Pepcom's Digital Focus Ushers in Dads/Grads Gift Season With Chargers, Cheap 4K TVs

Dads and grads shopping season was the focus of Pepcom’s DigitalFocus Thursday in New York, where manufacturers showed a wide range of gadgets, from charging accessories to 4K Ultra HD TVs. Price is the key differentiator of the Activeon-made RCA 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Android TV, currently in production and slated for June release, a company spokesman told us. The $699 55-inch model is part of a line that also includes the 50-inch XLD50G65RQ ($499) and a 65-incher for $999, the spokesman said. The lineup will sell through Walmart and regional distributors including h.h. gregg and BrandsMart, he said. Users can search for programs by voice using the Android app on a smartphone, access content on Google Play and share content from Android, iOS, Windows and Chromebook devices via Google Cast, he said. Kube Systems showed Kube Clock, a multidevice alarm clock/charger with a Qi wireless charging pad on the top, and wired micro USB and Apple Lightning charging ports. Up to six devices can charge simultaneously. The compact charger clock, the size of two Roku or Apple TV boxes stacked, launched as a product for the hospitality market where it’s in “thousands” of hotel rooms, Vice President-Product Development Dave Weinstein told us. When hotel guests wrote to the company to find out where they could buy one, Kube decided to develop a consumer version, Weinstein said. Kube Clock began shipping three weeks ago from the company’s e-commerce site and will be available from other e-commerce retailers in 60 days, Weinstein said. Prices are $179 for the Qi model and $149 for the wired charging-only model, he said. Additional consumer products are on the road map but Weinstein wouldn’t elaborate. On the possibility of other wireless charging formats, Weinstein said Kube is part of both the Wireless Power Consortium and the AirFuel Alliance, but the installed base of WPC’s Qi format dictated initial product development plans. Kube will monitor development of other wireless charging standards for future products, he said. Twelve South showed the TimePorter, a $49 glass-case-size travel accessory for the Apple Watch with a slot in the lid for the Watch’s disc-shaped charger. Users can drape the watch across the outside of the case, using the charger's magnet to hold it in place, while the case can be angled to create a stand, a spokesman said.