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Phila.-Area Companies Make Strong Showing at Consumer Electronics Show

By KYW tech editor Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Start-ups and small businesses from the Philadelphia area have been making waves this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, which wraps up today in Las Vegas.

Old-school craftsmanship meets cutting edge in wireless speakers made by Wren Sound Systems of Phoenixville.

"You can't beat the timbre of timber," says CEO Mike Giffin. "There is just something about a wooden cabinet."

Wren speakers, which the company creates with exotic wood such as wenge, anigre, and zebrawood, are designed to stream audio from iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC, and Mac.

"Great-sounding audio and elegant simplicity," Wren says. "Easy to set up, easy on the eyes."

Nucleus, based in Lower Merion, makes intercoms for a new age.

"Traditional intercom systems cost $3000-$5000. And I realized it could be done a lot better and cheaper using WiFi," explains founder and CEO Jonathan Frankel. "You can connect instantly with audio or video to any room in your house, or to any other room in the world, just by tapping on our wall-mounted tablet."

Frankel's innovation emerged out of necessity -- keeping tabs on his children after moving from a small apartment in Boston to a larger home in Montgomery County.

"With three kids, we wanted to be able to find out where they were in the house," he says. "And when you hear crying -- or, even worse with little boys, when you hear laughter and you know they're doing something wrong -- you want to know what's going on, instead of running up and down stairs all the time."

Nucleus provides an instant video link.

"Whether it's from the kitchen to the upstairs or from a smartphone to your aging mother in her home across the globe," Frankel says.

Aptly-named wipes from Malvern-based Funk Off remove just that from phones and tablets.

Snakable USB and Lightning charging cables have ball-and-socket ends -- solving the problem of bent, split, and broken cords.

"Our cable has a ball-and-socket system built in on both sides to prevent that," says Wes Goulbourne, who heads the company in Prospect Park. "The armor allows it to bend and flex without over-bending and breaking like most USB cables do on the market today."

Snakable cords come in five colors. Pre-orders are being taken ahead of an expected spring release.

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