CES 2015

I’ve been looking for a serious MacBook dock setup for quite some time, but really have been disappointed in the current offerings. Henge Docks displayed its Horizontal Dock as a prototype last year, but it’s now available to order and I’m pretty excited about it…

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cE9Xc5kqmY&HD=1]
Scanadu cofounder Sam De Brouwer demonstrates the Scout and Scanaflo

At CES this week I met with a very interesting company called Scanadu which makes two interesting healthcare products that connect with the iPhone…

The Scanadu Scout (pictured, right) is a little electronic device designed by Yves Béhar that you touch to your forehead for a few seconds. Almost instantly, physiological parameters, including temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation, respiratory rate, ECG, and diastolic/systolic blood pressure are sent to an app on your iPhone which logs these measurements and alerts users to anomalies and deviations which may be cause for heath concerns.

The Scout closed a $1.6M Indigogo funding round in 2013 and is still trying to push the product through the FDA as it tries to get deliveries to customers.

Perhaps more interesting however, Scnadu introduced its new “Scanaflo” device at CES 2015 which is a home urinalysis apparatus that uses your iPhone’s camera to image a set of colors strips.
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Along our CES 2015 journey we stopped over at The House of Marley to take a look at some of the new gear they have launching this year. If you’re not familiar with the company, they create a wide range of audio accessories which are crafted from natural and recycled materials. In the video below, we took a closer look at the Legend ANC headphones and Chant Mini Bluetooth speaker…

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There’s a very clear message delivered on the CES 2015 show floor: Smart home tech is definitely a thing. There is a ton of tech/accessories being showcased at CES that are designed to make your home life easier through connectivity. We’ve roamed the show floor searching high and low to bring you a roundup of some of the best smart home tech that was announced…

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Yesterday we kicked off our running list of the best iPhone cases on show at CES 2015, and today we’ve started collecting the new and interesting iPad cases we’ve run into at the show. Some of the notables include a new case from AT&T that gives Wi-Fi only iPads access to LTE data in addition to a battery pack and microSD slot, and a new folio case from Incipio that adds a small display for smartwatch-like notifications without opening the cover.

Head below for the full list of the new iPad cases, most of which are scheduled to arrive sometime in the weeks and months to come.
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There are thousands of new Apple accessories at the 2015 CES – so many that it’s hard sometimes to separate what’s truly cool from everything else. Starting with HomeKit-integrated accessories, here’s our running list of the best new iPad, iPhone, and Mac products 9to5Mac has seen at the show. We updated this article on January 9, 2015 – the final day of CES – to include our last batch of top picks.

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There is a never ending supply of new iPhone cases at CES again this year, so we’ve decided to roundup the best of the best below. Some of the cases include backup batteries, others offer charging via built-in solar panels, and one includes a detachable Bluetooth speaker. One of the new cases even claims to “defend against the bend,” a jab at the iPhone 6 Plus bending controversy of last year. Head below for the run down on the growing list of iPhone cases launching at CES:
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There are a lot of audio mixers and DJ controllers on the market specifically for iPad and iPhone users, but so far most require you to run cables or dock your device in a rather large unit. The latest option that we got a chance to try during CES today is Braven’s new Fuse Bluetooth audio mixer, a lightweight wireless option that lets you connect two audio sources and your output all through Bluetooth:
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Kenwood announced today at CES 2015 its first entry into the aftermarket CarPlay space with its new DDX9902S multimedia receiver. Kenwood’s announcement follows the roll out of competing aftermarket CarPlay head units from both Pioneer, which was first to bring CarPlay to the market and Alpine, which built a dedicated CarPlay display. In addition to supporting CarPlay, Kenwood says its DDX9902S display will support Google’s Android Auto feature in the same unit.
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Incipio today unveiled a new lineup of iOS- and HomeKit-compatible automation tools during the Consumer Electronics Show. The three new pieces of tech will be available in stores in Q2 2015.

The first two items on the list are very similar: the Direct Wireless Smart Outlet and the Direct Wireless Smart Power strip. Both provide users with the ability to activate and control electric devices from a smartphone using the upcoming Incipio Direct app.

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A MagSafe charger smaller than Apple’s but made by a third-party? Ruggedized rubber hard drives from a company known for Mac-matching aluminum enclosures? Synchronized stereo speakers with color-shifting mood lights for your bedroom? Yes, the annual pre-CES Pepcom event took place in Las Vegas last night, and these were just a few of the products we spotted on the floor. Read on for more details…

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OtterBox has today revealed its Resurgence power case for the iPhone 6 at CES 2015. The company made its first foray into the iPhone power case market with the Resurgence for iPhone 5/5s, so it only seems fitting for the company to continue iterating on the case. OtterBox touts that the Resurgence for iPhone 6 doubles the battery life of the smartphone, while also offering military grade drop protection.

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How often is merely showing up with a working lightbulb enough to attract a crowd? At a dimly-lit event held tonight by the Bluetooth SIG ahead of the 2015 CES, Avi-on demonstrated such modest magic using an early implementation of Bluetooth mesh wireless connectivity.

The company’s upcoming Bluetooth light switches ($30-$35), light dimmers ($40), and lightbulbs ($20) will be the backbone of an upcoming home lighting system with General Electric branding, and promise to eliminate the need for in-wall light switch wiring.

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Every year, top-ranked Apple speaker maker iHome comes to CES with an impressive array of new products — including something to show off Apple’s latest technology — and it isn’t disappointing at the 2015 CES. In an advance briefing before the show officially opened, iHome revealed its first Apple HomeKit product, SmartPlug ($40), as well as some daring new speaker and headphone designs…

…like the first speaker we’ve seen hidden inside a beautiful drinking flask. It’s called SoundFlask, and comes in coat pocket- ($50) and home bar-sized ($100) versions. Even the smaller version sounds really good given its size, and the flask cap twists to adjust the volume. All that’s missing is the ability to actually hold fluids. Read on for more.

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Volkswagen, at CES 2015, has finally announced what it plans to do with both CarPlay and Android Auto. The German auto manufacturer has confirmed that it will begin shipping cars with CarPlay capabilities later this year in its 2016 models. We reported back July of last year that Volkswagen and Apple were in talks to bring CarPlay to VW’s 2016 models.

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It’s that time of year again: CES, the mega-event in Las Vegas where every company except Apple releases its upcoming product roadmap. 9to5 has six people on the ground this year, and we’re covering big ticket items, as well as searching for the sort of hidden gold nuggets only the massive CES can deliver.

Qardio, maker of award-winning, smartphone-connected healthcare accessories including the already-available QardioArm wireless blood pressure monitor, was nice enough to sponsor us this year. And we’ve just had a chance to see two seriously smart new products it’s releasing in the spring, as well as its software platform for delivering health data to doctors.

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While Apple is set to release its Watch sometime early this year, CES 2015 is already packed with smartwatches with a range of focuses including fitness, fashion, and utility. We already saw Withings show off its colorful and affordable Activité Pop smartwatch with 8 month battery life, and others including Misfit, Garmin, Magellan, First Alert and more also have something for your wrist to show off at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. Check out the latest below:
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Griffin unveiled a series of new accessories for mobile devices today during the Consumer Electronics Show. The first of these accessories is the iTrip Aux Bluetooth, which combines a standard 3.5mm audio cable with a Bluetooth reciever powered by the cigarette lighter in your car, allowing you to stream your music wirelessly to your car’s stereo, even if you don’t have a Bluetooth equipped car.

The iTrip Aux AutoPilot, a sister device, works using a Lightning cable to charge your iOS device while using the data connection to access your music library, which is then played through the same 3.5mm jack as the Bluetooth model.

Both accessories retail for $49.99 and are available from Griffin’s website starting today.

The company also announced…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfrN8IVQB84&channel=parrot]

Parrot today introduced its new infotainment system, currently known only by its model number, “RNB6,” that features a 7-inch 720p display. The system runs on a custom build of Android, but has full support for the iPhone’s CarPlay feature, allowing control of your cell phone’s key functions through your dashboard.

Even without a phone connected, the system offers onboard navigation (integrated with the dashcam), phone call capability (presumably over Bluetooth unless connected via CarPlay or Android Auto), vehicle diagnostics, music and climate control, and more.

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