Underwater Speakers, Instagram Prints, and Kickstarter for Gifts
Every day, tech companies flood Yahoo Tech with announcements of new or updated products. Some we review; some we ignore. And some are in between: products that you might find worth knowing about—but that we haven’t evaluated.
Here are the latest new-product pitches, presented here in 300-character blurbettes as a public service. Let us know in the Comments if some of them strike you as worth reviewing.
RakEM. World’s most secure messaging app. Phone-to-phone messaging (messages are never stored on a server). Texting, calling, video chat, photos. At any time, you can permanently delete any record of one or all messages you’ve sent within the app. (www.raketu.com)
Canon PIXMA MG3620. The first at-home printer that can print directly from your Instagram account (and Facebook, Evernote, Photobucket, Flickr, Creative Park, and Dropbox). Requires the free Canon Print app (iOS/Android). $80. (www.shop.usa.canon.com)
Boombot Pro. A waterproof Bluetooth speaker—safe down to three feet under the waves. Has 2 gigabytes of built-in storage for music files. $100 and up. (https://www.boombotix.com/)
FlightCar. When you park at the airport, FlightCar staff parks and washes your car, no charge—and may rent your car to other travelers. If so, you get paid. First launched from SFO in February 2013, FlightCar now operates in 14 airports, including BOS, IAD, and LAX. This new iPhone app (free) lets you track your car and specify your pickup location. (www.flightcar.com)
Primera Trio. The world’s smallest, lightest, portable all-in-one printer. Inkjet prints, copies, and scans in color or black-and-white; weighs 2.6 lbs, the size of a hardcover book. $400 (http://www.primeratrio.com/)
GiftStarter.com. Like Kickstarter for gifts: online campaigns to fund pricey presents (for birthdays, weddings, whatever) by dividing their prices up among many givers. The site illustrates who’s contributing what. The gift is shipped with a handmade card. (http://www.GiftStarter.com)
Castyo. Give presentations (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) and slideshows directly from the iPhone to a Web page. No cables, no special hardware, no account required—just a link for your viewers. Free app; 20 cents per presentation. (http://www.castyo.com)
If have a new, shipping product you’d like to be considered for inclusion in this biweekly new-products digest, send a 300-character blurb to David Pogue, poguester@yahoo.com. Include link, photo, and price. Submissions containing buzzwords, jargon, or sales-speak will be tossed.
