The Geek Church

If you are smart, you will carry around a portable battery made for recharging your smartphone. Something like the Mophie Juice Pack Boost or other devices like the Power Charger 6000 from Zimri Speakers.

Generally, these portable batteries are good for charging some power in the phone, but this silver box that you see in the photo is good for charging a phone 10 to 14 times.

Lilliputian Systems is planning on teaming up with famed retailer Brookstone in order to put together this box with a recyclable fuel cell cartridge.

Sadly, this is all I have on this so far. I wish I had a price point for you. This would be pretty cool if it does fit in your pocket, even though it looks pretty big now.

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As I mentioned before, CTIA Wireless in New Orleans is still going on, and I guess I bring it up because I wish I was there.

I especially wish I was visiting Bracketron’s booth. I have reviewed Bracketron’s products before, and they make some very cool mounts for iDevices. They definitely put their best foot forward in New Orleans with the MetalDock.

The MetalDock is dock/charger for the iPhone 4/4S that has a lightweight portable design. It connects via USB port and powers up to sync the device when it is not in use. As you can see, it can change from landscape to portrait mode. Like the Vapor Dock we reported on a few days ago, it has an embedded cable. This one is three feet long.

You might notice that the MetalDock has a very interesting look to it, like an old-fashioned alarm clock. I have to admit that like like this black and white aesthetic.

If you are wanting to get in on this action, then head over to the Bracketron site and lay down about $34.95.

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It would appear that Samsung has been busy with unveiling the Galaxy S III, and they made an announcement at CTIA 2012, a mobile phone convention, with the Samsung Focus 2.

This phone would belong on AT&T’s LTE network, and the Focus 2 will run on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 operating system. This is the fourth in the Focus series that includes the original Samsung Focus, an advanced Focus S, and a more midrange Focus Flash.

The Focus 2 has a 4-inch Super AMOLED with a rounded body, and it has 5 megapixel camera that shoos 720p HD video, as well as a front facing camera.

The Focus 2 goes on sale on May 20, and it has a $50 pricetag after a two-year contract.

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You might remember when I covered the Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A3, and how I considered it “gourmet electronics”. These are the fine electronics that I can see for a high price but made from high quality materials.

In the same way, I feel that the Element Case is gourmet electronics for the iPhone cases. I had a chance to try out the Vapor Pro, the “flag ship model in the Element Case line”.

Opening this thing is pretty tough, and the protective frame has to literally be screwed in with its included screwdriver. I’m sure it prevents signal loss from that Antennagate scandal a few years ago.

In addition to the frame, it has this padded protective back plate that is interchangeable, and there is even a screen protector and ear pad included as well. There is also this zipper pouch which, as far as I am concerned, is a deal maker.

You should be able to get the Vapor Pro Flux Finish iPhone Case on the Element Case site for about $129.95 in colors of red, blue, black, and white crossovers. See the main site to see what I mean by that.

I’m not certain whether or not this is related to CTIA Wireless, a huge mobile phone conference that is taking place in New Orleans, but Fujifilm has just announced their XP170 camera.

The XP170 is unique as it has Wi-Fi built in, so if you want to send photos to your smartphone, and it can also be connected to any Android smartphone or tablet, or iPhone or iPad using its free Fujifilm Photo Receiver application.

I suppose that is the big selling point of this particular camera, but it is waterproof to 33 feet, shockproof to 6.5 feet, cold up to 14 degrees, and it is also dustproof. It also has 14-megapixel CMOS, a 5x, f3.9-4.9 28-140mm lens with sensor-shift image stabilization, and the LCD screen is 2.7 inches.

The FinePix XP170 is available in blue and orange in June 2012 for $279.95.

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Yes, there are a lot of iPod docks out there, and this one from Element Case known as the Vapor Dock is pretty spiffy to have.

The Vapor Dock is essentially a way to plug in your iPod/iPhone into something, and charge it. Before you say “big deal, a lot of iPod/iPhone docks do that”, you should know that this is made of some CNC machined aluminum with non-skid rubber feet. By the way, the USB cable is installed underneath, so you don’t need to mess around with that whole thing too much.

Granted, the Vapor Dock might not be a huge stereo dock for the iPod/iPhone, but it does amplify the sound of the iPhone.

This Vapor dock is made in the USA, and costs about $119.99 in black or silver. You can purchase it here.

I love augmented reality as much as the next guy, provided that the next guy knows what augmented reality is. If you aren’t familiar with it, it usually comes in the form of holding up an object to a camera, and seeing something different on the display.

In the case of this augmented reality sandbox, it uses a projector with some sand as well as a Kinect Sensor. You might ask yourself why in the world someone would create an augmented reality sandbox when there is plenty of real sand at the beach.

As it turns out, this is an educational toy, as this augmented environment can be used to teach geographic, geologic, and hydrological concepts. So if you are trying to teach about how to make the perfect dam or moat for a sandcastle, this is it.

You might see this augmented reality sandbox in museums and such places like that. In the meantime, watch the video above and wonder what other fun activities can be made into augmented reality, such as making mud pies.

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I don’t know if you have heard of Bang & Olufsen, but they make some very classy products. Thank of it as gourmet electronics, and they are quite pricey.

They have recently unveiled the BeoPlay A3, an iPad stereo dock that is quite flat. You can’t see this in the image, but the back of this product has an odd shape for standing up in portrait and landscape mode.
The A3 also has Adaptive Stereo Orientation with a motion sensor for adapting the audio experience depending on the orientation.

The sound has 3 x 1/2 inch tweeters and a 2 inch woofer with a frequency range of 60-15,000 Hz. In addition to this orientation, it is also a battery good for 5 hours of battery life. There is a a video after the jump, but prepare to jump after you see the price.

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Now that is summer in a lot of parts of the world, I’m sure that many of you are planning a lot of outings, especially to amusement parks.

What you are going to see after the jump is one ride that I wouldn’t go on. I would like to think that I am not afraid of amusement park rides, but I would not be willing to stand in line for this one.

After all, I tend to hesitate on any ride that turns you upside down. That includes any roller-coaster with loops in it, or any spinning swinging mechanisms. This ride starts out with swinging its passengers around, and then appears to break down as one of its swinging arms collapses.

As it turns out, this is supposed to happen, and that leads the passengers on one heck of a ride. My Source calls this a “surprise”, but I would imagine that if you waited in line, you would see this coming. I’m sure it would still be shocking.

I am not certain where in Russia this amusement park is, but it looks pretty dang frightening. If you can ride this and not barf, then have a good summer.

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Right now, my son is watching a Disney movie, and I thought that all this company was capable of doing was advanced computer graphics movies. It would appear that Disney Research could lead the forefront on touchscreen technology with Touche.

You can watch the video after the jump, and you can see that it takes the touchscreen off the binary (touching it or not touching it) and makes it a very detailed affair.

This “novel Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing technique” is able to sense different capacitive properties, and it it is possible to tell what is touching where. For example, it can tell if you have three fingers on a doorknob, and, as you can see from the image, it works on liquids.

Clearly, this technology has the potential to change just about everything. There is a disturbing scene in the video showing how this technology could be used to show how to properly eat cereal. I have to admire how a couch can sense when you are falling asleep and shut the lights and TV off.

Well, I suppose we all feared that we would have a complete surveillance society by 1984, and that Big Brother would be watching us. Perhaps we should worry about an omniscent technology that knows where we touch.

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It has been a long time coming, but consumer electronics giant Samsung has finally announced the Galaxy S III in London last Thursday.

This Android phone has the Ice Cream Sandwich version inside, and it also has a 1.4 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM inside.

The phone is pretty thin at 8.6 mm. As for the screen size, it is at 4.8 inches. Not quite as big as the Note, but still larger than the iPhone.

Speaking of iPhone, this Galaxy S III has something that resembles Siri, it is called S Voice, and it is a way of taking vocal control of your phone. It even uses its cameras to capture eye movement so it knows what you are doing.

While we are on the subject of cameras, the Galaxy S III has an impressive 8 Megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.9 job on the front. By the way, the Galaxy S III is able to take 20 photos in a burst mode with a rate of 3.3 shots per second with zero lag.

Oh, did I mention that the Galaxy S III has a new feature known as S Beam which allow individual S III users to tap two of these smartphones together and share videos and photos.

The Galaxy S III is going to launch in 145 countries with 296 mobile operators for the largest mobile launch, ever! This begins in May, with 4G versions coming to America in the summertime, sometime. I don’t have a price point as yet.

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In addition to that movie version of Battleship that I reviewed the other day, Hasbro was also kind enough to send me the USS Missouri straight from the movie, from KRE-O. If you haven’t heard of KRE-O, it is essentially Lego bricks, but made by Hasbro. They will even fit and work together with Lego bricks.

I will say that the USS Missouri is a pretty cool set as far as construction sets are concerned. It has six fireing guns, and a lot of places to put the troops. While it may not be enough to fit all the hands, but there are some cool places to stash the troops. There is even a toilet below decks, seriously.

I will have to say that this U.S.S. Missouri is not as sturdy as something that Lego has made. As someone who has made a lot of Lego models, Lego is pretty good about making Lego sets that hold together well. I found that KRE-O’s Missouri set tends to fall apart accidentally. Those two guns on the bottom big window fall off when they are touched. If Lego had made this, those guns would have been reinforced so they wouldn’t just fall off.

It is too bad that the base of this ship isn’t made of bricks, but is this boat shaped thing that is only capable of being the hull of the Missouri. In the Lego world, I believe the proper term is “big piece of nothing”. By the way, this base does not allow the ship to float in the bathtub.

So, while it is cool to have a KRE-O version of the Missouri, an actual naval vessel, it is better for display than for play. I suppose I should have seen that coming, since the very premise of the Battleship movie are space alien ships versus naval vessels. Can’t the alien vessels just fly out of the atmosphere and nuke them from above? It is the only way to be sure.

Anyway, you should be able to purchase the KRE-O Battleship Missouri Construction Set on the Hasbro site for $69.99.

I figured while I was trying out those C6 cleaners from Carson Optical, I thought I would try out one of these cool lighted pocket microscopes. I tried out the MM-200 Carson Micromax, and I have to admit that my childhood was brought back.

I remember a time in eighth grade where I got a telescope, and I would use the eyepiece as a microscope. It was much more portable then those microscopes at school, and didn’t require any stupid glass slides and cover slips. In short, it was a chance to introduce the micro-world to a curious mind.

The Carson MM-200 Micromax is 60X-100X, and it is a chance to focus in on very small details. It has a light with a switch that will give your subjects more light. I would imagine that if you are in a business where minute details matter, then you might need this Carson MM-200.

If you do, then I recommend this, and you can purchase it on Amazon for about $13.40. That is the price for now, as it is usually $19.00.

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I have seen a lot of interesting miniature pico-projectors before, like one from 3M. The Galaxy Beam is a smartphone with a built-in pico-projector, but what if you simply want t pico-projector for your iPhone?

Actually, there already is a solution for that dilemma. For example, there is one on the Brookstone catalog for about $229. The price on this one, the Pop Video, from Micron Technology is about $99.

You will note that the Pop Video has a 30-pin connector to connect the iPhone/iPod. Here are some other specs: It has a resolution of 960 x 540, a built-in Lithium ion rechargeable battery, charge time of 4 hours, and it looks like it will have an app that will make it easily compatible with the iPhone (as long as operating system 5.0 is there).

The Pop Video is available for pre-order, and this could revolutionize pico-projectors. It certainly is small enough for that, because in the projector world, size matters, but it is the opposite (smaller is better).

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I saw this thing called the i-Real and couldn’t help but want it, but wondered what the implications of it were. After all, I think it is a great idea to have a personal mobile vehicle that looks like a sofa, but I think that comfort could be taken too far. This reminds me of those people mover vehicles in WALL-E, with all those chubby guys who did nothing but surf the net and move around on that big spaceship.

I mean, this is the reason why I haven’t ever wanted a Snuggie. I just feel that I don’t want that cozy feeling, because what if I just wanted to stay there? This is my general feeling concerning the i-Real, a sofa that essentially moves like a sit-down Segway, as near as I can tell. Its top speed is about 20 miles per hour.

The i-Real was unveiled at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, but there is no release date or even price point.

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I’m sure that you have discovered that your touchscreen devices get really smudgy over time. Fortunately, Carson Optical has developed a way to make screen cleaning easier.

I found this CS-50 Screen Cleaner that you can see in the photo on the right. They are alcohol and ammonia free, and they work like a switchblade. Perhaps that isn’t a perfect illustration, but there is a tab on the back that will bring out this velvet pad to wipe down a touchscreen.

In addition to the CS-50, Carson Optical also has the CS-80. This particular ones are like Q-Tips, and they are also alcohol and ammonia free. They come in three particular shapes: A circle one that is a lens cleaner, a screen cleaner with a square, and a Jumbo screen cleaner with a large square.

I will have to say that these are terrific for cleaning a screen, as they have a way of turning all smudgy touchscreen garbage into something clear. Just to let you know, these do not work on a laptop screen.

I can’t seem to find a way to order them from the official Carson Optical site, but if you find them at these where to buy shops, you should use these things to clean your touchscreen.

We reported some interesting advancements in telepresence technology before, like the one from NTT. I get the feeling that we are going to want more telepresence activity with the age of Skype.

Yeah, that whole communication by webcam is getting so it almost feels like being in the same room with someone. This is why the Telepod could be very interesting.

The Telepod is essentially a tube that you can walk around in order to interact with someone. Think of it as being in a room with someone, but you can’t smack them across the face. Not that you would want to, of course, I just want to bring that up as a limitation.

Yes, this is one of those technologies that is under development, specifically at the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Canada. And yes, I wish that it was real simply because I think we need the type of Star Wars communication like a holographic Princess Leia. My Source uses Star Wars as the “standard for interactive real-time 3D communications”, and I agree with that statement.

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In addition to the cool Avengers toys that Hasbro sent me, they were also nice enough to send me toys from their other movie tie-in this summer, Battleship.

Yes, in case you haven’t heard, there is going to be a movie based on the classic game. Now, in case you are wondering how a game where people trade coordinates could even be remotely interesting, the studio has taken care of that. Apparently, there is some plot about some aliens attacking, and some naval ships get involved, and Liam Neeson doesn’t like that one of the officers is dating his daughter, and yadda yadda yadda…just watch the trailer after the jump.

Hasbro has redone the Classic Battleship game just in time for the movie. There are a few things that have changed, and I will leave it up to you if it changes the game too much.

1) Remember how each player had the same kinds of ships? Not so in the Movie version. Now one player plays with the classic ships, and I have notice there are two destroyers (American and Japanese) in lieu of one destroyer and a submarine. The other change is that the other player must use these ships that look so…alien. This is one thing that I have noticed about these ships, they cannot be placed beside each other. Remember in Toy Story when Hamm and Mr. Potato Head were playing Battleship, and Mr. Potato Head had his ship in a line? Check it if you missed it, but this is classic bad Battleship strategy. You don’t want to put your ships too close together. Now thanks to these pieces, you can’t.

2) There are cards. Yes, you can play the classic game by calling out coordinates, but you can make it different by using these cards. These cards will tell you to fire one shot, two, or three. They will even allow you to take out a whole row. In these cards are four Comm Towers. Find all four of them, and you can take out your opponent’s ships with one hit! Some of you might say that you should tamper with the Battleship formula, and it is the ease of the game rules that have made it a hit. I agree with that, but the cards do make it fun.

3) There are convenient drawers for the cards and pegs. That helps out a lot, except good luck opening the drawers after you place the ship on your board. Seriously, it doesn’t work. Open the drawers all the way and then put your ships on.

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I have to admit that 1991 is a year that is really important to me. The Gulf War (the first one) had begun, Terminator 2 came out that summer, and the Soviet Union was broken into pieces. I also officially became a Christian that year. I remember that year was when I first saw the Sega Genesis, and I was very impressed with the 16-bit graphics. It was before the Super Nintendo.

In 1991, it would appear that Sega was working on a new type of gaming interface with holograms. You can watch it in the video and see that this game, Time Traveler, was something that would have been very innovative, even now. Granted, the gameplay looks like some of those laser disc games like Dragon’s Lair or Space Ace, but it was filmed like a movie in front of a green screen.

I don’t know why I never heard of this game, as it could have changed the way that stand-up arcades worked. As it is, I don’t think there are any stand-up arcades anymore, at least not in my neck of the woods. I don’t know if any type of stand-up arcade machines are even in production anymore, but I’m guessing that we are past that point.

Still, the idea of holographic video games is just cool, and never made it to our homes. Considering that 3D video games like those on the 3DS haven’t really made a killing yet, holograms could be the way of revolutionizing video games. That change would be like from 8-bit to what we have now.

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Sure, you can get a cheap USB 2.0 thumb drive, but how would you like to get in on some USB 3.0 action?

I don’t have any speeds on the transfers, but I do know that the USB connector retracts for storage and it comes in seven “trendy colors”.

So how much is the price? We are talking $20 for 8 GB of storage, but I am not certain what the price is on the 64 GB price.

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Some of you might remember when we reported on iHangy before with the way their products allow the user to hang an iPod/iPhone on a necklace or keychain.

They have now created an interesting device with the iHangy music necklace. Essentially, it allows the user to put his or her iPod/iPhone on a necklace, but it has a pair of headphones attached to it.

Personally, I think the iHangy is a very useful device, as it really puts the iPod/iPhone in a very convenient place. You might as well keep the headphones in a very convenient place as well.

The iHangy Music Necklace plans to debut at the International CTIA Wireless 2012 on May 8-10 in New Orleans.

Every once in a while, I see an idea that is so fresh that I wonder why I didn’t think of it myself.

In this case, it is the Microstylus, which, as the headline says, can tuck right into the headphone jack. It is made of aircraft grade aluminum, and it sort of doubles as a dust cap.

Just to let you know, the actual stylus isn’t too big, and can be held like a thumbtack. But hey, at least you have a stylus, and you are not getting smudges on your screen. That, and you will get something you can use on your next Draw Something game.

You should be able to get it on this site here for about $10.

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RIM fans can really enjoy BlackBerry World today, and an announcement today at this particular event has shown off some exciting new features.

The BlackBerry 10 phone and operating system was given out in alpha form to over 2,000 people. This version has a 4.2 inch high resolution display. It also has two microphones on the bottom which will improve voice quality on calls.

You will note that the phone is absent of the traditional BlackBerry keyboard. I have heard that this smart touch keyboard will adapt to your gestures. For example, a single finger swipe can change an entire keyboard layout.

Another advancement it will have is the BB10 camera app that will capture a few seconds of a moment rather than just a frame. So if you miss that “magic moment”, you can check it out on your camera’s timeline and find it.

Personally, I think BlackBerry needs to do some innovative things if it wants to stay in the mobile world with Android and iOS. Remember when BlackBerry was the ultimate mobile device?

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In this case, it is dragons. At a Toledo RC event known as Weak Signals, a modeler named Rick Hamel created a remote-controlled dragon, and I am told that it can even breathe fire.

Why in the world would someone create a remote controlled dragon? Why not. Also, you might as well put 600 airbrushed scales on its plastic skin.

And you thought the remote controlled flying people promotion from Chronicle was cool.

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It has been six years since One World Trade Center first started construction, but it has recently achieved quite a milestone today.

As of today, the One World Trade Center building has surpassed the Empire State Building as the tallest building in the city. The Empire State Building is 1250 feet (when King Kong isn’t on top of it), and One World Trade Center is about 1368 feet, but the antenna on top brings it to 1776 feet.

Okay, so is this One World Trade Center meant to replace the Trade Center towers? I suppose that I don’t know much about what the Trade Center towers did originally. I guess I should find that sad, especially in light of the horrific tragedy that occurred on 9/11.

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