Techstination

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Electric vehicles took center stage in and around the Los Angeles International Auto Show which wrapped up this month.  The Ford Mustang Mach E …an SUV with a battery range of up to 300 miles drew crowds.  Mark Kaufman is Global Director of EV Marketing at Ford…

“This is almost like Route 66 meets Silicon Valley, we put a lot of time getting this perfect blend of Mustang with technology.”

At GM…the Chevy Bolt is getting a boost for 2020 to up to 259 miles on a full charge.  Beyond that,  Product Specialist Shad Balch says..

“Our CEO Mary Barra, she has said very directly that we envision all of our products to eventually be electric.”

And of course  Elon Musk drew crowds to the announcement of Tesla’s Cybertruck.  While windows in the demo were unexpectedly smashed…so were pre-order records in the following days.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  The folks at BioLite Energy are at it again…with the new limited edition FirePit that supports Climate Neutral.  VP Erica Rosen…

“What Climate Neutral is ..it’s an independent non-profit that is helping brands measure, reduce, offset and label their carbon footprint.”

Ten percent of every sale of the special edition goes to Climate Neutral.  The BioLite FirePit burns wood or charcoal…using a rechargeable fan to enable burning that cuts smoke dramatically.  It can be used for cooking or for enjoying a fire on the patio or on the road.  The company has a full line of products that can make great gifts for people on your list who love the great outdoors…and tech too.   Including the Headlamp 330…

“And it’s a 330 lumen rechargeable headlamp that is designed to be so comfortable that you actually forget you’re wearing it.”

For more head to www.BioLiteEnergy.com.

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

Bigabid uses machine learning to connect advertisers to mobile users: CEO Ido Raz in Techstination interview.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Caavo is a perfect gift for families who struggle to keep up with the various remotes and streaming device settings on their TVs.  It is an under sixty dollar box that let’s you connect and control up to four devices…cable or satellite…Fire TV…Roku…maybe Apple TV… or game consoles using a single remote and your voice.  It can even work with Sonos speakers…and connect to a second Caavo in the household.  Co-founder Andrew Einaudi says an iOS app lets Caavo control TVs outside of the home too..with a four dollar a month subscription..

“I can connect to my parents’ TV and put on a great movie for them, without them having to worry about streaming services or inputs or anything.”

Brilliantly done…and Caavo keeps getting better with updates.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Kevin Borque has spent his career working on machines to help keep people alive.  He is vice president of research and development for medical devices at Abbott…specifically focused on what is called left ventricular assist devices…

“Our approach is to leave the sick heart in place and to put, basically, the inflow of our pump  in the left ventricle and the outflow is attached to your aorta.  Our medical device, that’s implanted, takes up all or part of the necessary circulation to make your other organ’s happy.”

It does require an external power pack…but the researchers are hoping to be able to make that implantable too in the not too distant future.  Perhaps even with wireless charging capability…similar to what is in many phones.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.   At the Los Angeles International Car Show….GM has been showing off some of its latest vehicle technology…including the new mid engine Corvette Stingray…capturing the Motor Trend Car of the Year award even before it is available for purchase.  And the 2020 Chevy Bolt…will deliver a longer range…which should generate even more interest in all electric vehicles.  Chevy’s Shad Balch…

“We have the 2020 model year Bolt out here which gets an increase in range from the 238 miles to 259 miles.  That’s really the biggest feature that people worry about the most or have questions about when they’re looking at EVs is what is the range and how long does it take to charge.”

Of course there’s more EV competition on the way from the likes of Tesla…Ford’s new Mustang and more.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  A company called Pale Blue Earth is working to upend the battery world with lines of batteries and products that use lithium polymer technology.  And unlike other rechargeables…they feature micro-USB ports so you don’t have to hunt around for a charger.  Co-founder Steve Warren says by making charging fast and more convenient.. they can hopefully make a dent in all of those batteries that are disposed…

“Really the target demographic is to make it more convenient for people to be able to get themselves off disposable batteries to reduce the waste.”

The initial investment of 32 dollars for a four pack of double A batteries does sound like a drawback….but given that they can be recharged more than a thousand times… you can actually save money along with the environment.

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

Techstination Week is a compilation of this week's Techstination reports with tech journalist and host Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  BodyGuardz, that’s with a Z on the end, has branched out from making phone cases and screen protectors…into home security.  Marketing Director Ryan Noel says a portable over door camera  has some unique capabilities…

“It goes over the top of your door.  There’s two cameras…one points outwardly and one points inwardly.  What happens is if someone comes to your door, a motion sensor picks them up and if you walk to your door…an inward motion sensor  sees you and so the screen comes on on the inside. There’s a two way mic where you can also talk to the person through the unit.”

There are more products on the way as well due at the beginning of the year.  For more…head to www.bodyguardz.com.

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