Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/439814
C o n s u m e r E l e c t ro n i c s D a i l y N e ws M o n d a y, J a n u a r y 5 , 2 0 1 5 4 2 INTRODUCING CHADDER: A FUN, EASY, SECURE MESSAGING PLATFORM Etransfr is a new private communica- tions company focused on building a modern messaging platform called Chadder, which recently launched on iOS, Windows and Android, with tablet support coming soon. It's free to download at www.chadder.im or by typing Chadder into any app store. "At Etransfr we believe that it is our job to provide easy access to priva- cy. Without that there is no reason to build another private chat application. Today's platforms are either hard to use or don't have enough users on them to make them fun to use. The platforms that are actually secure were built for people who are very concerned about their privacy, and they're willing to give up features to maintain their pri- vacy," said Etransfr CEO Lexi Sprague. "We've built Chadder so it's easy enough to use for dad chatting with mom, for teenagers, but its secu- rity will protect you in business-to- business conversations." Even though Chadder is easy to use, it protects users' privacy by limit- ing the amount of information that's collected by the app. Etransfr plans to make money through in-app purchase sales, APIs and a B2B subscription service. Chadder gives users the power to send messages that disappear from the r e c i p i e n t s ' phones after a user-designat- ed time peri- od. "When the message disappears, it really disappears – it doesn't just change its file name and save some- where else," Sprague said. "The second feature, which is unique to us, is that if you send some- thing and you want to take it back, you can delete the message off your phone, and it deletes from the recipient's phone as well, so if you regret a mes- sage later, you can take it back," she continued. In addition, Etransfr has designed the platform to work across platforms, so that you can log in with your per- sonal phone, and then when you're at the office, you can log in with your work phone – and all your conversa- tions will be there. Tablet support is coming soon, which will extend the cross-platform f u n c t i o n a l i t y even more. "You'll be able to go seamlessly between devices and continue your conversation," Sprague said. Etransfr is at International CES ® for the first time this year, and the team is looking to meet other college stu- dents who want to join in the coding for an exciting venture with the capac- ity to change how people communicate with each other. At the same time, Etransfr is also launching a major funding round and is looking for sup- port for that as well. "The projects that we have in mind for the near future involve things that the industry has never seen before, so we have some exciting times ahead," Sprague said. Visit Etransfr at booth #75461. For more information, visit www.chadder.im. BEAMPRO: FROM PARLOR TRICK TO PARADIGM SHIFT By Shelly Palmer Three weeks ago, my son moved to Hong Kong. This is the story of how he attended a very important family gath- ering (from 8,047 miles away) using his iPhone as a 3G hotspot, his MacBook Air and a remarkable device called the BeamPro from Suitable Technologies. I became aware of the BeamPro at a trade show a year or so back. To me it seemed like a complete parlor trick. Truly, what is the point of a remote-con- trolled webcam? Moving it has to be clunky at best and the experience is cute, but ultimately meaningless ... or so I thought. Necessity Is the Mother of Invention Fast-forward about a year and I find myself with a resolute, but despondent wife planning a super important annu- al family gathering with her middle child half a world away. My wife is not a technologist, but she came up with the right idea. "Let's get an eye-level iPad stand on wheels and have Brent FaceTime into the party." She said this with a smile that was illuminated by the satisfaction of a Eureka moment. While it was a good idea, I knew there was a better one. We reached out to the team at Suitable Tech and requested a demo unit; it arrived the day before the party in three boxes. Some Assembly Required Even for a tech-savvy expert, "some assembly required" says, "no chance this works on the first shot." Wrong! Attach three cables, pop the video monitor on the base, plug the charging station into the wall and you're good to go. Start to finish: 10 minutes – and seven of those were opening and unpacking the three boxes. The app downloaded in about a minute, set- up was very fast and about a minute later, I was control- ling the BeamPro from my MacBook Pro. I sat in the kitchen and used the BeamPro to chase the cat around the living room. Super fun! Best Laid Plans The evening of the event (morning for my son), we got the bad news. The cable company had not yet installed broadband in his new apartment. All he had was an iPhone 5 to use as a hotspot. This is worse than it sounds because in Hong Kong, even with a 4G SIM card, an iPhone 5 is only a 3G device. 3G? Even Facetime is ques- tionable over 3G; surely the BeamPro would not fare better. Wrong! Not only did the BeamPro work over 3G, it worked flawlessly. Parlor trick? No, paradigm shift ... here's why: According to Scott Hassan, CEO and Founder, Suitable Technologies, the BeamPro "... enables any- one, anywhere to be pres- ent, participate and inter- act." My son Brent agreed. He said that using the BeamPro gave him the ability to physically act and intervene on his own behalf. He was especially struck by his ability to look other guests in the eye, hear them per- fectly and carry on a quality conversa- tion with the "sensation of full agency." From my point of view, BeamPro is a behavior changing technology. Shelly Palmer blogs at www.shelly palmer.com. Visit the Beam booth in South Hall, booth #30869, where you will be able to beam into museums around the country, interact with BeamPro and Beam+ and see Mega Beam.