It's been a long wait to see
Ambient Devices' promise of
"thin data" wireless devices finally come to fruition, but that doesn't mean all the charm has gone from idea. Case in point: this here Market Maven, which Ambient Devices is prepping to launch in September, might not do anything you can't already pull off with your
Optimus Mini Three or even a simple desktop widget, but there's an undeniable beauty to the thing all the same. Of course, you might quickly forget how great this guy looks when you realize that all it can do is pull the DJIA, NASDAQ and S&P 500 activity every 15 minutes, tell you if the market is open, and let you know the time. That makes it hard to justify the $125 asking price, but the good news is that after you slap a few AAAs in this guy, it'll do its thing configuration free, with no pesky internet connection or subscriptions to deal with -- data comes courtesy of Ambient Devices' own Infocast Network, which reaches about 90% of US households. Oh well, we're still loving
the umbrella.
posted Aug 2nd 2007 1:55PM
I have this on my iPhone already... in color.
Already in color on the iphone!
I have a colorful iPhone, already now!
iHave an colorfulPhone... already.
Yeah, but this doesn't cost $600, doesn't require slavery to Cingular/hacking and doesn't label you as an another Apple fan-boy.
But of course, spending 4 times as much if all you need are handy stocks is a much better idea......
Engadget, I think your anti-troll filter is broken.
This is awesome! What would be really cool is if they were to allow you to hook the device up to a webservice and populate it with your own data. I would be big bucks for something like that.
I can't wait until they have reissue the thing when the Dow Jones Industrials Average changes to the Fox Business Average.
Stay the fuck away from Ambient Devices.
I bought one of their wireless weather reporting stations, only to find out when I called them that 1) they charge for the service, when the instruction booklet and box clearly stated that the service was free and 2) the 'any 5 cities' they advertised meant 'any 5 major cities of our choosing, limited by region.'
The asshole I spoke to on the phone was condescending and kept implying that I should know better than expect it to be free, even though all their literature implied it was.
Worst electronics company I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
I have one too. I live in oklahoma and it is free for me. I can choose from Tulsa, Mustang, Enid, Ardmore or Oklahoma City. That is a pretty good selection of cities in my area and would work fine for 95% of the state.
Perhaps you should've been skeptical when they asked you for a credit card number.
the iPhone states "minimum 20 minute delay" - this does every 15. and I've heard that Ambient will allow personalization for individual stocks and portfolios in the future.
personally, I think a connected device with content I need that doesn't require a subscription fee is pretty damn cool.
I own one of the weather thingees as well, and I'm really happy with it. It was pretty clear to me what came for free.
The thing that I didn't expect is how addictive it is. It is right there on my TV and each morning *BAM* I know the weather. No power on, no bootup, no clicking, no wait: just the data.
"I've got the weather right here on my phone: look! Just a sec... um.. let me get it out of my bag. And turn it on. Um, it has to start its data connection. Let me find the brower. And now find the site."
BTW, it's not just me. I was a freakin' hero when I gave these to folks as presents last Xmas.
Anyhow, I expect this stock thingee will be just as cool. Actually, maybe cooler. That graph is sexy.
This needs to be WiFi. There is little need to broadcast this data through a 50KW transmitter when I have an access point right nearby.
Sorry about replying to my own post, but I just read one of the technical papers on the ambient devices website, and they are using the FLEX pager network, not FM transmitters. I got them confused with the Microsoft data service that was unveiled a few years back (is it still around?).
WiFi is much more power hungry: remember how your laptop says stuff like "turn off Wireless to improve battery life"?
And setup is a mess. I end up doing support for anyone I give tech stuff to. I don't want to screw around with other people's wireless routers.
This is an interesting toy, however, people who really need this kind of information already have realtime access to it. Great for the stock market Hobbyist. Not a good gift choice for a serious trader. The trader on your list may appreciate something like a gift certificate for psychoanalysis.