2016 News Coverage

The LG 65G6P 4K Ultra HD OLED TV Wins 2016 TV Shootout AdsCurved TVInfo TV 4KTV SOled TVLG OledPanasonic TVLG TVUHD TVBest TV

Which TV Is Best For Your Home Theater?

The answer to this question is not only determined by the numbers, but the subjective opinion based on each individual viewer’s perceptions and needs.

The TV Shootout

To pin down more precisely what might be the best TV, both technical and observational factors have to be taken into consideration. To assist in this endeavor, Value Electronicsconducts an annual TV shootout (now in its 12th year) in which a selected group of experts and consumers take part.

For 2016, Value Electronics hosted the contest at CE Week, which is a mini-CES trade show held annually in New York City during June.

The TVs selected for the 2016 shootout included were all 4K UltraHD sets, and included threeLED/LCD sets (Samsung, Sony, Vizio) and one OLED unit (LG).

The 2016 Contenders

Value Electronics invited several manufacturers to participate, and LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio answered the call with requests to enter several models, which were narrowed down to the single flagship model from each company.

The entries selected represent the best (and highest priced) models each company has to offer consumers in 2016.

Here is the listing of the final entries chosen for the shootout (listed in the left-to-right order they appear in the photo included with this article):

OLED65G6P OLED TV – Buy From Amazon

Sony XBR75X940D Ultra HD LED/LCD TV – Buy From Amazon

Samsung UN78KS9800 Curved Screen UHD LED/LCD TV – Buy From Amazon

Vizio RS65-B2 Ultra HD LED/LCD TV – Available at Best Buy/Magnolia

Test Conditions

Journalists, TV calibration professionals, and other CE Week attendees were invited to judge the TVs. All four TVs were line-up side-by-side for viewing. For a look at the actual testing conditions, and testing sessions, check out a video diary of the event via Livestream (formal presentation with audio begins at about the 30 minute mark).

A series of standardized test patterns and a selection of film clips was presented. Test categories included: Black Quality, Perceived Contrast, Color Accuracy, Moving Resolution (how much resolution in maintained in moving images as opposed to still images), Off-Axis performance (viewing quality on either side of the center sweet spot), Screen Uniformity (how well is color, brightness, and contrast distributed across the entire screen surface), HDR/Wide Color Gamut Performance, and overall viewing quality in both a well-lit room (Day Mode) and darkened room (Night Mode).

There are also several additional points to keep in mind about the TV Shootout.

Not all screen sizes were the same. The LG and Vizio entries were 65-inches, Samsung contributed a 78-inch model, and Sony rounded out the entries with their flagship 75-inch model.
Although the LG and Sony entries were 3D-capable, 3D performance was not a measured category.
The Samsung UN78KS9800 was the only TV in the shootout that had a curved screen.
All the TVs were arranged along the same horizontal plane.
All of the entries were HDR compatible, and were evaluated for the performance of that feature.
It is very important to note the TVs entered in the shootout were evaluated strictly on video performance. Factors such as built-in audio and ease-of-use were not taken into consideration, nor were added Smart features such as network and internet streaming capabilities evaluated.

The Winner!

Value Electronics, based on the scores submitted by the attendees, declared the LG 65G6P OLED TV as the overall winner of the 2016 TV Shootout.

The LG 65G6P topped the results in all categories except for overall daytime viewing quality. In that category, the LG LG 65G6P was bested by the Sony XBR75X940D.

The results also revealed that while the LG won by a wide margin, Sony came in second for Perceived Contrast, Color Accuracy, HDR/Wide Color Gamut, and Night mode performance, Samsung came in an overall third place across the board, with the results rounding out with Vizio in fourth place in all tested categories.

Another interesting result to take note of is that the LG 65G6P did better in color accuracy and wide color gamut performance than both the Samsung and Sony sets, which incorporateQuantum Dot Technology (touted by it is proponents to be able to match the color quality of OLED at less cost).

To find out more on how each TV placed in the shootout, which also includes a by-category breakdown of each TV’s strength and weaknesses, check out the results chart posted by Value Electronics.

The Final Word – Sort Of….

Final points to take into consideration is that even with professional calibrators, journalists, and “videophile” consumers, there is some subjective variation on how each person between and within those groups perceive color and light.

In other words, although this type of TV shootout probably provides the best way to evaluate TV image quality in a side-by-side viewing environment, the top vote getters may not necessarily provide the best choice for every consumer, and, of course, you have to keep you budget in mind. Also, the top sets from only four TV makers were represented.

NOTE: This was the first year that Panasonic did not participate as they have geared down their TV presence in the U.S. market and no longer offer a high-end flagship set (Read my report for more details).

Bonus Articles from About.com TV/Video:

Hands On With The Sony XBR75X940D 4K Ultra HD TV

The LG OLED TV Range Profile (Includes the OLED65G6P)

Winners from past years include: The LG 65EG9600 OLED TV (2015), LG 55EC9300 OLED TV and Samsung F8500 Plasma TV (2014 – TIE), Samsung F8500 Plasma TV (2013), Panasonic VT50 Plasma TV (2012), Sharp Elite LED/LCD TV (2011), and Panasonic VT25 Plasma TV (2010).

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

LG’s OLED Wins 2016 Value Electronics TV Shootout

For the third consecutive year, LG’s OLED technology has found itself atop the heap at the annual TV shootout held by Scarsdale, NY-based retailer Value Electronics.

LG’s top-of-the-line Signature G6 OLED, represented at the 65-inch size in the model OLED65G6P, was named the “King of TV” for 2016 following two days of presentations and balloting that were part of the CE Week event schedule in New York. Joel Silver, founder and CEO of the Imaging Science Foundation, moderated two full 4 hour sessions and five abbreviated mini sessions that mixed eyes-on evaluations using test patterns and program material with educational content about image quality and the latest UHDTV advancements, such as high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG).

Sony’s best 2016 model, the 75-inch XBR-75X940D, was a strong second by the scoring (see scoresheet below), and took the top spot for Overall Daytime Viewing thanks to excellent image quality combined with bright light output. Like the two other current contenders— Samsung’s 78-inch UN78KS9800 and Vizio’s 65-inch RS65—the Sony is an LCD TV with a full-array, local-dimming backlight capable of significantly higher light output than LG’s OLED technology, though not its deep black levels. Although all the contenders were Ultra HDTVs, a last-generation 1080p Pioneer Kuro plasma was also on display as a reference. All the sets were calibrated for both day and night viewing.

image: http://cdn.soundandvision.com/images/062416_VE2016_TV_Shootout.jpg

Along with Overall Day and Overall Night, voting categories included Black Quality, Perceived Contrast, Color Accuracy, Moving Resolution, Off-Axis Performance, Screen Uniformity, and HDR/WCG performance. Since tools for calibrating UHDTVs for HDR remain scarce, all the sets were used in their default HDR modes for evaluating that type of content. Three of the four sets are compatible with HDR10 format HDR material, presented via the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc for Kingsman: The Secret Service delivered by a Samsung UHD-BD player. The Vizio, which only recognizes Dolby Vision-encoded HDR content, was fed live streaming content from Netflix’s Marco Polo series.

As a reporter/television reviewer in attendence at the shootout for three of the last four years, I was taken this year with both the overall quality of the sets, which I saw as a good leap up from last year, and the general closeness of their performance. Most obvious was the LG’s perceived contrast and black quality in night mode with the lights dimmed, where it held a discernible advantage. Color accuracy differences were mostly negligible to my eye, though the Vizio, despite calibration, did seem to have a slightly more pale color profile than the others. Screen uniformity was perfect for the self-emissive LG OLED, of course, but the Samsung’s, Vizio’s, and especially the Sony’s backlight were exceptionally smooth looking when viewed with full frame white or red test patterns. Likewise, the LG OLED exhibited the expected perfect off-axis viewing window, but the Sony’s window went surprisingly wide before exhibiting any drop in contrast. The Vizio and the Samsung—the latter featuring the only curved panel among the group—had what I’d call the conventional and ultimately narrow viewing window common to most LCD displays. Not surprisingly, none of the sets, save the old plasma, performed particularly well with moving-image torture clips in the absence of their frame interpolation circuits being flipped on.

The HDR/WCG tests were most certainly eye-opening. HDR/WCG images off the Ultra HD Blu-ray were simply jaw dropping in their contrast and color saturation/range. For the most part, I thought the LG, Samsung, and Sony looked very nearly the same on the Kingsman test clips, and neither the LCD sets’ greater light output capabilities nor the OLEDs deeper blacks gave any set a particularly discernable advantage. The Vizio, fed by a good quality but clearly less bandwidth-rich streaming signal, still looked unusually striking on the Dolby Vision Marco Polo HDR content, but didn’t enjoy quite the same impact; in any event, it was impossible to do any kind of direct comparison.

The participating televisions were selected because they represent the current top-of-the-line from each brand, but do vary somewhat in price. The LG lists for $8000, though the company’s recently released 65-inch E6 series OLED ($6,000) is said to combine the same display and picture engine with more pedestrian industrial design. Sony’s 75-inch XBR-75X940D, the smallest size for this model, is priced at $6,000 but brings 10 additional diagonal inches of screen. Samsung’s 78-inch FS9800 goes for $10,000, though a presumably similar-performing 65-inch version is available for $4,500.

Special thanks to Value Electronics’s Robert Zohn for sponsoring and producing this 12th annual TV shootout, the only event that brings together the industry’s leading consumer displays in one place and seeks to set an even playing field for comparision. Visit valueelectronics.com to check for specials on some of the TV models appearing in this year’s shootout.
Read more at http://www.soundandvision.com/content/lgs-oled-wins-2016-value-electronics-tv-shootout#VVmXsATzeiesCu8z.99

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

The RemoBell smart video doorbell detects both body heat and motion to reduce false alarms

Home security camera maker Remocam showed off its new video doorbell at CE Week in New York City earlier this week. The $199 RemoBell smart video doorbell boasts several features not found in competing products from the likes of market leader Ring, but it won’t be available until later this summer.

The RemoBell’s most interesting feature is its heat-sensing motion detector. In the absence of body heat, motion—be it bushes moving in the breeze or an insect flying in front of the camera—won’t trigger an alert, so Remocam promises its camera will produce fewer false alarms than competing products. Infrared LEDs enable the camera to see in the dark.

The camera itself uses a true wide-angle lens, versus the more common fisheye, to provide broad coverage of your porch without image distortion. A company spokesperson at the show said the camera had a 120-degree field of view from right to left, and a 90-degree field of view from top to bottom. The view is good enough that you can see not only the delivery person at your door, but the package left on your porch after the visit.

Remocam is developing Android and iOS companion apps for the RemoBell, and up to five users per account will be able to receive push notifications when the bell us rung or motion is detected. An optional subscription plan will be available for storing video clips in the cloud. This will cost $2.99 per month or $29 if paid in advance for a full year. Curiously, the company currently has no plans to enable users to incorporate its video doorbell into broader smart-home systems.

Why this matters: The video doorbell market is getting crowded quickly, with entries from Ring,August, Yale, and—if you’re looking for a comprehensive smart-home system—Vivint to name just a few of the competitors vying for attention.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

Never Too Early For A Holiday Gift Guide

As the mercury rises, and we think of nothing else but when our next iced coffee will appear, our thoughts inevitably drift to what we’re going to buy the family for the holidays this year. So, ever on the hunt for the latest, flashiest, zipped-in connected gear, we present the following items you can grab now, or certainly by the holidays, for a favorite someone or, get real, yourself.

1. M3D Pro

M3D launched its $349 3D printer Micro on Kickstarter two years ago, raising $2.3 million. (A solid effort.) In just five hours you could produce s plastic toy you made yourself. Now the company is back with Pro, which stomps that time down to just two hours. Pre-orders are expected to start at just $500. Yes, that’s spendy. But really how much is gift-giving envy worth? M3D expects to potentially launch first on Kickstarter in August. Stayed tuned to its site for more details.

M3D’s Pro, is expected to be ready for pre-order later this summer.2. Fusar Mohawk

The name alone makes this camera a winner. Mohawk straps to the top of your helmet constantly recording and, here’s the magic, sending a text or email to someone if you crash. At $550 Mohawk is certainly a pricey gift. But if you have a teen or tween, think of the peace of mind Mohawk may bring. Plus you get a handlebar add-on that controls the camera and will have push to talk abilities. The company raised more than $273,000 on Indiegogo at the end of last year, and is getting ready to start selling the full system this September.

Mohawk sits on your helmet as a camera, mobile app and activity tracker.3. Oura

Oura is a sleep tracker you’ll want just because of the way the ring looks. We know wearables are a tricky gift—will they actually wear a watch? Or even a ring? This one? They will. This iOS and Android is focused mostly on sleep monitoring, but here’s the cool part: you get a reading score, everyday. Moved like a slug yesterday and binged watched “Silicon Valley?” Expect a poor score. Did you CrossFit and got a full eight hours? You’re rocked and ready to go. Yes, this is a wired ring for $299. But we got a code for free shipping (ourace2016). So buy the pretty ring, and feel good.

Oura comes in black and white, and is sized to your finger.4. Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Smartphone

Lenovo scores again with the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, a phablet that’s the first to showcase Google’s Project Tango technology and wil be the only handheld with Tango for six months after Phab 2 ships in September. At $500, you may ask why is this the splashy gift I should buy. How about motion and depth sensors with a 16 megapixel rear camera. Plus there’s the augmented reality apps launching with Phab 2 from a Lowes app that will let you create the kitchen of your dreams before the contractor starts smashing down walls, and gaming apps include Dinos Among Us, where you can place dinosaurs into your room. Deliver this for the holidays, and guarantee a smile (and possibly more) delivered to you.

Phab 2 rendering dinosaurs in your space.5. Kodak Pix Pro SP360

Besides winning CE Week’s Best In Show, Kodak’s Pix Pro SP360 4K Action Cam is a camera setup that makes 360-degree filming possible for a smaller price. A single camera is just $499, with two—plus all accessories coming at at $899. Yes, even Kodak admits its going first after the business user: travel companies, sports teams and even those in the security market. But how about YouTubers? We bet you know someone who has a YouTube channel (you do, trust us) or maybe you’d like one yourself. Either way, the newly released device is likely going to be a winner this holiday season.

Kodak PixPro is a complete 360-degree filming set-up.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

ROXs Beats Mario

Truly merging technology and the real world is usually in the realm of augmented reality (AR), but once in a great while something comes along that takes something entrenched in the online world and drags it into the physical. ROXs does exactly that – called a “real-life gaming console” the system uses digital gaming concepts and high-tech hardware to get kids out from in front of their screens and into the real world to move their bodies.

The ROXs system features wireless high-tech sound and light devices (“ROXs”), the real life version of the blinking icons that entrance online have the power to make kids scramble while hunting for higher scores. These devices are placed on the ground, attached to items in the environment (trees, fences, whatever) or even worn by players using the included belts.

Some of the different ways to play with ROXs real-life gaming console
Image Credit: A-Champs

Each ROXs set is pre-programmed with more than ten games and can be updated with new downloaded games as they become available. Of course, users can create their own rules and the pace of the game can be set according to the player’s skills.

Other products built on the ROXs concept are planned to be arriving on the market in 2017. These separate systems will have the ability to connect to each other wirelessly and form a larger, more complex, gaming experience.

A-Champs, the start-up behind ROXs, launched a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo and achieved full funding in less than eight hours. Pre-orders from the campaign are on-schedule for delivery in September and consumer units are expected to be available in October.

What’s in the ROXs BOX?
Image Credit: A-Champs

The finalized consumer version of ROXs was presented for the first time at CE Week in New York City this week and the team from A-Champs has a very special, very limited time offer for readers of the Architechnologist and GeekDad:completing the entry below will enter you into a drawing for one (1) ROXs BOX (just like the one in the “Featured Perk” of the Indiegogo campaign). This set includes a controller, 3 x ROXs, 3 x straps & holsters and 10 pre-programmed games. Entries for the drawing must be received before 12:01am EDT on July 2, 2016 – the prize will come directly from A-Champs and can ship worldwide (please remember, the prize will come from an early consumer shipment of ROXs and will not arrive until the middle of October 2016). The drawing for the ROXs Box will occur on July 2nd and the winner will be notified by email.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

KISS AV’s super thin and light speakers deliver big sound

At a CE Week demo, these 3.0-inch thick speakers you can hang on a wall with two-sided tape rivaled competitors several times larger.

Credit: K.I.S.S. AV

Jun 24, 2016 9:39 AM

There’s no shortage of small speakers on the market, but what makes KISS AV’s system compelling is their profile: These speakers are thin enough that they can be mounted on the wall on either side of your flat-screen TV. What’s more, they’re light enough—just two pounds each—to not need screws to hang on the wall; all you need is a few 3M Command strips.

KISS AV founder Jim Murray told me his brand’s acronym stands for Keeping It Super Simple when he demoed the speaker system for me at the CE Week show in New York City earlier this week. Murray is raising cash on Kickstarter to bring the speakers to market. About the size of a large hardcover book and just three inches thick, the secret behind these speakers is the airflow design. It’s a patented system called Sonic Vortex that was originally intended for use in high-end luxury speaker systems to deliver more bass and better sound clarity.

To deliver performance similar to a large speaker cabinet in a small form factor, Murray designed a port that spirals around a sealed enclosure inside a relatively shallow cabinet. Fins inside this spiral port guide and accelerate the air until it emerges from multiple small openings circling the active driver.

K.I.S.S. AV

KISS AV’s Sonic Vortex features a spiral port design that delivers the same performance as the conventional bass port in a much larger enclosure.

The speaker hosting the amplifier has Toslink and coax digital audio inputs, stereo RCA inputs, and a connector for the other speaker. The speaker also has a Bluetooth radio for wireless music streaming.

The KISS AV system is compatible with many TV remotes, meaning it will see and know when your TV is being turned on and off, and will also turn off the speakers. The basic system includes just the two speakers for $199; a $399 pledge will add a wireless subwoofer. Murray expects to deliver the speakers in October.

From what I heard at the demo, you’ll want the sub: while the speakers produce great sound (and from a surprisingly wide angle and distance given their size), the subwoofer really adds to wow factor, even in a booth on a noisy show floor.

Why this matters: The conventional approach to achieving great sound in a home theater can not only cost a lot of money, it can also be difficult to strike just the right balance. Murray’s KISS concept looks and sounds extremely promising, but he’ll have to navigate the pitfalls of crowdfunding before he can deliver.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

80 experts compared this year’s hottest TVs side by side, and the winner was …

Reviewers and industry wonks opine all the time about the “best” product in a category, but what happens when you pack them all in a room and force them to hash it out? We just found out. A jury composed of professional TV reviewers, certified calibrators, and video enthusiasts convened over the past two days in New York City to crown a “King of TV” for 2016.
When the ballots were counted, LG’s Signature G6 OLED TV won in a landslide. This marks the third year in a row that LG’s OLED took the title. Competing with the 65-inch LG G6 (OLED65G6P) were the 75-inch Sony X940D (XBR75X940D), 78-inch Samsung KS9800 (UN78KS9800), and the 65-inch Vizio Reference Series (RS65-B2).
Serving as keynote speaker and master of ceremonies was Joel Silver, President and Founder of the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF). He spoke in depth about emerging High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG) as well as measurement techniques and standards. Lie Neikirk of Reviewed.com and Caleb Denison (yours truly) from Digital Trends both appeared as guest speakers, and chose not to cast votes.

Over the course of multiple four-hour sessions, roughly 80 total participants pored over test patterns, movie clips and measurements, rated the televisions on a scale of 1 to 10 for black quality, perceived contrast, color accuracy, moving resolution, off-axis performance, screen uniformity, HDR/WCG, and overall day and night performance. While each display had its own strengths and weaknesses, once numbers were added up, the G6 OLED came in with the highest overall score, averaging a commanding 8.9 on a 10-point scale.

Sony came in at second place with an 8.0 average, Samsung third at 7.3, and Vizio fourth at 6.9. Looking at the summed scores, we see LG was the only TV to score in the 9-point range, with a total of six 9-point scores out of nine categories.

LG
OLED65G6P Samsung
UN78KS9800 Sony
XBR75X940D Vizio
RS65-B2
Black quality 9.6 7.0 7.9 6.7
Perceived contrast 9.1 7.6 8.3 6.9
Color accuracy 9.0 7.5 8.4 7.2
Moving resolution (sharpness) 8.0 7.2 7.8 6.9
Off-axis performance 9.4 6.2 7.4 6.7
Screen uniformity 8.3 7.1 7.6 7.0
HDR/WCG 9.3 7.7 8.2 7.0
Overall day (high ambient light) 8.3 8.1 8.7 7.1
Overall night (low ambient light) 9.4 7.6 8.2 6.8
Overall score 8.9 7.3 8 6.9
To provide perspective, Robert Zohn, owner of Value Electronics in Scarsdale, NY, and a presenter and organizer of the shootout, brought his own late-model Pioneer Kuro, once regarded as the gold standard in television, for comparison. When the playing field was leveled to the Kuro’s level — 1080p HD resolution and Rec. 709 color space — the Kuro held up fairly well. However, once the televisions moved to producing DCI/P3 color and High Dynamic Range within the Ultra HD standard, the revered Kuro surely showed its age.

Related: 4K Ultra HD Buying Guide

In past years, some critics have argued that 4K resolution on its own doesn’t present a meaningful upgrade over 1080P. This year, attendees debated the merits of HDR and WCG, and whether they represented a quantum leap forward in television performance. The general consensus seemed to be that picture quality improvements brought about by HDR and WCG are plainly obvious and quite significant.

Today’s top-tier TVs are the best we’ve ever seen.
As Lee Neikirk pointed out during his presentation at the event, not all HDR televisions are created equal. While all of the flagship televisions evaluated during the shootout are at the pinnacle of HDR/WCG performance, many mid-tier TVs are not powerful enough to bring about meaningful improvements, potentially damaging the public’s perception of these new display technologies. Many participants agreed that something beyond the UHD Alliance’s present “UHD Premium” certification may be needed to ensure the importance of HDR/WCG as components of Ultra HD aren’t diluted.

Sony won the only category not dominated by LG at the shootout, ranking as the best TV for daytime viewing. Other considerations such as ease of use, smart TV platform, remote control operability, and other usability aspects may factor into future competitions.

While there can be only one winner, it was clear all the participants made a very strong showing. And if there were ever any doubt, the Kuro comparison silenced it: Today’s top-tier TVs are the best we’ve ever seen.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

Pioneer’s latest Elite series A/V receiver aims to be your home’s entertainment hub

Pioneer has been releasing home theater and audio gear at a fairly steady clip throughout 2016, and this week at CE Week, it’s taking time to show off everything it has released so far. Just because the company is showing products that it has already introduced, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t introducing a few new products as well.

On Wednesday, the company introduced its new Elite SC-LX501 7.1-channel network A/V receiver. Like other models in the Elite line of receivers, this model supports 4K Ultra HD and HDR 24-bit video with 4:4:4 color, along with all the requisite modern technologies like HDMI 2.0a, HDCP 2.2, and BT.2020. The “Super Resolution” technology developed for Pioneer’s Elite BDP-88FD Blu-ray player is included here, allowing standard HD content to be upscaled to 4K resolution, on the off chance your TV doesn’t offer built-in upscaling.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

Charge your phone with a skip and a kick: Smart soccer ball and jump rope can boost your battery

Uncharted Play presented its energy saving devices at CE Week
SOCCKET (ball) and PULSE is a (jump rope) both power devices with pendulum inside that captures kinetic energy from physically active
Has a built in UBS Port to connect devices for power
M.O.R.E is customizable motor that can go into any moving product

Nearly 1.2 billion people in the world lack access to reliable electricity and one startup presented devices at CE Week that harness the cheapest energy of all – human movement.

Uncharted Play has combined physical activity and technology in order to power a lamp for three hours with just 30 minutes of activity.

The SOCCKET ball and PULSE jump rope are designed with built-in mechanism that capture kinetic energy and transforms it into an electrical charge — and DailyMail.com had an exclusive look at the New York event.

Uncharted Play joined the technology conference, which showcases the latest trends in the industry, alongside other emerging technologies from around the country.

And the firm is said to be a game changing device in the industry by both attendees and event planners.

‘You can buy the SOCCKET and PULSE online,’ Nadeem Mustafa, Impact Development Manager at Uncharted Play, told DailyMail.com.

‘You can email us through our inquiry page to create partnerships for more focus on our impact.’

‘Through out partnerships and Uplift one million campaign, we are trying to reach one million children by 2020.’

‘Through the power of play we can create anything.’

Jessica O. Matthews, the brains behind these energy saving devices, was inspired while visiting Nigeria when she noticed the electricity would go out multiple times during the day — which is why Uncharted Play is so focused on bringing their devices to children who do not have access to electricity.

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin

2016 News Coverage

Mobile accessories, wearables, handsets, and more: a first-hand look at CE Week 2016 & ShowStoppers

CES and MWC are distant memories, and while the big mobile-tech-expo fun of IFA 2016 is just a couple more months away, these early days of summer aren’t quite the wasteland you might think they are when it comes to learning about a whole lot of new devices, all at once. This week, New York City welcomed the latest iteration of CE Week, an annual gathering of hardware manufacturers, service providers, and pretty much everyone else who’s got a hand in technology. We stopped by CE Week to check out the latest ShowStoppers event, where the companies behind the products we crave gathered to demonstrate some of their newest gear. The lineup included all manner of devices, from wearable and handsets, to more mobile accessories than you could count. Now we’re bringing you a look at exactly what we got to see.

We’ve already told you about some of the products we ran into at CE Week, like theAlexa Voice Services-powered Triby smart speaker, Photive’s whole range of Bluetooth speakers, headphones, and earbuds, the , the innovative HandL phone case, andSanDisk’s iXpand Memory Case, which allows iPhone users to easily give their handsets a little extra storage capacity.

That’s a lot of hardware right there, but we’re only scratching the surface.

Beyond those devices we also got to check out wearables from Richline Jewelry and Oura. Richline was soft-launching a variety of fashion-first wearables, including a number of notification bracelets; these use multi-color LEDs and vibration alerts to clue you in to exactly who’s trying to reach you. The company even managed to embed NFC tags in tiny pearl necklaces, which couples can use to send messages to each other.

Richline’s notification bracelet with glowing LED

Oura, meanwhile, was showing off its smart ring, a wearable that analyzes your behavior day and night to help reduce stress and improve your quality of sleep.

The Zus car charger isn’t just for helping you keep your phone’s battery topped-off during your commute (though it’s more than happy to help with that), and it’s big hook is its ability to help guide you back to where you parked. With the help of its Bluetooth connection and your phone’s GPS radio, Zus can automatically store your car’s location in your phone’s memory whenever you park.

Speaking of cars, plenty of us love to keep our phone conveniently mounted on the dash for help with navigation, and Caseco was showing off its super-small, extra-strong magnetic car mounts. There’s both an adhesive surface-mount version as well as one that connects to an available air vent, either of which then holds your phone in place with the help of a metal disk you stick to your phone’s back. Coming soon are cases that have that disk integrated right in.

Aiptek’s Android projector with detachable tablet

Maybe one day all phones will have snap on projectors like the Moto Z, but for now, Aiptek has a number of external and still incredibly portable models. We looked at two that feature either a Windows 10 or Android removable tablet that stacks on top of a projector/speaker base. That way, you can share your documents or a movie with a whole room, while taking the tablet bit with you on the go.

We’ve looked at plenty of portable 360-degree spherical cameras, but the ALLie camera does things a little differently, requiring a wall outlet for power. That restriction aside, it looks plenty powerful, with a Snapdragon 800 processor within, infrared capabilities, cloud connectivity, and support for live streaming to YouTube.

But like we said: this isn’t all wearables and accessories. Hardware manufacturers showed up with some of their latest laptops, 2-in-1s, tablets, and yes: even smartphones.

Lenovo gave us a demonstration of its recently launched Phab 2 Pro, the first commercial device powered by Google’s Tango technology. The handset uses its powerful array of sensor to scan the area around it, construct a 3D representation of that space, and understand its position within; armed with that data, Tango opens that door for some impressive augmented reality apps.

Demos included some virtual redecorating software, using the Phab 2 Pro to preview what new floors, furniture, or appliances might look like in an existing space, as well as quite a few games. Lenovo’s hoping to see 30-some apps ready to take advantage of the phablet’s Tango tech by the time the handset hits retail this September.

Check out a gallery of all this tech below, and stick with us as we continue to share the rest of what CE Week had to offer

June 28, 2016/by laura-admin