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Slingbox inventor releases Crestron R2 Control App for Android, teases something big
Own a professionally installed Crestron home automation system? Then check this out mister moneybags. Former Sling boxer, Blake Krikorian, has turned his home automation hobby into a full-fledged Android app ready for download. The R2 Control App will set you back $99 (hey, it's Crestron) from the Android Market and give you control over your 2-Series and 3-series systems from anywhere in the world via WiFi or cellular data networks. At least it will after an authorized Crestron programmer enables it. The app works natively with Mobile Pro / Pro G projects built for Crestron touchscreen or iOS devices and automatically resizes the UI to the native resolution of the Android device you're using. Great, we guess, but what we find most compelling is what Blake teases about the future. We had a chat with the Slingbox inventor who shares our concerns about the current state of home automation and believes that the industry is "on the brink of something big" that could finally take it to the mass market. Given his entrepreneurial lineage and clear home automation interests, we're more than a bit intrigued by where this might go now that Blake and Google are in the mix.
ID8 Mobile's Bluetooth tablet accessories include business card-shaped headsets and handsets
The MoGo product line is all about making normally-thick Bluetooth accessories insanely thin, and the trend continues with a couple new ones targeted at tablets and scheduled for launch in the second quarter. We had a chance this week to check out hand-built prototypes of a speakerphone / handset and headset with charging case, both designed to be thin and small enough to fit into the business card holder built into a tablet case. The speakerphone is pretty clever: set it on a table, it's a speakerphone, hold it to your face and it becomes a tiny handset appropriate for holding private calls through the telephony services on your tab (or Tab, as the case may be). The headset, meanwhile, fits in a vanity-style case -- also designed to stow away in a business card holder -- but the real magic here is that the case doubles as a battery that charges the headset when it's docked. Perfect for Skype, eh? %Gallery-113261%
