Gadgets

By Josh Constine A smart home hub is a dumb purchase if most of your appliances aren’t smart, too. So Ukrainian startup Branto developed a hub that has a built-in 360-degree camera and speaker for security and telepresence, in addition to being able to operate gadgets over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, and infrared. That’s a lot…

By Anthony Ha Sutro, a startup presenting at TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield in Las Vegas, aims to remove one of the big headaches of owning a backyard swimming pool or spa. Now, I don’t own a pool myself (weird, I know), but co-founders Ravi Kurani and Amanda Nagai told me that owners are expected to constantly…

By John Biggs Scott Jordan has been a tech fixture for almost a decade. His company, ScotteVest, makes clothing for gadget lovers, feature pockets for almost everything including tablets, phones, water bottles, and even passports. Now he’s taking on a new persona, Pocket Man, and trying to help people follow their passion. While his adventure…

By Matt Burns I arrived at a massive shooting range compound where a security guard promptly introduced himself as a retired police officer and not a friend of the media. I had to follow his self-proclaimed “diesel-guzzling pig” of a Dodge through the facility’s maze of shooting ranges to the edge of a canyon. It…

By Sarah Perez Amazon’s Fire Phone made news this week with the backstory of why the phone flopped, and Amazon’s plans to reorganize the hardware group, Lab126, responsible for the smartphone. Now the retailer is trying again to clear the shelves of this device, selling the Fire Phone today for $189, off contract, including a…

By Catherine Shu Less than three months after completing its $2.91 billion acquisition of the phone manufacturer from Google, Lenovo announced today that it will bring back Motorola smartphones to China. Three devices—the Moto X, Moto X Pro, and Moto G with 4G LTE—will go on sale early this year. Read More …read more Source:…

By Darrell Etherington Apple’s 12-inch MacBook Air has been rumored for a while now, but the computer is very real, according to a new report from 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman. The resourceful and consistently accurate site has revealed specs and renders of a 12-inch MacBook (which is pegged for release anytime between the near future and…

By Romain Dillet CES is in full swing — the doors of the show officially opened this morning, tens of thousands of people took over the show floor, going from one stand to another. The Las Vegas Convention Center was as overwhelming as I expected, but one thing in particular struck me. CES is a…

By Kyle Russell CES Hardware Battlefield participant LyteShot is working on an alternate-reality gaming alternative to playing with traditional NERF guns. Its solution relies on wireless “guns” and sensors — known as the Lyter and LytePuck, respectively — that essentially act as more affordable laser-tag rigs. Read More …read more Source: TechCrunch Gadgets

By Alex Wilhelm In an afternoon keynote at CES 2015, Intel‘s CEO Brian Krzanich bounced on stage to pass out some slightly platitudinous statements about the future of technology, and to bring the audience dancers, a cello, and what appeared to be a boy band, all fused to trippy lights. It was fun. The most…

By Jordan Crook Even though he no longer pounds basketballs through hoops, Shaquille O’Neal has been keeping himself busy. In collaboration with Monster, he’s designed a new Bluetooth speaker that can float. That’s right. “You can take it in the shower with you,” said Shaq. “Not in the bathroom, but actually in the shower.” The…

By John Biggs Robotic pet food dispensers are nothing new, but what happens when your robotic pet food dispenser is smarter than your pet. Petnet can help you find out. The system dispenses food automatically based on your preset schedule and you can even tell it which foods you’re serving Fido or Fidette and it…

By Jordan Crook Fashion and tech, though perhaps an unlikely union, seem to have been getting along quite well over the past year. LookSee, an e-ink smart bracelet that allows users to customize the design through imagery, is the newest love-child of that union. The LookSee pairs with a LookSee app via Bluetooth to let…

By Alex Wilhelm Here at TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield at CES 2015, Sereneti Kitchen showed off its wares, an automatic tool that helps people cook. The company has created a device that, via a simple stirring motion, can cook you dinner. Something akin to a cross between a quick crockpot and C-3PO, the Sereneti device takes…

By Darrell Etherington If you’re any kind of aquarist or aquarium lover, amateur or otherwise, you’ve encountered that heart-sinking feeling that comes along with running into dead fish upon returning to your tank. It’s far too frequent an occurrence, and one that the founding team at Current Labs believes is entirely preventable in most cases,…