Technology PodcastGadgets Archives

Rivian R1T Electronic Truck Announced

Automotive startup Rivian unveils an electric truck and SUV

I’m a big fan of electric vehicles. Living in Southern California I’m always conscious of the amount of smog that is in the air. It’s been interesting to speak with the older generation. They often say that back in the 60’s and 70’s the air quality used to be so bad in Los Angeles that they would cancel school. My mom spoke about driving to Disneyland with her family in the 1960’s. As soon as they would come down the Newhall pass on the 5 Freeway their eyes would start to burn and her dad would have to turn on the car lights.

Thankfully the air quality here as really started to clear-up. This has to do with the quality of gasoline that is sold at California gas stations. Imagine with me though if none of the cars on the freeway spewed out any kind of exhaust. What if even trucks were electric? Our freeways would be a lot quieter for one and the air quality around here would be much better.

I’ve heard of a lot of electronic SUVs, and even large commercial trucks being battery driven, but the Rivian R1T is the first electronic pick-up truck that I’ve heard of.

The automaker calls the vehicle an “Electric Adventure Vehicle.” The idea is that this vehicle can handle the rigors of the average day while also ready to go offroad and tackle the elements when needed. If the specs work out the way the company hopes they will, there’s a good chance these vehicles could deliver on the company’s promise.

According to Rivian the R1T will have up to 400-mile range, will do zero to 60 in three seconds, support over-the-air updates, seat five and have a four-motor AWD drivetrain.

Can you imagine being in a pick-up truck that goes 0 to 60 in 3 seconds? Sign me up!

When it initially ships in late 2020, the truck will be available with either a 180 kWh or 136 kWh battery pack. Later, a 105 kWh battery will be available.

Rivian says that the R1S SUV will be delivered in 2021 and that both vehicles will ship with level 3 autonomy (The vehicle will drive itself in certain circumstances, probably on the highway).

Very exciting indeed! Now you’ll just have to figure out how to get out of helping all of your friends and neighbors move! 😉

Do you have any experience with electric vehicles? How about an electric SUV or truck? We’d love to hear from you! Submit a comment below.

You can also hear us discuss this new fad on our podcast! Please listen and subscribe below:

Google Fi Adds the iPhone!

Google Fi Finally adds the iPhone

Several other phones were added to the roster as well. It’s starting to look like this “hobby” is starting to become more of a thing. The company also announced the it would rename it from “Project Fi” to “Google Fi”.

Samsung, LG, Motorola, and OnePlus are all phone that may benefit from the upgrade..

iPhone users can sign up through the new Google Fi app, which is currently in beta. I’ve been reading a lot of forums on the internet and it sounds like the iPhone version of the app is still quite buggy. For the best results, it makes the most sense to keep using the Pixel phones.

A lot of the phones in question may not come with all of the features of Google Fi. For example, one of the most popular features is the ability to switch between carriers automatically. People also report that Google Fi’s VPN network may not be available to everyone.

Currently it looks like voicemails will not show up in the Voicemail section and the Network tools feature is disabled for iPhone users. Network tools allows you to make WiFi calls (one of the most popular features of Google Fi).

Phone Plans

If you’re new to Google Fi, you can take advantage of travel gift cards. These cards can be spent on flights, hotels and more. They offer a 200 dollar travel card if you signup today.

It’s 20 bucks a month for unlimited talk and text, then $10 a gigabyte after that. One of the features that I like about this data plan is that the data rolls over if you don’t use it all. This would be great for someone who checks emails occasionally but is not a data hog.

Unfortunately for me, $10 a gigabyte is way too much to spend. I typically average about 6 GB/month. That’s being pretty conservative too. I try to cut back on streaming (Spotify/Netflix) and it still comes out over 6GB. This would make my monthly bill about $80 a month. That’s 4x what I currently pay with https://mintsim.com.

My favorite thing about Google Fi is the international plans. Your data works in most countries. Step off the plane in Afganistan? It’s the same price! Messages a free too. There is a 0.20 cents a minute charge for phone calls if you are not using their WiFi features.

Bring the price down to 5 dollars/GB and I’ll consider it Google!

Let me know what you think about Project/Google Fi in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Please listen to our podcast this week as we dive into Google Fi. You can find our podcast here:

The Astounding ZOZOSUIT

Zozosuit may be the Answer:

Zozosuit, have you heard of it?

I get it. It can be so frustrating to purchase something online only to realize that it doesn’t fit. It’s happened to me on several occasions. What’s worse, is I live in an apartment complex where I’m forced to go all the way to the Post Office to pick-up every single package. Returning online purchases can be a nightmare too. How many of us still have printers to print the return tags?

The Zozo suit could be the answer to this problem. It might be a bit ridiculous though.

It’s basically a black spandex all-body suit with several white poke-a-dots. ZOZO ships you the suit, you take pictures of yourself wearing it with their app, and then they have your perfect measurements. Of course this gives them the perfect opportunity to up-sell you their clothes.

I think it might be a good idea to do this maybe once, then use those measurements on websites with good deals.

I suppose we all won’t stay the same size forever (I’m writing this right after Thanksgiving 🙂 )

Checkout my video on YouTube about the ZOZO suit. We also have a tech podcast this week that talks all about our experience with it.

My opinion? Maybe just stick to going to a physical mall and tailor.

Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch iOS compatible Soon

CES brings wonderful news each year, and 2016 is no exception. It was announced today that the Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch will be iOS compatible later this year.

Samsung’s VP Alana Cotton stated that Samsung “plans to add iOS compatibility to Gear S2’s feature set later this year”. Unfortunately, no specific date or time period was given.

The Gear S2 is actually powered by the Tizen operating system, made by Samsung. While Tizen is similar to Android Wear, it remains to be seen if Google will release an app to allow their array of watches to be compatible with iOS.

Currently the Gear S2 can only sync up with Android phones. With iOS capability, it will give iPhone users the opportunity to use the Gear S2 if they are left disappointed with the current apple watch. Surprisingly there are people that have an iPhone that would like variety.

Last August, the Gear S2 was introduced to the masses. It sports a round-face, similar to that of Motorola’s Moto 360, and has a rotating knob like Apple’s watch. The Tizen operating system includes fitness tracking, heart rate monitor and alerts. It also has Samsung Pay for purchases on the go. That poses an interesting question, if you have an iPhone and a Gear S2 Smartwatch, which pay system would you prefer? Would you use Apple pay with you iPhone? Or would you bust out the watch and use Samsung Pay? This could cause a headache for users to setup 2 separate payment methods with their gadgets.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung creates an app for the iOS. I think it is great that the two large companies are starting to overlap. The ability to choose any watch regardless of your phone is a win for the consumer.

CES also revealed a rose gold platinum color that seems to be all the rage this year.

Gadget Gifts for under 100 bucks

It’s black Friday, and people are racing to the stores to get deals here in the United States. Yesterday, I was coming home late from a party, and I noticed lines of people waiting in the cold for a deal at the closest electronics shop. While today can bring a good deal, there are several gadgets you can get for under a hundred dollars. Here are some great gifts that you can buy this season for a gadget lover without breaking the bank.

#1. Illuminated LED charging cable ($15):

This has to be my favorite gadget accessory of all time. Whenever I have it in my car or at my house, people cannot believe how cool it looks. Gimmicky yes, amazing… yes.

Here it is for 15 bucks at amazon.

#2. Roku 2 ($70)

For about 70 bucks you can get a Roku 2 box. I love my roku 2. I stream netflix, hulu, vevo, and even movies from my computer with it to the big screen. No need to spend copious amounts of money for unnecessary options like 4K streaming.

Here it is for 66 bucks at amazon.

#3. Jawbone Up2 ($90)

Fitness trackers are getting more stylish. Pickup the Jawbone up2 for under a hundred bucks at amazon.

#4. Samsung Gear VR ($100)

I love the Samsung Gear VR. If you already have a compatible Samsung phone, you can immerse yourself in virtual reality. Checkout my full review of the Samsung Gear VR here on Bapgo.com

Grab it at Amazon here.

#5. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ($100)

While you can read Amazon e-books on your phone/tablet, having a glare-free screen really helps. Grab the new Paperwhite at amazon.com

If you have any great ideas for gadgets under 100 dollars this holiday season, please comment.

Samsung Gear VR is Awesome

I can vividly remember buying Nintendo’s Virtual Boy back in the 90’s. I ran home, un-boxed it with some friends, and started to play. I was immediately disappointed. The tennis game looked horrible. There was some depth, but with the extreme red and white color contrast I got a headache right away. The next day I took it back to the store. If my Super Nintendo games looked so good, why couldn’t virtual reality look good?

It’s been 2o years, and dare I say, quality virtual reality may be just around the corner.

If you already have a compatible Samsung phone, for just 99 bucks you can immerse yourself in virtual reality.

Currently, there are sparse games and 360-degree movies that you can toy with. However, being that it is one of the first systems on the market, it may be your best option to use virtual reality before the holidays.

The Gadget:

If you’ve been following the hardware saga, the Gear VR used to be a very bulky headset. Thankfully, with each iteration, it has come down dramatically in size. Simply use the Velcro straps to place it on your head, and it’s ready to go.

There is soft padding around the nose and eyes to make a comfortable fit. If you wear glasses, the head-set actually does as pretty good job at accommodating your eye ware. Contact lenses may be preferred. Also, if you are over 40 years old, you might run into troubles with your prescription due to presbyopia if you are farsighted. Progressive lenses may distort your viewing, so I recommend getting single vision glasses or contact lenses before you start your experience. A great positive aspect is that there is a focus wheel at the top that you can use to adjust the clarity to match your vision.

Of course, when it comes to using the Gear VR, you need the cell phone. It is a lot like using google’s Cardboard, but the Gear VR has more bells and whistles; a gyroscope and proximity sensor.

Getting Started:

The following phones currently work with Gear VR: Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and the Note 5. I’m hoping that the Gear VR will have longevity. Hopefully the next phones that they release will still fit.

To get started, just place the phone onto the from of the Gear VR, then plug in the USB.

Sound:

It makes the most sense to use headphones with the Gear VR to get the full experience. Unfortunately, these aren’t included.

Controller:

Some games require a controller. Unfortunately, no controller is included with the Gear VR. A separate controller can be added and used with Bluetooth technology.

Using the Gear VR:

Oculus Home launches and you’re ready to go. You can get apps/games and immersive movies. There are already over 100 apps available. If you are a developer, this could be a good time to jump into the wildwest of VR coding. Great time to make money in a new frontier.

Things to watch out for:

Nausea: A lot of people are reporting nausea. This is to be expected with VR.

Battery life: The battery goes pretty quick while using VR, and once it’s dead, you are also out a phone. That makes it a bit inconvenient.

Overheating: While playing, the phone does get pretty hot.

Positive Aspects:

It’s available now. Several other solutions are soon to come out including the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.

The price tag: At just under a hundred dollars, this is a great way to jump into VR without breaking the bank if you already have a compatible phone.

If you’ve had experience with VR, please let me know in the comments.

Category Archives: Gadgets