For those deep-dive sales calls
Launched on Kickstarter in September, LunaR is a solar-powered smartwatch said to offer discreet notifications for text, calls and social media, as well as life-tracking and monitoring functionality, such as steps, distance, calories and sleep data. It offers dual time zone timekeeping, and is water-resistant up to 50 meters. Through a collaboration with Sunpartner Technologies, the transparent solar panel charges LunaR instantly when the watch is exposed to natural or artificial light. LunaR also alerts wearers when it’s time to get outside for some sunshine and a recharge.
Docking station for new iPhones
Enblue Technology launched EVOLUS 3 Qi, a multi-docking station with wireless charging for the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X. It will charge iPad and Apple Watch as well. The EVOLUS 3Qi can host an iPhone and iPad of any size, and the Apple Watch series 1, 2, and 3. It will work with most cases on.
Drivin’ with the Colonel
Kentucky Fried Chicken® announced what it says is the world’s first-ever GPS cassette tape. What’s more, the cassette tape provides GPS directions with the voice of Colonel Harland Sanders himself, giving overly detailed directions, rambling down hilarious tangents and singing his favorite road trip sing-along songs. Beginning in KFC’s hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, and ending at KFC’s Big Chicken restaurant in Marietta, Georgia, KFC’s GPS cassette tape narrates a picturesque drive that recalls the trip Colonel Sanders took selling his fried chicken recipe door to door in the 1950s.
Crystal clear
OmniSpeech LLC said that its OmniClear™ technology is included in the latest Alcatel MOVE TIME smart watch. In addition to fitness tracking, email and SMS functionality, the watch enables users to make and receive phone calls directly from the device. OmniClear is speech extraction technology for mobile products, hearing aids, public safety digital radios and smart devices; it is said to recognize the speech signal and reduce everything that is not speech.
Working at Starbucks?
Alcove Group was set to showcase its mobile workstation at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017. Alcove is a laptop case that unfolds into a private workspace, with privacy panels and an optional rechargeable backlight with a dimmer switch, said to support focused work and intimate collaborations in the noisiest environments.
Looking good
Pose, from Opter, is a unisex necklace and clip that vibrates gently if you’re slouching to remind you to be confident and stand tall. Pose has a 7-plus-day battery life and other features that can be accessed through its companion smartphone app. UV sensing allows it to monitor time spent in the sun and blue light sensing allows it to recommend different light levels for optimal productivity and sleep. In addition to basic fitness tracking with steps, exercise, and sleep, Pose helps reduce sedentary time by intelligently reminding you to move if you’ve been still for too long.
A close fit
My Size Inc. received its first patent for its Measure of a Body Part smartphone application for online clothing shoppers. The application is said to enable shoppers to always choose the right size garment on a retailer’s website using measurements taken with their smartphone of an area of their body. The application analyzes the recorded information using big data, and then recommends the appropriate size of the article of clothing the shopper has selected on a retailer’s website. All of MySize’s technology applications use the algorithms of smartphone, rather than the smartphone camera, to record and document body measurements. This maintains and ensures customer privacy, according to the company.
Fewer dead zones
The weBoost Drive Sleek cellphone signal booster with adjustable cellphone holder is said to offer users outstanding call quality, fewer dead zones and faster data upload/download speeds while on the road. It uses coupling technology for reduced loss from outside antenna to improve 4G, LTE and 3G cellular signals up to 32 times, according to the company. The exterior antenna, which magnetically attaches to the vehicle’s roof, is said to reach out to cellphone towers to receive signal with voice, text and data, and transmit the signal to the booster.
Going to the chapel 24/7
You’ve had a hard day in the field, and you’d like a little spiritual sustenance. If you’re in Ellicott City, Maryland, no problem. The parish administrator of Our Lady of Perpetual Help installed a smartphone cloud-based access control solution, making the church’s Eucharistic Adoration Chapel a place where parishioners, community members and salespeople can pray 24/7. One of the biggest benefits is the elimination of keys,” Lisa Sliker was quoted as saying. “We no longer needed to worry about keys being lost, stolen or shared.”
Hacker’s guide to the universe
The Consumer Technology Association has published a guide to several frequently encountered types of cybercrimes that organizations should be equipped to spot and fight against. Some examples:
- Ransomware: Software designed to hold a computer system or network hostage.
- Hacking: Any intrusion or unauthorized entry into a computer, system or network.
- Attacks: Attempts to disrupt operations or permanently disable them.
- Phishing: A form of con in which others are tricked into inadvertently giving out information, typically by being fooled into mistaking a false source or contact for a legitimate one.
- Identity theft: The practice of stealing another party’s identity for the purpose of making illegal transactions, registering or applying for services, causing harm to brand equity, gaining access to trade secrets, etc.
- Denial-of-service attacks: Damaging cybercrime, which can cost a bundle of money to address and an average recovery time of 30 to 60 days.
Human error is the single biggest vulnerability in security systems today, according to the association. To avoid falling prey to it, be a healthy skeptic, follow predetermined processes/procedures for validating identities, and ask a lot of questions.