Waking up in the morning to the same BEEP – BEEP – BEEP can be a pain. Thankfully iHome, who for many years has striven to perfect the wake-up call, has brought the alarm clock into the world of the Internet of Things, by combining their beloved alarm clocks with the extraordinary power of the Amazon Echo Dot. The color-changing Spot for Your Dot stand improves upon the Dot’s speaker capabilities to create a…
As we would have expected, Samsung showed off some innovative, conceptual display technologies at CES 2018. In the spotlight were the company’s 8K AI processing technology, and a massive display dubbed simply “The Wall.” The nearer-to-market of the two, 8K AI will power Samsung’s future 8K (four times the resolution of 4K) displays. When 4K TVs started hitting the market—and still to this day, actually—the chief complaint was a lack of available content. They’re…
One of the countless displays that caught our eyes while wandering CES was this one for CNC’s Ultra-Slim Series E-LED TVs. These Ultra-Slim displays rival the thinness of OLED TVs, without using that exotic technology. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anyone in their booth to talk to and with a foreign language website, we can’t tell you much about them. CNC (New Century Optronics Corporation) is a subsidiary of a Chinese mega-corporation, so…
After basically inventing the action camera industry, GoPro is looking for new ways to continue innovating. While recent news that they will stop selling the Karma drone might have fans worried, we’re optimistic that it will just free up the company to get back to its bread and butter—making compact devices that help us record high-quality, POV videos of our wildest adventures. And their newest product promises that, with a twist. The…
Innovative technologies like Sony’s Acoustic Surface system (found on their A1E and A8F OLED TVs) have helped improved the typically lacking sound that comes out of today’s uber-slim displays. But for the most part, even the most casual viewer is going to want an auxiliary audio source, which is where soundbars come in, providing high-quality, multi-channel sound from a single device that’s designed to be inconspicuous and easy to hook up. The…
Wandering through the exhibition space at CES is an exercise in trying to determine what is real and what is fantasy (in addition to just being exercise, period). Everywhere you look, someone is showing off a new technology that just seems too good to be true, that there’s no behind-the-scenes trickery making possible such great sound or such a stunning picture. Of course, if we’ve learned anything in our years in this…
In a show full of surprises, one of the things we can always count on at CES is that we’re going to see some killer Sony TVs, both market-ready and conceptual models. This year was no exception. On our visit to the Sony booth, we got a closer look at some of their upcoming LED and OLED TVs. New for 2018 are the Sony X900F series LED TVs, which replace the current…
Jeep owners who spring the new Alpine X209-WRA-OR off-road-specific head unit might also find themselves looking for a new set of speakers to go along with their premium receiver. If so, Alpine has them covered. We learned more about a pair of Jeep speaker systems that will offer audio upgrades to a variety of XXX. The Alpine PSS-20WRA is an all-inclusive, 100% plug-and-play speaker system for 2007-2017 Jeep Wranglers, and includes a pair…
It’s no secret we’re big fans of Alpine Audio—especially their lineup of Jeep head units, which we’ve used in multiple Wrangler builds in the past—and visiting them at CES is an annual highlight. This year, we stopped by to see what’s new in the world of Alpine’s Jeep products, including a pair of new in-dash entertainment units. First up was Alpine X209-WRA-OR, the newest refinement to the company’s Restyle line of in-dash…
When we said that JBL was putting audio everywhere, we meant everywhere. The JBL Cruise Bluetooth speakers are one of those “how has no one thought of that yet” products that we often encounter at CES, offering a super-simple way to mount speakers to your motorcycle or scooter. What would normally be a complex undertaking—or a nearly impossible one, depending on what kind of bodywork your bike has—can now be a job you can…
