The newest, hottest products in the market.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches –
reviewed simply with four questions in mind.
reviewed simply with four questions in mind.
Big picture topics
guest columns and future trends
guest columns and future trends
announcements, interest pieces, quantum leaps.
January 23, 2015
There was no shortage of great products coming to market in 2014. And regardless of whether they were intentionally designed with the 50+ market in mind or not, many have turned out to be well suited to us. To pick the best in each category we looked at a variety of factors:
January 17, 2015
by Judith Bitterli – Chief Marketing Officer, AVG
As Ann Karpf, the British journalist and sociologist reported in her January 4, 2015 New York Times Op-Ed piece on “The Liberation of Growing Old”: “Ageism has been described as prejudice against one’s future self. It tells us that age is our defining characteristic and that, as midnight strikes on a milestone birthday, we will become nothing but old — emptied of our passions, abilities and experience, infused instead with frailty and decline.”
January 11, 2015
To be blunt, this was the biggest Consumer Electronics Show ever, but not the best. It was filled with incremental improvements, but few breakthrough technologies. There were literally hundreds of wearable devices all looking for space on your wrist, and more and more 4K UHD televisions from more manufacturers, still in search of 4K native content. That having been said, there were certainly products that caught our attention. We’ll skp the 3D printing because even though it is an exciting technology, I don’t think many in this audience will be buying it. As far as wearables, I will admit that I only saw a fraction of those on the show floor, but one stood out, the Healbee
January 5, 2015
Even though the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, the media events are already underway. On Sunday night, at an event called CES Unveiled, about 100 exhibitors gave a preview of the madness that is to come later this week. I will confess that I couldn’t get to all of them. Many were just newer versions of the same old stuff, but several were truly innovative. Here are a handful that caught my eye:
January 4, 2015
By Andy Marken, Founder Marken Communications (http://www.markencom.com/)
Editor’s Note – Andy Marken runs his own public relations agency, but he’s also a keen long time observer of the computer and consumer electronics scene. We thought you might enjoy this piece:
Editor’s Note – Andy Marken runs his own public relations agency, but he’s also a keen long time observer of the computer and consumer electronics scene. We thought you might enjoy this piece:
December 31, 2014
At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show getting underway in early January, one of the big things will again be wearables, dominated by more fitness trackers than you can count. But sadly, most evidence suggests that if you got a fitness tracker for the Holidays, there’s a good chance that by the time the CES show wraps up in Vegas, your new tracker will find its way into a drawer, never to emerge. Here’s what’s going on.
December 15, 2014
Fitness Tracker – Fitbit Flex – This wristband tracks steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. It can monitor how long and well you sleep. It has a silent alarm that will wake you and not your partner. Its LED lights show how your day is stacking up against your goal. It’s slim and comfortable to wear (sold with both large and small wristbands included). Price $80.
December 6, 2014
Smartwatch –LG G Watch– While the industry tells us the interest in wearable devices is exploding, so far most of the smartwatches on the market have looked pretty clunky. The LG G Watch uses Google’s Android Wear software and connects with most recent Android smartphones. In terms of functionality the G Watch responds to voice commands, will give you Google Now notifications, and has extensive health and fitness tracking capability. Price $230.
December 2, 2014
What will your great grandchildren know about you? How will your kids deal with shoeboxes filled with old pictures? What will your grandchildren know about the important events that shaped your life? Those answers are all within your control for now. But once you’re gone will all of those memories, all of that history be gone as well? There’s no reason they should With today’s technology it’s easier than ever to record and catalog your family history, and the holidays are a great time to begin the process, when everyone’s gathered together.
November 30, 2014
Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera – Sony a6000 – Sony is one of the leading makers of mirrorless cameras, a system that provides the quality of some of the best DSLR’s but at a fraction of the size. Sony has renamed what had been its NEX line and folded it into its Alpha line. The a6000 boasts a sharp electronic viewfinder, super fast auto focus so you won’t miss a shot, and Near Field Communications (NFC) and WiFi so you can share pictures on a smartphone or tablet with a touch. Price $550
November 21, 2014
Tablet Computer – AARP RealPad – AARP decided that the consumer electronics industry wasn’t serving the needs of seniors with approachable technology. So they came up with their first piece of hardware, a 7.85” diagonal HD touchscreen device with a host of attractive features incuding 24/7 live technical support, big homescreen icons, easy video chatting, and a series of video tutorials. And it will also run all your favoriate Android apps. It includes a free one year AARP membership. Price is $189.
November 13, 2014
Point and Shoot Camera – Sony DSC RX100 Mark III– Some reviewers say this is simply the best point and shoot camera on the market. We won’t argue the point. This will do most of the things those big DSLR cameras will do, but will still fit in a purse. It has a 20 megapixel sensor for getting good shots in almost any lighting condition. And it has a fast and bright Carl Zeiss 24mm to 70mm lens to capture the action close and far away. It also has a pop-up electronic viewfinder (EVF) to give you a great view of your subject, even in bright light conditions that might wash out an LCD screen. Price is $800.
November 4, 2014
Google is launching the latest major release of its Android Operating System, Android 5.0, named Lollipop. That follows Jellybean and KitKat. And I expect M&M’s could be next. We were invited to an exclusive event at which Google showed off the new Nexus devices showcasing the best features of Lollipop. Google uses its Nexus hardware introductions to serve as a reference platform for further development of the
September 4, 2014
AARP today got into the technology hardware business. The organization has teamed up with Intel to create RealPad, a mass market tablet computer aimed the the more than 70 million Americans over the age of fifty who are either unconnected, or techno phobic. And all I can say is it’s about time. And so, with no apologies to Stephen Colbert, I offer them a Tip Of The Hat. At the same time I give a Wag of the Finger to the entire Consumer Electronics industry (Intel obviously excepted) for aggressively ignoring the needs of this huge marketplace with more than $2.3 trillion in disposable income. Your loss will be AARP’s gain.
August 28, 2014
By Marty Winston
Let me start with something that isn’t connected. I just put a new deadbolt on my front door. It’s a Kwikset Kevo, the model that builds in UniKey technology. Let me take you through the process, little of which most people will ever notice. Inside the door there’s one of those little toggles that you flip back and forth to move the deadbolt into the door frame and back – nothing different there. Outside there’s a key slot and you can use the key that comes with it to operate that – nothing different there either. But on the little tapered disk that houses the key slot there’s a translucent ring and any time anybody touches that, things start to happen. Blue LEDs start lighting in turn, seeming to orbit the ring. That’s because when you touch it you wake up the electronics in the small pod inside the door.
August 15, 2014
By Robin Raskin, Founder of Living In Digital Times
My story is not different from thousands of yours. Srul Avram Yisroel Kvar (or was it Kwar?or Kfare? ) lived in a town called L’Viv (spelled ten ways come Sunday) somewhere in the Ukraine. He married Chaya Sara and while they never saw the United States, their children, at least most of them, took that wild ride through Ellis Island. Ironically, after the long voyage, most of them never escaped the Bronx.Every few years I get the urge to dabble in genealogy. And every few years it gets a little easier. In the early 90’s it was aFamily Tree Maker replete with multiple floppy disks. Ship manifests and census were just becoming available digitally. Not for the faint of heart.
June 15, 2014
June 10, 2014
June 9, 2014
Aneesh Chopra, the former White House Chief Technology Officer is out with a new book, Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government. While at the White House, Chopra played a major role in the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act. In and exclusive interview with In The Boombox, Chopra discussed the Act and the implications for aging Americans. Chopra recently said on the Daily Show that one solution for the problems that veterans are having in getting access to medical care is the difficulty in getting their record electronically in a form so they can move them from the Department of Defense and Veteran’s Administration to private doctors and other facilities. Chopra point out that there’s a software solution called iBlueButton from Humetrix that will allow veterans to access their records, and will also allow Medicare recipients to do the same.
May 29, 2014
Sony A7 Compact Full Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera – This breakthrough camera uses what’s known as a full frame sensor, considered the Holy Grail in digital cameras. What sets Sony’s apart is that it is the first “affordable” camera in the class and the lightest weight. It has just about all the bells and whistles you can think of. With a relatively inexpensive adapter Dad can use his legacy lenses from Nikon, Canon, and others to take advantage of the big sensor. Price is just about $1700 for the body only.
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