Tag: smart home

Lenovo Unveils New Smart Display Powered By Google Assistant

It is hard to gauge which trend will catch on in a certain industry. Over the years, we’ve seen smartphones move in a similar direction for a period of time until a new aspect catches people’s attention. After the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus dropped the headphone jack, we saw more smartphone makers following suite so much so that Samsung, LG and OnePlus appear to be the only flag bearers of the beloved 3.5mm headphone jack. 2018 is expected to be the year of AI and machine learning, and not just in smartphones.

Amazon and Google have been dominating the smart home, especially smart speakers industry for a while now. Thanks to the affordable Google Home Mini and Amazon Acho Dot, it has become easier to enter the smart home ecosystem. Lenovo and Google unveiled a new smart home product, a smart display with built-in Google Assistant. Similar to the Amazon Echo Show, this new smart display from Lenovo does everything a smart speaker can do, with a display.

Also, unlike the Echo Show, it can playback YouTube videos. This smart display doesn’t run on Android or ChromeOS instead, it is running Android Things, a variant of Android that’s custom-designed for IoT. Apart from Lenovo, JBL, LG, and Sony will also be making smart displays with built-in Google Assistant running the same software.

JBL Link View With Google Assitant

Google showcased a small video revealing the capabilities of these smart displays. Google Assistant on smart displays can do a lot of tasks that the Echo Show does as well, like show you photos and calendar, give directions, recipes, and do video conferencing. This will all be handy if you are a Google Services user and part of the whole Google/Android ecosystem.

While third-party app support is on the way, the Lenovo smart displays won’t be available right away. The 10-inch Lenovo Smart Display starts at US $249.99 and the 8-inch model starts at US $199.99, and both are expected to be available early this summer.

January 9, 2018
This Mirror Has Built-In Support For Google Assistant And Siri

Smart home devices have come a long way over the past few years. Big tech companies like Amazon, Apple and Google are investing big in smart home gadgets such with smart speakers being the latest rage. This new smart mirror, iCVBT10 from iHome is the latest addition to the everyday household things becoming “smart.”

The distortion-free mirror 10 inches by 13 inches in size, and has a built-in Bluetooth speaker to play music while you are getting ready, and a USB jack to charge your phone. The adjustable mirror includes a removable 3.5-inch mirror with 10x magnification and variable LED lighting around the frame to see as much detail as you want.

The mirror also has a built-in microphone to activate Siri or Google Assistant as it has support for both the AI assistants. To do so, you have to push and hold a button on the mirror to activate the voice assistant through your phone. You can even use it on the go thanks to a rechargeable battery. And a timer will switch off the light after 25 minutes if you forget.

If you were on the lookout for a smart mirror for your house then this device looks like the one for you. It is priced at US $199 and is available on Amazon.

November 17, 2017
Amazon Announces New Alexa-Powered Smart Home Devices

Amazon has announced a host of new devices powered by Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa during the Amazon Hardware Event 2017. Amazon’s efforts to push Alexa into every aspect of your home or office was evident during the hardware event. Here are the top products announced at the event:

Echo Plus

Priced at US$149, the Echo Plus is about the same size as the original Echo from 2014 but, also acts as a smart home hub with second-generation far-field voice recognition and enhanced sound. The Echo Plus uses Zigbee as a low-power way to extend its wireless range and can control more than 100 smart home devices in the market via voice, without any apps required. The Echo Plus will scan the room for smart devices and set it up automatically. In a demo shown during the event, the Echo Plus scanned a Philips Hue smart bulb and was able to control it within 15 seconds. The Echo Plus will come bundled with a Philips Hue smart bulb and will be available black, white and silver colour variants. The Philips Hue bulb bundle shows that Amazon really want consumers to get into the smart home tech game.

A new Alexa feature demonstrated during the event was the series of tasks that can be triggered with a simple phrases. The Echo Plus, once set up and connected to all the smart devices in your home can open the blinders, start the coffee machine and tell the weather by just saying “Good Morning Alexa.”

Echo Spot

The Echo Spot is a smart alarm clock powered by Alexa which also has a screen for video calling and can be connected to external Bluetooth speakers. The Echo Spot has a 2.5 inch screen and display lyrics of the songs playing or used for video calling as well. The Echo Spot looks like a crossover of Echo Dot and Echo Show with compact size and a display. The new Echo Spot will run you US$130 and will go on sale on December 19th.

Echo Buttons

Ever felt like playing a trivia game with your friends but never had a buzzer to get the whole TV feel? The Echo Buttons fill that hole. The Echo Buttons will retail in a pack of two and act as buzzers for game nights with family and friends. Priced at US$20, Echo Buttons are hockey puck-shaped devices and will work alongside an Alexa-enabled device.

New Cheaper Echo

Amazon also announced a refreshed verson of the original Echo from 2014. The new Echo is about half the size of the original one and costs US$99. In order to push the new Echo as multi-room audio device and compete with Sonos, Amazon is offering a bundle of three Amazon Echo’s for US$249. The new Echo also has a dedicated bass tweeter. The new Echo will also make 911 calls now and in order to push Amazon Alexa as a phone replacement, the company announced a separate US$35 device called Connect. Connect connects to your landline and makes free calls for you. Your number will still be attached to Connect so that the receiver can identify your number. The Echo will be available in a host of different finishes like wood and cloth.

Fire TV

The Amazon Fire TV will now support 4K HDR video playback at 60fps. It has Dolby Atmos integration and an Alexa voice remote, and will cost US$69.99. The price places it far below its direct rival, the Apple TV 4K which costs US$179. The size of the Fire TV is also much smaller and can be attached to the back of a television unlike its predecessor which looked like a set top box. Amazon has opened it for pre order and will start shipping the Fire TV on October 25th.

All these devices will be available in the United States right now and it’s global availability has not been announced yet. There were reports of Amazon Echo Dot launching in India during the festive season, and with a host of festivals round the corner, it might happen anytime now.

September 28, 2017
Apple HomeKit Explained | Everything You Need to Know

The smartphone evolution is on the verge of touching zenith by bringing all chief developments in a compact device. The tech industry is now swiftly gearing into diverse segments that would soon become a norm in the coming future. Apple has been struggling to catch up and is making attempts to fill up the gap. The March 9 event by Apple answered many questions about the HomeKit, but it soon faded in the backdrop with the launch of the Apple Watch and the new MacBook. Nonetheless, it gave a fair idea of Apple’s plan to let users build their personal Internet of Things (IoT) using HomeKit-compatible connected devices.

What is HomeKit?

Before we begin with how HomeKit works and how it can ease your life, let’s take a look back at what is HomeKit. HomeKit is a specialised language understood by appliances; a framework that works in combination with apps for communicating with and controlling connected accessories in a home. Users can set up actions to control home automation accessories like lights, gate, garage door, music, TV, etc and group them together.

HomeKit devices are stored in a database on the iOS device, which is synchronized to other iOS devices over iCloud. An admin is allowed to add more users to adjust the characteristics of accessories. The integration of voice assistant Siri makes it all the more fun and actions can be triggered by Siri at a single call. The arrangement works with devices like iPhone, iPad and iPod that runs iOS 8 and above.

How Does it Work?

Since connected devices in your home communicate with each other, each one of them needs to have a definite name. Assign a name to all the HomeKit-enabled devices and functions like ‘Living Room’, ‘Curtains’, ‘House’, ‘TV’, ‘Switch on’, ‘Brew’, so that Siri could interpret your command. Remember to use names and not general terms in your command.

Once you are done with storing names, the appliances can be controlled individually. Apple has also provided a grouping feature that can put together two or more appliances to manage at a time. This way you don’t have to give a command to every single object and one command will apply on all. For example, if there are many lights in your house and you want to switch off all, give Siri a pre-determined command and all the lights will turn off.

Official Home App to Debut on WWDC 2015

For now, there is no official app by Apple and users need to download a suitable application from the App Store. But there have been reports of Apple strengthening the connected home initiative through its own app dubbed ‘Home’. The tool would list all the HomeKit-enabled items and will be a remote point to manage everything.

HomeKit-Compatible Devices

As HomeKit is a conversational language of electronics, it could work with devices produced by any manufacturer, considering that it’s HomeKit-enabled. Apple has tied up with many consumer electronics brands to produce conversable appliances. Some of them include Haier, Philips, Belkin, Honeywell and a few more. There are several devices available in the market right now, but almost all of them are for sale in the US. The accessories are yet to hit the Indian market. It is speculated that Apple would release more of HomeKit-enabled devices in the forthcoming annual WWDC.

HomeKit is secure and doesn’t allow electricity abuse. It includes end-to-end encryption between iOS devices and smart devices, making them secure.

The Future of HomeKit

The HomeKit concept was introduced last year and even after a year, it has a crawling progress rate. Google too announced its latest smart home platform, Brillo, at the recent annual developer’s conference, but it’s a year behind Apple. The Cupertino-based firm has already thrown its hat in the respective ground. There has been a slow roll of HomeKit-compatible products in the market, but this year’s WWDC is expected to accelerate the process.

The race of turning homes to ‘smart homes’ is a tad long and it would take next several years to replace the already fitted appliances with smart gadgets. Besides that, Apple has merely sprung its plan of home automation into action and it needs to institute an entire set up of automated products. Surely, it would be slow and extended, but it’s a preview of how the future would be like. The day is not far when homes would be interacting like your smartphone.

June 5, 2015
Here’s How You Can Get Started With Home Automation

Home Automation is the next thing after smartphones and tablets that everyone is talking about. And why not? smart is the flavour of the season. Smart Homes tend to make life easier. It senses your presence and acts accordingly. From checking security, opening gates, switching lights to controlling room temperature, everything today can be done by the touch of a button. It’s sensible and won’t cost you a bomb.

You can opt for single room automation, multi-room automation, and automation of your kitchen, bathroom, curtains or anything that can be connected. We are giving you some tips to automate your home wirelessly so that you don’t have to spend on fixing the already built structure.

Invest in an Efficient Router

A smart router is the core of a smart home. Buy a powerful router of ASUS, Netgear, Cisco or TP-Link, so that the installed smart devices work efficiently. The router should have high signal strength across your premises for device interactions to remain seamless; otherwise several problems may crop up. A superior router will send the command instantly as soon as it is made, like turning down the brightness, switching off the light and so on. A dual-band router will cost you below Rs. 20,000.

Pick a Hard drive of Enough Capacity

An external portable hard drive is essential for a smart home. Get hold of a hard drive and store all your audio and video files on it. Connect it to the router and you’ll be able to share it with devices with the click of a button. Your choice of music will play in the selected rooms.

Safety Comes First

Once you have decided on what router to use and picked the hard drive, security is the first thing one should focus on. Go for a door camera and biometric lock. A door camera will inform you of the approaching person, and the biometric lock would enable you to not carry around a pair of keys. Eureka Forbes offers its security system for as low as Rs. 20,000 and a biometric lock would cost approximately Rs. 12,000. Video surveillance allows you to keep an eye on a wider area and the automated alerts keep you in touch with the home ensuring better safety.

Lightning Control

With smart lights installed, customers can sit back and turn them off even when they are not at home. Sensor control lights and its prices range from Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 7,000. On the other hand, timers and switching units are a bit cheaper at Rs. 2,500.

Control the Temperature of Your House

Today, most of the consumer electronic companies have switched to a smart AC module. There are apps existing on App Store through which a user can control the temperature of individual rooms through the mobile device from anywhere.

Other than that, one can control the temperature and filters of outdoor pools & spas. Energy can be saved by automated curtains and blinds, which can be closed and opened through a button, on your smart device.

June 4, 2015