Don’t Miss Our Live Coverage of Samsung Unpacked
In less than two weeks, on February 24th, Samsung is holding an event called Unpacked. It’s just in time for Mobile World Congress, and we expect to hear all about the new Samsung Galaxy S5. And who knows what else! We’ll be livestreaming during the event to chat about what they’re announcing and we’ll have the chatrooms open. AND… great news! Tom Merritt will be co-hosting, so be sure to join the fun! The 24th at 2pm Eastern at geekbeat.tv/live.
Google Now Learns Nicknames
Since we’re talking about Android, you guys will be happy to hear that Google Search just got an update to allow you to use nicknames for your contacts when you want to make a call. So you can say “Okay, Google. Call Dad.” Or Send a text to my boyfriend. And as long as you’ve assigned that nickname, it’ll do as it’s asked. So go forth. And use real conversation to talk to your phone.
Geek Beat T-Shirts – 1 Week Only!
In less than a week, our Geek Beat T-shirts will no longer be for sale! Actually, we decided to extend the deadline to THIS Sunday (February 16th). We’re only ordering one batch of these shirts, so now’s the time. We do ship internationally – just read the directions for that. And several of you have asked if we’ll sign the shirts. I mean… if you really want us to ruin your perfectly good shirt, we’ll do that. Just let us know.
The Dash Smart Earbuds Pack a Lot of Technology
The Dash are well… the first wireless earbuds I’ve ever seen. We’re talking no wires. I’ve been asking for this for years! You just stick them in your ear and they’re supposed to stay while you listen to your music as you workout. But they’re not just earbuds. They also have an ear bone mic. They serve as a fitness tracker so you can track your steps taken, speed and distance, your oxygen saturation, your heart rate…
The question is, will these work as advertised? They sell for $199 for now on Kickstarter, which IF they do what they promise, is worth it. This could change the entire earbud and fitness tracker markets, so I’ll get my hands on them as soon as I can and let you know!
Doctor on Demand Brings You Virtual Health Care
I’m super excited about the possibility of virtual doctors. John P. and I have been asking for the medical industry to do this for a loooong time! In fact if you saw our keynotes in London or in Boston, we said this was the future. And the future is now with Doctor On Demand. Thanks to Kat Curlee for sending this my way! You can connect with a network of US licensed doctors via an app. So if you have a bad cold and need some antibiotics or hey, when I got bit by a dog a few months ago, this would have been perfect! I wasn’t going to waste my time and money waiting in line for hours just to have someone say disinfect it and put a bandage on it.
But you know, I’ll admit… the bite was so deep that there was a part of me that was concerned it wouldn’t heal correctly. So I wanted to just verify with someone that I was doing the right stuff. But again, wasn’t going to go waste hours in line. I could have called into Doctor on Demand and paid 40 bucks to skip the lines and all the pre-questions and history forms, and get DIRECTLY to a licensed professional. Sessions last for 15 minutes. And before you say, that’s too quick like I did at first, think about how much time you ACTUALLY spend with the doctor in person. Not a ton. And their average call is at 8 minutes… not even a full session.
You answer a few questions about what your medical need is so the app can direct you to the right doctor in your state. I personally would prefer to get connected to someone in my city, but maybe they’ll be able to do that as they get a bigger network of doctors signed up.
As soon as you’re connected, you have your consultation and if the doctor can prescribe you something he will, or he’ll send you to your local doctor, along with your records if you ask, if you need a more thorough exam or tests. There are some improvements I’d like to see, but that will come with time. I’m just so glad to see the service out.
Sponsored by QNAP
QNAP has storage devices for keeping all your files safe and secure. It’s redundant storage, so a drive can fail and your data is STILL safe! Since it’s connected to the network (it’s an NAS – network attached storage) you can access the same content on any computer throughout the house or office. Head over to QNAP.com, click on Features – and prepare to have your mind blown!
