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Put your CDs/DVDs
on TV
An interesting feature of Plextor’s
latest 8x external slim CD/DVD drive
is the ability to browse and play
media on a TV straight from
a CD/DVD. HDTVs are able to
display content from hard disk
drives, cameras and flash drives,
but many don’t recognise optical
disc drives. PlexTV overcomes this
obstacle by translating the output
signal to mimic a hard disk drive,
making the PX-612U fully compatible
with TVs, projectors and other devices
that support media playback. The
USB-powered drive costs £48 and
comes with NERO 10 Essentials
software for DVD/CD burning and
media playback.
www.plextor.com
Nuu direction
NUU has launched a range of cases
for the new iPad, two of which, the
KeyCase and SoftKey, turn it into
an office essential by incoporating
rechargeable Bluetooth QWERTY
keyboards for rapid data input. The
KeyCase (£79.99) boast protective
cushioning and a synthetic
leather design, while the
Softkey (£59.99) features
a more lightweight
design. Other models in
the range are the genuine
leather FlipCase (£39.99) with 10
viewing angles, magnetic closure and
handstrap; the sleek PropFolio (£39.99) with
fold-away dual-angle stand; and the rubberised
BaseCase (£19.99) available in a selection of
colours.
www.gonuu.com
Waterproof your iPad
To reduce the risk of infections in
healthcare, Seal Shield is bringing out
a range of form-fitting, polyurethane
covers that make iPhones and iPads
100% waterproof, washable and
disinfectable. Re-usable, recyclable Seal
Shields are also ideal for leisure use as
they allow iPads to be used under water.
www.SealShield.com
Communication Trends
Apps to drive hardware sales
App-enabled devices designed to carry out specific tasks in
conjunction with a smartphone will become a major new market
for hardware manufacturers over the next five years, according
to a new report by Juniper Research (
Smart Wireless Accessory
Ecosystems: CE, Payments, Fitness & Healthcare 2012-2017
). The
report forecasts that sales of smart devices that facilitate mobile
payments, personal fitness and healthcare will rise sharply to more
than 100 million units by 2017, up from just over 10 million at the
end of 2012.
www.juniperresearch.com
Home monitoring for elderly to take-off
A separate ABI Research study,
mHealth
, states that the market
for wireless home monitoring devices for the elderly will grow to
36 million units by 2017, up from fewer than 3 million units in
2011, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55.9%. As a
result of this growth, home monitoring will double its share of the
health-focused wearable wireless device market to 22% from 12%.
Traditionally, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) and
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) services have been sold directly to
consumers. However, ABI Research predicts that in the future such
services will increasingly be integrated into healthcare monitoring.
www.abiresearch.com
WiFi and small cells take the strain
As mobile network operators contend with rising data traffic,
they will increasingly rely onWiFi networks and small cell
solutions to reduce the strain on their networks, according to
Juniper Research. It predicts that operators will use their own
WiFi hotspots and small cell solutions to offload nearly 60% of data
traffic in the period 2012-2016. The report,
Mobile Data Offload &
Onload:WiFi & Small Cell Strategies 2012-2016
, notes that while
small cells were developed primarily to enhance network coverage,
service providers are increasingly offering them to customers as an
offload solution and integrating them withWiFi technology within
a single unit. It expects small cells to handle 12% of offloaded data
by 2016.
Gesture recognition coming to smartphones
Despite major challenges in implementing visual gesture
recognition in mobile devices, ABI Research predicts that by 2017,
600 million smartphones will be shipped with the technology.
Gesture recognition based on camera tracking is already deployed
in games consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation,
but integrating the technology in smartphones is more challenging
as it must cope with adverse light conditions and variable
backgrounds and is power-hungry. ABI Research is confident these
problems can be overcome with different tracking solutions and
new technologies, such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor
which gives smartphone OEMs the ability to use camera, infrared
and ultrasound-based tracking. So far, only a small number of
the smartphones have shipped with gesture recognition, notably
the Pantech Vega LTE handset in Korea, which uses camera-based
tracking.
www.abiresearch.com
Call migration hastens end of office phone
More than half of office workers (53%) make more calls on their
mobile phone than their desk phone, according to a survey of
1,000 adults by Natterbox. The death of the office phone is being
hastened by changes in working practices that have caused a
growing number of workers to spend part of their working week
away from the office. Two thirds (64%) of survey respondents said
that their jobs require them to take calls out of office hours on a
mobile and one in five (21%) said that they work at home at least
once a week. Of these, 68% said they used their mobiles compared
to 4% who used a home phone only.
Multifunction
phone for lone
workers
Working as a cordless phone,
pager, radio and personal alarm,
the new DECT handset from Call
Systems Technology is suitable for
any application where continuous,
reliable communications is
essential. For lone workers,
the C3110P offers the added
reassurance of a position locator
and panic button that activates
a central alarm. The handset has
been drop-tested and is resistant
to water and dust, in compliance
with the IP65 classification,
and commonly used
cleaning chemicals.
It is supplied with
a three-year
warranty.
0800 389 5642
www.call-systems.com