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Nexus Q social streaming device hands-on

Tim Stevens — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:16:00 -0400

What is the Q? Well, it's a ball... a ball that plays music. And videos. And it also lights up. It's what Google is calling it a "social streaming device" but what's most important is that this is finally the realization of the Android@Home standard that was unveiled last year. While the styling is what'll immediately grab you, it's the functionality that Google thinks will rock your living room. Join us after the break for our first impressions of this category-defying device.

Gallery: Nexus Q hands-on

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Control4 MyHome app takes up residence on Android while Android@Home is out of town

Richard Lawler — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:12:00 -0500

Home automation provider Control4 has finally seen fit to open up its systems to Android users, releasing a version of its MyHome software for phones and tablets. Already available on iOS and PCs, it lets homeowners with Control4 setups manage their video, music, lighting and more on their own devices with taps and gestures. The apps themselves are free, but naturally one will need a MyHome license to use them, which runs $499 for multiple devices at one location or $199 for a single device. Of course, if you've had one of these installed scraping together the cash probably won't be too difficult, so while you're checking the couch for loose change we'll sit back and wonder whatever happened to that Android@Home project we (haven't) heard so much about. Press release and demo video follow after the break.

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LifeFitness exercise bike interfaces with Nexus S, makes fitness marginally enjoyable (video)

Darren Murph — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:53:00 -0400

LifeFitness may have taken one too many creative liberties with its Cyberbike Wii accessory, but it did a laudable job of redeeming itself at Google I/O this week. The outfit brought a USB-equipped exercise bike to the show floor, where an Open Accessory-enabled Nexus S promptly stole the show. We were shown a demo of the CardioQuest app interfacing with the cycle over the aforementioned protocol; the bike itself had a heretofore unreleased firmware update installed that allowed it to interact with the phone, and we're told that said update will be available free of charge to existing customers in the coming weeks.

As was announced yesterday during the opening keynote, the Android Open Accessory API is currently only capable of handling communications over USB, but that didn't stop a clever game from keeping a booth representative mighty busy. The gist is pretty simple -- pedal harder to move the Android up, and relax your stride to see him float down. The goal is to avoid the surrounding walls, while also keeping your mind from focusing on the fact that you're actually burning calories. Mum's the word on whether or not this particular app will ever make it into the Android Market, but there's a video of the chaos waiting just after the break, regardless.

Gallery: LifeFitness exercise bike plays games with Nexus S at Google I/O

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Editorial: Android@Home is the best worst thing that could happen to home automation

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 11 May 2011 08:51:00 -0400

As the resident Engadget home automation nerd, Google's Android@Home announcement rocked my little low-powered RF world yesterday. Seeing a brand like Google get behind home automation is the stuff I've been dreaming about ever since Nokia dipped a toe into the tepid Z-Wave waters back in 2008. Unfortunately, Nokia abandoned its Home Control Center ambitions shortly thereafter, leaving the industry in the hands of such consumer powerhouses as Zensys, Sigma Designs, ExpressControls, AMX Corp, Control 4, Echelon, and Jung. Heard of them? No, no you haven't, and that's my point.

Home automation has long suffered from the lack of a consumer-centric approach. Consumer electronics companies have almost universally come around to the new mantra of user experience. Most companies have finally awoken from their deep eighties slumber to realize that a single product can no longer dominate an industry on its own -- the age of the Walkman is over. For success, a product must encompass great software, great services, hardware that just works, and stellar support when it doesn't. In short, the user experience is what sets the product apart. Home automators have yet to realize this but Google's announcement could force the issue.

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Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs, promises dead-simple home automation (hands-on)

Darren Murph — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:20:00 -0400

'Tis amazing what a partnership with Google can do. Unless you're a frequent patron of Home Depot, there's a slim chance you'd ever heard of Lighting Science prior to this week's opening I/O keynote. Now, said company is leading the Android @ Home charge, and based on what we learned yesterday at its booth, we're feeling better than ever about home automation's chances in the mainstream market. Company representatives noted that this Google-led mesh networking solution -- which beams out commands on the 900MHz frequency band -- is the first HA solution that's truly designed to be ultra-low-cost and easy to implement. Compared to Z-Wave and Zigbee, there's far less technical expertise needed to start automating things in your home, and there's no need to take out a second mortgage to open your garage door with your handset. Oh, and there's zero chance anything fails due to congestion on the 2.4GHz band.

We pressed the company on pricing details, and it stated that the wirelessly enabled light shown above would be priced "at parity" with the non-wireless counterpart available today. At last check, that puts a single bulb at around $30. In order to make these kinds of devices compatible with existing Android phones and tablets, a couple of WiFi-to-900MHz adapters will be available. From Lighting Science alone, you'll soon see a light switch, security lamp and a regular wall wart on sale to handle the transfers. In other words, you can pick up a dirt-cheap plug, toss it in your guest room, and immediately give your Nexus One the ability to dictate Android @ Home products. Not too shabby, but what does this mean for the broader industry?

Gallery: Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs: hands-on at Google I/O

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Google announces Android@Home framework for home automation

Tim Stevens — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:44:00 -0400

Want more Android in your house? How about Android in your house. Google wants to think of "every appliance in your home" as a potential accessory for your phone. The opportunities are seemingly endless, the sort of thing we've seen in the Zigbee and Z-wave areas, but sadly this implementation doesn't actually seem to be using any of those standards. The team teased ideas like lights turning on and off based on calendar events, applications talking to washing machines, games automatically adjusting for mood lighting, and basically little green dudes taking care of all the menial duties in your house.

One amazing demo was a concept, Android-powered device hub called Tungsten. Using RFID embedded into CD cases the device was able to detect the CD and add it to your library. Another touch and it started automatically. Yeah, the use of CDs is a little quaint, but the potential is there for amazing things in the future. We're not sure exactly when these accessories will be launching, but the first are expected before the end of the year.

Gallery: Android at Home

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