 miles per hour and will probably never ever come to the real world. After all, why would you go to the trouble of reengineering the whole world to accommodate this disaster waiting to happen?
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/five-ces-products-that-make-you-ask-but-why-150010098.html?src=rss
We always find some strange gadgets at CES. There's no way around it, with thousands of exhibitors peddling their wares, trying to find a market for things no one has dreamed up before. From startups to giants like Samsung, there are plenty of things that make us pause, chuckle, and shake our heads. Here's a few favorites from CES 2024. Keep in mind, weird doesn't necessarily mean bad. It just means weird.
If you squint, you can see how a laptop paired to AR glasses could provide a much more expansive and immersive experience than a standard 14-inch laptop screen. Unfortunately, the narrow field of view, spongy keyboard and high price make this a bit of a non-starter.
Yes, Ballie is definitely cute. We got a kick of out seeing it roll around its demo area at Samsung's CES booth. But it's still pretty weird to have a tiny robot follow you around so it can project a workout video on the ceiling while you work your abs.
The Moonwalkers have a highbrow premise: by propelling the human wearing them a little bit further than they'd normally go when they take a step, this could add up to much more efficient walking over the course of a day, week or lifetime. The new "X" model is lighter and has fewer wheels, making it theoretically easier to produce. But the original Moonwalker cost about $1,400, a wild amount of money. You're probably just better off walking a little quicker.
While we can see the potential use cases for having a more intelligent voice assistant in your car, one powered by ChatGPT, having the car tell us a story about dinosaurs was a pretty weird way to go about demonstrating it.
We've all seen videos of dogs "playing" an instrument, but this might be the first one purpose-built for a pet. "Teach" your dog to "play" this "piano" and you'll surely get hours of entertainment. The $299 device even comes with an automated feeder to encourage your dog to keep going.
Turns out downtempo music music soothes pets and cartoons studying endlessly alike. We love the research showing this, but that still doesn't explain why this is better than just letting your dog listen to your Spotify account.
Let's be clear: "weird" does not necessarily mean "bad" or "useless." Adam-X certainly does look useful for medical training. But, well, it's also just a bit off-putting.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-weirdest-tech-and-gadgets-we-saw-at-ces-2024-233003886.html?src=rss
Hello and happy new year! Once again, team Engadget has set up shop in Las Vegas for CES, living out of suitcases so that we can scour the massive show floor and occasionally injure ourselves in the process. For CES 2024, we expected to see AI everywhere, and we were not disappointed.
Notably, too, there was a lot less pee on the show floor this year. (But we did find some.)
Today is our team's last day on the ground, which means it's also time for us to announce our annual Best of CES award winners. You may notice an obvious difference this year, which is that we've gotten rid of categories. From our point of view, we still attempted to see as broad a range of products as possible: laptops, mobile devices, gaming gear, smart home stuff, cars and items meant for people with disabilities. When it came to choosing winners, though, we saved time not having to debate amongst ourselves whether something was a laptop or a gaming device, a wearable or an accessibility device. A good product is just a good product.
Without further ado, we present our winners for CES 2024. But don't mistake this for the last of our coverage: We have other stories, recaps and roundups in the pipeline for you to read over the coming days. Keep following along. — Dana Wollman, Editor-in-Chief
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
Engadget
Not only is the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 powerful enough to run the latest blockbuster video games, but it's also incredibly sleek. The ROG Zephyrus G14 has an aluminum chassis with clean lines, crisp edges and a thinner, lighter design than previous models. A simple LED slash runs across the lid and can be programmed to glow in gray or white, rather than the garish rainbow favored by other gaming laptops. The ROG Zephyrus G14 looks sophisticated, and it can also run any title on the market, thanks to its AMD Ryzen 8000 series processors and optional NVIDIA RTX 4070 GPU at the high end. Top-of-the-line specs and a minimalist design make the latest ASUS line stand out in a sea of other game-focused devices at CES. This is what gaming laptops look like when they're all grown up. — Jessica Conditt, senior reporter
Samsung Music Frame
Samsung
Samsung's line of Frame TVs, first introduced back in 2017, do a great job of disguising a large-screen TV as a piece of art. The Samsung Music Frame does the same thing, but for wireless speakers. Instead of a screen, there's a place to display art or album covers that you swap pretty easily.
This wouldn't be noteworthy if the Music Frame didn't sound good — but in our demo, it did. The Music Frame includes two woofers, two tweeters and two mid-range drivers and supports Dolby Atmos. It's also quite the flexible speaker, working on its own, in a stereo pair or connected to a TV as part of a bigger home theater setup. It's even wall-mountable. We have no price or release date, but given Samsung's success with the Frame TVs, we imagine they won't wait long to get the Music Frame on the market. — Nathan Ingraham, deputy editor
LG Signature OLED T
LG
OLED TVs are great. An OLED TV you can see through — well, that’s just wild. The LG Signature OLED T isn’t the first transparent display we’ve seen at CES, but it is the first that will actually be sold to consumers (unlike Samsung’s similar transparent MicroLED concept).
This is a 77-inch set with an retractable contrast screen. Keep the filter up, and it looks like one of LGs standard, excellent OLED sets. Bring it down, and the image almost looks like it’s floating in mid-air. Like Samsung’s Frame TVs, the Signature OLED T is designed for ambience — when you’re not watching a show or movie, it can display little animations (a digital fish tank, for instance). To help it feel less obtrusive, the TV also uses LG’s wireless Zero Connect tech, which relegates most of the set’s I/O (and thus cables) to a separate box that can be tucked away elsewhere.
The TV does lack the microlens array tech found in LG’s absolute best OLED TVs and LG isn’t sure if it will come with the furniture you see in the image above. The company says it will ship sometime in 2024, though there’s no firm release date yet. But whenever it does arrive, it will almost certainly be prohibitively expensive for most people. — Jeff Dunn, senior commerce writer
TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro
TCL
With its third-generation NXTPAPER display, TCL’s latest 14-inch tablet combines the best things about LCD displays and e-readers. You get a sharp 2.8K-resolution panel with bright colors plus a special nano-coating that not only reduces glare, but also cuts down excess blue light while providing a lovely matte texture. And for those who prefer a more traditional newspaper-like reading experience, there’s a monochrome mode that makes the NXTPAPER 14 Pro look like it has an e-ink screen. So while its specs aren’t all that impressive (MediaTek Dimensity 8020, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage), TCL’s new tablet is one of those rare gadgets that appeals to both hardcore tech nerds and traditionalists that still remember a time before everything went digital. — Sam Rutherford, senior reporter
ASUS ZenBook Duo
Engadget
ASUS has been chasing the dream of dual-screen notebooks for a while, but this year's ZenBook Duo appears to be its best attempt yet. It consists of two separate components: a dual-screen display unit and a detachable Bluetooth keyboard. You can use the ZenBook Duo in a typical clamshell mode, with the keyboard in front of one of its displays. But when you have more room, you can open up the display to have two screens sitting on top of each other (balanced on a built-in kickstand).
The ZenBook Duo also feels incredibly polished, and it has high-end hardware like Intel's Core Ultra chips and gorgeous OLED screens. It also starts at a reasonable $1,500, making it a dual-screen laptop for the masses. — Devindra Hardawar, senior reporter
Withings BeamO
Withings
There’s never a shortage of health and fitness tech at CES. This year Withings stood out with its $250 BeamO “multiscope.” It combines a body temperature sensor, an electrocardiogram, an oximeter and a digital stethoscope into one surprisingly light consumer device that promises to make it easier to collect basic health metrics at home. The company's Health Mate app collects all of that data, which can then be sent to doctors with a few taps. Withings is also seeking FDA approvals for the BeamO to be able to detect atrial fibrillation.
BeamO impressed us not only with its versatility and fairly affordable price, but also for the potential impact it could have on telemedicine. Providing your doctor with key metrics ahead of a call or visit could make it easier for them to give you sound medical advice. And those with chronic conditions could use BeamO to keep track of health data over the long term. — Valentina Palladino, senior commerce editor
EcoFlow Delta Ultra
EcoFlow
A whole-home battery and inverter system is far from the funkiest bit of hardware we saw at CES, but it’s likely one of the more useful. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra can take in and store power from your rooftop solar panels then use the stored energy to power your home. The DELTA Pro Ultra can even suck up juice from the grid when it's cheaper, and feed it back when energy prices surge.
A base configuration goes for $5,800 and includes one 6kWh battery and inverter, but you can stack up to five batteries per inverter and chain up to three inverter-and-battery stacks, amounting to a 90kWh capacity. That’s a beastly amount of power that could keep a McMansion humming at full tilt for a few days — or run essential appliances in a more moderately sized home for a month or longer.
The DELTA Pro Ultra can also hook into an existing transfer switch if you have one, but for deeper integration with your home’s power system, the subpanel-like Smart Home Panel 2 gives you features like app control, weather and power grid monitoring, and instant switchover to backup when the power goes out. As more solar panels are installed on rooftops, a sleek and powerful all-in-one battery solution like this can give people more control over how their power is used. If you’re intrigued, you don’t have to wait — it’s one of many CES 2024 gadgets already on the market. — Amy Skorheim, commerce writer
GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker
GE
When it comes to smoking meat at home, your options are usually limited to outdoor grills that burn charcoal, pellets or wood. If you live at a place where your landlord doesn't allow open flames, like apartments, then you're pretty much out of luck. The GE Profile Smoker ditches the flames for electric heating elements and brings low-and-slow smoking indoors.
The GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker is no gimmick either. It’s capable of infusing significant smoke flavor via wood pellets as we experienced first hand this week. There won't be any smoke wafting around your kitchen as the unit captures all of that with its filtration system. If you need to cook while you're away, a unique feature does that and then holds your food at a safe temperature until you're ready to serve. Toss in Wi-Fi for remote cooking and monitoring, cooking profiles and guidance, plus the Clear Smoke tool for when you need to open the door, and the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker has a lot to offer a range of skill levels. — Billy Steele, senior reporter
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4
Sennheiser
Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless series has consistently earned the accolade of the best-sounding earbuds in our best of list for a while now. However, the company never really had the complete package to knock Sony's 1000X series off the top spot. At CES this year, Sennheiser debuted the fourth-gen version of its flagship earbuds, which bring a host of upgrades. They still sound excellent, ANC and transparency mode are also improved.
The Momentum True Wireless 4 did a great job blocking out the noisy Las Vegas suite, allowing us to focus on the selection of jazz we used to demo the earbuds. Transparency mode also sounded more natural, which will be a big help for calls and tuning into your surroundings. What's more, Sennheiser figured out a way for active noise cancellation to not drain the battery nearly as much as it typically does; the ANC here only cuts listening time by half an hour. — B.S.
Gyrogear GyroGlove
Engadget
The number of accessibility and aging-related products that were good enough for us to consider for awards at CES 2024 was encouragingly high. We saw a tongue-operated touchpad, a hearing aid-like system that can isolate individual speakers in a noisy crowd and a visual radar for gamers with hearing loss. But GyroGlove stood out for a few reasons.
The device uses a sophisticated gyroscope to help those with hand tremors (say, Parkinson's patients) stabilize their movement, but one of the deciding factors in picking it as a winner is the fact that it's actually available. The company said it's already in talks with the chief medical officers of several insurance providers in the US, and has registered the GyroGlove as a medical device with the FDA and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration. It's certified by various international standards organizations, to boot. — Cherlynn Low, deputy editor
Kia Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBV)
KIA
Kia’s PBV, or Platform Beyond Vehicles, concept is the rare car concept (or concepts, plural) that seems like it might actually be a real thing in the relatively near future. The PV5 is likely to be the first to make the leap. It’s a small modular van that can be equipped with a taller roof for extra headroom, or turned into a pickup by swapping out the back two-thirds. It can also be turned into a taxi with extra seating for passengers.
One of the more interesting things is how the members of the PBV family, including the larger PV7 and the smaller PV1 are expected to work together. For instance, Kia imagines a rail system that can connect a PV7 directly to a PV1, transferring cargo to the smaller vehicle for last mile deliveries.
Most importantly, PBV isn’t some fantastical dream vehicle that will never be heard from again: Kia is already building a dedicated factory in Korea that’s expected to be ready to pump out 150,000 vehicles in 2025. — Terrence O’Brien, managing editor
Samsung Ballie
Samsung
CES was a little light on notable robots this year, but Samsung revived one we loved when we first saw it way back in 2020. Ballie is an adorable, bowling ball-sized robot that rolls around your home, following you around like a robotic pet that's eager to please. Ballie is a lot bigger than it was when we saw it in 2020, and it now has a built-in 1080p projector so it can both show you things and speak to you when you ask it for help. Think of it like a Nest Hub on wheels.
We only got to see Ballie in a tightly-plotted demo at Samsung's booth, but it was simply delightful to watch Ballie roll around projecting workout routines, calendar updates and recipe videos on the walls. As with most smart home gadgets, there's a little bit of "solution searching for a problem" here. But it feels like Samsung nailed the form factor judging by how smoothly Ballie navigated its way around the demo area. And while many companies show off products like this that have no chance of actually reaching people in the real world, Samsung says Ballie will go on sale this year. — N.I.
Micron LPCAMM2 laptop RAM modules
Micron
If you've ever been annoyed that you couldn't upgrade your RAM in an ultraportable laptop, Micron has a potential solution: LPCAMM2 memory. It's a new form factor that's 64 percent smaller than standard SODIMM RAM sticks, and it's also potentially far faster and more efficient. Best of all is that it's a self-contained unit that can easily be removed and upgraded down the line.
LPCAMM2 RAM won't get as much hype as AI PCs, but it's something that could transform what's possible with future laptop designs. And if it means laptop makers stop soldering RAM directly onto motherboards, we'll call it a win. — D.H., senior reporter
Best in show: GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker
GE
CES 2024 is often described as a TV show or car show, but sometimes it’s more niche products that capture our imagination. GE Profile’s Smart Indoor Smoker is a countertop device that makes proper barbecue in your kitchen without filling your home with smoke. It’s designed to move air around the food to impart maximum smokiness inside, without letting airflow out. When your brisket, chicken or whatever is done, a filtration and catalyst system draws the smoke down, eventually expelling it as warm air.
Typically smoking food requires constant adjustments and vigilance, but the Smart Indoor Smoker has six preset cooking modes, while you’re able to adjust the degree of smokiness between five different levels. The wood pellets’ only function is to add flavor and not fuel the actual cooking process, so only a handful are needed per smoke session.
GE included a smart probe with the Smart Indoor Smoker too, so you can monitor the cooking process from a companion app and its Smoke and Hold feature can cook and smoke foods and keep them at food-safe temperatures for up to 24 hours. It’s not small (it's around the size of a mini fridge), but it’s stylish and simple to use, with a low barrier to entry for anyone tempted to try smoking their own foods. The device was also able to impart an impressive level of smokiness in only a few hours — we can’t wait to see what low-and-slow smoking could do. — Mat Smith, UK bureau chief
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-of-ces-2024-220054009.html?src=rss
Google has officially voiced support for Right to Repair (R2R) legislation. Specifically, the company supports Oregon’s SB 542, championed by State Senator Janeen Sollman (D). Although Google’s motives could be less about newfound altruism and more about shaping regulatory action that seems increasingly inevitable, “a win’s a win,” as they say in sports.
The company expressed its new R2R stance in a blog post and white paper published Thursday. “Today, we’re excited to reaffirm our support for the Right to Repair movement by releasing our first white paper on repair while endorsing proposed Oregon Right to Repair legislation that offers a compelling model for other states to follow,” the company wrote.
Google lobbied against Right to Repair legislation as recently as March 2021 when it opposed the HB21-1199 R2R bill in Colorado. It’s also on record opposing AB1163 in California. The company’s stance had already shifted before today, in line with the direction of regulatory winds. (It partnered with iFixit for self-repairs starting in 2022.) But Google suggesting its announcement today is merely “reaffirming” a value it’s always stood behind (while ignoring documented evidence to the contrary) appears disingenuous.
Google’s suggestions for regulators
Google’s language in the white paper reveals a legislation-shaping tactic. An entire section titled “Policy Perspective” breaks down the language and boundaries the company believes R2R regulations should contain.
Within this policy section of the paper is a passage about “design flexibility,” urging lawmakers not to hamstring device makers by implementing strict design codes. “Well-intentioned regulations that set specific design requirements and standards in an effort to improve repairability may have unintended consequences that inhibit innovation and inadvertently lead to bad outcomes, such as more e-waste,” Google wrote in its white paper. “Design-related policies for repair should focus on defining repairability outcomes rather than setting strict design standards.”
Another item in the policy section, “reasonable implementation period,” calls for regulations that won’t disrupt existing manufacturing schedules. “Consumer electronics operate with lengthy product development timelines, often spanning years,” Google wrote. “New regulatory measures should phase in on a sensible timeline that ensures manufacturers can meet new requirements without undue burden. Regulations should not apply to products that are already designed and launched as such measures are problematic and may have negative unintended consequences, such as creating more e-waste.”
Neither of those requests seems egregiously unreasonable — and the points about e-waste could be taken at face value — but, coincidentally or not, they do also align with Google’s business interests.
An Apple dig and... Project Ara?
Google squeezed in a dig at Apple, too. “Policies should constrain OEMs from imposing unfair anti-repair practices,” the paper reads. “For example, parts-pairing, the practice of using software barriers to obstruct consumers and independent repair shops from replacing components, or other restrictive impediments to repair should be discouraged.”
Of course, Apple is notorious for parts-pairing, the practice of digitally linking part serial numbers to the device serial, locking out third-party repair services (and leaving the people who paid them with obnoxious incompatibility warnings).
Project Ara, which made it to the Google graveyard before hitting store shelves, was shouted out in the white paper.
Google
Google’s paper highlights examples from its history of supporting R2R and similar initiatives, even calling out the (cancelled) Project Ara modular phone from a decade ago as an example of projects that “push the boundaries and better understand our users’ needs for repair.” (If it had only made it to consumers.)
The paper also touts Google’s buildouts of its repair capabilities, seven years of software support for Pixels and seven years of support for hardware parts. All of this can be seen as a resounding victory for the R2R movement, even if corporations’ motives continue to be less noble than they like to let on.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-claims-to-reaffirm-right-to-repair-support-three-years-after-lobbying-against-it-205828956.html?src=rss
Since Sony Honda Mobility revealed its EV collaboration at last year’s CES, not much has changed externally. The Afeela EV does now have a LIDAR notch above the windshield, and there’s been some design refinements and tweaks, but for CES 2024, the company was trying to express exactly how all of Sony’s entertainment and sensor expertise would combine with Honda’s automotive know-how, and why we should care about its high-tech EV.
The Afeela will create its own noise cancellation bubble, apparently “tailoring the cabin for entertainment” using Sony’s Spatial Audio technology. According to SHM’s renderings, there appear to be roughly 30 speakers. These were put to use in one of the most surreal experiences I’ve had at CES: playing Horizon Forbidden West inside a car.
No, there isn’t a PS5 baked into this concept EV, but a demonstration involving PlayStation’s long-running Remote Play feature. Sure, the Bluetooth connection to the controller was temperamental (CES is just hundreds of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals clashing), but conceptually, it works. I also got to “test-drive” the Afeela through a simulator in a realistic computer-generated city, courtesy of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5, with even the digital wing mirrors reflecting what they would see in real life. The simulator’s dash display then offered an AR overlay, showing vehicles, objects and pedestrians, flagging nearby hazards in red.
I’m sure many wonder if SHM’s EV will ever exist as a consumer vehicle, but at CES, it’s found the perfect audience for its gadget-packed car.
— Mat Smith
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At CES, a startup showed off TheButter, a four-key instrument with light-up pads your dog can “play.” Your pet has to follow along the sequence of lights, each one triggering another few notes of whatever song you’ve equipped it with. Once done, you should reward their effort with a treat or some other form of encouragement — no, it’s not automated. TheButter is now available to buy in the US for $99, and you’ll also get the companion app to set your dog’s training routine.
Samsung is running its first event of the year a little earlier than usual. It will start on January 17 at 1PM ET. We’re expecting the company to unveil its Galaxy S24 smartphone family and possibly a few more gadgets. Fortunately, thanks to leaks, we have a good idea of what to expect from the company’s latest smartphones.
While MEMS drivers may be the next big thing in true wireless earbuds, the first models with the solid-state components still require a hybrid setup. These products pair a MEMS speaker with a dynamic driver. The current-gen driver from xMEMS, a California-based company that develops audio components, is called Cowell, and it’s already available in earbuds from the likes of Creative. Its new driver will arrive in products in 2025. We’ve tested them out, and you can really hear the difference.
In a rare twist for anyone that's followed product announcements at tech shows, a lot of the tech at CES 2024 is actually available to buy already. While it may not be a Sony Honda EV or a transparent TV, some of the latest monitors, headphones and more are already up for grabs.
Urtopia has tried to separate its e-bike's from the pack with copious use of technology and this year the company has outdone itself. It just showed off its flagship Fusion model for the first time in full at CES 2024 (after teasing it earlier this year) and it's fully integrated with none other than ChatGPT, the buzzy AI assistant. The Fusion follows the company's previous tech-infused Chord and original Urtopia models.
Urtopia calls the Fusion "the world's first dual battery, dual motor ebike by design visionary Hartmut Esslinger," a very specific claim. It's built with carbon fiber to reduce weight and uses a Shimano CUES derailleur on the regular model and Enviolo stepless shifter on the premium CVT version. The dual 540Wh battery allows for 120km of range (75 miles), but the 360Wh battery extender brings that up to 200km (124 miles) — enough to traverse Paris from north to south about 20 times.
Urtopia
It can hit up to 25 km/h thanks to the 95Nm mid-drive motor and has 100mm of travel with the air suspension fork. All that, combined with the relatively light weight (23 kg) wide tires and stable frame, make it suitable for off-road, trails and city riding.
That could be any e-bike, but the Fusion's headline feature is the tech. It's connected by 4G and uses GPS tracking to keep you informed of the bike's location even if stolen. It also comes with a movement alarm, fingerprint unlock, route tracking, navigation without a cellphone and Bluetooth music via a built-in speaker — all as with past models.
What's new is what the company calls "Jarvis" technology enabled by a smart ring (the company didn't say which one) to power the bike on, play music or activate the other tech feature, ChatGPT. You can also converse directly with ChatGPT through the built-in speaker. You may reasonably ask what ChatGPT is doing on an e-bike — the answer is that it can help you "explore new routes, get real-time information, and even engage in entertaining conversations," according to Urtopia.
We're not sure how useful a chat assistant is when dodging traffic at 25 km/h, but it might at least keep you company on a lonely trail. It's also a pretty solid marketing gimmick that the company is using to separate itself from the many, many other e-bikes on the market. Buyers will have to be pretty well heeled, though, as the Fusion will cost €3,999 (around $4,375) and the Fusion CVT will run a hefty €4,999 ($5,467). There's no word yet on when it'll go on sale or if it will come to the US.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/urtopias-fusion-e-bike-has-fully-integrated-chatgpt-144429572.html?src=rss
Sony’s big press event at CES 2024 didn’t reveal much for the first half, retreading the company’s entertainment successes in TV, film and music. Then, out of the blue, it revealed an as-yet-unnamed mixed reality headset, with almost anime-looking controllers.
While there are some design similarities, this isn’t a VR headset à la PSVR. This is for “spatial content creation." The headset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, announced just as CES began. This means it’s a self-contained device that doesn’t require a computer. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said the 4K OLED microdisplays on the headset would offer a “crisp viewing experience” and “intuitive interaction for 3D design.”
The headset has a pair of controllers. One is described as a “ring controller” for manipulating objects and the other as a “pointing controller” for... pointing. Sony envisions creators being able to craft 3D models in real time with them.
It all seems a more creative interpretation of Microsoft’s HoloLens. We haven’t yet seen the headset in person, though. Hopefully, we’ll get more details from Sony’s booth, here in Las Vegas.
Yesterday, Intel revealed its entire 14th-generation CPU family, which includes powerful HX series chips, like the 24-core i9-14900HX, as well as new mainstream desktop CPUs. That means, of course, lots of new laptops. We’ve got impressions and reports on new ASUS, Alienware, Acer, Lenovo and Razer computers, but I’d point you toward the weirdest PC we saw so far: the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5. As pictured here, the bottom is a Windows laptop deck, and the display is a 14-inch Android tablet. You can use the tablet as a standalone Android device, a wireless monitor for the laptop base or a Wacom-like drawing display.
Samsung showed off a robot named Ballie, which has a projector built in. Interestingly, though, according to a report from The Washington Post, Samsung said the robotic sphere will actually be available for sale within the year.
We first saw an early iteration of Ballie in 2020, touted as a household assistant and potential fitness assistant, with such sophisticated skills as opening smart curtains and turning on the TV. But four years later, it’s a little different. It’s now “bowling-ball-size” and has a spatial LiDAR sensor and a 1080p projector. The latter has two lenses and allows the robot to display movies, video calls and “greetings” on its surrounding surfaces.
Mercedes-AMG and will.i.am are collaborating on a new sound system for cars, called MBUX SOUND DRIVE (all caps, apparently). It pulls data from the car’s sensors, which control a specially deconstructed music file. Start the car and you hear a music track’s bed, looping in the background; accelerate to a low speed and it’ll add some bass reverb to the song. On top of that, moving the steering wheel gets you extra effects or the chorus loop kicking in. It’s only when you open the car up on a clear highway that the main music and lyrics start. Daniel Cooper tested it out, here in Las Vegas.
Skyted’s Silent Mask launched its Kickstarter campaign today at CES 2024. It’s a noise-reducing wearable that would allow you to speak freely about confidential information anywhere, without worrying about people around you hearing. It’s already broken its $8,800 goal many times over. While the noise reduction tech has its limits, the idea is it’ll offer a degree of confidentiality to voice calls in busy or quiet public spaces.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-sonys-mixed-reality-headset-breaks-cover-at-ces-2024-181019926.html?src=rss
Formlabs has rolled up to CES 2024 in Las Vegas with its customary bundle of announcements for its class-leading 3D printers. The company unveiled several new tools and materials at this year's show, but the most interesting has to be its Premium Teeth Resin, yet another foray into the dentistry world. It’s intended to be used to create 3D-printed dentures as well as for temporary restorations that sit on implants like All-On-X. The company says it’s already been registered with the FDA as a Class II biocompatible material, and has had its longevity validated.
This isn’t the first step the company has made into the dentistry space and already offers the tools to make dentures. It’s a natural venue for 3D-printing, and Formlabs, given the need for customization and its work in building a wide variety of materials for use. Premium Teeth Resin takes this a step further, with the company saying it can be color-matched to existing teeth so it won’t be as noticeable if you’re rocking a falsie. It's available to order now, although we'd advise against anyone attempting to do their own dentistry.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/formlabs-shows-up-at-ces-2024-with-more-realistic-3d-printed-teeth-140027827.html?src=rss
