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Nest WiFi's range extenders double as smart speakers
The Pixel 4 wasn't the only secret Google couldn't keep from spilling all over the internet. Another device, the Nest WiFi, has been leaked a couple of times before the company's Made by Google event in New York City today. But now it's official. As rumored, Google's new Nest WiFi can be paired to "points," aka beacons, that will help extend the range of your wireless network at home. Not only that, but these Nest WiFi points can double as smart speakers, making them compatible with Google Assistant. This means you'll be able to use your voice to control your WiFi setup, like if you ever want to say "Hey Google, pause WiFi for kids devices."
Waze Beacons will help you navigate inside New York City tunnels
New York City's tunnels are as much a part of its landscape as its subway lines and streets, but they can also be a pain when your GPS signal cuts out and your navigation app is effectively blind. They might not cause headaches for much longer. Waze is launching its wireless Beacons, which help improve navigation in areas with unreliable GPS, across the New York metro area. You'll encounter them in familiar NYC underground sections like the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel.
A powerful laser 'porch light' could let aliens know where we are
An MIT researcher claims a laser space beacon detectable up to 20,000 light years away is feasible -- essentially acting as a porch light for extraterrestrial life. James Clark's study posits that focusing a one- to two-megawatt laser through a 30- to 45-meter telescope and aiming it into space would create a beacon that would emit enough radiation to be distinctive from the sun's infrared energy.
How child-security apps lengthen the reach of parents
My son recently turned 3 years old. Now that he's a "big boy," he wants to explore and run ahead of me, even though he lacks the wherewithal and caution to do so. My instincts, as a first-time father, are to hold onto him for dear life. I can't hold onto my son forever. But there are steps I can take to lengthen my reach before I let go entirely. Via GPS and beacon technology, developers are creating child trackers -- security apps and hardware to address the modern parent's primary preoccupying concern: "Where is my child right now?"
Uber's Beacon is a colorful light to guide you to the right ride
While ride-hailing companies have made it easier than ever to identify your driver and the car they're driving, there's often room for mix-ups, especially when it's dark. In an attempt to bring some clarity to proceedings, Uber has today introduced Beacon, a new light that attaches to a driver's windscreen and displays a color that you specify in the app. It's only in the trial stage right now, but riders in Miami, Denver and Nashville in the US and Newcastle in the UK will start seeing them from this week.
Garmin fitness trackers now have Strava's safety system
A slew of Garmin fitness trackers today have access to Beacon, Strava's safety feature that allows users to send their location to friends in real-time while they're out on a run, hike or bike. Strava is a social networking app built for athletes, and it launched the Beacon service for premium members in August. With today's news, Strava premium members can share data between Beacon and Garmin LiveTrack on the following devices: Fenix 3, Edge Explore 820, Edge 520, 820 and 1000, and Forerunner 230, 235, 630 and 735XT.
Strava's safety 'Beacon' shows friends where you're training
Strava has added a safety feature to its running and cycling app that we're surprised isn't more common. "Beacon" lets up to three friends see exactly where you're biking or running, even if they don't have the app installed. On top of showing a map, It will them know if you've stopped for a long period, if your battery is low or if you're out of network range.
Beacons help pregnant women get seats on Korean trains
It's a perennial problem; do you give up the seat to the fifty-something year-old that just walked on the train, or will they be offended at the suggestion? Is that person pregnant and in need of respite, or just overweight? Chances are if you're having those internal discussions you could just quietly vacate your spot without a word, but a project in South Korea uses Bluetooth to make it more obvious when someone in need requires a seat.
Target launches Bluetooth beacon pilot program in 50 stores
Bluetooth beacons are already helping London's visually-impaired subway riders navigate the Tubes, now they're going to help shoppers find great deals at their local Target stores. The retailer recently announced that it is implementing a pilot beacon program in 50 of its stores. These beacons will send push notifications to shoppers phones whenever they browse within range of the device, similar to the Tips system that Facebook is working on.
Folding electric bike talks to all your other smart devices
While there's no shortage of smart bikes, they still have limits: many rely chiefly on pedal power, and their tech-savviness is often limited to talking to a special smartphone app. The JIVR Bike might just solve several of those problems at once, though. The two-wheeler not only uses a chainless electric drive (good for 20 miles of pedal-free travel per charge), but serves as an iBeacon that talks to any nearby device which supports the format -- you could have it send info to your laptop, if you like. It folds to fit into small apartments, too, and you can plug in your phone to use it as a dashboard.
Bluetooth beacons are helping the blind navigate London's Tube
London's Underground network can feel like a maze for even the most seasoned traveller, especially at rush hour when you're packed in with hordes of disgruntled commuters. The problem is only amplified for blind and partially sighted people, but a combination of Bluetooth beacons and smartphone app could make the experience less stressful. Wayfindr has been developed by Ustwo (yep, the folks behind the video game Monument Valley) and the Royal London Society for Blind People's (RLSB) Youth Forum to offer travellers audio-based directions and advice. A month-long trial at Pimlico station is now underway with 16 beacons tracking users' smartphones and activating descriptive notes. The information is basic, but could offer valuable guidance and, hopefully, confidence to blind and partially sighted people navigating the Underground independently.
New Bluetooth devices will connect directly to the internet
For all the talk of an Internet of Things, many Bluetooth devices aren't very internet-savvy; they usually have to rely on WiFi (or another gadget entirely) to hop online. That's going to change very shortly with the advent of Bluetooth's new 4.2 spec. If a sensor, smart light bulb or other low-power device supports the new technology, it can connect directly to the internet (through a router or other access point, at least) without needing a go-between. That's potentially huge for home automation -- you could control all your appliances and light fixture from anywhere in the world without requiring special hubs.
NYC now has hundreds of ad beacons in phone booths (update: mayor orders them removed)
Buzzfeed has learned that New York City allowed hundreds of bluetooth beacons to be installed without public consultation, a decision that has roused the ire of privacy groups. Outdoor ad outfit Titan installed around 500 Gimbal beacons in phone booths around Manhattan, skirting normal red tape by saying they were deployed for maintenance purposes only. However, it admitted it's also using them to decide when to rotate ad panels and recently pushed smartphone ads to Tribeca Film Festival participants. The devices can also pick up location and time data, though Titan told the NY Daily News that it is "absolutely, categorically not" doing so unless users opt in and install a third-party app.
Estimote's stickers let you add tiny sensors to just about anything
The problem with the internet of things is that you often have to buy expensive add-ons or replacements to get all those clever sensors; you may not want to buy a bike computer just to track your rides. If Estimote has its way, you won't have to. Its new Sticker beacons let you graft wireless sensors on to nearly any object, giving it location, motion and temperature data that you can check through apps. You can figure out the length of your last bike trip just by slapping a sticker on the frame, or find out when your flowers need watering by using an augmented pot. Estimote even pictures stores using the tags to automatically cue up product info on a nearby screen, so you could find out whether some hot new shoes come in your size just by taking them off the shelf.
iBeacon tech at Coachella and other news for April 9, 2014
Here's your AM roundup of Apple news. This time around it's Apple vs. Samsung (again), iBeacon goes to Coachella and improving Apple Maps. Apple has laid out its claim against Samsung, and it's a whopper. The Cupertino company is after US$2.2 billion in damages. The President of Quantitative Economic Solutions, who is working on the case on Apple's behalf, noted that Apple suffered particular damage because Samsung was able to pick up first-time buyers, who are often loyal to their chosen companies. iBeacon tech to be featured at Coachella. The popular music festival is the latest on a growing number of high-profile venues to adopt the young technology. The official 2014 iOS app features iBeacon support, and the event's official website says, "Use Bluetooth to interact with beacons placed around the grounds." If you attend the show, check it out. Get notified of resolved errors in Apple Maps. MacRumors has noticed that, when you report a problem in Apple Maps, you can now opt to receive a text message from Apple when that issue has been resolved. That's pretty thoughtful and helps users feel like their input is actually affecting change.
Your smartphone's WiFi hotspot might double as a disaster rescue beacon
When disasters strike, communication services tend to go down; you can't simply call for help or share your location online. However, engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology have found a way to use a smartphone as a rescue beacon when there aren't any available networks. The researchers have written a victim app that inserts an SOS alert into the name of the phone's WiFi hotspot. Emergency crews just have to use a companion app to find you up to 330 feet away. It's a simple trick, to be sure. The big challenge is getting people to use the software in the first place -- the team would like its code built into your phone's interface, but they might have to find a way to distribute their apps in the field. If Fraunhofer's staff succeed in making the tools commonplace, though, you may soon find a ready-made distress signal in your pocket. [Image credit: United Nations Photo, Flickr]
PayPal starts testing seamless online store checkouts
PayPal can be a hassle for online shopping when you have to leave a store's site just to finish your transaction. Purchases should be much simpler once PayPal finishes rolling out its new In-Context Checkout, though. The technology lets you enter all your billing and shipping info through a pop-up; you never have to visit PayPal itself, and the interface remains simple regardless of what device you're using. Only a handful of stores are testing the new checkout format today, but the company promises that more large retailers will get to use it in the first half of 2014. Meanwhile, PayPal hasn't forgotten those who'd rather skip checkout altogether. It's expanding trials of its hands-free Beacon payment system to retailers in Canada, France, Germany and the UK; if all goes according to plan, the service will launch early this year.
Lenovo's Beacon media hub can house up to 6TB of video and photos, streams to PCs and Android devices
Lenovo makes a lot of laptops. And tablets. And a few phones. But amid its exhaustive PC range, there's also the eye-catching Beacon. Priced at $199, although lacking any storage out of the box, it tries to strike a balance between personal cloud storage and media server. It comes preloaded with XBMC, while dual HDD bays will support up to a heady 6TB of storage. The Beacon, powered by a dual-core (unspecified) Atom processor can then stream whatever you put inside it to multiple devices at once -- we saw it in action, and it managed to output to both a PC and Android phone without a hiccup. You can use your hand-held smart device as a remote (replete with mouse cursor), which makes digging through piles of photos and videos at least a little bit easier. On the back, alongside HDMI, there's Ethernet and twin USB ports, meaning it'll be happy to link up to PCs and TVs for big-screen viewing. Once linked to the respective app, pics and videos captured on your phone can be automatically (or manually) uploaded. As you can see, it's also not the typically unassuming (read: dull) storage hub either and will launch in orange, blue, gray and black finishes this April. Richard Lai contributed to this report.
Morning news roundup for January 3
Good morning, everyone. While the northeastern United States is buried in show, Apple fans in the southern hemisphere are enjoying a warm, sunny day. What a world! Let's look at the Apple news, shall we? Apple's iBeacon tech to be featured at CES. The CEA is setting up a scavenger hunt of sorts, and it will be powered by iBeacon technology. Attendees will be able to collect "badges" from the various iBeacon sites; the first three players to collect the full set will win a prize. Best Buy drops price of iPhone 5s for New Year's sale. The US big-box store has dropped the price of a 16 GB iPhone 5s to US$125 until January 5. That's a pretty good deal. Killer Apple TV tips. There's a thread on Reddit of great Apple TV tips, including several I didn't know. AT&T announces up to $450 in credits to customers who switch from T-Mobile. Begun these carrier wars have!
Qualcomm releases proximity beacons that track Android and iOS shoppers
Short-range location services are all the rage these days, but they're nothing without the Bluetooth beacons that make them possible. Qualcomm is fulfilling that behind-the-scenes need today by releasing its Gimbal proximity beacons. Both the tiny Gimbal Series 10 and the weatherproof Series 20 let shopkeepers offer area-based discounts and information to customers as they wander through stores, with position accuracy down to one foot. They only support Apple devices for now due to iOS 7's native iBeacon feature, but Qualcomm also promises that Android support is on the way. Stores may not mind the limited utility, though, since the beacons are so cheap. Series 10 beacons cost as little as $5 each when bought in bulk, while the Series 20 costs $10; either way, they're trivial costs if they lead to a few more impulse buyers.
