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The Motorsports HD Hero comes packaged with a bunch of bits for flexible placement.
(Credit: GoPro cameras)On paper, the GoPro HD Hero is hitting on all cylinders. It's rugged, it's compact, and--to top it all off--it shoots in five modes of video (four of which are HD) and high-resolution still photography. But then you go to use it and things start to run a little less smoothly.
The HD Hero's weakest point lies with its thumbnail-size LCD screen and pinhead-size icons. With only two buttons and a cryptic menu system, the Hero's options screen probably shouldn't be tackled without an instruction manual close at hand. How else are you supposed to know what odd abbreviations such as "ALL" or "DAT" are supposed to mean? (Here's a hint: one of them formats your media, the other is a more benign function.)
Fortunately, the GoPro HD Hero fixes a number of issues that we had with the previous Hero camera system (such as the finicky AAA battery pack), but does the good outweigh the bad? Check out our full review to find out.
After driving hundreds of cars to evaluate automotive technology, we've settled on our top 5 car technologies. Amongst the many, many features different automakers are making available, these are the ones we've found the most essential for everyday use. Some of these technologies can be found on most new cars today, while others are rarer, only offered by a few automakers. Some of these technologies will keep you and others safer, some will save you money, and some will just keep you happy.
The normal subscription price for FLO TV in Chrysler vehicles is $119 a year.
(Credit: Automotive News)
In December, Chrysler Group vehicles will offer as many as 20 channels of programming from channels such as CBS, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, and MTV. The service, from FLO TV, receives digital TV signals through a small antenna on a vehicle's roof. The suggested retail price for the dealer-installed service is $629, plus installation. Buyers get a year of free programming. The normal price for a subscription is $119 a year. The screen's in the back seat; front-seat navigation screens get programming only when the vehicle is in park.
(Source: Automotive News)
The PowerFuze keeps your USB devices juiced in the car and at home.
(Credit: Scosche)You should see the mess of cables, chargers, and charging cables that clutter my backpack every day. Moving from car to car and home to work while testing a variety of devices means that iPod sync cables, USB cables, Mini- and Micro-USB cables for mobile phones and GPS devices, 12-volt car chargers, and 110-volt wall chargers eat up a good deal of my bag space. For me, this is why Scosche's PowerFuze charger system looks interesting. This charging solution should let you replace a number of cables and chargers for an all-in-one approach. It's a car charger and a wall charger. Ideally, it's the best of both worlds.
The PowerFuze system crams a few different charging configurations into one package. When you're at home, it is a two-port "Made for iPod" and "Works with iPhone" certified USB AC charger that plugs into a 110-volt wall outlet. When you're on the road, a 12-volt USB charger pulls out to take advantage of your vehicle's DC power port. If you have 12-volt DC car accessories that you want to use indoors, the vacant 12-volt port will work as a power inverter to accommodate them. With 1 amp of current split between the two channels, you shouldn't expect to power a 12-volt air compressor on the PowerFuze, but there's more than enough overhead for most portable devices.
Then again, most users only have one car, so they won't really see the point of carrying around the 12-volt charger. That little bugger will probably find itself perma-lodged into your car's DC power port after the first week--when you get sick of bringing it into the house every day. That being said, I still think it's nice to be able to pick up both chargers for one reasonable price and have the flexibility to use them together if you should decide to do so.
The PowerFuze and the PowerFuze Pro (with an included iPod sync cable) sell for $34.99 and $44.99 respectively. If you only need a car charger, look for the PowerPlug and PowerPlug Pro with sync cable for $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. Check out Scosche.com for more details on this cool little stocking stuffer.
Want to tweet with Ford's Sync? There's an app for that.
(Credit: CNET)Editors' note: Ford has clarified that its open platform is still in the prealpha testing stages. The article has been updated to reflect this information.
When Ford and Microsoft opened up their joint Sync platform for its own applications and updates, we wondered when the day would come that third-party developers would be given a crack at the in-vehicle infomatics interface. Well, that day may be on the horizon. Ford announced that it is testing an open-source platform to could be used in the future to develop applications that make use of Sync to connect to social networks in the cloud.
Ford's representatives said the system is built on a Robotics Studio platform by Microsoft that has been layered with an open-source cloud-computing platform developed by Ford that will allow rich--and hopefully seamless--interactions with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
So what's the point? How can social network interactions be useful and safe in 2,000-plus pounds of steel moving at 70mph? Ford's Venkatesh Prasad, group and technical leader of vehicle design and infotainment, posed the following scenarios:
The Ford Fiesta will be the test vehicle used in the University of Michigan's Ford open platform competition.
(Credit: Ford)Imagine you're on a cross-country road trip and you decide to stop in a new city for something to eat. Now, you don't know this new city very well, so you ask Sync to grab some dining and sightseeing suggestions. The application could then fire out a tweet, update your Facebook status, or query Yelp on your behalf and when the responses roll in, it could format them in an easy to understand way, for example as a custom points-of-interest menu.
Another possible application is a Green Car Challenge, where you compete with your friends to see who can average the highest fuel economy while suggesting the greenest driving routes to one another.
This all sounds pretty cool on paper; we'll have to wait a bit longer to know exactly how effective these apps will actually be. We expect that it will really depend on the size, make up, and responsiveness of your social network. I shudder to think of all of the Twitter-bots that currently follow me supplying any sort of advice.
The first test of Ford's open-application SDK will be in conjunction with a competition at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Students will compete to develop the best Sync application that makes use of the cloud. The winning team will have their app installed in Ford's first test mule, a Ford Fiesta, and will take a road trip from Ann Arbor to San Francisco to participate in the 2010 San Mateo Maker's Faire.
Ford currently has no road map for when we can expect to see the Sync open platform in production vehicles, as it is still in the prealpha testing phases.
The XM SkyDock lets you choose and listen to satellite radio with an iPhone and a car stereo.
(Credit: Sirius XM Radio)Taking advantage of the iPhone OS 3.0's capability to make use of accessory-specific apps, Sirius XM Radio has introduced its XM SkyDock iPhone dock, which features an XM satellite radio tuner that is controlled using your iPhone's touch screen.
According to XM Sirius' news release:
"Designed for easy use through the existing vehicle audio system, SkyDock has a built-in XM tuner controlled by a free App that users download from the App Store. The App allows control of the XM tuner using the capabilities of the iPod touch or iPhone Multi-Touch user interface. SkyDock will also charge iPod Touch and iPhone devices while listening to live satellite radio."
The XM SkyDock uses an iPhone's screen to do its dirty work.
(Credit: Sirius XM Radio)The SkyDock has iTunes Tagging, so if you hear a song you like on an XM music channel, you can tag it and can purchase it from the iTunes Music Store later. Other features include game alerts and sports ticker, artist and song alerts, as well as a stock ticker.
The XM SkyDock is powered by a vehicle's 12-volt power port and connects to the radio with an aux-input cable (included). Also in the box are a magnetic mount antenna and spacers to accommodate various iPod Touch and iPhone product generations.
The XM SkyDock is compatible with iPod Touch (first and second generations), iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS running iPhone OS 3.0 or later. The XM SkyDock will be sold in stores and at www.shop.xmradio.com with an MSRP $119.99 in fall 2009.
The cheapest standalone receiver in XM's catalog costs about $89 and features a three-line monochrome display. For your extra $30, you gain the capability to use your iPhone's glossy color screen. However, with TomTom's $220 iPhone cradle-app combination catching so much flack because of its high sticker price relative to cheaper standalone GPS devices, we wonder how the XM SkyDock's pricing will be received by the public.
What's this button do?
(Credit: Toyota)Spec your 2010 Toyota 4Runner SR5 CNET-style and you'll find your SUV equipped with a 15-speaker Premium JBL audio system with navigation that receives input from a four-disc in-dash CD changer, a USB port with iPod connectivity, XM Satellite Radio, or Bluetooth audio streaming. Look under the dashboard, and you'll find a lonesome button labeled "party mode." But what does that do?
We did a little digging and found that the party mode is a special audio setting that, according to Toyota, "raises the bass and transfers the equalization to the rear of the vehicle." This mode is designed to be used with the rear hatch open, placing emphasis on the rear speakers, for tailgating.
So, why not just call it tailgating mode and avoid the confusion? We assume that "party mode" just fit on the button better.
According to VholdR, a waterproof case should be available for the ContourHD before the holidays.
(Credit: VholdR)It figures that the day after we decide to give the VholdR ContourHD wearable camcorder our coveted Editors' Choice award, that VholdR would go and announce something better. This, dear readers, is what we like to call a "good problem."
The cleverly named ContourHD1080p takes the standard ContourHD's 720p HD resolution and bumps it up to--you guessed it--1080p. All of the features that we loved in the original will still be there in the new unit, including the rotating wide-angle lens assembly, the rechargeable lithium ion battery, and the dual frickin' laser beams.
What's new is a plethora of additional recording modes. In addition to the original 720p/30 frames per second HD and 480p/60fps SD modes, the ContourHD1080p adds:
- Full HD - 1080p (1,920x1,080 pixels) at 30fps
- Tall HD - 960p (1,280x960 pixels) at 30fps
- Action HD - 720p (1,280x720 pixels) at 60fps
Additionally, with the use of the included Easy Edit software, you can set the contrast (high, medium, or low), metering (center, average, or spot), and exposure (-4 to +4). Its microphone sensitivity can be adjusted as well, which should help to reduce some of the wind noise that we found when testing the standard ContourHD.
So, should you wait for this new model instead of picking up the current ContourHD?
Well, that depends. According to VholdR, the ContourHD1080p is aimed professional videographers, while the standard HD is for enthusiasts. Yet, the ContourHD1080p weighs in at an MSRP of $329.99, only $40 more than the 720p model. However, introducing more options for exposure and metering could confuse casual users and take away from the simple point and shoot nature that so endeared us to the standard ContourHD. We'll wait and see how the controls pan out before making final judgment.
In the meantime, check out a video of the ContourHD1080p in action after the jump.
... Read more
Check out our full review of the ContourHD wearable camcorder.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)The ContourHD by VholdR is a tube-style camcorder designed to be worn as a helmet camera for recording extreme activities. But this is Car Tech and I'm a car guy, so I mostly tested the camera using the optional suction cup windshield mount. After reviewing the footage, I'm rather impressed.
The ContourHD features an attractive design, but a limited feature set. Unlike its competition from GoPro and Oregon Scientific, the ContourHD isn't submersible and doesn't feature a still-photography mode or a viewfinder, optical or digital.
But what the ContourHD lacks in bullet-pointed features, it makes up for with fantastic performance. It is one of the few helmet cams on the market to record in 720p high definition. Its idiot-proof two-button interface makes this camera the easiest of the bunch to use on the go, even while wearing gloves. With a pair of integrated laser sights, the camera is easy to adjust and aim while attached to your head, your bike, or your car, eliminating the need for a viewfinder. Quite frankly, I wish more devices came with lasers. They just make life easier.
Check out our full review of the ContourHD wearable camcorder.
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Steve Ballmer and Alan Mulally at CES 2009.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)Ford Chairman and CEO Alan Mulally will be the featured speaker on the opening day of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, the Consumer Electronics Association announced Monday.
His keynote address will open the show the morning of Thursday, January 7. Although it's not Mulally's first time at the Las Vegas event--he also spoke last year--it will be his debut as the main keynote speaker. Recent opening keynotes have been given by Sony's Sir Howard Stringer and Comcast's Brian Roberts.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will speak the night before, as he did last year, taking over the slot traditionally given to Bill Gates.
Although he's not a technology executive, per se, Ford has made it a point to come to CES with lots of gadgets in the past. This year looks to be no different, as Mulally is scheduled talk up in-car tech like GPS navigation, location-based services, and video, according to the CEA.
Corrected on 9/22/09: This post initially had the day of the week on which Mulally will be speaking wrong. January 7 falls on a Thursday, not Friday.
