appmarsh

Thursday, 9 January 2020

Federal Program Offers Free Phones For the Poor, So Long as You're OK With Chinese Malware

So much for that “free” lunch, huh?

Best of the CES Show Floor: Samsung's Ballie, HomeKit Shower Heads, Brydge Keyboards, Concept Phones, and More

It's CES week and thousands of companies are in Las Vegas showing off their newest and best tech-related products. CES is wrapping up today and tomorrow, but there's still plenty to see.

Over the course of the last couple of days, we've scoured the show floor for the most unique and interesting products, some that are Apple related and some that are neat, but more general tech.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Brydge Pro+

Brydge, known for its range of keyboards designed for iPads, debuted a new keyboard designed for the iPad Pro. This new offering, priced starting at $200, includes a multi-touch trackpad that uses AssistiveTouch functionality to do things like activate the dock, bring up App Exposé, and more.

Brydge also showed off a standalone iOS trackpad that might see a release later in the year, and a vertical docking station for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Aukey Omnia Chargers

Aukey is launching a new series of GaN chargers for USB-C devices, offered with various port options (USB-A and USB-C) and different wattages for your iOS and Mac devices. Aukey isn't launching these until the second quarter of 2020, and pricing info isn't available yet.

Hyperjuice 100W GaN Power Adapter

Speaking of power adapters, Hyper was on hand to show off its new HyperJuice 100W GaN charger option, which comes with two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports to charge all of your devices at one time. The credit card-sized charger can even charge up two MacBook Pros at one time.

Kohler HomeKit Setra Faucet

There are a ton of smart home products at CES, including the HomeKit-enabled Kohler Setra faucet. The touchless faucet can be turned on and off using ‌HomeKit‌ commands, and it can dispense a specific amount of water. It also monitors water usage and lets consumers track their water consumption.

Moen ‌HomeKit‌ Shower

If you've ever wanted to be able to interact with Siri while showering, Moen has a product for you. The U by Moen Smart Shower lets you choose one of 12 custom presets through ‌Siri‌ voice commands or through the Moen app.

Razer iPhone Game Controller

Razer surprised us at CES this year with a Razer-branded Kishi mobile gaming controller designed for the ‌iPhone‌. The controller fits over the ‌iPhone‌, connecting to the Lightning port, and adds clickable analog controls and thumbsticks on both sides of the ‌iPhone‌.

Razer was also showing off its Arctech ‌iPhone‌ cases for Apple's latest iPhones, which are great if you like the Razer aesthetic.

Dell Concept UFO and Ori

Dell was showing off a little Nintendo Switch-like gaming console, which is just a prototype at this point in time. The Concept UFO (designed with Alienware) runs Windows 10 and it can be used both in handheld mode or docked to a TV. Since this is just a concept, Dell isn't planning to release it, but it's a project that came from Dell's exploration of different form factors.

Dell also had a second concept product, the Ori, at CES. The Ori (short for Origami) is similar in design to Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold, able to fold in half for usage as a laptop style device or fold out to be used as a tablet. The Ori is also something that's not really slated for an official release.

OnePlus Concept Phone

The OnePlus Concept One is a conceptual phone that has a disappearing camera feature. The glass on the back of the phone can turn opaque to hide the rear-facing cameras, which is a neat trick. This feature isn't ready to ship, and it doesn't do much but hide the cameras and add a neutral density filter to the lenses.

Samsung Indoor Garden Fridge

Samsung showed off an indoor gardening fridge which is in no way Apple related but is super nifty for those who like fresh herbs but don't have the space for a garden. The garden fridge will let people grow herbs and produce indoors all year round with cool, controlled temperatures, built-in lights, and a built-in watering system.

Samsung Ballie Robot

Samsung's Ballie Robot received a lot of attention at CES, mostly because it's not entirely clear just what it's going be useful for. Ballie is, well, a robotic ball that rolls around your house and can respond to voice commands. It's supposed to do things like serve as an alarm, record video, play with pets, or manage smart home devices, but mostly it just rolls around.

Sony Vision-S Concept Car

Sony showed off the Vision-S, an electric concept car packed with Sony technology. Sony doesn't plan to sell the Vision-S, even in a limited edition capacity, but it was neat to see a car packed with a series of rectangular displays for doing everything from watching media to viewing car data.

There's also high-end Sony sound equipment and a Sony LIDAR setup that powers side view cameras that replace the traditional mirrors. Sony is hoping that its concept car gives consumers and car manufacturers ideas about the kind of technology that can be added to vehicles.

JBL Bar 9.1

JBL debuted a unique soundbar at CES this year. The JBL Bar 9.1 offers wireless surround sound with a soundbar base and two detachable battery powered rear speakers that can be removed and placed anywhere.

It's also equipped with AirPlay 2, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Vision support, but it will be priced at $1,000 when it launches later this year.

Farewell, CES 2020!

This is the last of our ‌CES 2020‌ coverage, but we'll be following up with reviews and articles on some of the products we saw when they're released later in the year.

Make sure to check out our CES Unveiled video, our CES Pepcom video, and our CES hub, which has all of our CES 2020 content in one spot.

Tag: CES 2020

This article, "Best of the CES Show Floor: Samsung's Ballie, HomeKit Shower Heads, Brydge Keyboards, Concept Phones, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2NbJLzn

What's In Your Cart, Rachel Hoffman?

Welcome back to What’s In Your Cart, where we ask noteworthy creators, athletes, and celebrities about their favorite products, their shopping habits, and their deal-hunting acumen. If you or someone you know would like to be featured, shoot me an email at joliekerr@gmail.com with the subject line “What’s In Your…

FBI Surveillance Vendor Threatens to Sue Tech Reporters for Heinous Crime of Doing Journalism

Motherboard on Thursday revealed that a “secretive” U.S. government vendor whose surveillance products are not publicly advertised has been marketing hidden cameras disguised as seemingly ordinary objects—vacuum cleaners, tree stumps, and tombstones—to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other law enforcement…

Masimo Sues Apple for Stealing Trade Secrets for Health Monitoring Functions in Apple Watch

Masimo, a medical technology company that designs pulse oximetry devices, has filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the Cupertino company of stealing trade secrets and improperly using Masimo inventions related to health monitoring in the Apple Watch.

According to Bloomberg, Masimo claims that Apple stole secret information by pretending to have a working relationship with Masimo, and then hiring Masimo employees. Masimo also believes the ‌Apple Watch‌ is infringing on 10 Masimo patents.

Masimo, and its spinoff company Cercacor, claim that Masimo's technology for non-invasive health monitoring helped Apple overcome performance issues with the ‌Apple Watch‌. Apple allegedly relied on Masimo tech when developing the light-based heart rate sensor used in the ‌Apple Watch‌, among other technologies.

According to Masimo, Apple first contacted the company in 2013 and asked to meet for a potential collaboration, with Apple asking to "understand more" about Masimo's products to potentially integrate Masimo technology into future Apple devices. After what Masimo considered productive meetings, Apple began hiring away important employees.

Ahead of when the ‌Apple Watch‌ was released, Apple hired Michael O'Reilly, who had served as the Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo. He has been working on Health Special Projects at Apple, and had a hand in the development of the ‌Apple Watch‌.

O'Reilly wasn't the only hire from Masimo, as Apple also took on other former Masimo employees along with employees from other health-related companies during the time the ‌Apple Watch‌ was being designed. Marcelo Lamego, who served as CTO of Cercacor, for example, joined Apple not long after O'Reilly.

Masimo says Apple received confidential information from its hires, and launched a targeted effort to obtain "information and expertise."

Masimo and Cercacor are aiming to block further use of their patented inventions and are asking for unspecified damages. The two companies also want to add their engineers to four patents that were granted to Lamego after leaving the Cercacor.

Tag: lawsuit

This article, "Masimo Sues Apple for Stealing Trade Secrets for Health Monitoring Functions in Apple Watch" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/30dJ7GY