Hands On Alcatel’s $149 Smartwatch at CES 2015

At CES this week, Alcatel announced a few new products. Including a $149 smartwatch that works with both Android and iOS. It looks a lot like the Moto 360, and it doesn’t have the “flat tire” look either. It’s a really decent looking smartwatch, although I think it would garner a bit more attention if it was running on Android Wear. But you can check out the gallery below and let us know what you think about this smartwatch from Alcatel. It’s interesting that they went with the “compatible with Android and iOS” approach, and for them it’s probably a smart one.

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Sony Leaker Suggests Xperia Z4 And Galaxy S6 Could Have Been Unveiled To Carriers At CES

We all saw the teaser, the one from Sony “welcoming” us to the new world, which many are speculating showed off a glimpse of Sony’s upcoming new flagship device, the Sony Xperia Z4. Some even speculated that because they showed off this new teaser for CES 2015,(currently going on)that we might even see the Xperia Z4 show up at the event. Going off of Sony’s past device reveals, it didn’t seem likely that we would get to see the Japanese tech giant show of their latest and greatest for the new year, since they have in the past shown off these flagships in the Xperia Z line at MWC which is next month, and as Sony’s press conference has come and gone for CES 2015, no phone unveiling.

According to a Twitter user who has been said to be famous for Sony device leaks in the past, their recent tweet suggests that Sony may have actually had the Xperia Z4 at the show, but only “secretly” unveiled it to carriers and not consumers. Take this with a grain of salt, as there is no proof that Sony did anything of the sort. If you’re a Sony fan though and you want to believe that they revealed the phone to carriers, chalk it up to faith and really nothing more. Even if they did unveil the phone to carriers, it doesn’t matter much to consumers since we still didn’t get to see anything ourselves, and we learn nothing new from this information. That is, unless carriers did see it and they tease us with information themselves down the line before the official reveal from Sony.

That may not be likely to happen though as Sony surely had carrier parties that were allegedly involved sign a non-disclosure agreement to keep things quiet, which would make sense. According to the leaker, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint were all shown the new device along with the Samsung Galaxy S6 in a closed off room so as not to reveal anything to prying consumer eyes. A situation like this is not something that is completely unheard of but for now this is just a rumor. Perhaps the takeaway here might be that if all four major U.S. carriers were to have seen the Sony Xperia Z4, it might mean we’ll finally see a flagship device from Sony on all four of those carriers. Hopeful, we know, but we can dream right?

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Sony Announces 14 New BRAVIA Televisions Running Android TV At CES 2015

Dedicated technology newshounds have already heard that all of Sony's upcoming BRAVIA televisions will feature Android TV powering their integrated electronics. At CES, the biggest show around in terms of home theater (among other things), they've made good on that promise. Don't believe me? Watch these attractive people over-emote and demonstrate a BRAVIA television's Google Cast feature and ability to play games from the Play Store.

Android TV runs these TVs, including the various inputs and live television, in a manner similar to some Roku-branded HDTVs already on the market.

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Google+ For Android Hits 1 Billion Installs, While Google Play Games And Google Drive Both Reach 500 Million

There comes a moment in the life of most pre-installed Google apps where they hit the big 1 billion installs mark. This is measure less of how many users have sought out the software on the Play Store and more the number of times people have set up devices in the years since the app became available. Though in the case of Google+, the latest app to reach this milestone, there are surely people out there who didn't get the software out of the box and decided they wanted in on the fun.

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Floome, a smart breathalyzer, can share your drinking habits with the world

Is there anything left that cannot be tracked? It is starting to seem that way. A new smart breathalyzer called Floome is on the market aiming to make blood alcohol content (BAC) measuring fun. The device gets inserted into a device’s audio jack and then the user blows into it. It shares the user’s BAC with the app that saves gender, age, and weight. With all of this information, Floome will inform the user when to take another test before being able to drive again. In the event that the test remains not so great, Floome can redirect the user to call a car service or friend for pickup.

The best thing about Floome, however, is its ability to share a user’s blood alcohol content with the world. The app will forward the measurement to Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. Either your friends/followers will come to the rescue with a pickup or they will laugh all about it as you scratch your head the following morning.

Hit the break for the press release. Click here for our full CES 2015 coverage.

FLOOME Smartphone Breathalyzer Launches With Italian Design, Social Panache and Accuracy

For Safety, Accurate Blood Alcohol Content Measurement and Easy Access to Cabs, Bring FLOOME Next Time You Go Drinking

LAS VEGAS, NV — (Marketwired) — 01/06/15 — CES – Booth 75728/Sands Expo – When you drink, FLOOME. That is going to be the new line for anyone enjoying a pint of beer or a pastel cocktail at the local watering hole. FLOOME is the new smartphone breathalyzer that combines chic, award-winning Italian design, elegant shape and feel with very accurate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measurement. FLOOME, from 2045Tech, launches today at CES. (Try FLOOME at booth 75728, Sands Expo/Eureka Park.)

Providing a unique user experience in size, shape, social features and app functionality, FLOOME will be available in the US later this year. Attaching to the audio jack of your smartphone, FLOOME sports a battery that never needs to be charged or replaced, does not require any warm up time or calibration and makes it fun to measure and share your blood alcohol content (BAC).

“FLOOME is a brand new way to have fun and stay in control when you drink,” says Fabio Penzo, CEO, 2045Tech, which created FLOOME. “FLOOME can help you to call for a ride home or find food nearby if you have had too much to drink. Or, you can share your BAC to let your friends know whether you need help or, if you have not been drinking, you can let them know that you can safely drive them home. FLOOME fits in your purse or pocket, feels good to the touch and can be a new drinking buddy whenever you go out. That’s why we say, ‘If you drink, FLOOME.’”

Delivers accurate info with a fun app in a chic device

A highly accurate breathalyzer, FLOOME utilizes a flow meter and the fuel cell sensors used in professional breathalyzers to detect ethanol molecules to determine the BAC. FLOOME works with iOS, Windows and Android smartphones, easily connecting through the phone’s audio jack. After blowing into the device, the BAC is calculated based on your physical characteristics (gender, age, weight) and the information is reported through the app.

In addition to the BAC, the app tells you approximately how long you will need to wait to possibly be under the legal limit to drive, reminds you when to take another test, calls a cab or other ride service and shows you nearby restaurants. The device has a removable mouthpiece which can be cleaned so it is easy to share.

FLOOME’s app includes social features such as sharing your BAC in a selfie photo overlay for posting to Facebook, Twitter and other networks, and a social map highlighted with your location and your BAC so your friends can see where are, if you are safe to get home or might need some assistance.

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Mystery LG smartwatch reportedly spotted at CES 2015

Samson Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System offers high quality sound at an affordable price

We are seeing plenty of new products enter the home automation, automobile, television, and sound spaces at CES 2015. For folks seeking to connect phones and tablets (as well as other devices) to impressive speakers that are not very expensive, Samson has announced the Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System. The Meteor M2 brings what is traditionally found in a three-piece system to a two-speaker setup. It has very clear detail along with deep stereo sound.

The Samson Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System costs $149 and it is already available. We should not that there is no indication of a wireless connection here, but Samson includes a speaker cable to connect the setup and an 1/8-inch auxiliary cable.

Hit the break for the full press release. Click here for our full CES 2015 coverage.

Enjoy The Way Music Should Sound With Samson’s Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System

Inhale a new breath of sonic life into your digital world through Samson’s Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System at CES South Hall 1, booth 21935.

LAS VEGAS – Jan. 6, 2015 – Available for $149.99, Samson’s Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System is the ideal sound solution for desktops, laptops and tablets. Through the use of premium components, innovative sound design and custom digital signal processing, the full metal Meteor M2 breathes new sonic life into your favorite music, movies and games.

Aided by a solid, zinc die cast construction, the Meteor M2 delivers powerful full-range sound that goes way beyond its compact size. The stereo pair speaker system combines two 2.5” drivers and rear-ported passive radiators to produce exceptional low-end depth and punch normally confined to larger speakers and 3-piece systems with dedicated subwoofers.

Samson’s Meteor M2 produces a detailed, true stereo sound field with serious output power. Custom digital signal processing delivers an optimal balance between the low, mid and high frequencies. This makes the Meteor M2s perfect for extended fatigue-free music playback sessions and watching movies. Ready to use right out of the box, the Meteor M2 comes with a speaker cable to connect the stereo pair, as well as an 1/8” Aux cable to instantly connect the speakers to your computer, tablet, smartphone or MP3 player. In addition, the Meteor M2’s zinc die cast construction provides solid durability, while their sleek, elegant finish looks great on any desk.

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About Samson Technologies:

Samson Technologies began in 1980 as a pioneer in wireless microphone technology. Today, Samson is an industry leader in professional audio solutions whose products are known for their fidelity and reliability. Samson products are preferred by recording artists, performers, educators and audio professionals throughout the world.

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Google’s YouTube Is Going To Receive 360 Degree Video Upload Support In The Near Future

Google has been bringing plenty of cool little tweaks and changes to YouTube in the past few months, with one of the more recent new features being support for turning YouTube videos into GIF images natively within YouTube. Although that feature has yet to hit all YouTube channels on a more widespread scale. According to a YouTube spokesperson who confirmed to Gizmodo, YouTube is set to get another new feature soon that will allow users to upload 360 degree videos so viewers can see everything that’s going on around the channel creators who are uploading content.

This will have to be done with the kind of equipment that can produce a 360 degree video, which may seem like something new likely because many people probably haven’t heard of the devices with such a capability. Google was light on details, in fact the details are almost non-existent short of the time users and content creators can expect to be able to upload and enjoy 360 degree videos on the platform, which is supposed to be in the “coming weeks.” How YouTube plans to make this type of feature work is unknown at this point, but the inner workings of the technology will probably not matter to most users who are interested in either viewing or uploading the content.

Google’s statement, “Ever wanted to get 360 perspectives on a video to see everything going on? That’s why we’re working to support 360 degree videos in the coming weeks,” is kind enough to shed some light on when we can expect to see the upload format support, and although the coming weeks could mean anywhere from three weeks to six weeks, we should all have plenty of time to imagine what these 360 videos might look like from our favorite YouTube channels. It’ll certainly make for some really interesting content and we can’t wait to see what some creators come up with. Google was also mum on whether or not this will be a feature that we’ll see in both the YouTube web platform and the mobile apps, but we suspect if it were to end up a supported feature on both, it would likely come to the website first.

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Could this mysterious watch be the LG G Watch R 2?

There are a lot of things meant to be seen at CES, but some of the best stuff are the ones that aren’t literally on display. Take for instance the watch in the image above which is made by LG and was on the wrist of Ulrich Hackenberg during Audi’s press conference at CES.

It certainly resembles the G Watch R in the design, but other than the obvious difference of silver, you can clearly see three buttons at the right. What they could be used for is anyone’s guess. This watch actually looks a lot like what I asked for in my review of the G Watch R: A two-toned silver and black option.

When will it be available is a valid question, but a bigger question would be, is this even Android Wear? It’s safe to assume that it is, but there is a very small possibility it could be WebOS. I doubt it, but crazier things have happened.

Be sure to check out our full CES 2015 coverage.

source: TheVerge

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Razer introduces $100 game console, virtual reality set, and peripherals

ASUS New ZenFone 2 Shows Off Some Camera Samples In Low Light

At CES 2015, ASUS unveiled their two new ZenFone devices, the ASUS ZenFone 2 and the ASUS ZenFone Zoom. While we haven’t had the pleasure of any real in-depth hands on time with either phone yet, thanks to Phone Arena we’re getting to see some first ever camera samples of the ZenFone 2, a device with what seems to be an astonishingly good camera for the price of $199. It also features a 64-bit quad-core processor and a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, 4GB of RAM(what!!!!??)although there is also a 2GB RAM model, and it comes running Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.

The camera quality is what we’re really focusing on here though, which comes in weighing at 13MP with a 5 element f/2.0 aperture lens, and it still boggles the mind that you’ll get that kind of camera quality out of a $200 price point. Moving on, let’s talk a bit about the camera samples shown below. The 13MP rear facing camera is accompanied by a dual-LED flash, and that seems to really help the ZenFone 2 in extremely low light situations. Phone Arena states that it “shines” in low light, with low light being one of the major points of why some smartphone cameras are utterly horrible.

While the 13MP camera sensor certainly helps to make the ASUS ZenFone 2 a decent mobile shooter, what probably gives the phone a better low light image capability is ASUS pixelmaster software which is built into the device. It’s also present in the ZenFone Zoom. The Pixelmaster software according to ASUS is supposed to help make your low light photos up to 400% brighter in the low light mode. We’re not too sure whether or not 400% brighter is accurate, but the camera samples certainly seem to support ASUS statement and just for comparison we included one of the photos that was taken that really displays the low light picture quality when compared to a couple flagship devices, the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. In the picture of the butterfly, you can see how the ZenFone 2 actually produces a better low light shot, which is pretty amazing. The bottom line is, if you’re looking for a smartphone that can produce a great image, while also handling low light situations rather nicely, the ASUS ZenFone 2 starting at $199 seems like a pretty good option.

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Seven New Blu Phones Announced, Including 3 That Are Lollipop Upgradable

Blu usually does this; the US based vendor often launches devices in batches rather than having a launch for each one. Today, the company announced a total of seven devices, out of which it promises three will get updated to Lollipop. As you would’ve expected, none of the phones really are flagship killers or anything of that sort, but rather mid-range phones that look good, and don’t burn a hole in your pocket. Lets take a look.

The Vivo Air is a 5.1mm thin octa-core smartphone, with a 4.8-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, an 8 mega-pixel rear camera and a 5 mega-pixel front camera besides a 2100mAh battery. From what we can tell, the phone is manufactured at Gionee facilities; the Chinese company offers the device with the ‘Elife S5.1′ moniker. A rebrand was launched in the UK too, recently. The Vivo Air will retail for US$199 starting this month.

Moving on, the Blue Studio Energy is a battery-centric phone with a massive 5,000mAh battery, which should take you through a couple days of heavy use. Other than that, there’s a 5-inch 720p display covered in Gorilla Glass 3, a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 8 mega-pixel rear camera and a 2 mega-pixel front facing camera. The phone will retail for US$179.

The Blu Life One and One XL are variants of the One series, and come with 5-inch and 5.5-inch screens respectively. Both phones come with Snapdragon 410 SoCs, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 13 mega-pixel rear cameras and 5 mega-pixel front cameras, and have the same 1280 x 720p resolution despite the difference in screen size. While the Life One comes with a 2420mAh battery, the One XL has a 2820mAh cell. Also, something that should make the devices more of a bargain is the fact that Blu promises an update to Lollipop, minus a timeline. The Life One and Life One XL will be available for purchase for US$179 and US$199 respectively.

The Studio X and the X Plus that Blu announced today come with 5-inch and 5.5-inch screens with a 1280 x 720p resolution. Both come powered by the popular MediaTek MT6582 quad-core CPU along with 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM and have 8 mega-pixel rear cameras and 2 mega-pixel front shooters. While the Studio X has a 2100mAh battery, the X Plus comes in with a 2600mAh unit. Both of these devices are among the ones promised to get Lollipop updates. While the Studio X is priced US$129, the larger cousin of the device will go for US$159.

Last but not the least is the affordable Blue Studio G. It comes with a 5-inch FWVGA display along with the same MediaTek MT6582 processor that features on the Studio X series. However, there’s just 512MB RAM on this one paired with 4GB of on-board storage. Besides, it has a 5 mega-pixel rear camera and a 2 mega-pixel front facing one, and a 2000mAh battery that should last through one work day. The device gets a US$89 price tag.

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