Amazon just solved several challenges associated with the smart home. At its event Thursday in Seattle, the online retailer attacked several pain points associated with the smart home to create a vision for the user experience I associate with Apple. … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Amazon’s smart home service
Ever since the Amazon Echo got smart home capabilities back in 2015, I've been advising people to buy one along with a smart bulb or outlet so they can start living a life of greater convenience. For those curious about the smart home, the combo … [Read more...]
Siri got smarter at WWDC 2018, but not the way you’d think
On Monday, the keynote kicked off Apple’s WorldWide Developer Conference with a focus on software and services. Nope, there was no new hardware, so no new support for Z-Wave or Zigbee radios like I had hoped for HomeKit. Apple’s Home app is coming to … [Read more...]
Podcast: The Nest doorbell is a great video doorbell
Microsoft plans to spend $5 billion on the internet of things, and it’s more than the usual shell game that big firms play with these sorts of announcements. We discuss its plans on this week’s podcast. We also talk about Qualcomm’s new vision chips … [Read more...]
Alexa, play me an ad that I don’t want to hear (said no one ever)
Here’s a good news, (potentially) bad news story. First the good news: Even though it typically doesn’t provide sales numbers for its product lines, Amazon touted record purchases of Alexa-enabled products this holiday season. Given how … [Read more...]