Panasonic has shown a Skype capable picture frame at this year's CES. Looking a bit like a permanently tethered iPad, it is able to playback photo and video, as well as show Facebook and Twitter feeds straight on the display.

Like a more social photo frame, or a basic way to access your social networks and make Skype calls, the idea behind the Panasonic is clearly to leave it somewhere like your kitchen and let you tap and interact with networks.?

The only let down we can see with the photo frame is the rather chunky stand on the back. An iPad is thinner and can be removed from a stand, plus it can do a lot more than the Panasonic's frame. Then again an iPad will also cost more we expect. We will let you know once Panasonic tells us how much the frame is going for.

We definitely like the styling, it's like something HAL would have built.

Tags: Gadgets Skype Panasonic CES2012

Panasonic Skype picture frame prototype thinks it's 2001: A Space Odyssey originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Every year at CES we spot a wealth of weird and wonderful gadgets competing with the high-end TVs, cutting edge mobile devices and brand new technologies that dominate the headlines.

This year, one of our?favourite?"left-field" devices is Tagg The Pet Tracker. If you've got a?dastardly?dog or a curious cat that likes to wander off where it is not supposed to go then this could be just the bit of kit for you.

It sits on your pooch or feline friend's collar and, using GPS technology developed by Qualcomm, allows you to keep track of where your pet is. You can set a pet-zone (between 75m and 1000m) and be?alerted by email or text should your four-legged friend stray away from it and, using the web-based software or a mobile app, locate its position on a Google Map.

Tagg is water resistant so should hold up in the rain and the battery life is 30 days. You'll also get a text or email to tell you if it needs charging.

It's out now in the States and the Tagg rep at CES told us that a UK launch is on the horizon. Across the pond it costs $99 and $7.99 to?subscribe?to the service. Not cheap, but certainly cheaper than a vet's bill should Fido or Garfield run under a car.

Tags: CES2012 Animals Gadgets Tagg

Tagg The Pet Tracker collar keeps your pets smart originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Pocket-lint has got its hands on the most expensive pocket-knife in town over in Vegas at CES - the $3,000 Victorinox?1TB SSD Swiss Army knife

Taking the phrase "cutting edge technology" quite literally, the Swiss based company has picked up our award for "most pointless gadget at CES that we still want" with the?extravagantly?priced device.

Packing 1TB of eSATA II SSD storage (and a blade, a nail file and some mini scissors too), the flash drive aspect features a 96x48 pixel LCD monochrome display and your data is more than secure thanks to the?256 AES hard and software encryption.

Available in red or black, we really don't know why it costs so much but we really want one. We've a rough pinkie nail you see, and we think it will sort it out.

No word on a UK release as of yet but let's face it - you're not going to buy one, are you?

Tags: Storage Gadgets Victorinox Knives USB gadgets CES2012

Victorinox 1TB SSD Swiss Army knife pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:39:56 +0000

Victorinox has announced two new Swiss Army knives which includes a SSD (solid state drive) and Victorinox Slim 3.0 USB, which should give you plenty of options and protection if you need to carry around digital data on a regular basis.

The company, which has been going for 125 years, has been producing USB drives on its knives for some time now, but with this launch Victorinox has really upped the ante as it launches an SSD into its cutting edge storage solutions.

The knives pack anywhere from 16GB to 1TB of storage, are equipped to withstand a range of environmental and daily use factors, and "remain true to the Swiss Army legacy of flawlessly designed products that endure".

The two Swiss Army knives include the Slim 3.0 USB and the SSD; the former offering up quick read/write speeds and available in offers faster read and write speeds than a 2.0 USB flash drive and will be available in capacities of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. The SSD will be offered in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 1TB capacities.

Each SSD comes equipped with two knife bodies, between which the drive can easily be interchanged, one being flight-friendly and the other including traditional Swiss Army knife implements such as blade, scissors, nail file, etc.

However, along with this innovation comes some pretty sharp claims. Apparently this is the world’s smallest high-capacity SSD drive on the market and one which includes eSATA II/III and USB 2.0/3.0 connectors. Not only this, but it also uses e-paper tech, a bi-stable graphic display enabling you to label contents, another first for an SSD.

No pricing as yet, but both knives should be available in April 2012.

Tags: Storage Gadgets Victorinox Knives USB gadgets CES2012

Victorinox 1TB Swiss Army knife announced: Tough SSD storage originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:26:00 +0000

Tech company Withings has announced that it will be launching its internet-connected baby and toddler scale - called the Withings Smart Baby Scale - at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. Where else?

Fitted with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, it is described as "the next evolution in home baby and toddler weight tracking", and supposedly combines, "cutting edge technology and exquisite design to create a scale that will give parents all over the world a very simple to use and extremely accurate way to monitor, understand and share their child’s growth".

The company behind the new baby scale has previous when it comes to weight monitoring as it already makes a Wi-Fi scale for adults. This fixation with monitoring everything can go either way, as any benefits to physical health could well be undermined by the onset of paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorders* brought on by the habit of constantly checking and comparing your baby's weight.

However, C?dric Hutchings, Withings co-founder seemed quite upbeat about the whole thing, saying: “We are very excited to announce our Smart Baby Scale and offer parents an amazing new way to take care of their newborn or young child. The success of our WiFi Body Scale has proven the benefits of connected weight tracking on adults and we were eager to also bring these benefits to babies and children."

As well as weighing your baby, the scales can be hooked up to the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, which will add another thing to check and worry about.

Needless to say all this info can be shared online through the WiScale app which links to both Facebook and Twitter. Weighing infants is clearly an important aspect of keeping check on development and regular weighing appointments are usually arranged as a matter of course, so we don't really see the point of this other than a way to bombard more of your Facebook friends with data about your new-born.

The weird and not-very-wonderful Withings Smart Baby Scale will be available in Q2 2012.

*Withings Smart Baby Scale may not actually cause paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorders.

Tags: Dad Gadgets Withings Social networking CES2012

Withings internet connected baby scale is a whole new world of weird originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:16:50 +0000

Home working's all the trend these days; why labour away on the bus or tube, having to tuck your left cheek into a rotund fellow's honking armpit while being stabbed in the back with a golf umbrella, when you can sit around in your pants all day listening to Spotify and writing copy such as, "Home working's all the trend these days..."?

Nope, it's far better to travel into another room or, if you're completely adventurous (or foolhardy, considering the temperature in the UK at the moment), to the end of the garden. And, if you've got a spare ?10 grand, you can even get a better set-up than most in-town offices.

Micro Pod, by British firm Pod Space is much more than a garden shed, it's a fully-fledged garden studio that, because of its classification, allows you to add a workspace onto your property without planning permission.

At 2.5 x 2m, it's compact and bijou, yet has more than enough room for a decent workstation, chair and, er, that's about it. However, it's still bigger than the first studio flat we were shown when we moved to Manchester briefly in 1999.

It walls can be finished with white beech panels, but your cash doesn't all go on the materials. Under the floor, you see, is low energy?Scandinavian?heating, while a desk, shelving, ceiling light and self-cleaning windows can all be added at additional cost.

The basic price of the Micro Pod is??10,890 (not including VAT), and more information can be found at www.pod-space.co.uk. There are also bigger garden studios available, ranging up to the four person Eco Pod for ?33,950.

We guess it's the shed and knackered electric bar heater for us then.

Read

Tags: Gadgets Dad Micropod Garden gadgets Apple Pod Space

Micro Pod - the garden shed for the Apple generation originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:26:00 +0000

We've all seen Point Break, the night surfing, the excitement Keanu enjoys going out with Patrick Swayze, but they didn't have anything on this.

To mark the start of summer, Strongbow in a marketing stunt joined forces with surfing filmmaker Jack McCoy (Endless Summer II), Bali Strickland and Eugene Tan (Aquabumps) to capture Australia's largest glow in the dark surf attempt at Bondi Beach.

Basically Tron on surf boards.

The effect, shot in the early hours of the first day of summer looks incredibly futuristic even though in reality it is just a couple of dudes and dudettes with some glow in the dark strips stuck to their wetsuits and boards.

For surfing fans having trouble spotting who is doing the surfing, it is supposedly Channel 10's Bondi Rescue lifeguards, Corey Oliver and Andrew Reid.

Gnarly.?

Tags: Gadgets Tron Strongbow

Surfing Tron takes to the waves to celebrate the summer (Video) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Lego is a Christmas staple. Anyone with kids aged between 5 and 15 will likely be purchasing some this year. There might even be a few mums and dads who treat themselves to a cheeky slice of Lego pie. However a standard box of Lego bricks can be an intimidating sight to many dads who are relatively rusty on their Lego skills.

Such is the case, that helping a kid through a serious build can be a true Good Christmas experience. What better picture of family can you think of than father and son crafting themselves a master Lego creation? But where to start? What sort of masterpieces can a simple box of standard Lego create? Fear not, Pocket-lint is here with a quick guide to Lego construction.

The Tardis and Daleks

Doctor who has become the 10-year-old's equivalent of Made In Chelsea. With that in mind, we thought it best to cook up some sort of means for Dalek production. Throw in the Tardis and you have a build that is guaranteed to make the eyes of any child glow.

The really great thing about this one is that it doesn’t require a large number of bricks to complete. The Daleks can be a bit tricky as they require slightly more unusual parts, but ultimately it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge to put together.

The Delorean

When you first discover Back to the Future as a kid, it can be a quasi-religious experience. We became instantly obsessed with the Trilogy and have since watched the movies more times than we have had hot dinners.

Why not capture a bit of that magic, whilst spending some quality time with your kid, putting together the most iconic vehicle ever to come out of a movie? Sorry Optimus, you came close. This is a bit more of a complicated build than the Daleks, but the final result is a near perfect copy of the one from Back to the Future II, complete with hook for hitting 88mph.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Apart from the constant singing, which to be honest, after years of Christmas viewing is starting to drag now, CCBB is a classic. The car almost touches the Delorean on the iconic scale, but will perhaps be better known by those with younger kids. We personally would build both and race them. Obviously in real life there is no way Chitty would even touch Marty at 88mph, but in the world of Lego, anything can happen.

There is a lot going on in this build, so we suggest divvying things up. It keeps the family spirit going whilst avoiding any potential boredom at the sight of an over complex build. Get your young one to put the carriage together, while you get your head round all the niceties of the chassis. Stick the pair together at the end and there you have it, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Lego form.

Space Shuttle

Space is a big talking point for the under tens. How big is it? How many stars are there? Where do Klingons live? Those sort of questions are all commonplace. What do you get in space? Rockets of course… and the cooler looking the better. Sat right at number one on the top of the pops of rocketry is the Space Shuttle. The reusable star tractor that, sadly, is no longer sadly in use.

The only way to bring it back to life is to use Lego and this handy model designed by one avid space fan. It looks great, isn’t too complex to build and is quick enough to put together that even the littlest of Lego fans will keep themselves occupied.

Glados and a Portal gun

Okay, so your kids might not be hugely into Portal. Say, just for arguments sake, you had played the game through with them, we can pretty much guarantee they would have loved it. No character could be more memorable than the game's very own evil robot, Glados. A bit less straightforward than the others, but just as rewarding, this build is quick but tough.

You need a lot of parts from things like Lego Technic to put this bad boy together. The Portal gun less so, as it requires fewer joints and small pieces. Both look just as good, so if you cant manage one, give the other a go.

Go freestyle

You might have noticed that a lot of these videos appear in a sort of 3D design simulator for Lego. It is a piece of software called Lego Digital Designer and a single search for it on something like YouTube will turn up a vast number of possible builds. The real treat with Lego, and what will get you more involved with your family than following any set of instructions, is try to come up with ideas yourself.

One gentleman, Duncan Titmarsh, is a certified Lego professional. Like Jedi, he is one of only 13 in the World. Given his title officially by Mr Lego himself (we think), he is in charge of creating some truly outstanding models. Use his website to get the family inspired and thinking about what sort of Lego creations they could come up with. Not everyone likes the usual Doctor Who or Back to the Future, some young ones might be more interested in bridges or skyscrapers, so let them try building it!

Good Christmas is all about doing things with your family you would never normally do. We want you to get inspired with your kids and enjoy building Lego with them. In writing this we discovered a whole community of Lego fans who build and share plans across the Internet. A really good family thing to do could be searching through and picking out favourite ideas, then sticking them together. For a few pointers try websites like Brickish, or Lionsgatemodels, both feature plentiful ideas for you to try out.

Tags: Toys Lego Features Gadgets Dad Good Christmas

Lego building tips for the family originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:30:00 +0000