Greetings from the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular Show in San Francisco. Photo by Marcus Siu.
Article and photos by Marcus Siu
It’s that time of the year again, when the holidays suddenly comes storming around the corner, just like the early brave seasonal shoppers on a Black Friday. Regardless of the of weather, nothing will be in the way for the most hardcore shoppers, However, for most of us, even if it’s just a little cold outside or dark outside, we will be happy just to stay warm inside and shop online. Unfortunately, the drawback is is that you may not be able to observe and physically handle the item firsthand, if you’re not familiar with the product.
Luckily, that wasn’t the the case for me when I attended the recent annual Pepcom “Holiday Spectacular” show in San Francisco. The show for journalists covers a plethora of new products with the latest in gadgetry among the many very high tech and start-up companies. There were some very unusual items at the show, as well as some very fun and practical items. It’s a great time where the press can ask questions about all of the products, as well as handling them up front to see how good the products were.
Here are a few standouts that caught my attention.
YOU GOT FRAMED!
Aura ‘s lineup of digital and analog frames. Cookies not included. Photo by Marcus Siu.
AURA FRAMES
How often do you have friends or family attending events and taking lots of photos that you hope they would eventually share with you? Being an avid photographer, I take photos all the time but eventually hear complaints from friends that I never share them with them. Not that I am selfish, but to download them and then to store them on flash drives and not knowing when I will see them again can be a problem. Or perhaps, I just don’t want to bother uploading my photos on a dropbox account after I get back. In reality, I just forget. Regardless, I am bad about sharing photos with friends and family, if they request it.
Now Aura Frames has figured out a good way to share the images and right into their own picture frames. They help people get photos off their phones or devices directly onto their Aura frames within seconds, right on top of the mantle that it is sitting on thanks to their app.
You can also share photos on any network frame in seconds with their app no matter how big a family or your network of frames are. What makes these frames “smart” is that the app uses Alexa and Google Integration, as well as an AI powered smart photo curation – facial recognition software so it identifies everyone in the photo.
In addition, there are different types of stylish frames to choose from from classic, wood and mason frames. Best of all, these frames are just plain gorgeous, with high resolution display and touch bar sensors to swipe left to right or up and down.
Besides sharing photos digitally, Aura has a print subscription service for people who prefer to have something held in their hands, as well. Many people would prefer physical photos. Especially premium quality prints that you can show immediately to your visitors, whether it’s on the fridge or in the frame. These would be a better fit for someone like Grandma and Grandpa or any “old school type” who prefer not to exchange decades of old photo albums for digital photos on Facebook.
You can choose an Aura analog frame box that holds up to a 60 5X7 photos, and Aura will print five photos a month and send it anywhere you wish. Sending photos of the grandchildren five times a month would be a perfect reason for subscribing to the service, especially if you they live too far away to see them regularly.
A DOG DAY AFTERNOON
The Whistle booth at the Pepcom show. Photo by Marcus Siu.
WHISTLE
Dog owners rejoice!
Do you ever wonder where your dog is when you aren’t there with him (or her)? That’s the number one common concern for dog owners. Perhaps you needed to hire a dog walker that you didn’t quite trust 100% and wanted to monitor the dog’s whereabouts and activity. Perhaps, the dog walker was too lazy and you wondered if the dog got his daily exercise around the neighborhood? Through the use of the Whistle app, you can find the location of your dog, but also his activities.
Not only does it track the dog 24/7 with real time location tracking with accurate precision using Google maps on your smartphone, but it’s also a health wellness monitor that tracks the dogs’ sleeping patterns, and bad habits, such as licking and scratching that is also tracked by the app.
Just like a Fitbit, it also monitors the calories burned, total minutes being active and even resting. The app also shows the pet’s daily trips history, as well as notifications of the dogs’s activity goals which you can set on the app.
Even dogs need to monitor their daily work out…
WHERE’D YOU GO, DUDE?
Lynq is a little gadget that you can clip on your clothes or bag that tells you how far and in what direction other people are without any data connection needed. Photo by Marcus Siu.
LYNQ
Here’s a typical scenario. You are at a Burning Man Festival and you have to go to the bathroom which is a pretty far distance away, but you don’t want to lose your spot in the crowd because you are very close to the front of the stage with an endless sea of people in back of you.
Reluctantly, you turn to your group and excuse yourself for the long walk to the facilities. After you relieve yourself, you attempt to return to where you were, but now you are lost. You grab your cell phone, but there is no service because the cellular network is too congested. Even if there was service, you probably wouldn’t be able to hear anything anyways.
So, what do you do? How do you go back and find your friends with all those people there?
LynQ is a GPS tracking device that can be used within a three mile radius. Once paired, you can set the home base. If you get separated from someone or a group, you will be able to find each other through the arrows and distance from the display. No need for a cellular signal, maps or even monthly fees. It can track multiple people, up to 12 and is mainly for outdoor use. It also has a three day battery life.
Not only would this be perfect for a group of two or more for any outdoor activities, such as skiing, hiking, and of course, music festivals, it would also be perfect to keep on your wandering children (or even dogs) when going to see the fireworks at the beach, or parades in the city or at any park. Even kids would find the one-touch operation fairly simple to find their way back to their parents or home base.
Another great benefit is that you will receive notifications if they wander off from the safe zone that you can set yourself. This device can be a potential life-saver.
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