Portable power company Jackery bowed at CES the Explorer 300 ($349), a lithium power station equipped with Maximum Power Point Tracking that’s designed to charge multiple devices via two AC output ports, one USB-C port, two USB-A ports and one car output. The 293 watt-hour station gets power from an AC wall outlet, 12-volt car outlet or solar panels and can deliver 4.5 MacBook recharges, 15 recharges for digital cameras and 18 smartphone refreshes, said the company. The 6.6-pound unit comes with a two-year warranty; availability is March.
OtterBox and Corning partnered on a smartphone screen protection line, Amplify, with antimicrobial technology that’s said to suppress growth of several common microbe stains and bacteria, they announced Monday at CES. The antimicrobial property of the screen protectors, based on ionic silver, is embedded into the glass so it can maintain damage resistance, optical clarity and touch sensitivity, they said. Amplify Glass’ antimicrobial technology is registered with the EPA, they said.
Penumbra Brands teamed with smartphone case maker Pela on a biodegradable insert that’s said to reduce exposure to cellphone radiation. Penumbra’s alara technology cuts a phone’s radiation by 80 percent without degrading signal quality, the company emailed. The insert is designed to fit inside Pela cases and is billed as 100 percent compostable.
Dop bowed a device designed to hold a smartphone or tablet so users can interact with a mobile device hands-free. The dop mount is placed on a flat, polished surface such as a mirror or window with a nonadhesive, twist-to-secure feature. The $24.99 dop kit includes a mount and a ring companion piece that connects to the mount and swivels the phone at any angle, said the company.
Accessories maker Catalyst is taking preorders for $89 waterproof cases for the Apple iPhone 11 series smartphones, it said Monday. It also bowed an impact protection case ($49) for the Apple Watch Series 5 and Google Pixel and 4XL phone cases ($39).
A Kickstarter-backed charging case has a molded slot to store and charge AirPods while it also charges the iPhone. Power1, from Brooklyn-based AXS Technologies, was available for preorder starting at $94 Monday, raising $22,097 from 212 backers, with a goal of $20,000. The case’s 3000 mAh battery is said to deliver 34 hours of talk time and up to 30 AirPod “fill-ups” on a charge. A power switch allows charging for both devices or the AirPods only. Retail price is $300 with expected delivery in October. It’s designed for X and later iPhones, said the company.
Sanho launched a Kickstarter project for a photo storage device designed for smartphones. The HyberCube has a microSD card slot, male USB connector and two female USB ports and works with any USB charger while a phone is charging, emailed a Sanho representative Monday. The device connects between the USB charger and an Android or iOS phone; its app manages backup of photos, videos and contacts onto a microSD card or USB drive, said the company. It supports photo slideshow and audio/video streaming playback, said Sanho. The standard price is $49, but $29 on Kickstarter for early backers. HyperCube by Monday afternoon was more than halfway toward a $100,000 goal. Shipping is set to begin in August.
JLab Audio introduced wireless earbuds boasting 13 hours’ playing time: three-four hours of battery life for each unit and a case with 10 extra hours of charging capability. The $49 JBuds Air come with a two-year warranty and are sold at the company’s website and Walmart. A built-in mic that enables users to answer and end phone calls can also be used to activate voice assistants, said the company. Playback features control play, pause, track change and volume functions, and users can choose from three EQ settings.
Vuzix signed an agreement with Toshiba Client Solutions to supply Toshiba with a customized pair of smart glasses, Vuzix said in a Friday announcement. The companies began a “rapid development program” with milestone payments totaling more than $1 million. Toshiba, subject to a final manufacturing agreement, is expected to place additional orders for production smart glasses deliveries in Q4, said the companies.
Losing AirPods remains a hot topic, four months after the wireless earbuds were announced by Apple and two months after they began selling in limited quantities at Apple.com, Target and Walmart. With the $159-per-pair Bluetooth headphones still on six-week back-order at Apple.com, AirPod watchers were relieved and amused Tuesday when reports surfaced about a new Find My AirPods feature inside Apple’s Find my iPhone app. The feature was reported just over a week after Apple advertisements highlighted by Marian Hill’s “Down” began running on TV and YouTube showing a street dancer with AirPods in various positions -- including horizontal -- to convey the message that Pods will stay in the ear, even during exercise. “Apple admits you might misplace AirPods, so now it’ll help you find them,” quipped Twitter user lakipank. Social media comments appeared as far back as the September iPhone 7 announcement predicting such an app (see 1609070057). But “Find my AirPod” will only go so far toward recovery of the 1.6-inch-long AirPods, noted 9To5Mac, since AirPods rely on Bluetooth connectivity, not Wi-Fi, as iPhones do. The feature “will only be able to locate the AirPods if they are in range of your other Apple devices,” since users who lose an AirPod will have to be in range of their Apple device to have the lost earbud register on the app’s map. Replacement cost of a single AirPod is $69, says the Apple website. Meanwhile, starting price for a pair of AirPods from third-party sellers on Amazon Wednesday was $290.50.