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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-12e
Parties, fender benders, hangovers, CES & other news
In this issue:
Antec news next week... Franklin at CES - sneak peek possible...
Iconosys responses help allay frets... Kent's New Year
resolution: Boogie bonanza... Clever, rugged & titillating all
coming to Tiffen booth... Zoom for CES: pay the hotel or own the
net connection... Special Report: General Electric LED bulbs
beyond the hype... Reviews: Bringrr Classic & UCharge, PowerDuo
Universal Micro, Gurkha Grand Reserve, Zippo hand warmer, Rumba
Broadway slap-watch... plus our commentary on Handsets are
sucking more in but hanging more on
Antec news next week
We won't do more here than name some names, but Veronica can get
you the releases when they go out or if you call ahead for a
time, take you through show & tell when you get to the LVCC
South/lower booth 21802. Some of the news: new gamer cases, new
Sonata IV & Six Hundred V2 & One Hundred and Nine Hundred V3
cases, a new case & drive combo (working with a huge drive brand)
convenience breakthrough, new high-current PSU lines, new
TrueQuiet fans, new water CPU coolers & some notebook coolers
like you've never seen them before. Contact: Veronica Feldmeier,
Antec Inc. (Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150 vfeldmeier@antec.com
http://antec.com
Franklin at CES - sneak peek possible
Aline's boss Barry will hold court in LVCC meeting room MP25737
during CES, mostly doing sales but always happy to meet press
people (ask Aline to set up a time). The piece you have to ask to
see is a new Speaking Merriam-Webster School Dictionary (Jan or
Feb, $100). Contact: Aline Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers
(Burlington, NJ) 609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com
http://franklin.com
Iconosys responses help allay frets
One of the hallmarks of Iconosys texting-prevention apps is their
ability to auto-reply when you're driving. That lets the person
trying to contact you avoid the mini-panic of thinking they can't
get through at all. Ask Wayne. Contact: Wayne Irving II, Iconosys
Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA) 949-335-5350 wi@iconosys.com
http://iconosys.com
Kent's New Year resolution: Boogie bonanza
When the Boogie Board first appeared in stores last spring,
production capacity was the only throttle on their sales growth.
This year, Kent says that cork is popping to a much higher level.
Ask Kevin now or see him at Showstoppers. Contact: Kevin Oswald,
Kent Displays (Kent, OH) 330-673-8784x161
koswald@kentdisplays.com http://KentDisplays.com
Clever, rugged & titillating all coming to Tiffen booth
New Davis & Sanford Traverse tripods fold down to 16" or out to
5'7" thanks to the unique way the legs fold. You'll go gaga over
the lady you can shoot twice an hour using an iPhone on a new
Steadicam Smoothee. You'll see the new Domke Ruggedwear bags &
looking none the worse for wear, the Playboy Clubs 2010 winner.
Don't miss it if you can. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen Company
(Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
Zoom for CES: pay the hotel or own the net connection
Even before you stop in to check them out (upper floor LVCC
South) Zoom can help you with CES. How much does your hotel
charge per night for an Internet connection? Chances are you can
spend less by going to any of the carriers with a low-cost
no-contract data plan (almost all under $50, some under $20).
You'll need hardware, so once you've picked your carrier tell
Terry you want to review the Zoom 3G modem compatible with it &
get equipped before you pack. Contact: Terry Manning, Zoom
Telephonics Inc. (Boston, MA) 617-753-0087 terrym@zoom.com
http://zoom.com
Special Report: General Electric LED bulbs beyond the hype
When GE Lighting recently put out a release announcing their
Edison-base "40W" (meaning visible lumen equivalent to a 40W
incandescent bulb) LED light bulb to screw into a standard
socket, a lot of little yellow flags popped up. Why 40W? 40W
incandescents don't disappear from store shelves until 2014 while
100W bulbs go poof in 2012. The specs say it draws 9W, lasts
25,000 hours & will sell late this year or early next for $40-50;
we see other "40W" bulbs claim twice the life expectancy & use
less power. GE Product Manager Steve Briggs cleared the air. The
GE bulb produces 470 lumens, which is brighter than a 40W
incandescent; more significantly, it is not a "snow cone" design
that only lights a hemisphere but a much more complete 280-degree
near-spherical photometry (like incandescents produce), which is
important to putting light where you want it to be for many table
& floor lamp designs. GE makes that happen with fingerlike curved
mounting stalks that hold the LEDs. The life expectancy GE states
is a result of lab "burn" tests to date (not just passing along
the OEM specs on the LED component & the number may go up as
those tests continue. No OEM is offering components today that
make 100W LED designs practical, so look for CFL alternatives to
be the early solution for that market. It will be perhaps 7 years
before LED bulbs get down to single-digit pricing, which should
be when they begin to dominate all installations.
Special Report Bonus Review: Bringrr Classic & UCharge
How far down the road did you get the last time you forgot to
bring your phone along? When we first learned about Bringrr - a
Bluetooth gizmo for the lighter plug - we kept nagging to get one
for review; now that they're in production, we got two. Each does
the same trick; you pair it with Bluetooth & when you start your
car, if it doesn't see your handset, it flashes red & beeps a few
times to remind you to get it. (It glows blue if it does see your
phone & a button lets you defeat the beep if you left your phone
behind on purpose). Bringrr Classic does what you just read; they
also sent a Bringrr Charge USB which adds a USB-A female charging
port plus cords for mini & micro USB devices (which is only fair
because it does use up the lighter plug). Bottom line: Bringrr is
a clever solution for the occasional absent-mindedness that leads
to occasionally absent handsets.
Special Report Bonus Review 2: PowerDuo Universal Micro
The name "Griffin PowerDuo Universal Micro" is almost longer than
these 2 tiny charger devices. One is for AC; it's a tiny
rounded-edge cube about 5/4" on each side with swing-out
non-polarized AC plug blades & a USB A female charging port good
for a full 1A. (It's a lot like the charger that comes with the
BlackBerry Torch). The other is a short (barely sticks out)
lighter plug charger (sold separately as PowerJolt Dual Universal
Micro) with a pair of USB A female charging ports rated at 1A
each & an internal self-resetting breaker in case of overload. We
love the tiny size for taking chargers when we travel & for
cluttering neither walls nor cockpits in use. Bottom line: we get
a charge out of the Griffin PowerDuo Universal Micro
Special Report Bonus Review 3: Gurkha Grand Reserve
There aren't many people who don't know Marty's fondness for The
Macallan (a single-malt Scotch whisky reminiscent of a Cognac) &
cigars, so it was as if Santa was listening when we said yes to
an offer to review the Gurkha Grand Reserve, a Cognac-infused
cigar. Its tobacco blend puts it among the least harsh smokes,
both to the palate of its consumer & to nostrils nearby. The
balance of a spicy & flavorful smoke with the unmistakable
bouquet of Cognac is a pleasurable indulgence to the flavors &
flavor memories of the palate. Bottom line: the Gurkha Grand
Reserve Cognac-infused cigar is an invitation to selfish
extravagance.
Special Report Bonus Review 4: Zippo hand warmer
We've seen lighter fluid fueled hand-warmers for decades, but not
recently, so we were driven in part by curiosity when asking for
a new Zippo Outdoor Line Deluxe Hand Warmer. This one was sleeker
& thinner than anything we remember, roughly the same size as our
BlackBerry. Once lighted (by a match or lighter), the catalytic
burner (good for 70-80 sessions) runs for up to 12 hours per
fill. It comes in a special cloth carry-bag that doesn't hamper
combustion (there is no open flame); our digital thermometer pegs
the warmest section at right around 100F. Once started, there is
no off-switch; the plastic filling cup that comes with it can
help you develop some finesse with how long a burn it gets loaded
to do. The best reference we can give you on its functionality:
it feels like a hot towel fresh out of the dryer. Bottom line:
the new Zippo Outdoor Line Deluxe Hand Warmer is a great antidote
for frigid, frosty fingers.
Special Report Bonus Review 5: Rumba Broadway slap-watch
Our "Watch the watch" report a few issues back on how
fashion-driven buying was revitalizing wristwatch sales made us
curious, so we asked to review an inexpensive & colorful Rumba
Time Broadway Collection "slap" watch. The vinyl strap lays
straight when (face up) its center is depressed; slap it on a
wrist to reverse the curl & it's springy enough to cling in place
without buckles or clasps. The collection features bright,
crayon-like basic colors for the bands & the coordinating watch
faces; the watch disc inserts into a stretch-lip housing midway
up the band. The timepiece is basic with a fully numbered analog
face, luminescent hour & minute hands, even a luminescent dot on
the second hand. The stem is cowled but easy to reach &
manipulate. We can see this being worn as a decorative bracelet
for those who can't tell the time from an analog watch face; for
those who can, it's simple but complete. Bottom line: Rumba Time
Broadway Collection "slap" watches are inexpensive fashion
up-ticks.
Handsets are sucking more in but hanging more on
In the early days of handsets - around the Motorola Flip Phone
era - other than phone calls, the only second function you could
expect to find across the category was alarm clock. Today, a
handset seems incomplete if it doesn't also have a still & video
camera, browser, messaging, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, book reader &
several social media apps built in. The camera, watch, travel
alarm, book, memo taker & other gear we once toted separately all
got sucked into the handset. But in the revolving door of tech,
the handset now has us carrying headsets, charge boosters, cases
& other gizmos. We don't think CES will change that; do you?
Contact: Martin Winston, Newstips (Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400;
marty@Newstips.com http://Newstips.com
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Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
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