smart appliances
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LG's new ThinQ recipe service sources ingredients from Amazon and Walmart
As usual, LG has unveiled its latest smart appliances for CES 2022, but this time they come with an unusual twist: a recipe service.
Nest thermostat isn't smart enough to figure out British Summer Time
The Nest Learning Thermostat is supposed to be super-smart, automatically learning your preferences and creating custom schedules to match. Unfortunately, British Summer Time (BST) is a concept that seems to be beyond its current level of intelligence. As The Next Web reports, a wealth of Nest users noticed over the weekend that their thermostats hadn't adjusted properly. While the internal clock had changed automatically, their personal heating schedules continued to operate on Greenwich Mean Time. It's a small and largely insignificant bug, but we suspect more than a few adopters were frustrated when they woke up to a freezing home on Sunday morning. After all, this is a device that's supposed to be perceptive -- observing BST should be easy-peasy for a company like Nest.
LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app
LG just outed the Optimus Vu II for the Korean market, designed around a remote control app, QRemote. The company's translated PR claims (erroneously) that the new device will be "the world's first smartphone using infrared," letting it operate gear like set-top boxes and home appliances, including other companies' products. The device is scheduled to launch next month in the maker's home country, around the time the Tegra 3-powered Optimus Vu will go on sale in the US as Verizon's LG Intuition. The company hasn't released any technical details for the phone -- in fact, other than the remote functions, we don't even know if there are any changes from the current pen-capable model. In any case, it might give pause to another Korean maker about to announce an awfully similar product.
Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video)
Yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we visited the Electric Imp booth to chat with the startup's founders and get some hands-on time with the tiny wireless computer. What is the Electric Imp? It's a module containing an ARM Cortex M3 SoC with embedded WiFi that's built into an SD card form factor. While the device looks just like and SD card, it's not pin-compatible with the standard -- the idea is to leverage a reliable and affordable connector for the Electric Imp. The module is not very useful on its own -- it only comes to life when inserted into one of several boards, which provide the Electric Imp with power and access to the real world. In turn the device gives these boards a brain and an Internet connection. Eventually the company hopes that appliance manufacturers will incorporate Electric Imp slots into products to make them network aware. We talked with CEO Hugo Fiennes (formerly with Apple) about the past, present and future of the Electric Imp so hit the break to read more and to watch our hands-on video.%Gallery-155789%
Gmail and iPhone alums create Electric Imp, connect your toaster to the web
Have you ever wanted to preheat your oven while on the way home from work, or start your sprinklers while vacationing, only to remember you don't have the spare loot lying around for a network of smart appliances? A recent startup (that somehow eluded Kickstarter) called Electric Imp is about to make your wireless control / monitoring fantasies a reality with its soon-to-be-released, $25 web interface. It works much like an Eye-Fi card, and communicates with cloud services as well as other connected devices like your Android or iPhone via WiFi. The company is working hard to get the slots that work with the cards into many of the machines that we usually don't link up to the good ol' www -- but have often wanted to -- and it hopes to have everything in place later this year. This all sounds like a great deal right now, but just wait until your washing machine gets hacked and starts using scalding water on all your darks and delicates. More info at the source.
LG announces upgraded Smart ThinQ appliances, average refrigerator IQ set to rise in 2012
Were last year's ThinQ appliances from LG just not quite... sophisticated enough for you? Well, noble reader, screw that monocle a little tighter into your eye and get a load of this year's crop, which LG has dubbed Smart ThinQ. This includes a whole range of appliances like washing machines, ovens and even the company's robotic vacuum cleaners. Most promising to us is the refrigerator, which sports an LCD that indicates what food is in the refrigerator, where it's located and when it expires -- information that you can access from your similarly smart phone as well. That sounds fascinating, but it also sounds just like last year's more remedial ThinQ models, so we're not sure how much new functionality is included in this update. We'll endeavor to go find out once these hit the CES show floor next week.
Broadcom's got a WICED game it plays, to make smart devices feel this way
Broadcom wants you to fall in love with its BCM 4319 WICED (Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices) platform -- a weeny 802.11 a/b/g /n WiFI module that can be added to any device that uses a microcontroller. Jimmy one into your fridge, digital camera or aircon and it'll find its own way to the cloud. With instant networking for kit like this, doctors could monitor patients vital signs, your holiday snaps could find their own way online and, most importantly of all, you can make sure the kids aren't fiddling with the darn thermostat again.
Control4, Sub-Zero get in on the home automation game
While brands like LG, Samsung, and Kenmore all showed off their own special brand of Jetsonian appliances at CES this year, Sub-Zero was close by touting a stable of 30 automation-ready products and a partnership with Control4 that could make them a contender for home automation domination. Sub-Zero's ZigBee-based system uses preexisting serial ports (initially installed for diagnostic purposes) to connect users to appliances via touchscreens, smart phones, and other enabled devices. The system lacks full control of potentially dangerous appliances like the oven, instead acting as an alert system when, say, your turkey is done roasting, but it does grant complete access to things like your refrigerator or freezer. Other systems might sport increased functionality, like LG's Thinq, which allows users to set oven temperatures remotely, and Samsung's fridge, which lets you tweet from a built-in touchscreen, but Sub-Zero is hoping a second-quarter release will put them at the head of the pack. We'll see if a head start makes a difference in the glacial appliance market, when Samsung rolls out its smart refrigerator this May and Kenmore's system comes to fruition in 2012.
Samsung WiFi-enabled RF4289 fridge cools, eats and tweets; we go hands-on
Other brands may view networked fridges as the key to going green, but it seems Samsung is more interested in letting users access Pandora or tweet while grabbing a snack. At least that's the impression we got from its staff while playing with the RF4289 fridge at CES, which the brand touts is the first of its kind to feature integrated WiFi. To be fair the unit provides a few pragmatic features too like the ability to view Google calendars, check the weather, download recipes from Epicurious, or leave digital notes -- though we'd have been more impressed by functions such as remote temperature adjustment or food spoilage alerts. We also found that the stainless steel exterior made reading the 8-inch LCD touchscreen screen difficult from more than a few feet away. Otherwise, further details on the software and definite pricing are nonexistent at this point, but we do know the appliance will be available to cutting-edge Canadians sometime in May. For more details check out shots of the UI in the gallery below, and hit up Samsung's vague press release after the break. %Gallery-113980%
Kenmore shows off smartphone / tablet-connected appliances at CES (hands-on)
We've already seen some smartphone-connected appliances in LG's Thinq lineup, and it looks like Kenmore is now getting ready to join it in a big way with some fairly impressive "enhanced" appliances of its own -- which we managed to get an early look at here at CES. Those will include things like washers, dryers, stoves and refrigerators, all of which will be able to be controlled via a "smartphone or smart tablet" (Apple and Android devices were specifically mentioned as getting a free app), or via a large touchscreen on the device itself (not removable as a tablet, unfortunately). What's more, the appliances all boast Kenmore Connect, which allows for remote diagnostics that can be used to prepare technicians for in-home repairs, and they pack an array of energy management features that will let you conserve energy and keep watch on how much you're using. Unfortunately, you'll still have a bit of a wait before you can actually buy one -- Kenmore says they'll start rolling out in 2012. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look. %Gallery-113454%
SmartSynch intros GridRouter for smart meters and the electric companies that love them
The last time we heard from SmartSynch it had inked a deal with AT&T to provide communications between its smart energy products and power companies. Now the company's back with a little something called the GridRouter, an IP-based device based that connects appliances, smart grids, and utilities -- no matter which communication protocol is used. The device is built on an open platform since the current grid is a mish-mash (or a hodge-podge, if you will) of proprietary hardware and software, and includes WiMax and Wi-Fi capabilities. Sounds like it just might be the thing for utilities struggling to catch up to the 21st century smarter energy revolution -- and those of you who are really, really into Google's PowerMeter beta. Want to give it a spin? Hit the source link to get in touch with the company. PR after the break.
AT&T inks deal to provide smart appliances equal time on the grid
Up until now, if you had dreams of managing your household energy consumption with some sort of smart appliance, you had to either live in an area where a utility built its own network (Corpus Christi or Burbank, for example) or rely on some proprietary method of getting data from your site to the electric co. It looks like this is about to change, however. AT&T has announced a deal with smart meter manufacturer SmartSynch that will see the carrier provide two-way communications between the your home and the grid, a "first of its kind" agreement that will allow you to get the most out of those Energy Management Enabled Appliances GE has been feverishly developing. Sure, refrigerators that wait until midnight to defrost aren't as exciting as, say, robotic monster trucks -- but this is progress, man. Show a little enthusiasm.
