One interesting prototype from CES'13 is something called the
Tethercell. Basically, it's a piece of plastic shaped like a AA battery that contains both a Bluetooth control chip and a place to insert a AAA battery. The idea is that after inserting a smaller AAA into into its belly, the Tethercell gets inserted into any gadget that accepts AAs, allowing you to use your smartphone to remotely supply or kill power to said gadget. The obvious concern here is the slightly lower battery life of substituting a AAA for a AA battery. Also, what percentage of the AAA's power gets used up by the embedded Bluetooth circuitry itself? The original report suggests it be used to remotely shut off an annoying toy such as a Furby but the possibilities are endless. Fortunately, it sounds like the Tethercell has a pretty good chance of hitting production lines, with price estimates of $10-$20 being thrown around.
A company called
Hyper is updating its wireless storage accessory with additional options and name changes. Renamed iUSBport, you'll now be able to choose from three different models, depending on your needs. Think of it as a battery powered Wi-Fi router that allows you to connect to your external hard drive and stream the drive's contents to your smartphone, tablet or computer. It's essentially a Seagate Goflex Satellite but with more options and features.
