Latest Gear Live Videos
Koss Striva headphones wirelessly stream music over Wi-Fi
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Music, Videos, Wireless / WiFi,
Step aside, Bluetooth, as Koss has just unveiled a new line of headphones that stream music wirelessly over Wi-Fi. The new headphone line is called Striva, and they access audio channels delivered from the Internet that you organized and choose using the MyKoss.com dashboard interface. In addition, you can also use any device that has a headphone port. You just plug in the CAP (content access point) and the headphones can then tune into music from devices like smartphones, tablets, etc.
To start, there'll be two Striva models on the market--the over-ear Striva Pro ($450 USD,) and the in-ear Striva Tap ($500,) both of which include touch-sensitive gesture-based technology that lets you switch channels and manage volume by using swipes and taps. Check out a video explaining it all below.
Click to continue reading Koss Striva headphones wirelessly stream music over Wi-Fi
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FitBit Aria Wi-Fi scale now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2012, Smart Home,
Back at CES, the peeps at FitBit announced the FitBit Aria Wi-Fi scale, which aims to compete with the Withings scale we've been using for a couple of years now. The Aria is fairly similar, although it's about $30 cheaper than the Withing model ($130 vs $160,) and it syncs up with the FitBit web portal, which shows you a bunch of charts and data as it pertains to your weight patterns, as well as info from the FitBit and FitBit Ultra tracker (if you happen to use one of those.) The two are definitely meant to act as companions, providing you a nice, deep snapshot of your health and fitness profile. Check out the video interview we did with FitBit at CES, where we got a first look at the Aria scale, after the jump.
You can pick up the FitBit Aria now.
Click to continue reading FitBit Aria Wi-Fi scale now available
Bleeding Edge TV 445: MyStream iOS app shares music wirelessly between devices
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Music, Podcasts, Software, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi,
In this episode we give you a look at MyStream, an iOS (and soon, Android) app that lets you share your music with multiple devices, eliminating the need to share headphones. Sharing of content happens over Bluetooth, streaming to up to 5 devices, or Wi-Fi, which will stream to up to 30 separate devices.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring Bleeding Edge TV. GoToMeeting provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings - be sure to check them out!
Bleeding Edge TV 414: Nest Learning Thermostat
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2012, Features, Household, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,
We chat with Matt Rogers of Nest at CES 2012 in this episode. Nest is a learning thermostat that is created by the guys who created 13 generations of iPod and a few generations of the iPhone, and is an ingenious way to re-imagine saving energy in your home. The thermostat is a round metal dial with a circular color LCD screen that works a lot like an iPod classic click wheel. You can turn the temperature up or down by twisting the dial, or you can go through its menus by pressing it in like a button. It can be set to automatically change the temperature based on the time and whether you're present. We also demo the Nest thermostat to show you exactly how it all works.
Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.
Mac OS X 10.7.1 Lion update now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple has just released Mac OS X 10.7.1, the first major update for Lion, the latest incarnation of the Mac operating system. The update fixes a few bugs, improves reliability of Wi-Fi, and resolves an issue with transferring settings to a new Mac. If you are running Lion, go ahead and fire up Software Update to get this...it's only 17 MB in size.
Unboxing Live 073: Sprint 4G MiFi WiMAX Mobile Hotspot
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Features, Videocasts,
We give you a look at the Sprint MiFi 4G mobile hotspot in this episode of Unboxing Live. The MiFi connects to Sprint's and Clear's WiMAX 4G network, providing broadband speeds on the go. If you leave the 4G area, then it bumps down to standard 3G speed so that you can still stay connected. You can allow up to 5 devices access to the MiFi Wi-Fi network at once, which means you can use it to provide access for your phone, computer, and three other devices all at the same time.
Big thanks to our sponsor - GoToMeeting makes it easy to collaborate with anyone, anywhere - and they have just released their new HD faces feature that lets you see the webcams of up to 6 users as a time, which means you're collaborating face-to-face. Also, be sure and grab a free $5 credit from JackThreads now!
Wi-Fi reduces broadband speeds by 30 percent
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Wireless / WiFi,
Wired broadband is nearly 30 percent faster than wireless broadband within the same household, an Internet research company has found.
UK-based research firm Epitiro surveyed 2,761 U.S. broadband consumers between November 2010 and February 2011. Forty-five percent used a wired connection to their broadband routers and 55 percent connected via Wi-Fi. The respondents were asked to embed a speed test application on their computers in order to measure download times.
Wired download speeds were 29.7 percent faster than Wi-Fi connections. The average actual speed was 7.4 Mbps for wired connections, compared to 5.2 Mbps for wireless ones. Furthermore, latency was 10-20 percent higher over Wi-Fi. Packet loss and jitter were also detected.
Why is Wi-Fi so much slower than older wired technology? According to Epitiro, wireless speeds are degraded because most wireless routers, by default, are set to the same channel, which causes "radio congestion." Signal strength is also hindered by physical objects like walls, doors, floors, furniture, even people. Other common radio-based devices, like microwave ovens and baby monitors, also hog your home's wireless spectrum.
With more consumers now using wireless connections than the technically superior wired connections, Epitiro concluded that consumers prioritized "quality of experience" over the "quality of service." Put another way, consumers still prefer the convenience of mobility over the extra minutes of download time saved. Furthermore, Web browsing times were roughly the same between types of connections.
Click to continue reading Wi-Fi reduces broadband speeds by 30 percent
Samsung SH100 Wi-Fi enabled point and shoot digital camera
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, CES, CES 2011, Wireless / WiFi,
Fresh out of CES 2011, Samsung has announced their new SH100 point and shoot camera. What's so special about this one? Well, the main advantage here is the built-in Wi-Fi with DLNA support. This allows you to send images and videos to friends and web services (Facebook, YouTube, Picasa, Photobucket) directly from the camera itself without having to sync to a computer first. Speaking of syncing, the SH100 can also use it's Wi-Fi signal to wirelessly and automatically sync to a computer on the same network, eliminating the need for a cable. The DLNA let's you wirelessly display images and videos to a television right from the camera as well.
Even better, if you have a Samsung Galaxy S Android smartphone, you can use that device as a remote control for the camera. It will act as a remote viewfinder with shutter control at the very least. It's got a 14.2 megapixel sensor and 4.7-23.5mm lens which is nothing to write home about, but hey, for all this thing can do it's priced at just $200. That must mean we should be seeing more of this type of stuff just built-in to cameras this year (we hope!)
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Skype mobile video calls may be coming soon
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Smartphones, Rumors, Wireless / WiFi,
The big rumor this weekend making the rounds is that Skype may be planning to bring video calls to mobile platforms soon. A document was discovered by Engadget showing some help topics like "How do I make video calls with Skype for iPhone?" Also, Skype has been saying it will make some new video related announcements at CES next month. Could this mean Skype users will be able to use their iPhone 4 with something other than FaceTime? So far it's always been a sticky issue to use video on phones because of the high bandwidth requirements. The real question here is, if true, will Skype video calls be Wi-Fi only, or will you be able to make these calls over 3G?
Read More 
| Engadget
Starbucks Wi-Fi to go free starting July 1
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
Starbucks just announced that they are dropping their Wi-Fi fee starting on July 1. That’s right, Wi-Fi at all Starbucks locations will be free from July 1 on. In fact, as you can see in the tweeted announcement, it will be 1-click to log on, no registration required. Starbucks Wi-Fi is currently powered by AT&T, but going forward, the company will be partnering with Yahoo! to provide the free service to customers. This is a big move, since Starbucks is pretty much, well, everywhere.
Read More | Starbucks Twitter
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