WELCOME ABOARD!!! MobileFocus, hosted by Pepcom in San Francisco at the Metreon, where journalists set sails and leading technology companies explore the sea of uncharted wireless innovations taking journalists along for the ride. Photo by Marcus Siu.
Article and photos by Marcus Siu
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 19, 2016: With its “nautical discovery” theme going on at the latest MobileFocus, presented by Pepcom at the Metreon in San Francisco in May, dozens of leading technology companies showcased and demonstrated their latest and coolest mobile products just in time for the summer. As usual, Pepcom produced a grand festive theme party, this time in a inviting breezy atmosphere, with songs like Enya’s “Sail Away” and Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat” playing in the background, which was perfect for journalists to set sail to discover the most innovative mobile products by the most innovative companies.
Here are the companies and most promising mobile products that caught my eye (and ears).
ROYOLE – For someone who someday wants to own a “wearable” Home Theater made exclusively for that sole purpose, rather than a VR headset that puts you in a “home theater” mode through an app, the world’s first foldable smart mobile theatre by Royole was great news. Watching Netflix in the Oculus theater can be a bit tiring on the eyes after 20 minutes on the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR, but not with this product. Not only does the Royole-X have ten times the resolution of any smartphone, (3,300 pixels per inch), but users can watch full length movies without discomfort. The Royole-X is an audio and video headset that features breakthrough visual display, professional fidelity + noise-blocking audio technology, and an easy-to-use and yet powerful operating system that enables the sourcing of movies and video games from nearly any source (e.g., mobile, phone, set-top box, gaming console, etc.). The beautiful, single form factor headset is foldable, making it a compact, fashionable wearable electronic device for immersive cinematic experiences. Retails at $699.00.
This is not VR, but the first foldable smart mobile theatre by Royole-X. Photo by Marcus Siu.
KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY – For most smartphones, the two typical main issues are its short battery life and its lack of storage space. Kingston’s MobilLite Wireless Pro, which serves as a wireless storage device and as a 6700 mAh battery bank, tackles both of these concerns. The user can send his extra photos or videos wirelessly into the MLWP to or from his smartphone. In addition, the user can also access all the content from the MLWP to the smartphone. If there is a family of four, then everyone will be happy, since they all access to the MLWP. Best of all, if the built-in 64GB storage capacity isn’t enough on the MLWP, you can attach any USB external hard drive, flash drive, and SD cards directly, if more capacity is needed. Retail $91.00.
http://www.kingston.com/us/wireless/wireless_readers/mlwg3
Kingston’s latest MobilLite Wireless Pro model, which serves as a wireless storage device and battery bank. Photo by Marcus Siu.
KODAK – As a photographer/videographer and enthusiast of VR, I’m always looking into for action cameras shooting 360 and in 4K resolution. Just as important, is to be able to share the same experience through social media, such as YouTube or Facebook. Whether you ride a bike or surf on the waves, Kodak’s latest PIXPRO SP360 4K VR Camera, a predecessor to the SP360 1080p Action Cam, which was one of the first 360° cameras introduced to the world, was designed to take your 360° VR videos, creative visions and passions to new heights with a 235 degree FOV ultra-wide lens, supporting micro SD cards up to 128GB. Retail starts at $449.00.
http://kodakpixpro.com/Americas/cameras/actioncam/sp3604k/
The evolution of 360 degree cameras keeps improving with the Kodak Pixpro SP360. Now in 4K resolution. Photo by Marcus Siu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUAmLN3yTns
RING – For homeowners who are away from home, monitoring their home through the Ring doorbell, along with their smartphone app is just like being at home. Combined with the app, the Ring doorbell acts as a home security and as a visitor greeter all wrapped up in one. If someone is ringing your doorbell and it’s someone you trust, you can let them in through your app. If they are solicitors, you can just talk through the intercom and just say “no thanks, we don’t want any”, as though you were home. Even if the doorbell wasn’t rung, it detects motion around the perimeter, like from the local mailman, newspaper delivery person, or perhaps even someone who wants to break into your home, and then immediately sends a notification to your smartphone, if you would like. For homebodies who don’t like to leave their home much because they don’t feel safe about leaving it unsecured, this would be the perfect device so they can go out and enjoy life. Ring was also named one of USA Today’s Top 10 Tech Innovations of 2015. Retail starts at $199.00
Ring “smart” doorbells have revolutionized the industry. Photo by Marcus Siu
MOSHI – Based in San Francisco, Moshi is a cross between Coach and B&O when it comes to similar product design. Their products are refined, simple, yet sophisticated. I tried on a pair of the Moshi Avanti “on-ear” headphones and was quite impressed with the immersive sound quality coming out of them, even though I was just listening to mp3’s through their demo. These stylish headphones have high efficiency 40mm drivers with a wide dynamic range, but unlike many headphones of this quality that sets it apart is that there is these are quite cushy and comfortably soft and do not exert much pressure on the listener’s ears like so many typical “on-ear” headphones do, even after many hours of use. Perhaps more importantly to some is that they are easily adjustable so that the stainless steel bands can be raised higher so that they barely touch the listeners hair, depending on their preference, when being worn. This helps prevent bad hair days. The headphones also comes with a durable, yet elegant zippered case that houses them with a nice netted pouch inside. If listening to personal music is accepted in your work environment, these are definitely the headphones to bring to the office. For the stylish and professional always on the go who mainly to listens to music through their iPod or smartphone, these are wholeheartedly recommended. Reasonably priced at $199.95.
http://www.moshi.com/audio-headphones-avanti
Moshi has also quite a line of other stylish and refined products for the connected traveler always on the go, such as power banks, designer bags and backpacks, that are lightweight, waterproof but yet extremely durable.
San Francisco based, Moshi’s impressive product line, including their flagship Avanti headphones. Photo by Marcus Siu.
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