AllThingsD » Gadgetoff

They Made What? Gadget Guy Greg Harper Visits Dive Into Mobile (Video)

Peter Kafka — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:56:25 +0000

Gadget freak Greg Harper (official title: President of Harpervision and co-founder of Gadgetoff) dropped by D: Dive Into Mobile to show off…gadgets, of course.

Not the stuff you’re used to seeing from the likes of Apple, Google and Microsoft, but the kind of odd products you have to look awfully hard to find. And the kind of stuff you might think very hard about before using. Or not!

This is definitely one that’s better to show, not tell, so take a look at the assorted what-the-heck-is-that stuff that Harper brings to the stage. And check out the All Things D archives for a trip down gadget memory lane.

[ See post to watch video ]

And in case you wanted to garner a few extra geek points, here is Harper’s list of gadgets, starting with the historical time line and ending up with his mobile gadgets of the moment.

1985: Motorola Dyna Tac “Gordon Gekko Phone”

1992: HP 95/LXZ Viking Express
1993: Bell South/IBM Simon ($900)

1995: Motorola Marco Radiomail ($1400)
1996: Motorola Page Writer/Star Tac ($3000)/Nokia 9000
1997: Original Blackberry
1998: Iridium Satellite Phone
1999: Nokia 7110 (Matrix Phone)/Mobile Web
2000: Samsung Uproar/Handspring Visor/Data
2001: Palm-Kyocera smart phone/ Erricson Bluetooth headset
2002: Camera phone/Tmobile sidekick/Microsoft Windows 3 Smartphone
2003: Treo 600
2004: Razr

2006: EVDO USB 720
2007: iPhone

2009: Android

Current Gadgets:

iPhone ibottleopener case

Square credit card reader

Parrot AR drone

PLX car interface

Zeal GPS heads up goggles

Zephry HxM bluetooth heart rate monitor

Verizon LTE 4G modem PanTech UML290

OverBoard Waterproof iPhone case with Waterbuoy miniature flotation device

Cellphone flask

Don't Miss the Annual GadgetFest at Churchill Club Thursday, Featuring Facebook Celeb Geeks

Kara Swisher — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:32:16 +0000

This Thursday, my All Things Digital partner, Walt Mossberg, and I are hosting–for the seventh year running–the annual “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Personal Technology” program for the Churchill Club.

This year, our guest “tech geek” celebs–drawn from the gadget-mad players of Silicon Valley–are Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Mike Schroepfer, the social networking site’s VP of Engineering (pictured here).

In fact, Sandberg was scheduled to be our guest last year but had a last-minute snafu, so Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams filled in for her.

Among others, past geek celebs have included Google (GOOG) co-founder Larry Page, Yahoo (YHOO) co-founder Jerry Yang and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

Also along for the ride is our regular gadget freak, Greg Harper, president of HarperVision Associates and co-founder of Gadgetoff, who brings new meaning to the term. (He also packs so much hardware and software that he is on the TSA’s list.)

The evening starts at 6 pm with a buffet dinner at the Crowne Plaza Cabaña Hotel in Palo Alto, Calif. That’s followed by the program, in which each of us shows off some of our favorite innovative or just plain weird gadgets, while the others opine on the selections.

You can sign up early online or get a pricier ticket at the door.

Here’s a rather longish video from last year, which is well worth watching for the animatronic Elvis alone:

[ See post to watch video ]

Crazy Gadget Guy Greg Harper: The Full D7 Demo

Adam Tow — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:55:50 +0000

Greg Harper, president of Harpervision and co-founder of Gadgetoff, is–let’s be honest–a gadget freak of the freakiest level.

Check out this demo at the seventh D: All Things Digital, where Harper pulls out one odd but innovative product after another from his cornucopia of gadgetry.

They include a bad-breath checker, a knockoff Chinese version of the Apple (AAPL) iPhone, a tricked-out diving mask, a water-purifying straw and much, much more.

Here is the video of the full D7 demo:

[ See post to watch video ]

Crazy Gadget Guy Greg Harper: The Full D7 Demo

Kara Swisher — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:48:47 +0000

Greg Harper, president of Harpervision and co-founder of Gadgetoff, is–let’s be honest–a gadget freak of the freakiest level.

Check out this demo at the seventh D: All Things Digital, where Harper pulls out one odd but innovative product after another from his cornucopia of gadgetry.

They include a bad-breath checker, a knockoff Chinese version of the Apple (AAPL) iPhone, a tricked-out diving mask, a water-purifying straw and much, much more.

Here is the video of the full D7 demo:

[ See post to watch video ]

D7 Video: Greg Harper of Gadgetoff

Beth Callaghan — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:00:33 +0000

Greg Harper is the very definition of a technophile, and in this D7 session he proves it. Armed with a bag stuffed chock full of obscure and never-before-seen gadgets that he managed to sneak past airport security on the way to San Diego, Harper proceeds with a rapid-fire demo of the unique functionality of each one.

[ See post to watch video ]

D7 Tech Demo: What's in Greg Harper's Bag?

Oliver J. Chiang — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:45:45 +0000

In this session of D7, Greg Harper, president of Harpervision and co-founder of Gadgetoff, always sure to bring the novel and the wacky, will present a plethora of gadgets the technophile has collected. Harper says that in total, he brought “$20,000 [worth] of portable tech gadgets.” (Note to the Four Seasons Aviara: Increase security.) He’s known for doing these demos, at which he pulls out one interesting product after another from his cornucopia of gadgetry–to the astonishment of the crowd! Papa Harper’s got a brand new bag, and we’re about to find out what’s inside….

Session Highlights

[ See post to watch video ]

Live Blog

Kara apologizes for starting up again late: “Carol Bartz just trashed my hotel room.”
Walt and Kara: Greg is sure to be funny and fun. This gadget maniac travels the world collecting the coolest.
Harper comes out to the accompaniment of the theme from “Inspector Gadget.” Apropos.
Harper: Talking really fast–Sony (SNE) camera (HDR TG5V) with GPS built-in.
Walt: Where’s my Red Sox video?
Harper: A complete media server (an MVIX, I think). Kara: It looks like a bomb. Harper: Hook it up to any device! It has many gigs! Etc.! Walt: Why don’t you just use your iPod? Harper: Says something about some headphones being custom-made for his ears…and other stuff.
His Digital SLR is the Canon (CAJ) 5D Mark 2: He likes. Also, here’s a new camera from Panasonic (PC). It goes underwater and shoots in HD. Now, this! A Casio, Exilim FC100, which shoots up to 1000 FPS–watch water drop, one drop at a time.
Now: A GPS system that automatically transmits to satellite. OK, now a water-purifying straw! Its an “Istraw” that freaking purifies your water all on its own. Amazing.
If that’s not enough for you, says Harper (insert an editorial “Uh…”), it’s a flashlight/alarm/smoke detector, from Flare Safe. Even more amazing!
“Astro” Dog Collar: It has GPS so you can keep track of your dog. That’s pretty handy. From Garmin (GRMN).
Portable radio: AM/FM/HD. Walt: I think radio sucks in general.
Harper: Now this doohickey you wear maybe/probably around your neck at the beach registers how much UV you are exposed to. Walt: If you wear this, you won’t get laid. Harper: Maybe you!
Breathalyzer/Bad Breath Monitor: Also a music/video player. It detects bad breath if you blow on it. Listen, I prefer the old fashioned method: someone awkwardly handing me a breath mint. That’s the natural way.
New Mifi!–It’s portable WiFi, from Novotel. Now back to GPS–hidden in my bag is a… drum roll… tracker! No one better steal my bag! Kara: Who? Like terrorists?
Oops, missed something. He’s the Micromachine man. Speaking of whom, he’s now showing a microcomputer of some sort.
Blu-Ray player: It grabs YouTube, Picasa directly, and plays DVD and SD cards. Walt: WiFi? Harper: No. You can take it on the road. Walt snarks about the lousy Panasonic UI. Nice one.
Sony OLED music player: Has noise cancellation–built in; it’s digital noise cancellation. Also has Slacker, which is “Tivo for music.” Walt: Slacker’s on BlackBerry too. And, do you think this will take over the market iPod dominates? Harper: Heh heh, it’s an interesting product. (Translation: No.)
A pocket-projector, the PK 101 from Optoma: Very cute. You can use it when you’re sitting on the plane on the back of the seat of the person in front of you.
And now: A Chinese knock-off of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. Typical Chinese. But instead, it says “Welcome” upon loading. Imagine that! Look, the UI is so terribly different! It has mode-switching, which means it too has a built-in video projector. Did the Chinese steal the blueprints for the next-gen iPhone somehow?
Some funky looking mask: For diving, it’s good to up to 100-plus feet. There’s a built-in camera with HD video. Walt: And how scared were the TSA guys? Audience laughter.
Whoa! Harper has some super-spy illegal device that can automatically shut off everyone else’s cellphones. It’s like something out of “Men In Black,” but for cellphones instead of depressed housewives.
Another media server. Is he starting to repeat himself. Kara: one more crazy thing, OK?
Glasses with built-in Blutooth headset.
Kara: Thank you so much. Every year, Greg brings weirder and weirder stuff
And the “Inspector Gadget” theme plays him out. Excellent! On the nose, but just so.

In the Year 2025–Who Knows What Tomorrow Brings in Tech?

Kara Swisher — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:43:29 +0000

When attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, BoomTown moderated what turned out to be a fascinating panel discourse of what was to come in the tech sector.

No, it was not a gathering of Trekkies.

The CES SuperSession panel, titled “What Will They Think of Next? Consumer Technology in 2025,” was less Jules Verne than a logical analysis of where gadgetry is headed by looking at both the past and the present.

Overall consensus: Touch screens everywhere, 3-D imaging in wide use, no device wires, ubiquitous high-speed wireless networks and more.

Of course, there were some edgier ideas, like being able to tell exactly when it is going to rain to the minute, via massive computing of weather patterns.

In addition, one of the panelists, Greg Harper, brought back what was popular in 1994, the same number of years back that 2025 is forward. Yep, he dragged out for display the Apple (AAPL) Newton and brick-sized cellphones.

The panelists were: Stephen DiFranco, VP and GM, Americas Consumer Group, Lenovo; Gregory Harper, co-founder, Gadgetoff and president, Cerberus; Len J. Lauer, EVP and COO, Qualcomm (QCOM); Sean Maloney, EVP and GM, Sales and Marketing, Intel (INTC); and Phil McKinney, VP and CTO, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packward (HPQ).

Here’s the video with interviews about 2025 with all of them–and don’t miss the very funny poster at the end from Microsoft (MSFT) about its vision of the future:

[ See post to watch video ]

A Video Smorgasbord From the Churchill Club's "Sixth Annual What's Hot and What's Not in Personal Technology"

Kara Swisher — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:15:26 +0000

Last night, Walt Mossberg and I hosted yet another annual “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Personal Technology” event for the Churchill Club.

A brief rundown of the Palo Alto gadgetfest show-and-tell: An animatronic singing Elvis freaked out my No. 1 son, Louie, who played an excellent Luke Skywalker/gadget boy for my presentation; our guest gadget geek was Twitter Co-Founder and CEO Evan Williams, who was a delight with a mini-helicopter, a flat-screen reader and a wry wit; Walt showed off the new Blackberry Storm from RIM (RIMM), the alleged Apple (AAPL) iPhone killer (maybe not so much), as well as a fuel cell and more; and our crazy gadget maven, Greg Harper, co-founder of Gadgetoff, went perfectly insane with everything from tiny projectors to a creepy probe to minicellphone towers to USB ties and eyepads.

It was a lot of fun with a packed crowd, even in this econalypse-impacting Silicon Valley.

Here is a rather longish video, which is well worth watching. Yes, BoomTown is–along with Louie and Elvis–wearing a Yahoo (YHOO) hat.

Here’s the video:

[ See post to watch video ]

[Photo courtesy of Dan Farber of CNET.]