Headphone maker SOL Republic debuts its first portable Bluetooth speaker-- the SOL Republic Deck, a Motorola co-development launched together with the newly announced Moto X smartphone.

Similar to the Jawbone Jambox (if with a larger and flatter design), the Deck promises "powerful sound you can feel" through R2 Sound Engines and a bass port, as well as up to 90m of wireless range.

A curious "Heist Mode" allows the pairing of up to 5 smartphones, with users taking turns to control the choice of music.

Is NFC-enabled jewelry the next step in the control of various consumer devices? At least two recent offerings suggest so-- the NFC Ring by British designer John McLear and the Geak Ring by China's Geak.

Currently looking for funding/preorders on Kickstarter (where it already surpassed the £30000 pledge goal), the NFC Ring is a titanium/steel band with an embedded NFC chip allowing users to operate smartphones, open NFC-enabled door locks and securely share.

The NFC functionality is passive, meaning it does not require a battery or charging.

McLear suggests the NFC Ring will also allow users to  start "apps with custom settings, making it a really easy way to personalise the app experience to match [the] ring."

Meanwhile the Geak Ring allows users to bypass lock screens or share data with other smartphone users by waving the ring over the device in question.

SanDisk launches Connect, a wireless flash memory storage line with a pair of devices-- the Connect Wireless Flash Drive and the Connect Wireless Media Drive, both designed for use with multiple mobile devices.

The Connect Wireless Flash Drive is a wireless pocket-sized means of storing, sharing and streaming content across PCs and mobile devices. It offers up to 32GB of storage and up to 4 hours of continuous streaming on a single charge, without need for internet connections or cables.

The Connect Wireless Media Drive is the larger offering, with 64GB of storage and an SDHC/SDXC memory card slot. SanDisk claims it simultaneously streams up to x5 different movies to up to x8 users, and the battery powers 8 hours of continuous streaming on a single charge.

Both are compatible with PC and Mac computers as well as iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices (via apps). A simple drag and drop interface handles file management duties.

Go SanDisk Connect

SanDisk promises faster storage for you mobile and camera using customers with the Extreme microSDHC and microSDXC UHS-1 memory card portfolio.

According to the company the Extreme cards reach up to 80MB/s read and 50MB/s write speeds, as well as class 10 and UHS speed class 1 (U1) video recording ratings.

The cards are water-, shock- and X-ray proof, and SanDisk offers a download of RescuePro Delux data recovery software in the case of accidentally deleted images. Also included in the package is an adapter for use with full-size SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slots.

The Extreme microSD card portfolio is available now in capacities ranging from 16 to 64GB.

Go SanDisk Extreme microSD Memory Cards