Griffin Technology Announces Updated Universal Mobile Devices
iTrip Auto HandsFree
Griffin’s trend-setting iTrip FM transmitter technology has been brought together with an intuitive handsfree microphone, so users can talk on their mobile phone without taking their attention off the road. iTrip Auto HandsFree gets its power from the car’s 12 volt accessory socket, and includes a USB port for charging a mobile device with its own charging cable. And of course, iTrip Auto HandsFree includes all the features and innovation the iTrip product line is known for, like SmartScan™ easy one-button setup, SmartSound™ audio enhancement, user-customizable presets, and stereo/mono listening modes.
The handsfree control mic clips to a lapel, or attaches to any nonporous surface in the car with an included adhesive pad, and gives users fingertip control to answer calls when they come in. iTrip Auto HandsFree is a perfect in-car solution for a wide variety of devices, including iPod and iPhone, and most MP3 players and smartphones, including those made by Microsoft, Samsung, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Motorola, Palm, and others.
Key Features:
iTrip FM transmitter
SmartScan easy one-button setup
SmartSound audio enhancement
Handsfree control mic
USB power plug for USB-rechargeable devices
Works through the mobile device’s headphone jack
WindowSeat HandsFree
WindowSeat mounts an iPod touch, iPhone, BlackBerry, or other mobile device at eye level on the car’s windshield or dashboard, putting street maps, directions, and more safely in view and within reach. The easily adjustable mounting bracket holds the device securely—even if the device is in a case—and a thumb release allows quick removal upon arrival at the destination. WindowSeat HandsFree comes packaged with a handsfree microphone for phone calls and recording, and an auxiliary audio cable for a clean, noise-free connection to the car stereo’s AUX-in jack.
Also available is WindowSeat AUX, the same versatile windshield and dashboard mount, without the handsfree microphone.
Key Features:
Secure, adjustable mounting bracket accommodates many devices and cases
High-grip silicone suction cup attaches to windshields easily and stays put
Self-adhesive mount for dashboard
Easy, worry-free installation
Accommodates recharging by Griffin’s PowerJolt auto charger
Compatible with: iPod touch, iPhone, and most smartphone devices by Sony, Samsung, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Palm
Announcing Two New High-Quality, Affordable CanoScan LiDE Colour Image Scanners From Canon
Canon Canada Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the addition of two new CanoScan LiDE Colour Image Scanners – the LiDE 210 and LiDE 110 scanners. These sleek and compact scanners, with the LiDE 210 being the thinnest Canon scanner to date, offer consumers affordable, high-speed scanning options without sacrificing overall image quality, making archiving photos or scanning an important document to be e-mailed extremely easy.
The new Canon CanoScan LiDE 210 and LiDE 110 scanners are not only affordable and compact but easy to use as well. With a maximum colour resolution of 4800 x 4800 dpi (optical)1 for the LiDE210 and 2400 x 4800 dpi (optical) 1 for the LiDE110 scanner, users can be confident that the end result of scans will be of high quality. The addition of Auto Document Fix, which helps maintain readability of important documents by sharpening and blackening the text, and Auto Scan Mode, which automatically adjusts settings by detecting the type of original being scanned, make either of these scanners a must-have to satisfy one’s scanning needs. These colour image scanners also offer an Advanced Z-lid Expansion Top, which raises up to 20 millimetres for easy scanning of thick items such as a child’s notebook or a page in a personal scrapbook in addition to EZ-buttons which allow for seamless copying and creating e-mail attachments or turning important documents into PDFs. Powered through the USB connector in addition to being Energy Star compliant, both colour image scanners utilize low overall power consumption.
The estimated selling price for both of these Energy Star Compliant colour image scanners is $99.99 for the LiDE210 and $69.99 for the LiDE110
Boost your Fashionista Status with YUBZ
Accessories can take an outfit to the next level, so why not use them to kick up your mobile accessories as well? Don’t let your drab mobile phone bring your outfit down a notch when you could be stylishly très chic and fabulous – introducing the Artist Retro Handsets from YUBZ (www.YUBZ.com), the newest mobile lifestyle accessory now available in Canada, to boost your “fashionista” status.
The Artist Handsets are “old-school” handsets that connect easily to mobile phones for a fashionable and trendy way to talk, matching any outfit. Available in vibrant colors and painted with artist-inspired graphic designs, the handsets are the perfect accessory to update your summer wardrobe. With a retro cord included, the YUBZ Retro Handsets are designed for daily use at the office, at home and even on the go. Simply connect the YUBZ Retro Handset to your mobile phone, and talk away. Lab-tested, the Retro Handsets can greatly reduce radiation for mobile phone users by 96 percent, and feature digital enhancement to ensure superior sound quality and reduced background noise.
Fashionistas can now keep their look trendy, upbeat and out-of-the-ordinary by amping up their tech style with the Artist Handsets from YUBZ!
VoiceSkins Launches Star Wars™ Yoda GPS Voice
Bring the Star Wars™ Universe to your TomTom GPS system with Yoda! That’s right, Lucasfilm’s official Star Wars™ characters are now available on all TomTom GPS systems. Launching today, the Star Wars™ Yoda VoiceSkin gives you wise Jedi counsel as he guides you to your destination with directions like:
“Right you should turn, then sharp left…control, control, if a Jedi, you wish to be.” “After 200 yards turn right… then bear left…but not to the darkside.” “Your destination you have reached. Powerful you have become. Remember the Force will be with you always.”
Join the Rebel Alliance as Star Wars™ Yoda VoiceSkin guides you to your destination. The Star Wars™ Yoda GPS Voice is available now for all TomTom GPS systems for $12.95.
Griffin Technology and Frontier Design Group Present GuitarConnect and iShred LIVE
Griffin Technology Inc. today announced availability of Griffin’s GuitarConnect cable and Frontier’s iShred LIVE. With this combination of cable and app, your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad becomes a mobile guitar workstation that is both fun and useful to musicians of all skill levels.Leading Futurist Predicts Technology that Many Canadians Say they Want to Avoid
Almost half of Canadians (48%) said they believe that artificial intelligence will become a reality in less than 20 years, according to an informal survey conducted by Warner Home Entertainment Canada.
“Within 10 years, we’ll have computers that are as powerful as the human brain,” says author and futurist Robert J. Sawyer, who is among the world’s leading Sci-fi thinkers and one of only seven writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year. “And within 30 years, we’ll have computers that will behave indistinguishably from human beings in terms of creativity and intelligence. They will, for all intents and purposes, be conscious.”
Other survey highlights include:
- A majority of Canadians said the technology they cannot live without were their computers and cell phones, respectively.
- Television and iPod technologies were considered the most disposable.
- The majority of respondents identified the television (37.1%) with iPod being the second most popular choice (32.3%) as technology that will be obsolete in the next 20 years.
- Flying cars, artificial intelligence and chips embedded in human bodies were the most common responses when asked what the next biggest technology would be.
- Although the majority (38.5%) of respondents said that they would want to be trapped at Skynet’s headquarters with their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend, Bill Gates (20.5%) received more than twice the votes as US President Barack Obama (6.8%) and Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt (0.9%) (Skynet is the computer software-based defense system in Terminator Salvation that gains self-awareness, perceives humans as a threat and retaliates against humanity.)
- Among the responses to the question of which technology Canadians would never want to see created, the most common were robots with artificial intelligence and microchip implants for humans
- 63.2% of respondents said that they do not believe that man will ever go to war with machines
PowerMat Charges into Canada (PEACE TECH)
One plug. One mat. Many devices.
“It’s very common for Canadian households to have multiple electronic devices, all needing to be charged on a regular basis,” says Shaun Kobrin, CEO of HoMedics Group Canada, which is bringing Powermat to Canada. “As you can imagine, this causes quite the jumble of wires and jockeying for power sockets in many homes. Powermat offers a simple, single source charging solution that is changing the way consumers think about their devices. In fact, once most consumers see Powermat, they’ve got to have one.”
Wireless charging is the new black (and it comes in a sleek black finish). In Canada, Powermat will be available at Best Buy, Future Shop, The Source and London Drugs beginning November 1, 2009. For more information, please log on to www.powermat.com.
- Home & Office Mat (MSRP $99.99) – Charge up to three devices simultaneously on this oblong, thin-profile mat. The mat also includes a USB port to charge a fourth device, perfect for those legacy items, and the Powercube accessory, which contains tips for multiple adapter designs.
- Travel Mat (MSRP $99.99) – The Travel Mat includes all the charging benefits of the Home and Office Mat in a portable design. The three interconnected mini mats fold together for easy travel and a fitted carry case is included.
- Powermat Receivers (MSRP’s range from $39.99 to $49.99) – Each device to be charged needs its own Powermat receiver, which is built right into the case for many popular devices.
Griffin Technology Updates iTalk Recorder App for iPhone and iPod touch
Nashville, TN – September 11, 2009 – Griffin Technology today introduced the latest version of its popular iTalk recorder app for iPhone and iPod touch. iTalk, already a top business app with more than one million downloads, has been updated to include a number of new improvements and features, including email support and transport controls, to create a more powerful and flexible recorder. Available today are two versions of the app: iTalk Premium, which contains the full set of new and classic features, and iTalk Lite, a simplified, free version of the recorder.
iTalk Premium presents a clean, attractive interface that allows for easy one-touch recording. Users may choose between three quality settings, easily rename and recall recordings, and precisely navigate forward and backward through the recording with new enhanced transport controls. Recorded AIFF files may also be copied and transferred to a computer via email, another new addition to the app. iPhone 3GS can email files up to 10MB, with iPhone 3G, iPhone and iPod touch able to send files up to 5MB. Larger files can be easily transferred over Wi-Fi with Griffin’s free iTalk Sync software.
The latest iTalk version has also been tuned to increase performance and improve memory usage, making iTalk the most powerful and versatile recorder for iPhone and iPod touch yet. In celebration of the new iTalk, iTalk Premium is on sale for $1.99, creating the perfect opportunity to switch to the new app. Users also have the choice of iTalk Lite, a simplified, free version with basic transport controls and a 2MB file limit for email. Both versions of iTalk are available for download through the iTunes App Store now.
iTalk Premium, on sale for a limited time for $1.99, and iTalk Lite, free, are available now for download through the iTunes App Store. iTalkSync is a free download available at www.italksync.com.