January 22, 2025 • 23 mins
On this episode, Paul recaps his incredible experience at CES 2025, including moderating a panel with top industry leaders and a VIP dinner with Verizon and Hackster. And get ready for a special treat: Verizon's Gadget Guy, George, joins Paul for an exclusive deep dive into the awesome Gizmo Smartwatch 3! You don't want to miss this breakdown of the latest wearable tech.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
In this world of technology, things are ever changing, rearranging.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You need someone to help you out. I know someone
who can.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Come and take a journey with me.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
As we go through the land of technology.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You'll never be alone.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
You'll be with Paul.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm a dance laying in the text Zone.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Take a little trip with me and hopefully you can
see how the hood, suburbs and mainStreet are all connected
no respect can I mean we network across the globe
because it's a global marketing in case you didn't know,
and since we all about information flow, let me be
the first one that willcome you to Tech Zone with
(01:01):
Paul Armadae Slane. Let's talk tech because technology changing the game.
It's so good in the hood, it's everywhere. Now let's
get into the show because we LaVonne. Yeah, Hello, and
welcome to the Tech Zone.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
What is up? It is me Paul Alma Dan Slane.
I am your hostess with the mostest tech fans. Are
you ready for an action packed tech Zone? Man? I
am pumped. I'm gonna share with you some updates from
CES twenty twenty five. It was a wild ride. If
(01:35):
you've been following me on social media, you know exactly
how wild that ride was. Speaking of excitement, get ready
to me George. He's Verizon's gadget guy. He'll be joining
me first to break down the awesome gizmo smart Watch three.
Trust me, you do not want to miss his deep
(01:56):
dive into the latest wearable tech. And speaking of an
amazing journey. After my chat with George, stick around because
I'm going to be joined by doctor Tony Honk. He
is the founder and CEO of Strut their revolutionizing personal
(02:18):
mobility with their incredible new device, the strut Evy one,
which I got a sneak peek at Yes twenty twenty five.
This thing is a game changer, folks, combining advance and sensing,
autonomous robotics, and intelligent design. It's like something really out
(02:40):
of the future. I mean doctor Charles Xavier esque X
Men style, and let me tell you CS, this year
was an absolute mind blowing experience. It wasn't just about
the gadgets, even though there were plenty of those. I
(03:02):
had an incredible opportunity to moderate a panel on user
generated design and get this, folks. I was joined by
some serious industry heavyweights like Alison Stransky, vice president of
Marketing at Samsung America, Rebecca Rosenberg, CS of Robica Vision
(03:26):
Technologies and Rob Moser, chief Design Officer at Whirlpool Corporation.
And Andrew Pendleton, Senior Design Director of Design Systems at Verizon. Yeah,
I messed that up, but you know what I mean?
Do you believe that lineup? We had an amazing discussion
(03:48):
on how users are shaping the future of technology, and
the fund didn't stop there. I was also fortunate enough
to be invited to two V dinners, one by a
friends at Verizon and two are friends over at Hackster.
So the connection, the conversation ces was a world wind
(04:14):
of innovation and inspiration. Now, speaking of connections, and make
sure you're connected with me too. You can catch me
all the latest news about me, my adventures on social
media at Paul Amadea's Lane that's on all social media
platforms LinkedIn why because I am a businessman, Because I'm
(04:38):
all about my business man. Don't forget to check out
my website, Paul Amadea's lane dot com. That's Paulamade's lane
dot com. That's your one stop shop to everything mean,
all the wild things that I'm doing, all the adventures.
You can catch up and be a part of Buckle
(05:01):
up tech enthusiasts because this episode of the Tech Zone
is going to be epic. So stay tuned and as always,
thanks for watching and supporting our show. All right, without
any further ado, let's jump right in. Please welcome to
(05:21):
the Tech Zone Verizon's gadget guy himself, George. You're going
to enjoy this amazing conversation. I am joined by my
very special guest, you know him, I know him. He's
an amazing guy, great guy to chat with, the great
George Coronius from Verizon. George, Verizon tech Guy. What's going on, buddy?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Thank you?
Speaker 5 (05:47):
Thank you so much Paul for having me on. Great
is a strong word, but I do appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Well, you know, George, you are man. I mean, during
the pandemic, he kept us all up to date on
the gadgets from Verizon. The George talks were amazing, and
then you having a little spots with your son and everything.
It was pretty awesome. So, you know, George, you you
you are really good at what you do and.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
A blessing. Thank you so much, Paul. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And you know I talked about this before I bought
you on about how how we got a chance to
see each other in s CES in Vegas. So before
we talk about, you know, some of the great innovation
that that was shown there by you and the Verizon team,
what were some of your takeaways from this year's ES
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I love CES.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
A lot of people kind of kind of put CS
down sometimes cause it's huge.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
It's massive.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
It's it's it's it takes up the whole entire strip.
If you've ever been there, you know, in Vegas, it's
it's not just at the Convention Center, it's also at
like the Aria, and it's also at Caesar's, and it's
at the Venetian.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
It's crazy.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
So for me, I understand why some people are are
put off by it, but I just love seeing so much,
so many new products. For me, it's it's it's really
just like getting to encapsulate everything that's coming next year,
see stuff that we might probably sell, and just get
like a pulse of like what is hot on people's mind.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Now. I totally get that, George. And one thing I
really appreciate about CES is that all of us get
a chance to see each other in person. You know,
there's some events where we're all at we get a
chance to see each other and say hello. But CES
is kind of like that family reunion that we get
to have every year where all of us can come
together talk about tech and really celebrate great innovation and
(07:29):
where we're at in the stream of time where technology
is everywhere, with AI and all the different gadgets out there, Georgia,
it's really an amazing time to be living when it
comes to tech.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
I agree, I agree, And you know, seeing what's going
on with AI, seeing what's going on with I like cars.
I like going to see what new car products are there.
I'm a big fan of electric cars, so I like
seeing what's coming down the pike, a whole area just
for cars.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You can't really even get to it.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
But robotics, absolutely, that's what's going on there. We were
last year as a good chunk of time, me and
my the head of our accessories, looking for like cool
robots that we could potentially sell down the line. So again,
I'm always looking for the latest and greatest new technology
as well as old stuff. I am a I collect records.
I'm a big turntable fanatics, so I love seeing what
kind of new technology. There isn't turntables, pinball machines. There's
(08:17):
a huge like Stern has a huge presentation there. And
you know also our friends like Boots, like Samsung TCL.
There's always fun to visit too.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So George, I learned something about you. You love charity tables,
So oh yeah, we've grown up. Did you kind of
scratch on the technic?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, not at all. I grew up.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I grew up pretty poor and I couldn't afford CD
CDs were like eighteen ninety nine at the time, and
I just can't afford them. And I was a big
fan of like old like old eighties nineties punk rock,
so I had to buy records out of necessity, and
records were like seven ninety nine, eight ninety nine pop.
They were in cheaper tapes for like ten ninety nine.
So I found uh at my church there was like
(08:57):
an old like the Trolla type, the kind of like
full down into a suitcase. They were actually showing them off.
I think Crosley had them at CEES, like modern versions
of them. But I started buying records out of just
like that was the affordable thing, and those you could
copy onto cassette tapes if you wanted to. And I
know I'm dating myself. This was like ninety three, ninety four,
ninety five, but that I collect records and I never stopped.
(09:20):
Now I have a much fancier record player, but still
collect records.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Now, George, when you did have your records growing up,
did you have a scratch and everything?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
No, because I knew that that would destroy the records. No,
I didn't have it. I didn't have a techniques.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
Even like when I got a little older, I think
I got a project turntable prog ect the brand, and
that's not I always knew that those weren't turntables scratched.
And I'm also a huge fan of nineties hip hop,
and I always knew that you needed a technique. Something
that didn't had, like was you know the direct drive
that could go backwards and forwards or you destroy your
(09:55):
records and I love my records too much.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah, that's true, that's true. I've I've damaged a lot
of records trying to scratch when I was growing up.
But I definitely get that. And George, one thing I
like about about Verizon every year you all do have
a presence there at the ES and you got to
show up some really great innovation. You educate us on
some of the great things that are happening, and during
(10:20):
a media event, you know, you introduced us to an
amazing piece of innovation. Why don't you talk about that?
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Assume you're talking about the Gizmo watch that is that
is something that's very near and dear to my heart.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
We at Verizon launched Gizmo Watch as like the Gizmo
Pal like eight nine.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Years ago when I was first starting out Verizon, we
launched the Gizmo series. At the time, I think it
was with LG but we've had a lot of other
partners over the years and we continue to innovate with
Gizmo Pal too, Gizmo Gadghit. We had a Gizmo Tablet series.
Like our Gizmo Kids line of products has been there
with us since again, the ten years I've been at
the right. Now we're at the latest model, which is
(11:02):
the Gizmo Watch three. We also have the gives Them
Watch three Adventure. But they are i believe the best
kids smart watches out there, and I'm not saying much
because I'm from Verizon. I use it with my kid,
but also Over the years, there have been a ton
of players in the kids smart watch space and they've
all come and gone, but the Gizmu Watch is still there.
The Verizon Gizmo series is still there. When people talk
(11:23):
about kids smart watches, they're now referring to them as
their Gizmo watch, regardless of which, like whose version it is.
So I feel like we've really like made the brand
name Gizmo mean something synonymous with kids smart watches, and
it's also a great innovation.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Nice and talk about, you know, George, in case someone
may be hearing about the gismom Watch for the first
time here on our show, and just, you know, explain
why was it created in the first place. Why Why
was the Gizmo Watch so important that our Gizmo line
was so important that Verizon wanted to take this on.
I mean, it's really just.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You know.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
We want to know where our kids are, but we
want to also give them freedom, and the Gizmo Watch
allows you to take that next step with your child.
Let's say they're six, seven, five years old and they
want to go outside and play with their friends, and
they want to live their life without you being a
helicopter parent, you can put the Gizmo Watch on them
and it allows you, in a very safe environment, to
be able to keep track of them, be able to
(12:21):
see where they're going and get notifications if they leave
areas they're supposed to be in. Be able to communicate
directly with people you chose. Like, the big thing is
safety here, both physical safety. We know where they are,
we know they're safe, we know they can get in
touch with us when they are, you know, if something
goes wrong, but also just safety and privacy, like no
one else can call your child up.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You can't.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
Your child can't call someone they're not supposed to. The
parent controls everything from a Gizmo Hub, which is an
app that's on their phone that allows them to choose
who is a safe person that they can communicate with,
who they can syntext with, who they can just have
any sort of relationship with through digital means. And that's
a great first gadget first advice. We call it training
(13:06):
wheels for smartphones, Like that's kind of what it is. It's,
you know, they're too young to have a phone yet,
but they're you know, at an age where they do
want some freedom, and that's where the gizmo line comes in.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Yeah, I really appreciate that. And well, what's man kind
of like that the customer feedback George that customers have
had given to Verizon with this gizmo line unanimously positive.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
I mean again, it's you know, I'm a spokesperson for
a Horizon, so it's like I'm kind of you know,
pay to say that, but it's true, Like I can't rarely,
if ever, have I got issues with like.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
A smart watch. I mean mostly it's just that they
lost them.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
And even then, you know, we can use the technology
to find out where they left them. They are beloved
by parents. Again, we've had situations where what we hear
most feedback from is how they like found, you know,
if they've had a situation, they were able to find
their child. Most recently in the Bronx, it was very
public on the news that a child was on a bus.
I guess they fell asleep on the bus and the
(14:01):
bus driver never found them in the back of the
bus and took them to the transport depot and they
were dropped off like there they were just singing the
back of the bus, and there's a little bit of
panic that the parents were able to find where the
child was using the Gizmo Watch and the Gizmo Hub
and they were able to get the kid out and
the kids find Today everything's fine, but we hear a
lot of stories like that where it was just you know,
(14:23):
a child isn't where they're supposed to be in their
parents were notified, they're able to find them, and it's
a great, great tool and again in a safe environment,
and it's just peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
And joy speaking to peace of mind. You know, when
you and I were growing up, you know the only
thing we had to worry about was a bullety trying
to beat up people in school or some high schools
trying to get on school grounds. You know, we were
in elementary school or in secondary school. But now our
children face a greater challenge when it comes to their safety,
and something like this, you know, I think it could
(14:55):
really be one of those game changers, you know, when
things happens so parents can go right away how their
children are doing, and children can learn their parents what's
going on. And sometimes school grounds are like okay, you
can't have phones here there and there. You know, talk
about if you can why that needs to change and
(15:18):
make sure that school allow, you know, their kids to
have these devices like the Gizmo smartphone and the smart
watches and all the Gizmo lines that can really help
insure safety.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I'm gonta speak specifically to these smart watches because I
think there are a lot of people that feelings opinions
on phones in schools, and I don't think I'm one
to really talk to that, even though I have my
own personal opinions. I feel like the Gizmo watch is
the teachers and school providers. They're afraid of kids just
sitting there playing around on their phone, texting and messing
(15:50):
around during school, and that's understandable. With the Gisma watch
that's taken out of the equation. There is a school
mode that allows the parent to stop them from playing
like the minimal games that are in there for texting
and reach out to people they shouldn't be, you know
at that time. Let's say it was sisters or siblings
or people who are a safe context. They can't play
with it during the day, but if there is an emergency,
(16:12):
there is an emergency contact that you can break through
to the child. If there is an issue, can use
the SOS service to reach out to the person deemed
the emergency person and reach out to them and then
you know, from there get connected to emergency services as needed.
So that is a great alternative to the whole conversation
of whether kids should have their phones in school during
(16:34):
school hours. And again it's a different conversation if we're
talking older than you know, say eleven or twelve, and
they might outgrow the Gizmo Watch and we have other
services there. But again, as far as the conversation of
safety in school, the Gizmo Watch solves that with again
the SOS feature on there.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
No, I'm glad, I'm glad we're having this conversation about that, George,
because it's something that that aren't you be cognizant of,
you know, And the fact that with the Gizmo smart Watch,
how you know, there's guardrails in there, you know, to
make sure kids are not aving find playing games during
during school time in school mode, and that really shows
a horizon really really considered everything when they created this, uh,
(17:18):
this pretty amazing uh innovation right here, George, anything else
about about the Gizmo smart Watch you wanted to share
with the with the audience out there.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Well, there's also fun features.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
It's not just like a like a watch that just
as you used there to keep keep an eye on
your kid or or just you know, text them needed.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
There's also some really cool innovation in there. The Kids
Watch three.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
That version has a video camera on it and you
can make sure calls to relatives about three minutes. My
kid loves doing it with Grandma. Grandma is a little
bit immobile and she can't go to like say, an
Ikea or Disneyland. Gabe, my child, Gabe will call her
up on video camera and just take her around like
Ikea and and and Disneyland and show her everything and
(18:00):
and she gets to be part of it. And he
loves doing That's one of the biggest reasons he has.
Poor Gramma gets called all the time. But that is
if you think about it, there's not that many smart
watches in America. I know there are options out there,
but in America, none of the major smart watches have
a camera feature. So I feel like the gizmo is
like the closest thing to like Star Trek you're gonna
(18:21):
get today, like the communicator.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
It's it's a lot.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
We don't realize how much technology goes into having a
video camera in a watch, and it is an incredible feature.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I love it, he loves it. Everyone seems to glow
about the camera.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
There's also games and stuff, and there's a voice change
around there. You can do robot voice. A lot of
kids love that as well, and it's just exciting. It's
not just a here, I'm gonna put this on my child,
and my child's gonna hate it because it's you know,
it's mom and dad watching me. It's not it's it's
it's truly a smart watch that could be tailored to
(18:55):
your child and things he loves to do. There's also
a Gizmo Watch three Adventure. There's a different edition, and
that one allows you have a more rugged device. It's
got a lip on the front to keep it a
little more safe, and that one also has magnetic charging.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
That one does not have the video camera.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
So for people who do not want a video camera,
understand some people have different thoughts on that. They can
picture purchase the gatst Watch three Adventure instead.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
That's pretty cool. I love it. Yours and grandmothers can
live vicariously through their grandkids. That's pretty awesome. But I
think sometimes, you know, we forget about just the benefits
of having something like this, especially for ones who are
part of the aging and adult population. One is a
part of the disabled community, how they're able to witness
(19:45):
things and view things that perhaps they wouldn't be able
to do because the limitations that they have as well.
That's pretty awesome, pretty awesome, Georgia.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
But I think I need to mention that we also,
if you know as your child ages, we also have
Horizon Family. It's a new service that we launched building
off of our old Smart Family service. Verizon Family right
now is a freemium version. In a premium version, the
free version allows you to do similar type things to
the Gizmo Watch, but with older children. So let's say
(20:16):
they're fourteen, fifteen, sixty and even older. I mean it
can go up there too. It allows you to be
able to watch them on their own phone, so you're
basically an app. You have one on your phone, and
then your child or your spouse or whoever you need.
Your elderly parent can have it on their phone and
it allows you to do many of the things that
you can do with Gizmo Watch, but again without a
(20:37):
device strapped to their risks. You can keep track of
where they are. They have an SOS feature in case
they feel in danger. Let's say you're my wife, were
going to go on a run and she didn't feel,
you know, something was not right. She could have me
as her SOS and I'd come get her or call
emergency services.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
There's also a lot of other features.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
In there, such as being able to review and see
some of your children text and phone calls.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
The premium version.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Adds more to that, like notifications and more car driving features,
and that is a big thing we're pushing right now,
is our holistic Verizon Family offering. So definitely check out
Verizon Family. You can download for free and test it out.
If you like some of the features on there, you
can even go to the more premium version. But it
is a fantastic app. And again it's very private, it's
(21:24):
very safe, and I love it too.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
I love that, George. Thank thank you so much for
you know, for sharing that, my friend. And before I
let you go, is anything else that Verizon is doing
right now that you love for us to keep our
eye on and really really be aware of.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
Well, just yeah, we got a lot of stuff from
the future I can't talk about, but you know, always.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
If you want to trial Verizon.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Let's say you're not a Verizon customer and you want
to give us a shot, I can't recommend more of
our free trial service. Go on to our website and
look up our free trial. You can on whatever whatever
carry you're on. You can basically sign up for three
days of free Verizon service and use it on your
e SIM and it works great. And if you're again,
if you're not a Verizon cusper, I think that's the
(22:11):
coolest thing you can do to give us a good
test drive and hopefully stick around.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
And I will tell you this, Verizon has the best
phone service I have ever had. And I've had all
the different carriers out there, and Verizon is It's truly
the best. And I'm not paid to say that. That's
just me me saying that. And George and George again,
you know, thank you so much for coming on the
show and look forward to catching up soon. And you
(22:39):
stay safe, my friend.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Thank you so much. Paul, you take care.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
That was an amazing chat I had with my good
friend George Verizon's gadget guy. And George, thank you so
much for sharing all the amazing things Verizon is doing
especially with the Gizmo smart Watch three. I can't wait
to see what you guys come up with next. You
know it's gonna be truly, truly awesome and amazing. All Right, everyone,
(23:10):
we're gonna take a quick break right here, so don't
go anywhere. When we get back, we'll be joined by
my second guest, doctor Tony Hank from Strutt to talk
about the future of personal mobility. So stay tuned, and
as they used to say on Saturday Morning cartoons, after
(23:32):
these messages, we'll be ride back. Stay tuned from our
Tech zone.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
In this world of technology, things ever changing, rearranging, you
need someone to help you out.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I know someone that can be alone.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You'll be with Paul.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
I'm a day Slane in the Tech Zone.
In this world of technology, things are ever changing, rearranging.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You need someone to help you out. I know someone
who can.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Come and take a journey with me.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
As we go through the land of technology.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You'll never be alone.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
You'll be with Paul.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm a dance laying in the text Zone.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Take a little trip with me and hopefully you can
see how the hood, suburbs and mainStreet are all connected
no respect can I mean we network across the globe
because it's a global marketing in case you didn't know,
and since we all about information flow, let me be
the first one that willcome you to Tech Zone with
(01:01):
Paul Armadae Slane. Let's talk tech because technology changing the game.
It's so good in the hood, it's everywhere. Now let's
get into the show because we LaVonne. Yeah, Hello, and
welcome to the Tech Zone.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
What is up? It is me Paul Alma Dan Slane.
I am your hostess with the mostest tech fans. Are
you ready for an action packed tech Zone? Man? I
am pumped. I'm gonna share with you some updates from
CES twenty twenty five. It was a wild ride. If
(01:35):
you've been following me on social media, you know exactly
how wild that ride was. Speaking of excitement, get ready
to me George. He's Verizon's gadget guy. He'll be joining
me first to break down the awesome gizmo smart Watch three.
Trust me, you do not want to miss his deep
(01:56):
dive into the latest wearable tech. And speaking of an
amazing journey. After my chat with George, stick around because
I'm going to be joined by doctor Tony Honk. He
is the founder and CEO of Strut their revolutionizing personal
(02:18):
mobility with their incredible new device, the strut Evy one,
which I got a sneak peek at Yes twenty twenty five.
This thing is a game changer, folks, combining advance and sensing,
autonomous robotics, and intelligent design. It's like something really out
(02:40):
of the future. I mean doctor Charles Xavier esque X
Men style, and let me tell you CS, this year
was an absolute mind blowing experience. It wasn't just about
the gadgets, even though there were plenty of those. I
(03:02):
had an incredible opportunity to moderate a panel on user
generated design and get this, folks. I was joined by
some serious industry heavyweights like Alison Stransky, vice president of
Marketing at Samsung America, Rebecca Rosenberg, CS of Robica Vision
(03:26):
Technologies and Rob Moser, chief Design Officer at Whirlpool Corporation.
And Andrew Pendleton, Senior Design Director of Design Systems at Verizon. Yeah,
I messed that up, but you know what I mean?
Do you believe that lineup? We had an amazing discussion
(03:48):
on how users are shaping the future of technology, and
the fund didn't stop there. I was also fortunate enough
to be invited to two V dinners, one by a
friends at Verizon and two are friends over at Hackster.
So the connection, the conversation ces was a world wind
(04:14):
of innovation and inspiration. Now, speaking of connections, and make
sure you're connected with me too. You can catch me
all the latest news about me, my adventures on social
media at Paul Amadea's Lane that's on all social media
platforms LinkedIn why because I am a businessman, Because I'm
(04:38):
all about my business man. Don't forget to check out
my website, Paul Amadea's lane dot com. That's Paulamade's lane
dot com. That's your one stop shop to everything mean,
all the wild things that I'm doing, all the adventures.
You can catch up and be a part of Buckle
(05:01):
up tech enthusiasts because this episode of the Tech Zone
is going to be epic. So stay tuned and as always,
thanks for watching and supporting our show. All right, without
any further ado, let's jump right in. Please welcome to
(05:21):
the Tech Zone Verizon's gadget guy himself, George. You're going
to enjoy this amazing conversation. I am joined by my
very special guest, you know him, I know him. He's
an amazing guy, great guy to chat with, the great
George Coronius from Verizon. George, Verizon tech Guy. What's going on, buddy?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Thank you?
Speaker 5 (05:47):
Thank you so much Paul for having me on. Great
is a strong word, but I do appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Well, you know, George, you are man. I mean, during
the pandemic, he kept us all up to date on
the gadgets from Verizon. The George talks were amazing, and
then you having a little spots with your son and everything.
It was pretty awesome. So, you know, George, you you
you are really good at what you do and.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
A blessing. Thank you so much, Paul. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And you know I talked about this before I bought
you on about how how we got a chance to
see each other in s CES in Vegas. So before
we talk about, you know, some of the great innovation
that that was shown there by you and the Verizon team,
what were some of your takeaways from this year's ES
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I love CES.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
A lot of people kind of kind of put CS
down sometimes cause it's huge.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
It's massive.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
It's it's it's it takes up the whole entire strip.
If you've ever been there, you know, in Vegas, it's
it's not just at the Convention Center, it's also at
like the Aria, and it's also at Caesar's, and it's
at the Venetian.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
It's crazy.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
So for me, I understand why some people are are
put off by it, but I just love seeing so much,
so many new products. For me, it's it's it's really
just like getting to encapsulate everything that's coming next year,
see stuff that we might probably sell, and just get
like a pulse of like what is hot on people's mind.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Now. I totally get that, George. And one thing I
really appreciate about CES is that all of us get
a chance to see each other in person. You know,
there's some events where we're all at we get a
chance to see each other and say hello. But CES
is kind of like that family reunion that we get
to have every year where all of us can come
together talk about tech and really celebrate great innovation and
(07:29):
where we're at in the stream of time where technology
is everywhere, with AI and all the different gadgets out there, Georgia,
it's really an amazing time to be living when it
comes to tech.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
I agree, I agree, And you know, seeing what's going
on with AI, seeing what's going on with I like cars.
I like going to see what new car products are there.
I'm a big fan of electric cars, so I like
seeing what's coming down the pike, a whole area just
for cars.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You can't really even get to it.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
But robotics, absolutely, that's what's going on there. We were
last year as a good chunk of time, me and
my the head of our accessories, looking for like cool
robots that we could potentially sell down the line. So again,
I'm always looking for the latest and greatest new technology
as well as old stuff. I am a I collect records.
I'm a big turntable fanatics, so I love seeing what
kind of new technology. There isn't turntables, pinball machines. There's
(08:17):
a huge like Stern has a huge presentation there. And
you know also our friends like Boots, like Samsung TCL.
There's always fun to visit too.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So George, I learned something about you. You love charity tables,
So oh yeah, we've grown up. Did you kind of
scratch on the technic?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, not at all. I grew up.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I grew up pretty poor and I couldn't afford CD
CDs were like eighteen ninety nine at the time, and
I just can't afford them. And I was a big
fan of like old like old eighties nineties punk rock,
so I had to buy records out of necessity, and
records were like seven ninety nine, eight ninety nine pop.
They were in cheaper tapes for like ten ninety nine.
So I found uh at my church there was like
(08:57):
an old like the Trolla type, the kind of like
full down into a suitcase. They were actually showing them off.
I think Crosley had them at CEES, like modern versions
of them. But I started buying records out of just
like that was the affordable thing, and those you could
copy onto cassette tapes if you wanted to. And I
know I'm dating myself. This was like ninety three, ninety four,
ninety five, but that I collect records and I never stopped.
(09:20):
Now I have a much fancier record player, but still
collect records.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Now, George, when you did have your records growing up,
did you have a scratch and everything?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
No, because I knew that that would destroy the records. No,
I didn't have it. I didn't have a techniques.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
Even like when I got a little older, I think
I got a project turntable prog ect the brand, and
that's not I always knew that those weren't turntables scratched.
And I'm also a huge fan of nineties hip hop,
and I always knew that you needed a technique. Something
that didn't had, like was you know the direct drive
that could go backwards and forwards or you destroy your
(09:55):
records and I love my records too much.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah, that's true, that's true. I've I've damaged a lot
of records trying to scratch when I was growing up.
But I definitely get that. And George, one thing I
like about about Verizon every year you all do have
a presence there at the ES and you got to
show up some really great innovation. You educate us on
some of the great things that are happening, and during
(10:20):
a media event, you know, you introduced us to an
amazing piece of innovation. Why don't you talk about that?
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Assume you're talking about the Gizmo watch that is that
is something that's very near and dear to my heart.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
We at Verizon launched Gizmo Watch as like the Gizmo
Pal like eight nine.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Years ago when I was first starting out Verizon, we
launched the Gizmo series. At the time, I think it
was with LG but we've had a lot of other
partners over the years and we continue to innovate with
Gizmo Pal too, Gizmo Gadghit. We had a Gizmo Tablet series.
Like our Gizmo Kids line of products has been there
with us since again, the ten years I've been at
the right. Now we're at the latest model, which is
(11:02):
the Gizmo Watch three. We also have the gives Them
Watch three Adventure. But they are i believe the best
kids smart watches out there, and I'm not saying much
because I'm from Verizon. I use it with my kid,
but also Over the years, there have been a ton
of players in the kids smart watch space and they've
all come and gone, but the Gizmu Watch is still there.
The Verizon Gizmo series is still there. When people talk
(11:23):
about kids smart watches, they're now referring to them as
their Gizmo watch, regardless of which, like whose version it is.
So I feel like we've really like made the brand
name Gizmo mean something synonymous with kids smart watches, and
it's also a great innovation.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Nice and talk about, you know, George, in case someone
may be hearing about the gismom Watch for the first
time here on our show, and just, you know, explain
why was it created in the first place. Why Why
was the Gizmo Watch so important that our Gizmo line
was so important that Verizon wanted to take this on.
I mean, it's really just.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You know.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
We want to know where our kids are, but we
want to also give them freedom, and the Gizmo Watch
allows you to take that next step with your child.
Let's say they're six, seven, five years old and they
want to go outside and play with their friends, and
they want to live their life without you being a
helicopter parent, you can put the Gizmo Watch on them
and it allows you, in a very safe environment, to
be able to keep track of them, be able to
(12:21):
see where they're going and get notifications if they leave
areas they're supposed to be in. Be able to communicate
directly with people you chose. Like, the big thing is
safety here, both physical safety. We know where they are,
we know they're safe, we know they can get in
touch with us when they are, you know, if something
goes wrong, but also just safety and privacy, like no
one else can call your child up.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You can't.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
Your child can't call someone they're not supposed to. The
parent controls everything from a Gizmo Hub, which is an
app that's on their phone that allows them to choose
who is a safe person that they can communicate with,
who they can syntext with, who they can just have
any sort of relationship with through digital means. And that's
a great first gadget first advice. We call it training
(13:06):
wheels for smartphones, Like that's kind of what it is. It's,
you know, they're too young to have a phone yet,
but they're you know, at an age where they do
want some freedom, and that's where the gizmo line comes in.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Yeah, I really appreciate that. And well, what's man kind
of like that the customer feedback George that customers have
had given to Verizon with this gizmo line unanimously positive.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
I mean again, it's you know, I'm a spokesperson for
a Horizon, so it's like I'm kind of you know,
pay to say that, but it's true, Like I can't rarely,
if ever, have I got issues with like.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
A smart watch. I mean mostly it's just that they
lost them.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
And even then, you know, we can use the technology
to find out where they left them. They are beloved
by parents. Again, we've had situations where what we hear
most feedback from is how they like found, you know,
if they've had a situation, they were able to find
their child. Most recently in the Bronx, it was very
public on the news that a child was on a bus.
I guess they fell asleep on the bus and the
(14:01):
bus driver never found them in the back of the
bus and took them to the transport depot and they
were dropped off like there they were just singing the
back of the bus, and there's a little bit of
panic that the parents were able to find where the
child was using the Gizmo Watch and the Gizmo Hub
and they were able to get the kid out and
the kids find Today everything's fine, but we hear a
lot of stories like that where it was just you know,
(14:23):
a child isn't where they're supposed to be in their
parents were notified, they're able to find them, and it's
a great, great tool and again in a safe environment,
and it's just peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
And joy speaking to peace of mind. You know, when
you and I were growing up, you know the only
thing we had to worry about was a bullety trying
to beat up people in school or some high schools
trying to get on school grounds. You know, we were
in elementary school or in secondary school. But now our
children face a greater challenge when it comes to their safety,
and something like this, you know, I think it could
(14:55):
really be one of those game changers, you know, when
things happens so parents can go right away how their
children are doing, and children can learn their parents what's
going on. And sometimes school grounds are like okay, you
can't have phones here there and there. You know, talk
about if you can why that needs to change and
(15:18):
make sure that school allow, you know, their kids to
have these devices like the Gizmo smartphone and the smart
watches and all the Gizmo lines that can really help
insure safety.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I'm gonta speak specifically to these smart watches because I
think there are a lot of people that feelings opinions
on phones in schools, and I don't think I'm one
to really talk to that, even though I have my
own personal opinions. I feel like the Gizmo watch is
the teachers and school providers. They're afraid of kids just
sitting there playing around on their phone, texting and messing
(15:50):
around during school, and that's understandable. With the Gisma watch
that's taken out of the equation. There is a school
mode that allows the parent to stop them from playing
like the minimal games that are in there for texting
and reach out to people they shouldn't be, you know
at that time. Let's say it was sisters or siblings
or people who are a safe context. They can't play
with it during the day, but if there is an emergency,
(16:12):
there is an emergency contact that you can break through
to the child. If there is an issue, can use
the SOS service to reach out to the person deemed
the emergency person and reach out to them and then
you know, from there get connected to emergency services as needed.
So that is a great alternative to the whole conversation
of whether kids should have their phones in school during
(16:34):
school hours. And again it's a different conversation if we're
talking older than you know, say eleven or twelve, and
they might outgrow the Gizmo Watch and we have other
services there. But again, as far as the conversation of
safety in school, the Gizmo Watch solves that with again
the SOS feature on there.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
No, I'm glad, I'm glad we're having this conversation about that, George,
because it's something that that aren't you be cognizant of,
you know, And the fact that with the Gizmo smart Watch,
how you know, there's guardrails in there, you know, to
make sure kids are not aving find playing games during
during school time in school mode, and that really shows
a horizon really really considered everything when they created this, uh,
(17:18):
this pretty amazing uh innovation right here, George, anything else
about about the Gizmo smart Watch you wanted to share
with the with the audience out there.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Well, there's also fun features.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
It's not just like a like a watch that just
as you used there to keep keep an eye on
your kid or or just you know, text them needed.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
There's also some really cool innovation in there. The Kids
Watch three.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
That version has a video camera on it and you
can make sure calls to relatives about three minutes. My
kid loves doing it with Grandma. Grandma is a little
bit immobile and she can't go to like say, an
Ikea or Disneyland. Gabe, my child, Gabe will call her
up on video camera and just take her around like
Ikea and and and Disneyland and show her everything and
(18:00):
and she gets to be part of it. And he
loves doing That's one of the biggest reasons he has.
Poor Gramma gets called all the time. But that is
if you think about it, there's not that many smart
watches in America. I know there are options out there,
but in America, none of the major smart watches have
a camera feature. So I feel like the gizmo is
like the closest thing to like Star Trek you're gonna
(18:21):
get today, like the communicator.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
It's it's a lot.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
We don't realize how much technology goes into having a
video camera in a watch, and it is an incredible feature.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I love it, he loves it. Everyone seems to glow
about the camera.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
There's also games and stuff, and there's a voice change
around there. You can do robot voice. A lot of
kids love that as well, and it's just exciting. It's
not just a here, I'm gonna put this on my child,
and my child's gonna hate it because it's you know,
it's mom and dad watching me. It's not it's it's
it's truly a smart watch that could be tailored to
(18:55):
your child and things he loves to do. There's also
a Gizmo Watch three Adventure. There's a different edition, and
that one allows you have a more rugged device. It's
got a lip on the front to keep it a
little more safe, and that one also has magnetic charging.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
That one does not have the video camera.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
So for people who do not want a video camera,
understand some people have different thoughts on that. They can
picture purchase the gatst Watch three Adventure instead.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
That's pretty cool. I love it. Yours and grandmothers can
live vicariously through their grandkids. That's pretty awesome. But I
think sometimes, you know, we forget about just the benefits
of having something like this, especially for ones who are
part of the aging and adult population. One is a
part of the disabled community, how they're able to witness
(19:45):
things and view things that perhaps they wouldn't be able
to do because the limitations that they have as well.
That's pretty awesome, pretty awesome, Georgia.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
But I think I need to mention that we also,
if you know as your child ages, we also have
Horizon Family. It's a new service that we launched building
off of our old Smart Family service. Verizon Family right
now is a freemium version. In a premium version, the
free version allows you to do similar type things to
the Gizmo Watch, but with older children. So let's say
(20:16):
they're fourteen, fifteen, sixty and even older. I mean it
can go up there too. It allows you to be
able to watch them on their own phone, so you're
basically an app. You have one on your phone, and
then your child or your spouse or whoever you need.
Your elderly parent can have it on their phone and
it allows you to do many of the things that
you can do with Gizmo Watch, but again without a
(20:37):
device strapped to their risks. You can keep track of
where they are. They have an SOS feature in case
they feel in danger. Let's say you're my wife, were
going to go on a run and she didn't feel,
you know, something was not right. She could have me
as her SOS and I'd come get her or call
emergency services.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
There's also a lot of other features.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
In there, such as being able to review and see
some of your children text and phone calls.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
The premium version.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Adds more to that, like notifications and more car driving features,
and that is a big thing we're pushing right now,
is our holistic Verizon Family offering. So definitely check out
Verizon Family. You can download for free and test it out.
If you like some of the features on there, you
can even go to the more premium version. But it
is a fantastic app. And again it's very private, it's
(21:24):
very safe, and I love it too.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
I love that, George. Thank thank you so much for
you know, for sharing that, my friend. And before I
let you go, is anything else that Verizon is doing
right now that you love for us to keep our
eye on and really really be aware of.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
Well, just yeah, we got a lot of stuff from
the future I can't talk about, but you know, always.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
If you want to trial Verizon.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Let's say you're not a Verizon customer and you want
to give us a shot, I can't recommend more of
our free trial service. Go on to our website and
look up our free trial. You can on whatever whatever
carry you're on. You can basically sign up for three
days of free Verizon service and use it on your
e SIM and it works great. And if you're again,
if you're not a Verizon cusper, I think that's the
(22:11):
coolest thing you can do to give us a good
test drive and hopefully stick around.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
And I will tell you this, Verizon has the best
phone service I have ever had. And I've had all
the different carriers out there, and Verizon is It's truly
the best. And I'm not paid to say that. That's
just me me saying that. And George and George again,
you know, thank you so much for coming on the
show and look forward to catching up soon. And you
(22:39):
stay safe, my friend.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Thank you so much. Paul, you take care.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
That was an amazing chat I had with my good
friend George Verizon's gadget guy. And George, thank you so
much for sharing all the amazing things Verizon is doing
especially with the Gizmo smart Watch three. I can't wait
to see what you guys come up with next. You
know it's gonna be truly, truly awesome and amazing. All Right, everyone,
(23:10):
we're gonna take a quick break right here, so don't
go anywhere. When we get back, we'll be joined by
my second guest, doctor Tony Hank from Strutt to talk
about the future of personal mobility. So stay tuned, and
as they used to say on Saturday Morning cartoons, after
(23:32):
these messages, we'll be ride back. Stay tuned from our
Tech zone.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
In this world of technology, things ever changing, rearranging, you
need someone to help you out.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I know someone that can be alone.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You'll be with Paul.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
I'm a day Slane in the Tech Zone.
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