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Communications with your co-rider or with other bikes on the road is always a challenge.

Vertix Ltd introduced a sophisticated system they project will reach the North American market for about half the retail price of conventional motorcycle communications gear at CES2012.

The VERTIX Raptor-i provides convenient and uninterrupted mobile communication while on the move and features models for both full-face and open-face helmets. The EZ-Mount system also allows easy "attack angle" adjustments of your control unit for improved aerodynamics when you change bikes with different riding styles. The unit combines intercom, MP3 player, FM radio and features on the move charging that keeps the unit ready to go at all times.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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All thumbs? Almost anyone can feel that way on the iPhone keypad.

That's where iConcepts and their unique 4iThumbs2 invisible keypad saves the day. It is a transparent plastic overlay for your glass screen that has built in ridges between the letters. You have the tactile feedback that you need to increase accuracy and speed while texting or emailing from your iPhone.

It's easily removed and re-installed when needed - if your game of Angry Birds needs to resume.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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A novel unit out of the UK simplifies Internet Radio.

The Q2 Internet Radio has one of the most interesting interface systems for selecting station presets and adjusting volume that we saw at CES2012: Simply flip the cube. The listener can pre-select stations or podcasts in the control interface online , and choose from five color schemes. Price class $110.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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The world's first real smartwatch: With a Smart UI

Multi-tasking, easy to use and love: touch, drag, swipe or pinch. Get your intuitive interface in a complex world.

Slick, thin and ergonomic, i'm Watch claims that the product is made to be part of you: phone, web, music, radio, organizer, photo, video, and whatever App you may come up with. While other personal items may have some of these applications covered, the I'm Watch is the only unit that combines them into a user interface that is consistent across all applications.

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Ivee is a personal digital assistant - equipped with speech recognition circuitry that offers Natural Language Processing. By analyzing digitized portions of the voice signal as they are spoken, ivee determines the most probable word given the phonemes you spoke.

That's the tech story. What that means is that all you have to do is ask the time, date, weather or temperature. Ivee can generate three different sleep sounds, and understand 35 commands. Price class $50

Interview by Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Double the Count in One Year

Connected devices - tablets, streaming video, smartphones,thermostats - are growing rapidly, with the average home deploying over seven devices on a home router - almost doubling over the past year. Netgear announced eight new products, optimized to serve all of these devices. Products such as the Netgear N-900 Router give better range, and the ability to give priority to certain types of traffic, such as gaming or VoIP.

In the interview, we also discuss PowerLine Carrier as an alternative in the home. Netgear just announced a 500Mb/sec version, with a 1Gb system on the roadmap.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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Animation App from the Pros

For the past 18 years, Toon Boom has been the automation software behind much of the animation by Disney and famous animated series - including Sponge Bob and the Simpsons. Vector based graphics delivers a very high level of quality that is now available to consumers on mobile devices. With an entry price of $29 on the iPad, it's an introduction to animation tools that's affordable and fun.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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How to get them all to play together?

Home automation, entertainment, mobile devices, routers, cable modems, security, and a whole range of devices are a part of the connected modern home. That's the mission of the Universal Plug and Play Forum. It assumes IP networking, and then gets them all working together. A lot of it is behind the scenes, without the user being aware of any specific app, insuring that devices inter-operate. Over a thousand companies are part of the consortium. A number of other organizations (Such as DNLA) or devices or apps such as Skype, Xbox or Playstation transparently opening correct ports and authorizing activities within your home network.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDRNews for the TechPodcast Network.

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zBoost by Wi-Ex is a range of signal extenders that will improve cell and mobile phone coverage in weak areas. Todd and Don discuss zBoost's latest products from Sharon Cuppett, VP of Wi-Ex (and they get a mention on Wi-Ex's blog).

Wi-Ex launched two new products at CES, the first being the zBoost 4G-V, a signal booster for 4G frequencies on Verizon, the largest mobile carrier with over 100 million subscribers. A whole 4G product line is under development, including dual- and tri-band boosters. Available in Q2 2012 for around $220.

The second is an in-car booster, the zBoost zForce, which comprises a cradle for the phone and a magnetized antenna for the outside of the vehicle. Powered from the cigarette adapter, the zForce can boost coverage by about 10x, eliminating dead spots and increasing range in rural areas. Retailing at only $99, it will be available shortly.

(You'll have to watch the Blue Microphone interview to realize this, but in this video Sharon borrows Don's phone to demonstrate the zForce and then walks off with the phone at the end of the interview!)

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Don Baine, The Gadget Professor for the TechPodcast Network.

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If you've listened to the Geek News Central podcast for a few years, you might have heard Todd talking about Blue Microphones as his mic supplier of choice. Here Todd and Don talk shop with Jon Maier.

Blue Microphones returns to CES this year with three new mics, all in the portable space. The new Mikey Digital is designed for the Apple's newer digital connector rather than the older analogue one, meaning that more digital processing can be done on the microphone itself. In particular, auto-level sensing can adjust the input gain depending on the loudness of the source.

The Tiki is a brand new small USB device that's been in development for over a year. It plugs directly into the USB port on the side of a laptop and has intelligent signal processing so that extraneous noise, such as typing, is ignored. It's aimed at Skype and Google Talk users but it's still a high quality recording device, so if needed, the DSP can be turned off to record live music as naturally as possible.

The studio-grade Spark Digital is a USB and iPad version of their pro mike, the Spark, both of which have glorious retro looks. Sitting in a shock mount, it looks great. Utility-wise, the Spark Digital converts the iPad into a mobile studio.

All the mics are expected to be available in the spring. Prices are $59 for Tiki, $99 for the Mikey Digital and $199 for the Spark Digital.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Don Baine, The Gadget Professor for the TechPodcast Network.

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