Wireless

Navizon’s devilishly clever wireless positioning system

By Mike Hanlon

December 21, 2005 In early 2005, a small group of hardcore GPS geeks (who were tired of their GPS devices not working in dense cities, urban canyons, indoors, etc) got together to come up with a solution that would enhance the performance of their GPS equipment and applications. The goal was to find a way to make GPS devices work in all situations. The result was Navizon Pocket PC Client Software. Now the group has developed an ingenious P2P network that enables people to accurately navigate urban and suburban areas using WiFi and a cellular devices (cell phones) - a dynamic, collaborative, networked "Wireless Positioning System" using wireless signals (Cellular and 802.11 WiFI). The Navizon Network is worth a look if you are a city dweller as it enables you to have accurate GPS on your mobile phone. The Navizon network is based on a collaborative database. Members with a GPS device can use Navizon to map the Wi-Fi and cellular landscape in their neighborhoods. Once they synchronize their data, it is made available to all the other users of the network. This way, users who don't have a GPS device can benefit from a positioning system. And it's free for personal use! Read More

CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2005

By Mike Hanlon

October 2, 2005 San Francisco Gizmag's Dave Weinstein visited the CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2005 show in San Francisco this year to get a look at the new wireless devices that we'd be seeing in 2006. Overall, there were a few gadgets that we were really impressed by, but it wasn't the cornucopia of camera phones, super devices, and uber-gizmos that we'd hoped. Here's an overview of what Dave found. Read More

Splashpower aims to wirelessly power next generation mobile devices

By Mike Hanlon

October 1, 2005 Splashpower has announced two new product lines, the Multi SplashPad and the Single SplashPad. Demonstrating the scalability of Splashpower's Paraflux technology, the new product range will be shown to the public in a world premiere at the CEATEC consumer electronics show which begins next Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Read More

Wireless Modus gets a Tire Pressure Monitoring System

By Mike Hanlon

September 25, 2005 Most drivers hardly notice the difference if their tire pressure gradually drops over a period of several weeks, and as we reported in our article on Nitrogen tyre inflation, 80% of automobiles on the road are running underinflated tyres and nearly as many drivers don’t even know what the correct tyre pressures are. So it was about time that somebody took the human factor out of the equation. Renault has selected the Johnson Controls tyre pressure monitoring system to constantly monitor the air pressure of the tyres on the new Modus, informing the driver about the air pressure of all four tires via a convenient display. Special technology automatically identifies the positioning of the tires, eliminating the need for any wheel-specific receiving module. Read More

Logitech rolls out clever wireless products for the home

By Mike Hanlon

August 24, 2005 The wireless opportunity seems to abound everywhere, and the opportunity to long time computer accessory company Logitech announced three products today that will enable ingenious wireless home entertainment possibilities. The products include a system that wirelessly links an iPod to the home-entertainment system, a set of wireless headphones for PC users and system which can stream any format of digital audio from the PC to a home stereo system or to a separate speaker system. No wireless network is needed; everything required is in the box. Read More

Wireless Traffic Report Application from Palm

By Mike Hanlon

July 29, 2005 While there is more information readily available than at any other point in history, there is not much information that is really need-to-know-NOW. Sitcom TV, indeed 95% of the entertainment delivered by real-time wireless audio and video services (formerly known as television and radio) can be painlessly time-shifted, even archived , until a convenient slot in your schedule appears. In the grand scheme of information that is time-critical, there’s news, sport, weather and traffic reports with the latter two high on the list of things you don’t know that can hurt you. In 2003, 51 US urban areas experienced more than 20 hours of delay per rush-hour traveler – 20 hours of wasted existence. Traffic reports have traditionally been one of the stronger drawcards of morning television and rush-hour radio but as wireless information services become more sophisticated, we’ll be able to see exactly what the situation is on the roads between here and there on our handheld. Which is why Palm’s announcement of Traffic for Treo Smartphones is important – it’s a glimpse of the wireless connected future – and it’s available in ten cities now: Atlanta, Baltimore/DC, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Read More

Wireless digital music centre goes HiFi

By Mike Hanlon

July 29, 2005 It often takes a while for a new concept to be fully embraced by the establishment – historically, this has not been a strategically good move. So we kinda like the take the “Symphony” in that it’s a wireless digital HiFi component based on the popular idea of a central device that stores, manages and wirelessly distributes digital music throughout the home, but goes a new way with regard to its hardware and user interface concept. Engineered as a true HiFi component, the Symphony features the proprietary Digital Pure Audio (DPA) technology that delivers the high fidelity sound an audiophile calls for. Although the Symphony is filled with innovative convergence technology, its intuitive navigation requires no prior user knowledge of such. Read More

Wireless monitoring of your laundry

By Mike Hanlon

July 24, 2005 Mac-Gray is America’s largest provider of laundry facilities management services to college and university residence halls, which makes the company’s latest announcement significant. The company is adding wireless capabilities for its LaundryView monitoring system so it can now connect to a school's network using either its wired or wireless network infrastructure. The LaundryView eMonitoring System, part of Mac-Gray's Intelligent Laundry Systems, enables students to have real-time information about the status of the washers and dryers in their campus laundry rooms from any device that has a web browser.It’s a small step but a significant one as it is the first of many that students will encounter in monitoring the many things that are important to them. This is the second Mac-Gray product we’ve featured in recent times, so we guess that makes the company on the extreme side of innovative. We’ve previously featured the company’s craftworks fridge (which looks like a tool chest) but it also makes energy-efficient MicroFridge appliances. Read More

Wireless Alarm Option For Hobo Weather Stations

By Mike Hanlon

July 20, 2005 Primary producers and researchers will jump at the thought of this new innovation – a solar-powered wireless transceiver that can send weather alerts via text or email message. SolarStream works with HOBO Weather Stations for measuring temperature, relative humidity, dew point, rainfall, soil moisture, photosynthetic light (PAR), solar radiation, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, 4-20mA, 0-5VDC, and pulse outputs. So you can now set the alarms you want and be informed immediately a trigger point is reached. And the weather stations can collect data on all of the above for analysis via BoxCar Pro software. Read More

Wireless smoke alarms – another no-brainer

By Mike Hanlon

June 17, 2005 Add wireless technology to existing products and the result is often a quantum leap forward in functionality. One recent example of this was the ingenious wireless light switch. Now here’s another – the wireless smoke alarm. In this case the smoke alarms in your home connect wirelessly so that if one sounds the alarm, they all do. Many municipalities now mandate interconnected smoke alarms by law – even if it’s not law where you live, it’s a good idea because the ten to thirty seconds saved by getting the first possible warning might save a life. Other benefits of this clever system include a voice alert alternating with the alarm, and a low installation cost. Read More

Belkin TuneStage wirelessly connects your iPod to your entertainment system

By Mike Hanlon

June 4, 2005 Belkin's new TuneStage for iPod is a device that allows you to play the songs from your iPod through your home theatre wirelessly via Bluetooth technology. With a transmitter connected to your iPod and a receiver hooked up via RCA or 3.5mm to your system, TuneStage offers reliable, high-quality sound without cables. The TuneStage fits all-size iPod devices with a dock connector and will be available in Q3 2005 at a price around US$180. Wirelessly connected through TuneStage, your iPod becomes the ultimate remote, giving you absolute control of your music. Since the unit draws power directly from the iPod, it needs no batteries or extra cables. Read More

Wireless Motion Capture promises a better golf game for everyone

By Mike Hanlon

There must be something about the gentle art of playing golf that fires the creative synapses – in three years of Gizmag editorial, we have seen countless efforts to assist us mere mortals to play a better game of golf. We were recently very impressed with the advanced technologies of the Top Swing Golf Robot and felt almost certain that the technologies and understanding offered by Top swing could not be bettered. We were wrong. iClub’s remarkable technologies promise a detailed understanding of one’s own imperfect golf swing, a monitoring of the improvements to the swing and technique through remedial actions and ultimately, a vastly improved golf game. The iClub system includes a suite of golf instructional products proven to help a golfer dramatically improve performance. Created by scientists, engineers, and faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the system combines wireless motion sensing platforms and state- of-the-art technology to create the best instructional products in the world.

The iClub suite of products includes a Body Motion System and the iClub. The Body Motion System is a lightweight vest with embedded sensors that measures power gains and losses during a swing; and, the iClub is a tiny sensor that attaches to the end of any golf club and measures motion during a swing. Data from both devices is sent wirelessly to a personal computer where artificial intelligence converts the information to a 3-D view of the person and club in motion. Read More

Battery Free Wireless Light Switches

By Mike Hanlon

Sometimes we see an idea that is just so damned clever we know it is a winner. This is such an idea. Indeed, much more than just an idea, it is a fully implemented, ready-to-do-the-business, killer product. Battery-free, wireless light switches save time, reduce costs and enhance flexibility over traditional wired switches. They are applicable anywhere there’s electricity so the opportunity to save money is global. The manufacturers estimate cost savings over traditional wired switches at 80% and that’s probably being modest. Like we said ... a killer product!!! Read More

WaiterPad wireless handheld transforms hospitality

By Gizmag Team

November 7, 2004 WaiterPad is an easy-to-use handheld ordering solution that utilises radio frequency (RF) technology to record and transmit customer orders to preparation areas, as well as instantly update the Point of Sale (POS) system. The brainchild of PalmTEQ Ltd. Australia, the product has been successfully deployed in Australia and the UK and now launched on the North American market.

WaiterPad includes both software and radio frequency hardware in one package, enabling restaurant staff to wirelessly order, process payments and align inventory information with back office operations. This saves time, both for the restaurant and for the customer, which in turn increases efficiency and enhances profitability. To date, customers in the UK have experienced 12-14 percent improvement to the bottom line and a solid return on investment in four to six months. Read More

i-mate Announces Four New Wireless Hand-Held Range.

By Mike Hanlon

i-mate has recently announced the release in Australia next month of a new range of wireless hand held devices that add both sophistication and functionality to the standard mobile phone. The new phone devices are aimed at the consumer market for users in need of a varying range of wireless services from gaming to email.

Each new i-mate is powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile software. Striking in design the range is stylish and compact and were designed to be easily incorporated in to everyday lives. The range includes the i-mate SP3, the PDA2k, the SP3i and the JAM. Read More

Fingerprint Recognition Wireless Phone

By Mike Hanlon

Pantech, a leading Korean mobile phone producer, has launched the world's first "fingerprint-recognition" phone. The Pantech GI100 is designed for user-friendly security and convenience and offers a level of security beyond normal passwords, with the fingerprint used for lock-in keys, memory dials, and games. Read More

Matsushita Electric releases A4-sized Wireless LCD Projector

By Mike Hanlon

Portable projection technology is advancing rapidly as evidenced by the release this week (April 20) of the Sirius Jr. TH-LB10NT from Matsushita Electric. The device is a compact, A4-sized portable LCD data projector and supports up to four simultaneous IEEE802.11b wireless PC connections to enable users to display one or more PC images on a single screen, making it an ideal projector for team-building and encouraging and facilitating collaboration. Read More

Wireless, handheld Baby Monitor with video

By Mike Hanlon

Thursday November 27, 2003 Almost any parent will testify to the value of audio baby monitoring devices in providing added peace of mind and an extra degree of freedom that can make a huge difference when it comes to getting things done around the house. If being able to hear baby in another room is an advantage, adding visual contact to the equation is the logical next step - and now technology is delivering. The Swann Guardian Angel Handheld Baby Monitor enables you to both see and hear your baby via an LCD colour screen on the palm-sized receiver at a distance of up to 300 feet.

The Swann Guardian Angel Handheld Baby Monitor costs AUD$349 and runs on rechargeable batteries. Read More

TransCube Wireless Home Media Station

By Mike Hanlon

Friday October 17, 2003: This all-in-one home network hub that incorporates a HDD recorder, a wireless TV tuner, a movie server and a wireless broadband router, emerged from Toshiba's new line-up at ITU Telecom World 2003 in Switzerland this week. Read More

Wireless plans for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance

By Mike Hanlon

Motorola and Nintendo have announced a joint venture that will enable wireless, multi-player, portable gaming for up to five people over a radio frequency (RF) link. Motorola's high-speed, low-power 2.4GHz radio frequency chipset will be used in an adaptor accessory for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance... Read More

Updated AIBO features built-in wireless connectivity

By Mike Hanlon

Saturday September 13, 2003: Sony have updated the AIBO Companion Robot with a new design that incorporates a richer LED "face" display, eyesight three times sharper than previous models, built-in Wireless LAN connectivity and for the first time, you can give the robot dog a bone - the "AIBOne" to be exact, a pink toy that the new ERS-7 AIBO can pick up in its mouth. Read More

Philips release smart display for the wireless home

By Mike Hanlon

Saturday July 12, 2003: Philips DesXcape 150DM Smart Display is designed to bring easy access to the Internet, computing applications and entertainment in every room of a wireless networked home. The light-weight LCD screen can operate as a remote access point to a wireless network or a full-featured LCD monitor when housed in its base station. Read More

Personal Wireless Weather Station

By Mike Hanlon

Useful in countless situations, this wireless weather station provides remote access to key weather indicators at any time via the internet... Read More

Cross-Platform Wireless Recharging

By Mike Hanlon

It's the modern day equivalent of a ball of string - the hopelessly tangled and mismatched collection of recharging cords that accumulates in the bottom drawer - Slashpower's solution is to banish cords and recharge wirelessly Read More

Weird wireless: the Sputmik Microphone Concept

By Mike Hanlon

A wireless microphone encased in a satellite shaped nerf-ball. That's the solution to audience participation problems at public events developed by Design Continuum and M.I.T - the Sputmik. Read More