As national media was abuzz with talk of AT&T's possible acquisition of T-Mobile, dozens of new tech products and apps were introduced at CTIA 2011 in Orlando. The huge Orange County Convention Center hosted the main event, with satellite shows at nearby venues such as the newly renovated and expanded Peabody.
The vastness of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association show is no surprise given such estimates as 211 million smartphone users by 2015, and the increasing reliance on wireless technology to make fields from transportation to medical care more efficient and cost-effective.
This being the year of the tablet, several companies unveiling new iPad competitors. The 4G LG G-Slate will be available within weeks. Summer's more likely for the HTC EVO View, a Sprint 4G touchscreen with 3D view/capture ability and what I call a smart-stylus that lets you draw and conjure like a magician.
Smartphones are getting smarter. HTC will soon ship its EVO 4G smartphone, also with 3D. And the new rubberized hard-shell EVO case integrates a bottle opener. Kyocera's new ECHO smartphone has a dual screen that you can combine to view full web page or multitask and a finger-friendly upsized onscreen keyboard.
So what to do with the gadgets you replace? In addition to electronics recycling centers, there's Gazelle, which helps you get bids on the device, provides you with a postage-paid shpping label to get it to their center, and wipes your personl data for your security. If they can't rehome it, they'll dispose it in an eco-appropriate manner. If it sells, you get the money via PayPal or an Amazon gift card, or you can have the funds donated to charity.
Gaining traction fast: mHealth, meaning the use of mobile technology to improve health and health care. One CTIA panel focused on Lake Nona Medical City in Orlando, which has become a model tech-connected community of 25,000 residents, two new hospitals, a new medical school, research institutes, medical offices and retailers.
To help families and caregivers protect cognitively impaired people prone to wandering off (Alzheimers patients, children with autism), there's EmFinders. It employs the E-9-1-1 network to locate and recover wanderers 24/7 and isn't subject to GPS range limits.
Recharging solutions continue to evolve. Qi Wireless Power Consortium has 80 members committed to a standardized inductive charging technology, and that cool name and logo. It's a more energy-efficient way to charge, and it stops the charge when the battery is fully charged. Energizer has jumped on that with its Inductive Charger that using a smart pad instead of wires.
Radio Shack's got game in the form of $29.99 and $49.99 chargers for iPhones and iPods. Mophie Juice Packs integrate acrechargeable lithium polymer battery and pass-through USB into a protective case, can can virtually double the power.
Then there's the award-winning Scosche FlipSync charge and sync cable for mobile devices that folds into a compact key fob. Placed on a your keyring, you'd always have it on hand.
The connected universe is still ape over apps. New ones debuted at the show include Boingo's free WiFinder for Android, Apple, etc. to locate open wifi signals, including Boingo's own 325,000 worldwide. Company folk think the app will show mobile websurfers how many strong, certain Boingo hotspots they'll find on the road.
Combining fun with function, Case Mate debut their $24.99 Monsta line of phone/device cases. For $39.99, its “I Make My Case” makes a cute gift for creative types.
And for voyeuristic types, there's the Viewdle, a face recognition cinematic tool. Use a mobile phone's camera to pick out faces, tag them and post to your social network on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like.
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