Techstination

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.      From the relatively low priced Pixel 7a to the high priced Pixel Fold…Google has unveiled new devices.   And in the scheme of things…the biggest news from the companies I/O developer conference…had to do with AI.   It is being integrated across the board into Google apps like Gmail, Workspace and search.   How will it change things?   Google Justin Burr…

“Say you’re going on a vacation with your family to Utah, you want to go to a national park, but with you you have a three year old child and you have a dog.   So rather than searching for all of the different national parks in Utah. Type right in..hey I’m going to Utah, I’ve got a three year old and I’ve got a dog, what’s the best national park for me to go to.”

And the search with AI can assist in plain language.   For more info head to www.blog.google.

You can find us at www.techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

Kids love to bite into stories about sharks. And they'll learn a lot in the new Nat Geo Kids title Weird But True Sharks! Editor Kathryn Williams chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

What sets Viffy apart from other content creation platforms? CEO Sam Winslow chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin about what it brings creators and consumers.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.      The innovations from Withings continue.   The digital health company based in France is out with the Body Smart Scale that offers at a lower price…bioelectrical impedance analysis sensors that can measure heart rate, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate and metabolic age.   There’s also a feature called Eyes Closed Mode…that hides the weight from the scale screen….substituting motivating messages.   Product Manager Antoine Joussain..

“Some people, they don’t want to focus on the result, they want to focus on the trend.  They want to be engaged and motivated to step on the scale.”

The Withings Health Mate app …paired with the scale…offers a great way to keep track of how you are doing…and pairs with other apps and devices as well to help you reach your fitness and health goals.   The price.. about a hundred dollars.  

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.   Bringing some fun tech into baseball practice.   That is what a company called Playfinity is doing with Backyard League 2.0.   The company, based in Norway, is out with the Gaming Baseball that connects to an app.   CEO Pippa Boothman…says there are sensors in the ball…so it isn’t designed to be hit with a bat..

“So this is to play catch and baseball drills together but not to play a game of baseball.   And then the best thing is that the player can play with all the other players around the world.  So just like in gaming where you can compete with all the other gamers around the world, you can play these games with the players around the world, but by being active and throwing the baseball around.”

Smart and fun.   Backyard League Gaming Baseball sells for about a hundred dollars.   Find more at www.playfinity.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

With proposed EPA regulations pushing automakers to move faster on bringing electric vehicles to market, are consumers ready? At Consumer Reports, Senior Policy Analyst Chris Harto has taken a look and says the demand is already there. Harto chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

The Pixel 7A arrives with the Pixel Fold and new Pixel Tablet on the way. And Google is bringing AI everywhere. Google's Justin Burr chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin about the developments at Google I/O.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.    Heat pumps are gaining steam…now outselling gas furnaces in the U.S.    The technology can be used in a variety of ways but basically works by taking heat from the outside and bringing it in during colder months…and reversing that process during the summer.   Bosch, in Germany, has been among the innovators.   Product manager Jakub Kytka says it is efficient and is good for the environment and your wallet…

“And usually the ratio of the overall heating energy that you get out of the system compared to the electrical energy that you put in ..between 3.5 and 5 times more energy out of the appliance than you put in in terms of the electrical energy which you pay on your bill.”

And with new incentives from Washington and many states…demand for heat pumps continues to grow.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.