OK the article is about a shotgun Taser. It fires a shell with self-contained electronics, so range is not limited by the length of wires deploying from the "gun."
The reporter makes this incredible comment about the improved range: http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20028054-283.html "Most incredible is the Taser X12 shotgun, which can fire a projectile up to 82 feet--most Tasers can only be used from about 16 feet meters away--and doesn't have wires attached to the gun itself." There is, of course, no "foot meter" and switching units makes any comparison of the improved range (25 m vs 16 m?) impractical. His Press Pass should be suspended for the balance of the CES show. Perhaps we could make an "award" for the metric-disabled. I nominate him. One comment says he meant to write 16 ft / 5 m for the wired taser -- I have no idea what the range really is. If it is 25 m vs 5 m, that is quite a range increase.