- Are you always running out of storage on your iPhone or Android? You’re not alone. Christina Garza, Director of Consumer Product Marketing at Sandisk, talks about its affordable new Phone Drive USB-C
- Also ideal for students, I’ll share more than a half-dozen gadget ideas for back-to-school season, including an AI-powered smartphone, laptop with crazy battery life, a color e-reader for kids, and much more
- If you’ve got young kids no doubt you’ve heard about Yoto Player, a mega-popular screen-free device for kids and tweens. I catch up with Sarah Natchez, Managing Director for North America at Yoto
- Thank you to Visa and Sandisk for your support!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
of technology? Can check it out? Can help make some
sense of it all. Breaking down GeekSpeak into street speak.
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer
technology each week for every listener, Mark tackles the latest news, reviews,
and how toos to help you understand what's hot, what's
(00:21):
not and why.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey everyone, welcome to Tech it Out. It's episode four
oh seven. I trust your having a good day so far,
hope so, and thank you for making tech it Out
a small part of it. If you do like this show,
whether you're tuning in on your favorite local talk radio
station or perhaps in podcast form, be sure to reach
out on social media to say hi. Love hearing from listeners.
(00:48):
It's Mark Saltzman, Mark with a C and Saltsman with
the Z, and you can find me on all the
big platforms. All right, so what's on top for today? Well,
we've got three different topics for you. We're going to
start off with a look at some back to school
gadget ideas for the student in your home. No interview
for that one. In about a minute or so, I'll
(01:09):
share a half dozen suggestions from touchscreen laptops to a
color e reader to an AI powered smartphone that can
record the teacher or professor and not just transcribe the
words into text for your studying, but summarize what they're saying.
Wild Also on the show today, and speaking of kids,
(01:30):
we're going to learn about Yodo. That's Yoto. It's screen
free entertainment and education. Parents will love this as much
as kids perhaps. And finally, sand Disc will join us
to chat about a new pinky sized gadget for your
iPhone or Android that backs up all your photos and
(01:50):
videos so you won't run out of room on your
smartphone and you won't have to pay for a cloud
storage subscription.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
All of this and more on a brand new.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Teck it out powered by Visa, which I'll tell you
more about shortly. But let's officially kick off the show
with our first interview.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
As I mentioned earlier in this show, I had a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Of fun last week kicking off the back to school
season where I went on a number of TV stations
and will continue to do so over the next two weeks,
sharing a few tech ideas for students of all ages
and all budgets as well. I've got about a half
dozen suggestions for you. Some of this gear is ideal
(02:32):
for doing the work itself. Others could be more for
fun after school or kids going away to school in
a dorm room to help unwind after a long day
of studying. And so, without further ado, I wanted to
go through these with you. For pricing, by the way,
I'll plug websites for all of them, But because there
are some back to school sales and pricing that can
(02:53):
vary based on where you're hearing this in the country,
it's best to just go to the website.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I don't want to mislead anyone, but.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I've got lots of great ideas, whether you're the student yourself,
or a parent or grandparent of one. And so here
we go. First things first, AI is not just a buzzword.
This is an incredibly important tool. I'd argue for students
regardless of their age. I would say certainly in middle
school and up, and regardless of the subject. AI can
(03:20):
help across the board in several ways, and that includes
Google Gemini, which is built into devices like the Pixel
nine smartphone, a really premium Android device that has all
the bells and whistles included With the purchase of Pixel nine,
students can try Gemini two point five Pro for six
months for free. That's Google's most advanced AI model. So
(03:44):
what can it do for students. It's ideal for homework help,
exam prep, and helping to write essays and book reports
and presentations. In fact, Gemini Pro can transform class notes
into quizzes, it can summarize content for you and even
turn them into podcast style audio overviews.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
It's so cool.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
It truly is an indispensable, pocket sized companion for students.
And of course, on top of all that, it's got
amazing cameras, a ton of power to play games on.
You can study with others over video very easily, with
multiple people on the call. At the same time, it's
your navigation device. Your friends are meeting after school at
I don't know a cafe or an escape room or
(04:26):
something fun, and you need directions. It's all there, all right.
So the website is store dot Google dot com For
more on Pixel nine and Gemini two point five Pro.
Speaking of AI that is powering many of today's laptops
as well, and certainly something that a student can benefit from.
The Asus ZenBook S fourteen is a sleek Copilot Plus.
(04:49):
AIPC Copilot plus is just a button press where you
can summon some real help with whatever the student is doing.
The laptop is powerful and reliable and also lightweight.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's only one point.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
One centimeters thin, so it slips into your backpack. Can't
even really feel that it's there yet. It's super durable
with its material called Sarah aluminum, which combines ceramics with
aerospace grade aluminum. The screen is stunning. It's a three
k o led screen with one hundred and twenty hertz
refresh rate, so whether you're scrolling through websites or other
(05:23):
texts or playing games, it's silky smooth and under the hood,
it's got a super efficient Intel Core Ultra Series two
processor that helps with the battery life considerably. The Nbook
S fourteen lasts up to twenty seven hours between charges,
so students can leave that charger at home or in
a dorm room and just bring the laptop to class,
(05:43):
to the library, to a friend's place, what have you.
Asus dot com has more, and speaking of PCs, it
is a great time of the year if you're looking
for sales on gaming PCs, so not just for your
nine to five school life, but for your five to
nine downtime as well. That laptop is great for both
productivity and fun. From August twenty fifth through September seventh,
(06:07):
you can snag serious savings on Intel powered laptops, desktops,
and accessories, as well as bundles where you may get
a free premium game with the purchase of a PC
as well. So definitely look for that Intel sticker again,
I'd recommend a Core seven or nine Intel Core Ultra
Series two processor. The best website to learn more is
(06:27):
game dot intel dot com slash gamer Days. That's game
dot intel dot com slash gamer Days if you're just
joining us now, I'm talking about recommended gear for students.
Let's talk about some things for kids. Kindle has expanded
its eReader lineup with its first ever Kindle Colorsoft Kids.
So along with the ability to read ebooks and comics
(06:49):
and graphic novels in color, students can also use their
finger to highlight passages in a textbook like a virtual
yellow marker, like we used to do for real in
a textbook, but now you're.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Not ruining the book.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
It's done digitally, and when you return to that page
in that textbook, the yellow highlights are still there. It's
so smart, but you can delete them at any time.
Colorsoft Kids includes a fun protective cover twelve months of
the Amazon Kids Plus service, which has a ton of
free content to read and a two year guarantee. There's
also a parent dashboard so moms or dads can see
(07:23):
what their kids are reading and for how long, and
there are tools for the students themselves to help with
tough words. Love that Amazon dot Com has more also
for kids, the in stacks Mini Link three smartphone printer.
This is a handheld wireless printer that instantly produces high quality,
water resistant photos on real film, which has sold separately,
(07:47):
usually in a ten pack. Once kids create these tangible
memories with their friends in say a hallway or after school,
or they want to take pics of their family or pets,
they can place these two by three and a half
finch photos in a locker, in a binder, a bedroom mirror,
or give them out to friends. Battery Life tops one
hundred prints per charge, and I love that. Through the
(08:09):
in stacks app, you can also add fun filters and
special effects, emojis or text and even buy film with
designs on them like sprinkles. Love that again, that's the
in Stac's Minilength three smartphone printer. In Stacks dot Com
has more one more recommendation for little ones before we
end off on something for parents. Hey, why not The
(08:31):
JBL Junior three twenty wireless on ear kids headphones are awesome.
Staples in fact has kicked off its school season both
in store and online, from AI powered tools to get
work done to personal tech for students to flex their style.
And so those JBL Junior three twenties are amazing. They're
bluetooth on ear headphones that are very affordable, but they
(08:54):
sound great. They have lots of colors to choose from
up to fifty hours of battery life, and it includes
parental controls with customizable volume and playtime settings so you
can control how loud your kids are listening to their
music and for how long. There's also a less expensive
wired version of these headphones. Staples dot Com has more,
(09:14):
and finally, something for dorm rooms or as I mentioned,
something for moms and dads. Once the kids start going
back to school.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Why not treat.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yourself to a new television. The prices are amazing for
incredible quality for families looking to upgrade their TV this fall.
High Sense has a television that reviewers are gushing.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
About and it's now on sale.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
It's the U eighty eight QGAI TV. So this is
a TV that features Mini led Pro and Quantum Dot
technology for high brightness and color respectively. They come in
sizes from fifty five inches all the way up to
one hundred inches budget and wall size permitting.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
It's a four K.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
TV, of course, but also a Google powered smart TV,
so you can download apps, stream movies for both free
and subscription services, and use your voice to ask what
to watch, or use your TV like a smart speaker
for homework help or to control smart home devices from
the TV itself.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
The high Sense U eighty.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
E q GAI TV is also great for gamers, as
it has a one hundred and sixty five hertz refresh
rate for those fast action games and free sync Premium
Pro technology as well. Highsense dot Com has more. Well,
there you have it, some great tech ideas just in
time for back to school season. Before we continue on
with this show, we cover cybersecurity a lot on this program.
(10:38):
One part of the solution is securely shopping online and
so I'm thrilled about my partnership with Visa on tech
it Out, as they've made some significant investments in fraud
prevention over the past five years, as much as ten
billion dollars to support Visa's brand promise to protect the
financial information of individuals and businesses. Zero liability means of
(11:00):
mind when you shop online using your Visa card, which
is why the company takes an aggressive and multi layered
approach to combating the rising threat of malicious software and
other threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises. Read
more about Visa and how securing the world's payment is
priority one at visa dot com, slash security more.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Check it out right after this stay with.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Us listen to check it out whenever you want to
find the check it Out podcast, did I too, or
wherever you get your.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Podcasts, Welcome back to check it out.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Even though I do call myself a tech evangelist as
I like to preach about the benefits of technology, I'm
the first to admit that many kids are too addicted
to screens and it can start at a young age.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Just go to your favorite local.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Family restaurant and see how many iPads serving as babysitters
at the table. Well, in case you haven't heard about
it yet, we're going to now learn about Yodo Player,
a screen free device for kids and tweens that can
deliver entertainment experiences like audio based stories, music podcasts, and
sleep sounds. To tell us all about Yodo Player is
(12:19):
Sarah Natchez. She's managing director for North America at Yodo.
Welcome to the show, Sarah, good to.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Chat with you.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Thanks Mark, great to be here.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Why don't we jump right in at a high level.
What is Yodo player all about? And for our listeners
it's Yoto.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Yeah, absolutely, Well.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Yodo is a screen free audio platform made just for kids.
So we have two players. We have the Yodo Player
which is used in your home and Yodo Mini, which
is on the go a portable version. And kids use
physical cards to access content independently. So we have over
thirteen hundred cards for all ages and interests. And there
(12:59):
is no screens, no ads, no microphones, and we have
a ton of built in features like night light. For
Yodo Player, we have timers clock okay to wakecloth and
an amazing amount of free content as.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Well, thirteen hundred cards. I was very happy when your
comms folks sent me one to review, along with, among
other cards, a Bob Marley card. Never too early to
introduce kids to Bob Marley is my motto. With that
in mind, what ages would you say this is for?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
The incredible thing about yodo is that it really grows
with your child. So we have content for ages zero
to twelve. Plus we have content for little ones like nursery, rhymes,
sleep sounds, white noise, and as kids get older again,
we really grow. So everything from the classics to top brands,
to full chapter books, music, educational cards, podcasts, and a
(13:50):
lot more.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
All right, so this is screen free content, And why
do you think that's a good idea? Would you agree
with me that there's a screen addiction issue?
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Yeah, I mean I have a six year old myself.
He comes home some days and celebrates being awarded with
iPad time, So I totally get it. They're just so prevalent,
especially in the post pandemic era. And you know, I
really believe that screen free content gives kids the freedom
to explore and learn and play without the distractions or
(14:21):
downsides of screens. And you know, kids are constantly surrounded
by screens, right, and Yodo really offers a healthier alternative
that also still feels really fun and engaging.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So they're still.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
Using technology with Yodo, but this time kids are in
control and parents have peace of mind and to elaborate
on that market. And you know, the benefits of audio
include so many different things, right, building literacy, comprehension, emotional regulation,
and really stimulating imagination. So with screens they can just
watch something happen, but with audio, they're really visualizing it themselves,
(14:59):
which makes it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
One hundred percent One of my hobbies. I know a
lot of my listeners know this is that I'm a
fan of these old radio plays. Even though I'm a
techie and a futurist. I love this medium where there
were full plays on the radio before TV became the
dominant entertainment medium in the home, largely in the forties
and fifties, where to full cast of characters. I'm not
referring to like an audiobook which is narrated by one person.
(15:22):
These are full plays with sound effects or fully I
believe it's called in your brain, you imagine what that
scene is. You know, they call theater of the mine right,
this medium, so I love what Yoda is doing with
its stories, and I know there's music and other content
as well, so you can play the content on either
of the two players. And then also we've been focusing
on the whole screen free thing, but it would be
(15:44):
remiss not to at least mention parents on a smartphone
could also play content even if the card isn't there.
Like if you're on a road trip and you want
to keep the kids entertained in the back seat, Can
you talk to us a bit about the app?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
Yodo cars are compatible across both players, and the app
keeps adults quietly in control. So both players use physical cards,
but once the cards are downloaded onto the player, they're
immediately available in app, so parents can browse content and
stream cards on their phone. And the app really helps
(16:19):
families customize their Yodo experience, so adults can control the
child's nightlight color on the player, set limits, and overall
keep control of their child's player.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Behind the scenes, we.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Are chatting with Sarah Natchez, managing director for North America
at Yodo. That's Yoto, the company behind the very popular
Yodo player. My daughter Maya incidentally showed me this on
TikTok before I was contacted coincidentally by your communications team
to see if I wanted to review it, and so
I know it's blowing up. Congratulations and thirteen hundred cards.
(16:54):
That's crazy. Can you buy content digitally on a phone?
Let's say Mom or Dad they want to buy something
through the app, or do they need to go to
a physical store like a retail store or buy a
card physically online to be delivered in order to unlock
that content.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
We're just starting the functionality where you can make your
own cards via the app, and that will be increasing
over time. We have our full range of content on
our website. You can buy our players and content on
Amazon in the US, you can buy them at all
Target stores nationwide, can buy them on indie bookstores, toy stores,
(17:34):
gift shops throughout the country all right.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So with more than thirteen hundred cards, there's obviously a
lot of licenses here between Yodo and those who own
the rights to the music and TV shows and other brands.
So when we return on tech it Out, we're going
to get some examples of some of Yodo's most popular
content for kids, and so we're going to learn more
(17:57):
about Yodo Player when we return again. That's IoT screen
free entertainment for kids, which I know a lot of
parents have been looking for instead of just putting an
iPad on their lap. So we'll continue with Yodo. You're
listening to teck it Out. I'm your host, Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Want to follow Mark Google Mark with a C and
Saltzman with a Z. Breaking down geeks peak into street speak.
This is check it out to check it out with
(18:35):
technology columnist, author and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Welcome back everyone. You're listening to teck it Out. We're
learning all about Yodo Player. That's Yoto, a screen free
kids audio player that comes in a few different flavors
and it's an app as well. We're chatting with Sarah Natchez.
She's managing director at Yodo North America. All right, so,
with over thirteen hundred cars and clearly a lot of
(19:01):
licenses that Yodo has inked, tell us about some of
the more popular cards or some of the newest cards
that kids can get, kids and kids at heart can enjoy.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
Yeah, Well, we are releasing content every few weeks, so
it was constantly content in the pipeline and we really
try to meet families where they are. So we have
the top brands like Disney, Peppa Peg, Paw, Patrol, Harry Potter.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I've heard of some of those small brands, and you know.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Best telling stories, so everything from kids, Bob, the good
old classics like Very Hungry Caterpillar, Winnie the Pooh, and
full chapter books like Rolled all Books, Chronicles of Narnia,
you name it. Then we also have and I can
keep going, you know, music favorites like Wicked, even like
you mentioned earlier about Bob Marley.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
We have family.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Favorites like the Beatles, Abba, Elton John and then it
goes beyond that that. We have a we're two hundred
French and Spanish language cards, plus an incredible amount of
educational content spanning nearly every subject, and one of my
son's personal favorites interactive cards. So there are quizzes, puzzles,
(20:14):
and games. His favorite right now happens to be Dungeons
Dragons Forge your Quest, where you interact with the player
by passing the right hand button and you can choose
whether you want to go forward with a sword or
a shield, and there are over twenty different endings.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Oh, I love that We'll choose your own adventure audio
style exactly. I remember seeing a press release about that.
That's really really cool. Well, can I ask you, Sarah,
approximately how long are these are? The average length of
these cards just in case parents or grandparents listening are curious.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Yeah, absolutely, there's no exact average.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
A lot of our.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Content is licensed content, so it depends on what the
content is anything from you know, shorter cards for younger
ages can be thirty minutes, but then we have the
full Harry Potter bucks, which are dozens and dozens out
of hours of listening, So it definitely depends on the
content itself. And then on our player, we have twenty
(21:10):
four hour radio, twenty four hour sleep radio that's all
built in.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Speaking of which I don't want to put our listeners
to sleep, but I'm going to play this clip from
a Yodo video on YouTube that showcases the sleep sounds
for little ones and a little light built in and
all that, which I think is great.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
So have a listen.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
Yodo player has a day and night setting, a handywave
of letting the kids know when it's time for bid
and when to get up. You can listen to Yoto
sleep Radio along with other sleep sounds through the app.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Okay, I want one, and I'm fifty five years old.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
You can also turn your Yoto player into a night
light and change the color in the app. Very clever,
and off they go just like magic.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Okay, that's all kinds of awesome.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
And then, Sarah, I know you were gonna tell us
a little bit about creating your own content as well.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Absolutely, we have make your own content, so every player
comes with make your own card, and you can also
buy make your Own cards regularly, which unlocks a whole
other arm of Yodo in that you can make old
school playlists. You know, my eighty plus year old mom
records reading stories for my son and send them to
(22:31):
me and put them on a card, and he can
listen to bedtime stories with her and more.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
So we really have it all.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
So I haven't tried to create your own card, nor
have I heard the twenty four hour content yet, but
I did connect my iPhone to my car and I
saw that Yodo showed up and the car play need
Apple car Play on the dashboard. So I love that
that you can play content, mom or dad can play
content for the kids right from a touchscreen dashboard safely
(23:01):
on a road trip maybe this summer or what have you.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah. Absolutely, So the Yodo app is compatible with both
Apple car Play and Android Auto for really seamless on
the go listening, So not just with Yodo Mini, but
once a card is unlocked, meaning once it's been played
on the physical player at least once it's automatically added
to the digital library, and from there it can be
(23:24):
streamed via CarPlay or Android Auto. And the display shows
a simple list of your child's cards and recently played content,
so there are simple playback controls.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And finally, how much does Yodo Player and the Mini
player cost and at what price do the cards start at?
Speaker 5 (23:41):
Yodo Mini retails for sixty nine ninety nine and Yodo
Player retails for ninety nine ninety nine, and the costs
for the Yodo cards start at four ninety nine and
go up from there anywhere from four ninety nine up
to fourteen ninety nine depending on the content duration. And
then we have value packs where you can get five card,
(24:04):
six card, eight cards and more for value bundles.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
And then finally the best website.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
Absolutely you can visit us on yotoplay dot com. So
that's yot O p l A y dot com.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
All right, yodoplay dot com. Sarah, it's been great chatting
with you. Congrats on the success of yodo to date
and I hope you have a great rest of your summer.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Thanks again, Thanks Mark, it's been great to be here.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Hey, don't forget. We have another interview lined up for you.
It's going to be with sand Disc for full transparency.
They are a partner of mine on tech it Out
and they've got this awesome new product just in time
for back to school called sand Disc Phone Drive USB C.
As the name suggests, it works with smartphones that have
USBC now iPhone for the past couple of years, as
(24:51):
well as Android devices that will help you back up
photos and videos and other content to free up storage
on your phone. And if you can read between the lines,
that means you don't have to pay for iCloud or
any other kind of monthly subscription service for cloud storage
because you can have it all on a keychain sized
USB drive love that idea, or transfer them to a
(25:12):
computer or external hard drive for safekeeping. So we're going
to learn all about that when we return. Our guest
will be Christina Garza. She's director of consumer Product Marketing
at sand Disk, so you're going to want to stay
tuned for that. I also mentioned earlier in the show,
I'm on social media. I love hearing from tech it
Out listeners. If you want to reach out to ask
me a tech question or you've got a suggestion for
(25:33):
upcoming guests or topic, I'll spell my name in a moment,
but I'm on all the major social media platforms like x, Facebook, Instagram, Threads,
Blue Sky, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. It's Mark Saltzman, m
A R C SA L t Z M an. Also
let me know where you're tuning into the show from.
(25:55):
I always get a kick out of hearing what city
or town you're in, and also how you're tuning in
if you're on your favorite local talk radio station or
if you subscribe to the podcast, and what platform you
like the best, whether it's iHeartRadio or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon,
Audible and so on. All right, when we return on
teck it out sand Disk about a new pinky sized
(26:17):
drive for your phone stick with us, We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Back breaking down GeekSpeak into street speak.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Check it out holosted by Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Welcome, back everyone you're listening to check it out. One
of my favorite tech companies, sand Disk, has just launched
a new mobile storage solution aptly named sand Disc Phone
Drive with USB C. To find out what it can do,
who it's for, and how it works, we're joined on
the line by Christina Garza, director of Consumer Product Marketing
at sand Disk. Welcome back to the show, Christina, good
(26:58):
to chat with you again.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
Hi Mark, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Great before we talked about this new drive. Let's just
take a step back and tell us a bit about
sand Disc. The company is now separate from Western Digital.
Is that right it's parent company at one point, Yes.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
That's correct.
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Sand Disc has been the pioneer in flash memory, and
for almost forty years now, we've been trusted by professional photographers,
professional video makers, business pros, and everyday consumers alike. We
deliver a wide range of innovative, future ready storage solutions
for really every use case you can imagine across consumer
(27:35):
storage needs. Our solutions are focused on delivering thoughtful and
powerful products so that you can get your tasks done,
whether that be daily or monthly, or if you're a professional,
using it every single minute of your day. And we're
really focused on delivering leading combination of speed, capacity and
data protection to make sure you get the very best
(27:57):
solution for your storage needs.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
So i'd reliability that is so important.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
I've reviewed lots of flash storage solutions over the years,
and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. And when it's
your data, you can't mess around. So you've kind of
already answered this. Christina was going to ask you why
sand Disc when there's so many other companies out there,
whether it's your solid state drives or SSDs, your USB
drives or thumb drives, so some people call them micro
SD cards. Why sand Disc?
Speaker 6 (28:23):
Yeah, we really.
Speaker 8 (28:24):
Try and have focused on learning what consumers need so
that we can respond with the right product to fit
those needs. You know, our mission here at sand Disc
is to enable people to create experience and really preserve
more amazing things that really matter to them from a
data perspective and a digital content perspective, whether that's the
(28:45):
right memory card for the camera you use, or a
really robust USB portfolio with a variety of flash drives
that you can choose what's right for you, all the
way through a range of portable SSDs for every kind
of use. Case, you know, and we even deliver fun
collaborations like with Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and other industry leaders
within the consumer space because we really want to make
(29:07):
sure consumers are getting what's right for them and what
makes them feel good at.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
The end of the day.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Even the Smurfs.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
I saw a video on YouTube, and I know the
Nintendo flashcards for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch too,
that's great. And yeah, some of your solutions for inside
the console like PS five or Xbox, so all great
stuff all around. So without further ado, let's now hear
about the new sand Disk phone Drive with USBC. What's
it all about.
Speaker 8 (29:32):
Yeah, we're so excited about this because when I look
back at just a few years ago technology and storage tools,
they always felt like they were four pros or for
tech gurus, or required a little bit more technical know how.
And what we're so excited about with these new SanDisk
phone Drive with USBC is that it's for everyone and
we've really focused on making it simple, easy for anyone
(29:56):
to use.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
That concept of it.
Speaker 8 (29:58):
Just works, you know, with the addition of USBC ports
on iPhones and Android phones, I think it's been around
a little bit longer on Android phones, but the addition
on iPhones has really opened up a whole new world.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
For every phone owner out there.
Speaker 8 (30:13):
Cameras are capturing incredible photos and video, higher resolution four
K video, and all of this means larger file sizes,
and you fill up your phone so quickly with everything.
You want to capture every single moment, even the bad ones,
and you don't want to spend too much time deleting,
but you do have this constant worry of what if
my phone fills up? Do I have to spend more
(30:35):
on iCloud? Is that the only way? And what really
trying to deliver with this product is another way to
complement what you may do today, but give you another
way of preserving your content on your phone, whether it
be backing up your photos and videos. You can even
back up your contacts because you just never know what's
going to happen, and peace of mind really goes a
(30:57):
long way, especially with that device you carry with you
everywhere every day.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
So you've touched on two interesting trends here. One is
that Apple is smart and they know that you're going
to run out of storage, so you think you have
to pay for more iCloud storage per month to hold
all those photos and videos as a backup solution. It's
smart because when you buy an iPhone, it's limited in
how much local storage there is and.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
You can't expand it.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
And Android has followed suit too with the inability to
add more storage with a micro SD card.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
But you've figured out a solution there, which we're going
to get to.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
And then the second trend is that I think when
people think of USB drives and all that.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
They think of computers.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
But we're increasingly becoming a mobile society where a lot
of the computing that we're doing is on our phone
or maybe a tablet, and not just a laptop or desktop.
Maybe for the work world, sure, but we're increasingly using
our mobile devices, and so you've also changed with the times.
Your USB solution, as the name suggests, USB C fits
(31:55):
all modern iPhones and Android devices. So can you walk
us through so how it works. It looks like a
thumb drive, but it snaps into the bottom of your
smartphone exactly.
Speaker 8 (32:06):
It looks like a thumb drive, same concept as flash drive,
which is why we call it phone drive. To be
honest with you, is that we don't want to imply
that it's really different than how people are used to
using flash drives with their computer. But as you said,
your phone has become your computer in many cases, and
so now with a sand disk phone drive, it's small,
it's portable, It has a key ring holder so you
(32:27):
can snap it onto your keychain. It's got a really
great slider so that you can protect the connector if
you're not using it, you can just slide it away
so that it stays intact. So it's really simple to
take with you everywhere. But whether you're trying to move
content or you're trying to back up content, we're doing
it all through the sand Disk Memory Zone app. That's
truly the backbone of this product. We build hardware, We've
(32:49):
been famous for our hardware, and now our software is
really coming into play to deliver that incredible experience.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
That again is very simple.
Speaker 8 (32:58):
You plug it into your phone, pops open the sand
disk gap and it automatically will back up if that's
what you set up.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Love it more with Christina Garza from sand Disc when
we return on teck it out, stay with us.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
to check it out whenever you want.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
We are chatting with Christina Garza, director of consumer product
Marketing at sand Disk. We're learning all about the apptly
named sand disc phone drive with USB C no more
lightning connectors at the bottom of the iPhone. It's all
one standard Universal port USBC, so this drive works with
all modern smartphones. And let's say you do want to
transfer a bunch of photos or videos following a vacation
(33:51):
onto your laptop. You can then unplug the drive and
then also plug it into a USB sport on the
side of your laptop.
Speaker 8 (33:59):
Yes, you can simply unplug from your phone, plug into
the USBC port on your computer, access it like a
normal drive and move content however you need to.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
And it does work with tablets too, right like iPads
and Android tablets.
Speaker 8 (34:14):
It will and I know on iPad it'll recognize it
as a normal external drive.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
You can use the Sandis Memory Zone app on a.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
Tablet today, but it will only show up in mobile mode.
We're working through updates for better tablet experience. Current state
is it'll show up on mobile mode, but if you
don't want to use the app on a tablet, it'll
show up as an external drive really easily.
Speaker 6 (34:36):
In your files.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Would you say this drive is primarily for content creators,
those who are shooting video, maybe they're podcasters or streamers
or you know TikTokers that kind of thing, or really
for anyone who wants to back up. And again it's
not just media like photos and videos, but as you said,
your contacts as well.
Speaker 8 (34:52):
It's a truly made for everyone's solution. Whether you're taking
a lot of family photos of your children or a
family reunion, or if you are a content creator, this
is a perfect tool so that you can easily back
up all your content, move it to your laptop to
do editing upload from there.
Speaker 6 (35:12):
It's a tool for everyone.
Speaker 8 (35:13):
Content creators definitely are the core content generators and so
there's a capacity need. This product will really enable them
to do quick backup. But really this is finally a
tool for everyone who has an iPhone or an Android
with Type C to do what they need to do
with their phone to preserve their content, to do backups,
to move files without the hassle of only having the
(35:36):
cloud as an option.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
So you first download the app, you simply do a
search for the word sand disk. Then you insert the
drive and it'll scan your phone for your photos with the.
Speaker 6 (35:45):
Sand Disc Memory Zone app.
Speaker 8 (35:46):
Once it's downloaded, you plug in the drive, it'll launch
the app and it'll walk you through setup. You can
name your drive, it'll show you the name of your phone.
It'll show you how much capacity you have remaining on
your phone, and then you can walk through a setup
to select whether you want automatic backup turned on, and
in that case it'll run. If you choose yes, it'll
(36:08):
run your first backup. It'll give you an indicator bar
that says how much more time you have left in
your backup, how many images, videos, and files it's actually
backing up. And once that's set up from an auto
backup perspective, from that point forward, every time you plug
the drive in, it'll auto launch the app and begin
the auto backup for anything that's new. If you don't
(36:29):
want auto backup, no problem, leave that toggle to the left,
and then you can manually move content. You can manually
go and select files, photos, videos that you'd like to move,
either copy them from your phone to the drive, or
literally move them from the phone to the drive to
free up more space. So there's a lot of different
ways that you can manage your content through this easy
(36:52):
to use app.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, I was going to ask you if it does
that complete backup every time, but it only looks for
what's new or changed.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Probably that's right.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Yeah, that's awesome, And this would be I think a
good back to school gift for a student heading back
to the classroom.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Absolutely, who better to back up their phone than students
that are out capturing a ton of content every day
with their friends.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
It's a very cool tool for your kids to.
Speaker 8 (37:17):
Have on their backpack or on their keychain for back
to school.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Great.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
It's called the sand disk Memory Zone app to free download.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
How much does the drive itself start at?
Speaker 2 (37:27):
And I guess there are different capacities you can choose
from there are.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
We start with the sixty four gig capacity and we
go up to one terabyte of capacity, So it's incredible.
That's a full backup of a one terabyte phone. So
you can double your capacity with a one terabyte drive
for a one time fee of one hundred and forty
five dollars in ninety nine cents. The price starts with
the sixty four gig at thirty six ninety nine, so
(37:51):
it ranges from thirty six ninety nine up to one
forty five ninety nine with the one terabyte it starts
with sixty four goes up to one hundred and twenty
eight fifty six, five twelve and one terabyte offering, so
really want to give people a choice, and also we
offer it in multiple colors so that it fits your
style as well.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
SanDisk dot com has more, or you can look for
the sand disk phone drive with USBC, your favorite tech retailer, Christina.
Great to chat with you as always. Thank you so
much for carving up some time to talk.
Speaker 6 (38:23):
Thank you, Mark, I really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Having me, and thank you again to sand Disk for
being such an awesome partner on tech it Out as
well as Visa. There could be no half measures when
it comes to protecting your financial information, so be sure
to check out Visa dot com slash security for some
great shopping tips and keeping your information safe. And that
includes for businesses too who also don't want to be
(38:48):
a victim of fraud either. Of course. All right, thank
you so much for tuning into tech it Out everyone.
Hope you enjoyed the program and I look forward to
catching up with you next weekend for another brand new
episode of Tack it Out from Cologne, Germany, looking forward
to it be well shout for now
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
of technology? Can check it out? Can help make some
sense of it all. Breaking down GeekSpeak into street speak.
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer
technology each week for every listener, Mark tackles the latest news, reviews,
and how toos to help you understand what's hot, what's
(00:21):
not and why.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey everyone, welcome to Tech it Out. It's episode four
oh seven. I trust your having a good day so far,
hope so, and thank you for making tech it Out
a small part of it. If you do like this show,
whether you're tuning in on your favorite local talk radio
station or perhaps in podcast form, be sure to reach
out on social media to say hi. Love hearing from listeners.
(00:48):
It's Mark Saltzman, Mark with a C and Saltsman with
the Z, and you can find me on all the
big platforms. All right, so what's on top for today? Well,
we've got three different topics for you. We're going to
start off with a look at some back to school
gadget ideas for the student in your home. No interview
for that one. In about a minute or so, I'll
(01:09):
share a half dozen suggestions from touchscreen laptops to a
color e reader to an AI powered smartphone that can
record the teacher or professor and not just transcribe the
words into text for your studying, but summarize what they're saying.
Wild Also on the show today, and speaking of kids,
(01:30):
we're going to learn about Yodo. That's Yoto. It's screen
free entertainment and education. Parents will love this as much
as kids perhaps. And finally, sand Disc will join us
to chat about a new pinky sized gadget for your
iPhone or Android that backs up all your photos and
(01:50):
videos so you won't run out of room on your
smartphone and you won't have to pay for a cloud
storage subscription.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
All of this and more on a brand new.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Teck it out powered by Visa, which I'll tell you
more about shortly. But let's officially kick off the show
with our first interview.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
As I mentioned earlier in this show, I had a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Of fun last week kicking off the back to school
season where I went on a number of TV stations
and will continue to do so over the next two weeks,
sharing a few tech ideas for students of all ages
and all budgets as well. I've got about a half
dozen suggestions for you. Some of this gear is ideal
(02:32):
for doing the work itself. Others could be more for
fun after school or kids going away to school in
a dorm room to help unwind after a long day
of studying. And so, without further ado, I wanted to
go through these with you. For pricing, by the way,
I'll plug websites for all of them, But because there
are some back to school sales and pricing that can
(02:53):
vary based on where you're hearing this in the country,
it's best to just go to the website.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I don't want to mislead anyone, but.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I've got lots of great ideas, whether you're the student yourself,
or a parent or grandparent of one. And so here
we go. First things first, AI is not just a buzzword.
This is an incredibly important tool. I'd argue for students
regardless of their age. I would say certainly in middle
school and up, and regardless of the subject. AI can
(03:20):
help across the board in several ways, and that includes
Google Gemini, which is built into devices like the Pixel
nine smartphone, a really premium Android device that has all
the bells and whistles included With the purchase of Pixel nine,
students can try Gemini two point five Pro for six
months for free. That's Google's most advanced AI model. So
(03:44):
what can it do for students. It's ideal for homework help,
exam prep, and helping to write essays and book reports
and presentations. In fact, Gemini Pro can transform class notes
into quizzes, it can summarize content for you and even
turn them into podcast style audio overviews.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
It's so cool.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
It truly is an indispensable, pocket sized companion for students.
And of course, on top of all that, it's got
amazing cameras, a ton of power to play games on.
You can study with others over video very easily, with
multiple people on the call. At the same time, it's
your navigation device. Your friends are meeting after school at
I don't know a cafe or an escape room or
(04:26):
something fun, and you need directions. It's all there, all right.
So the website is store dot Google dot com For
more on Pixel nine and Gemini two point five Pro.
Speaking of AI that is powering many of today's laptops
as well, and certainly something that a student can benefit from.
The Asus ZenBook S fourteen is a sleek Copilot Plus.
(04:49):
AIPC Copilot plus is just a button press where you
can summon some real help with whatever the student is doing.
The laptop is powerful and reliable and also lightweight.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's only one point.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
One centimeters thin, so it slips into your backpack. Can't
even really feel that it's there yet. It's super durable
with its material called Sarah aluminum, which combines ceramics with
aerospace grade aluminum. The screen is stunning. It's a three
k o led screen with one hundred and twenty hertz
refresh rate, so whether you're scrolling through websites or other
(05:23):
texts or playing games, it's silky smooth and under the hood,
it's got a super efficient Intel Core Ultra Series two
processor that helps with the battery life considerably. The Nbook
S fourteen lasts up to twenty seven hours between charges,
so students can leave that charger at home or in
a dorm room and just bring the laptop to class,
(05:43):
to the library, to a friend's place, what have you.
Asus dot com has more, and speaking of PCs, it
is a great time of the year if you're looking
for sales on gaming PCs, so not just for your
nine to five school life, but for your five to
nine downtime as well. That laptop is great for both
productivity and fun. From August twenty fifth through September seventh,
(06:07):
you can snag serious savings on Intel powered laptops, desktops,
and accessories, as well as bundles where you may get
a free premium game with the purchase of a PC
as well. So definitely look for that Intel sticker again,
I'd recommend a Core seven or nine Intel Core Ultra
Series two processor. The best website to learn more is
(06:27):
game dot intel dot com slash gamer Days. That's game
dot intel dot com slash gamer Days if you're just
joining us now, I'm talking about recommended gear for students.
Let's talk about some things for kids. Kindle has expanded
its eReader lineup with its first ever Kindle Colorsoft Kids.
So along with the ability to read ebooks and comics
(06:49):
and graphic novels in color, students can also use their
finger to highlight passages in a textbook like a virtual
yellow marker, like we used to do for real in
a textbook, but now you're.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Not ruining the book.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
It's done digitally, and when you return to that page
in that textbook, the yellow highlights are still there. It's
so smart, but you can delete them at any time.
Colorsoft Kids includes a fun protective cover twelve months of
the Amazon Kids Plus service, which has a ton of
free content to read and a two year guarantee. There's
also a parent dashboard so moms or dads can see
(07:23):
what their kids are reading and for how long, and
there are tools for the students themselves to help with
tough words. Love that Amazon dot Com has more also
for kids, the in stacks Mini Link three smartphone printer.
This is a handheld wireless printer that instantly produces high quality,
water resistant photos on real film, which has sold separately,
(07:47):
usually in a ten pack. Once kids create these tangible
memories with their friends in say a hallway or after school,
or they want to take pics of their family or pets,
they can place these two by three and a half
finch photos in a locker, in a binder, a bedroom mirror,
or give them out to friends. Battery Life tops one
hundred prints per charge, and I love that. Through the
(08:09):
in stacks app, you can also add fun filters and
special effects, emojis or text and even buy film with
designs on them like sprinkles. Love that again, that's the
in Stac's Minilength three smartphone printer. In Stacks dot Com
has more one more recommendation for little ones before we
end off on something for parents. Hey, why not The
(08:31):
JBL Junior three twenty wireless on ear kids headphones are awesome.
Staples in fact has kicked off its school season both
in store and online, from AI powered tools to get
work done to personal tech for students to flex their style.
And so those JBL Junior three twenties are amazing. They're
bluetooth on ear headphones that are very affordable, but they
(08:54):
sound great. They have lots of colors to choose from
up to fifty hours of battery life, and it includes
parental controls with customizable volume and playtime settings so you
can control how loud your kids are listening to their
music and for how long. There's also a less expensive
wired version of these headphones. Staples dot Com has more,
(09:14):
and finally, something for dorm rooms or as I mentioned,
something for moms and dads. Once the kids start going
back to school.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Why not treat.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yourself to a new television. The prices are amazing for
incredible quality for families looking to upgrade their TV this fall.
High Sense has a television that reviewers are gushing.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
About and it's now on sale.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
It's the U eighty eight QGAI TV. So this is
a TV that features Mini led Pro and Quantum Dot
technology for high brightness and color respectively. They come in
sizes from fifty five inches all the way up to
one hundred inches budget and wall size permitting.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
It's a four K.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
TV, of course, but also a Google powered smart TV,
so you can download apps, stream movies for both free
and subscription services, and use your voice to ask what
to watch, or use your TV like a smart speaker
for homework help or to control smart home devices from
the TV itself.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
The high Sense U eighty.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
E q GAI TV is also great for gamers, as
it has a one hundred and sixty five hertz refresh
rate for those fast action games and free sync Premium
Pro technology as well. Highsense dot Com has more. Well,
there you have it, some great tech ideas just in
time for back to school season. Before we continue on
with this show, we cover cybersecurity a lot on this program.
(10:38):
One part of the solution is securely shopping online and
so I'm thrilled about my partnership with Visa on tech
it Out, as they've made some significant investments in fraud
prevention over the past five years, as much as ten
billion dollars to support Visa's brand promise to protect the
financial information of individuals and businesses. Zero liability means of
(11:00):
mind when you shop online using your Visa card, which
is why the company takes an aggressive and multi layered
approach to combating the rising threat of malicious software and
other threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises. Read
more about Visa and how securing the world's payment is
priority one at visa dot com, slash security more.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Check it out right after this stay with.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Us listen to check it out whenever you want to
find the check it Out podcast, did I too, or
wherever you get your.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Podcasts, Welcome back to check it out.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Even though I do call myself a tech evangelist as
I like to preach about the benefits of technology, I'm
the first to admit that many kids are too addicted
to screens and it can start at a young age.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Just go to your favorite local.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Family restaurant and see how many iPads serving as babysitters
at the table. Well, in case you haven't heard about
it yet, we're going to now learn about Yodo Player,
a screen free device for kids and tweens that can
deliver entertainment experiences like audio based stories, music podcasts, and
sleep sounds. To tell us all about Yodo Player is
(12:19):
Sarah Natchez. She's managing director for North America at Yodo.
Welcome to the show, Sarah, good to.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Chat with you.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Thanks Mark, great to be here.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Why don't we jump right in at a high level.
What is Yodo player all about? And for our listeners
it's Yoto.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Yeah, absolutely, Well.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Yodo is a screen free audio platform made just for kids.
So we have two players. We have the Yodo Player
which is used in your home and Yodo Mini, which
is on the go a portable version. And kids use
physical cards to access content independently. So we have over
thirteen hundred cards for all ages and interests. And there
(12:59):
is no screens, no ads, no microphones, and we have
a ton of built in features like night light. For
Yodo Player, we have timers clock okay to wakecloth and
an amazing amount of free content as.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Well, thirteen hundred cards. I was very happy when your
comms folks sent me one to review, along with, among
other cards, a Bob Marley card. Never too early to
introduce kids to Bob Marley is my motto. With that
in mind, what ages would you say this is for?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
The incredible thing about yodo is that it really grows
with your child. So we have content for ages zero
to twelve. Plus we have content for little ones like nursery, rhymes,
sleep sounds, white noise, and as kids get older again,
we really grow. So everything from the classics to top brands,
to full chapter books, music, educational cards, podcasts, and a
(13:50):
lot more.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
All right, so this is screen free content, And why
do you think that's a good idea? Would you agree
with me that there's a screen addiction issue?
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Yeah, I mean I have a six year old myself.
He comes home some days and celebrates being awarded with
iPad time, So I totally get it. They're just so prevalent,
especially in the post pandemic era. And you know, I
really believe that screen free content gives kids the freedom
to explore and learn and play without the distractions or
(14:21):
downsides of screens. And you know, kids are constantly surrounded
by screens, right, and Yodo really offers a healthier alternative
that also still feels really fun and engaging.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So they're still.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
Using technology with Yodo, but this time kids are in
control and parents have peace of mind and to elaborate
on that market. And you know, the benefits of audio
include so many different things, right, building literacy, comprehension, emotional regulation,
and really stimulating imagination. So with screens they can just
watch something happen, but with audio, they're really visualizing it themselves,
(14:59):
which makes it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
One hundred percent One of my hobbies. I know a
lot of my listeners know this is that I'm a
fan of these old radio plays. Even though I'm a
techie and a futurist. I love this medium where there
were full plays on the radio before TV became the
dominant entertainment medium in the home, largely in the forties
and fifties, where to full cast of characters. I'm not
referring to like an audiobook which is narrated by one person.
(15:22):
These are full plays with sound effects or fully I
believe it's called in your brain, you imagine what that
scene is. You know, they call theater of the mine right,
this medium, so I love what Yoda is doing with
its stories, and I know there's music and other content
as well, so you can play the content on either
of the two players. And then also we've been focusing
on the whole screen free thing, but it would be
(15:44):
remiss not to at least mention parents on a smartphone
could also play content even if the card isn't there.
Like if you're on a road trip and you want
to keep the kids entertained in the back seat, Can
you talk to us a bit about the app?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
Yodo cars are compatible across both players, and the app
keeps adults quietly in control. So both players use physical cards,
but once the cards are downloaded onto the player, they're
immediately available in app, so parents can browse content and
stream cards on their phone. And the app really helps
(16:19):
families customize their Yodo experience, so adults can control the
child's nightlight color on the player, set limits, and overall
keep control of their child's player.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Behind the scenes, we.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Are chatting with Sarah Natchez, managing director for North America
at Yodo. That's Yoto, the company behind the very popular
Yodo player. My daughter Maya incidentally showed me this on
TikTok before I was contacted coincidentally by your communications team
to see if I wanted to review it, and so
I know it's blowing up. Congratulations and thirteen hundred cards.
(16:54):
That's crazy. Can you buy content digitally on a phone?
Let's say Mom or Dad they want to buy something
through the app, or do they need to go to
a physical store like a retail store or buy a
card physically online to be delivered in order to unlock
that content.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
We're just starting the functionality where you can make your
own cards via the app, and that will be increasing
over time. We have our full range of content on
our website. You can buy our players and content on
Amazon in the US, you can buy them at all
Target stores nationwide, can buy them on indie bookstores, toy stores,
(17:34):
gift shops throughout the country all right.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So with more than thirteen hundred cards, there's obviously a
lot of licenses here between Yodo and those who own
the rights to the music and TV shows and other brands.
So when we return on tech it Out, we're going
to get some examples of some of Yodo's most popular
content for kids, and so we're going to learn more
(17:57):
about Yodo Player when we return again. That's IoT screen
free entertainment for kids, which I know a lot of
parents have been looking for instead of just putting an
iPad on their lap. So we'll continue with Yodo. You're
listening to teck it Out. I'm your host, Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Want to follow Mark Google Mark with a C and
Saltzman with a Z. Breaking down geeks peak into street speak.
This is check it out to check it out with
(18:35):
technology columnist, author and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Welcome back everyone. You're listening to teck it Out. We're
learning all about Yodo Player. That's Yoto, a screen free
kids audio player that comes in a few different flavors
and it's an app as well. We're chatting with Sarah Natchez.
She's managing director at Yodo North America. All right, so,
with over thirteen hundred cars and clearly a lot of
(19:01):
licenses that Yodo has inked, tell us about some of
the more popular cards or some of the newest cards
that kids can get, kids and kids at heart can enjoy.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
Yeah, Well, we are releasing content every few weeks, so
it was constantly content in the pipeline and we really
try to meet families where they are. So we have
the top brands like Disney, Peppa Peg, Paw, Patrol, Harry Potter.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I've heard of some of those small brands, and you know.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Best telling stories, so everything from kids, Bob, the good
old classics like Very Hungry Caterpillar, Winnie the Pooh, and
full chapter books like Rolled all Books, Chronicles of Narnia,
you name it. Then we also have and I can
keep going, you know, music favorites like Wicked, even like
you mentioned earlier about Bob Marley.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
We have family.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Favorites like the Beatles, Abba, Elton John and then it
goes beyond that that. We have a we're two hundred
French and Spanish language cards, plus an incredible amount of
educational content spanning nearly every subject, and one of my
son's personal favorites interactive cards. So there are quizzes, puzzles,
(20:14):
and games. His favorite right now happens to be Dungeons
Dragons Forge your Quest, where you interact with the player
by passing the right hand button and you can choose
whether you want to go forward with a sword or
a shield, and there are over twenty different endings.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Oh, I love that We'll choose your own adventure audio
style exactly. I remember seeing a press release about that.
That's really really cool. Well, can I ask you, Sarah,
approximately how long are these are? The average length of
these cards just in case parents or grandparents listening are curious.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Yeah, absolutely, there's no exact average.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
A lot of our.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Content is licensed content, so it depends on what the
content is anything from you know, shorter cards for younger
ages can be thirty minutes, but then we have the
full Harry Potter bucks, which are dozens and dozens out
of hours of listening, So it definitely depends on the
content itself. And then on our player, we have twenty
(21:10):
four hour radio, twenty four hour sleep radio that's all
built in.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Speaking of which I don't want to put our listeners
to sleep, but I'm going to play this clip from
a Yodo video on YouTube that showcases the sleep sounds
for little ones and a little light built in and
all that, which I think is great.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
So have a listen.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
Yodo player has a day and night setting, a handywave
of letting the kids know when it's time for bid
and when to get up. You can listen to Yoto
sleep Radio along with other sleep sounds through the app.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Okay, I want one, and I'm fifty five years old.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
You can also turn your Yoto player into a night
light and change the color in the app. Very clever,
and off they go just like magic.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Okay, that's all kinds of awesome.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
And then, Sarah, I know you were gonna tell us
a little bit about creating your own content as well.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Absolutely, we have make your own content, so every player
comes with make your own card, and you can also
buy make your Own cards regularly, which unlocks a whole
other arm of Yodo in that you can make old
school playlists. You know, my eighty plus year old mom
records reading stories for my son and send them to
(22:31):
me and put them on a card, and he can
listen to bedtime stories with her and more.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
So we really have it all.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
So I haven't tried to create your own card, nor
have I heard the twenty four hour content yet, but
I did connect my iPhone to my car and I
saw that Yodo showed up and the car play need
Apple car Play on the dashboard. So I love that
that you can play content, mom or dad can play
content for the kids right from a touchscreen dashboard safely
(23:01):
on a road trip maybe this summer or what have you.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah. Absolutely, So the Yodo app is compatible with both
Apple car Play and Android Auto for really seamless on
the go listening, So not just with Yodo Mini, but
once a card is unlocked, meaning once it's been played
on the physical player at least once it's automatically added
to the digital library, and from there it can be
(23:24):
streamed via CarPlay or Android Auto. And the display shows
a simple list of your child's cards and recently played content,
so there are simple playback controls.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And finally, how much does Yodo Player and the Mini
player cost and at what price do the cards start at?
Speaker 5 (23:41):
Yodo Mini retails for sixty nine ninety nine and Yodo
Player retails for ninety nine ninety nine, and the costs
for the Yodo cards start at four ninety nine and
go up from there anywhere from four ninety nine up
to fourteen ninety nine depending on the content duration. And
then we have value packs where you can get five card,
(24:04):
six card, eight cards and more for value bundles.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
And then finally the best website.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
Absolutely you can visit us on yotoplay dot com. So
that's yot O p l A y dot com.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
All right, yodoplay dot com. Sarah, it's been great chatting
with you. Congrats on the success of yodo to date
and I hope you have a great rest of your summer.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Thanks again, Thanks Mark, it's been great to be here.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Hey, don't forget. We have another interview lined up for you.
It's going to be with sand Disc for full transparency.
They are a partner of mine on tech it Out
and they've got this awesome new product just in time
for back to school called sand Disc Phone Drive USB C.
As the name suggests, it works with smartphones that have
USBC now iPhone for the past couple of years, as
(24:51):
well as Android devices that will help you back up
photos and videos and other content to free up storage
on your phone. And if you can read between the lines,
that means you don't have to pay for iCloud or
any other kind of monthly subscription service for cloud storage
because you can have it all on a keychain sized
USB drive love that idea, or transfer them to a
(25:12):
computer or external hard drive for safekeeping. So we're going
to learn all about that when we return. Our guest
will be Christina Garza. She's director of consumer Product Marketing
at sand Disk, so you're going to want to stay
tuned for that. I also mentioned earlier in the show,
I'm on social media. I love hearing from tech it
Out listeners. If you want to reach out to ask
me a tech question or you've got a suggestion for
(25:33):
upcoming guests or topic, I'll spell my name in a moment,
but I'm on all the major social media platforms like x, Facebook, Instagram, Threads,
Blue Sky, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. It's Mark Saltzman, m
A R C SA L t Z M an. Also
let me know where you're tuning into the show from.
(25:55):
I always get a kick out of hearing what city
or town you're in, and also how you're tuning in
if you're on your favorite local talk radio station or
if you subscribe to the podcast, and what platform you
like the best, whether it's iHeartRadio or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon,
Audible and so on. All right, when we return on
teck it out sand Disk about a new pinky sized
(26:17):
drive for your phone stick with us, We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Back breaking down GeekSpeak into street speak.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Check it out holosted by Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Welcome, back everyone you're listening to check it out. One
of my favorite tech companies, sand Disk, has just launched
a new mobile storage solution aptly named sand Disc Phone
Drive with USB C. To find out what it can do,
who it's for, and how it works, we're joined on
the line by Christina Garza, director of Consumer Product Marketing
at sand Disk. Welcome back to the show, Christina, good
(26:58):
to chat with you again.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
Hi Mark, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Great before we talked about this new drive. Let's just
take a step back and tell us a bit about
sand Disc. The company is now separate from Western Digital.
Is that right it's parent company at one point, Yes.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
That's correct.
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Sand Disc has been the pioneer in flash memory, and
for almost forty years now, we've been trusted by professional photographers,
professional video makers, business pros, and everyday consumers alike. We
deliver a wide range of innovative, future ready storage solutions
for really every use case you can imagine across consumer
(27:35):
storage needs. Our solutions are focused on delivering thoughtful and
powerful products so that you can get your tasks done,
whether that be daily or monthly, or if you're a professional,
using it every single minute of your day. And we're
really focused on delivering leading combination of speed, capacity and
data protection to make sure you get the very best
(27:57):
solution for your storage needs.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
So i'd reliability that is so important.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
I've reviewed lots of flash storage solutions over the years,
and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. And when it's
your data, you can't mess around. So you've kind of
already answered this. Christina was going to ask you why
sand Disc when there's so many other companies out there,
whether it's your solid state drives or SSDs, your USB
drives or thumb drives, so some people call them micro
SD cards. Why sand Disc?
Speaker 6 (28:23):
Yeah, we really.
Speaker 8 (28:24):
Try and have focused on learning what consumers need so
that we can respond with the right product to fit
those needs. You know, our mission here at sand Disc
is to enable people to create experience and really preserve
more amazing things that really matter to them from a
data perspective and a digital content perspective, whether that's the
(28:45):
right memory card for the camera you use, or a
really robust USB portfolio with a variety of flash drives
that you can choose what's right for you, all the
way through a range of portable SSDs for every kind
of use. Case, you know, and we even deliver fun
collaborations like with Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and other industry leaders
within the consumer space because we really want to make
(29:07):
sure consumers are getting what's right for them and what
makes them feel good at.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
The end of the day.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Even the Smurfs.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
I saw a video on YouTube, and I know the
Nintendo flashcards for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch too,
that's great. And yeah, some of your solutions for inside
the console like PS five or Xbox, so all great
stuff all around. So without further ado, let's now hear
about the new sand Disk phone Drive with USBC. What's
it all about.
Speaker 8 (29:32):
Yeah, we're so excited about this because when I look
back at just a few years ago technology and storage tools,
they always felt like they were four pros or for
tech gurus, or required a little bit more technical know how.
And what we're so excited about with these new SanDisk
phone Drive with USBC is that it's for everyone and
we've really focused on making it simple, easy for anyone
(29:56):
to use.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
That concept of it.
Speaker 8 (29:58):
Just works, you know, with the addition of USBC ports
on iPhones and Android phones, I think it's been around
a little bit longer on Android phones, but the addition
on iPhones has really opened up a whole new world.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
For every phone owner out there.
Speaker 8 (30:13):
Cameras are capturing incredible photos and video, higher resolution four
K video, and all of this means larger file sizes,
and you fill up your phone so quickly with everything.
You want to capture every single moment, even the bad ones,
and you don't want to spend too much time deleting,
but you do have this constant worry of what if
my phone fills up? Do I have to spend more
(30:35):
on iCloud? Is that the only way? And what really
trying to deliver with this product is another way to
complement what you may do today, but give you another
way of preserving your content on your phone, whether it
be backing up your photos and videos. You can even
back up your contacts because you just never know what's
going to happen, and peace of mind really goes a
(30:57):
long way, especially with that device you carry with you
everywhere every day.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
So you've touched on two interesting trends here. One is
that Apple is smart and they know that you're going
to run out of storage, so you think you have
to pay for more iCloud storage per month to hold
all those photos and videos as a backup solution. It's
smart because when you buy an iPhone, it's limited in
how much local storage there is and.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
You can't expand it.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
And Android has followed suit too with the inability to
add more storage with a micro SD card.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
But you've figured out a solution there, which we're going
to get to.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
And then the second trend is that I think when
people think of USB drives and all that.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
They think of computers.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
But we're increasingly becoming a mobile society where a lot
of the computing that we're doing is on our phone
or maybe a tablet, and not just a laptop or desktop.
Maybe for the work world, sure, but we're increasingly using
our mobile devices, and so you've also changed with the times.
Your USB solution, as the name suggests, USB C fits
(31:55):
all modern iPhones and Android devices. So can you walk
us through so how it works. It looks like a
thumb drive, but it snaps into the bottom of your
smartphone exactly.
Speaker 8 (32:06):
It looks like a thumb drive, same concept as flash drive,
which is why we call it phone drive. To be
honest with you, is that we don't want to imply
that it's really different than how people are used to
using flash drives with their computer. But as you said,
your phone has become your computer in many cases, and
so now with a sand disk phone drive, it's small,
it's portable, It has a key ring holder so you
(32:27):
can snap it onto your keychain. It's got a really
great slider so that you can protect the connector if
you're not using it, you can just slide it away
so that it stays intact. So it's really simple to
take with you everywhere. But whether you're trying to move
content or you're trying to back up content, we're doing
it all through the sand Disk Memory Zone app. That's
truly the backbone of this product. We build hardware, We've
(32:49):
been famous for our hardware, and now our software is
really coming into play to deliver that incredible experience.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
That again is very simple.
Speaker 8 (32:58):
You plug it into your phone, pops open the sand
disk gap and it automatically will back up if that's
what you set up.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Love it more with Christina Garza from sand Disc when
we return on teck it out, stay with us.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
to check it out whenever you want.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
We are chatting with Christina Garza, director of consumer product
Marketing at sand Disk. We're learning all about the apptly
named sand disc phone drive with USB C no more
lightning connectors at the bottom of the iPhone. It's all
one standard Universal port USBC, so this drive works with
all modern smartphones. And let's say you do want to
transfer a bunch of photos or videos following a vacation
(33:51):
onto your laptop. You can then unplug the drive and
then also plug it into a USB sport on the
side of your laptop.
Speaker 8 (33:59):
Yes, you can simply unplug from your phone, plug into
the USBC port on your computer, access it like a
normal drive and move content however you need to.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
And it does work with tablets too, right like iPads
and Android tablets.
Speaker 8 (34:14):
It will and I know on iPad it'll recognize it
as a normal external drive.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
You can use the Sandis Memory Zone app on a.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
Tablet today, but it will only show up in mobile mode.
We're working through updates for better tablet experience. Current state
is it'll show up on mobile mode, but if you
don't want to use the app on a tablet, it'll
show up as an external drive really easily.
Speaker 6 (34:36):
In your files.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Would you say this drive is primarily for content creators,
those who are shooting video, maybe they're podcasters or streamers
or you know TikTokers that kind of thing, or really
for anyone who wants to back up. And again it's
not just media like photos and videos, but as you said,
your contacts as well.
Speaker 8 (34:52):
It's a truly made for everyone's solution. Whether you're taking
a lot of family photos of your children or a
family reunion, or if you are a content creator, this
is a perfect tool so that you can easily back
up all your content, move it to your laptop to
do editing upload from there.
Speaker 6 (35:12):
It's a tool for everyone.
Speaker 8 (35:13):
Content creators definitely are the core content generators and so
there's a capacity need. This product will really enable them
to do quick backup. But really this is finally a
tool for everyone who has an iPhone or an Android
with Type C to do what they need to do
with their phone to preserve their content, to do backups,
to move files without the hassle of only having the
(35:36):
cloud as an option.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
So you first download the app, you simply do a
search for the word sand disk. Then you insert the
drive and it'll scan your phone for your photos with the.
Speaker 6 (35:45):
Sand Disc Memory Zone app.
Speaker 8 (35:46):
Once it's downloaded, you plug in the drive, it'll launch
the app and it'll walk you through setup. You can
name your drive, it'll show you the name of your phone.
It'll show you how much capacity you have remaining on
your phone, and then you can walk through a setup
to select whether you want automatic backup turned on, and
in that case it'll run. If you choose yes, it'll
(36:08):
run your first backup. It'll give you an indicator bar
that says how much more time you have left in
your backup, how many images, videos, and files it's actually
backing up. And once that's set up from an auto
backup perspective, from that point forward, every time you plug
the drive in, it'll auto launch the app and begin
the auto backup for anything that's new. If you don't
(36:29):
want auto backup, no problem, leave that toggle to the left,
and then you can manually move content. You can manually
go and select files, photos, videos that you'd like to move,
either copy them from your phone to the drive, or
literally move them from the phone to the drive to
free up more space. So there's a lot of different
ways that you can manage your content through this easy
(36:52):
to use app.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, I was going to ask you if it does
that complete backup every time, but it only looks for
what's new or changed.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Probably that's right.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Yeah, that's awesome, And this would be I think a
good back to school gift for a student heading back
to the classroom.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Absolutely, who better to back up their phone than students
that are out capturing a ton of content every day
with their friends.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
It's a very cool tool for your kids to.
Speaker 8 (37:17):
Have on their backpack or on their keychain for back
to school.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Great.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
It's called the sand disk Memory Zone app to free download.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
How much does the drive itself start at?
Speaker 2 (37:27):
And I guess there are different capacities you can choose
from there are.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
We start with the sixty four gig capacity and we
go up to one terabyte of capacity, So it's incredible.
That's a full backup of a one terabyte phone. So
you can double your capacity with a one terabyte drive
for a one time fee of one hundred and forty
five dollars in ninety nine cents. The price starts with
the sixty four gig at thirty six ninety nine, so
(37:51):
it ranges from thirty six ninety nine up to one
forty five ninety nine with the one terabyte it starts
with sixty four goes up to one hundred and twenty
eight fifty six, five twelve and one terabyte offering, so
really want to give people a choice, and also we
offer it in multiple colors so that it fits your
style as well.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
SanDisk dot com has more, or you can look for
the sand disk phone drive with USBC, your favorite tech retailer, Christina.
Great to chat with you as always. Thank you so
much for carving up some time to talk.
Speaker 6 (38:23):
Thank you, Mark, I really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Having me, and thank you again to sand Disk for
being such an awesome partner on tech it Out as
well as Visa. There could be no half measures when
it comes to protecting your financial information, so be sure
to check out Visa dot com slash security for some
great shopping tips and keeping your information safe. And that
includes for businesses too who also don't want to be
(38:48):
a victim of fraud either. Of course. All right, thank
you so much for tuning into tech it Out everyone.
Hope you enjoyed the program and I look forward to
catching up with you next weekend for another brand new
episode of Tack it Out from Cologne, Germany, looking forward
to it be well shout for now
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