For the first time, Ford is bringing their EcoSport to the U.S. In addition to this being an enticing SUV for those who are environmentally conscious, the car’s integration with Waze makes this an ideal vehicle for Uber and Lyft drivers – and pretty much everyone who uses Waze on a regular basis.
It’s a natural progression for the smart speaker market to go from speakers alone to adding screens. Mobile assistants are becoming an everyday part of our workflow, and being able to move from query to visual aid quickly, or from voice request to tv show, adds a whole new level of value.
Like most of the companies showing off their smart home products at CES, Lutron was busy showing off their continued support for Amazon Alexa. Specifically, the company announced that Lutron smart lighting and shade systems now have support for groups and routines.
When I reviewed the Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST a few weeks ago, I noted that Ultimate Ears is one of those rare companies who promise device updates and actually deliver! Well, they just proved my point by delivering voice control for Pandora. I already loved the MEGABLAST and I truly love knowing UE will keep making it better.
Our home is all-in with Alexa-enabled smart devices. I considered getting an Amazon Echo Spot and using it as a bedside clock, but I didn’t see much advantage to that. Then I saw the upcoming Sandman Doppler from Palo Alto Innovation. It may look like a bedside alarm clock, but it is a complete information hub powered by Alexa.
If you’ve been burdened with Amazon’s Echo ruining your home Decor, it’s time for you to upgrade to the Harman Kardon Allure Portable Digital Assistant Speaker.
https://youtu.be/ysQE1DsRTBI There are very few laptop brands that non-tech geeks recognize. They’re aware that Samsung, HP, and Dell make PCs, but the one laptop that evokes an “Oh yeah, those are supposed to be great, right?” is the ThinkPad.
Both Greg and I love the Jabra Elite Sport Buds. They are comfortable, sound amazing and offer a ton of features. Now Jabra has announced three new Elite Series headsets– the Jabra Elite 65t, Elite Active 65t and Elite 45e that have Amazon Alexa integration baked in. I, for one, am pretty darn excited to try out them out.
If you’re looking for a simple DIY smart home security system that doesn’t need a bunch of fuss to install, abode systems has the answer for you in their “iota” Security & Camera smart home system.
As Amazon Alexa continues its road to smart home domination, an increasing number of devices are adding Alexa functionality to their products. Azpen Innovation is jumping on the bandwagon with two Alexa-enabled DockAll wireless docking stations/chargers. If you make use of Alexa devices and have a phone with wireless charging, you need to check these out.
Have you been thinking about hiring an office assistant? Amazon has someone they think would be perfect for the job — their virtual voice assistant, Alexa.
I purchased the first generation Amazon Echo thinking it was the best Alexa-enabled speaker available — at the time, anyway. While the Echo does all right in a smaller room, the speaker is anemic at best. But I’ve had the opportunity to check out the KitSound Voice One Smart Speaker recently, and I’ve found it to be much better.
Do you live on a busy street? Have noisy neighbors? Do you have a housemate who snores in an adjoining room? All of these things may be no big deal during the day, but at night, when you need to sleep, they aren’t exactly conducive to a solid 8+ hours, are they? You need the Nightingale Smart Home Sleep System.
I’m a huge fan of Ultimate Ears speakers. The UE MEGABOOM was close to perfection. It delivers huge, amazing sound, has great battery life and is waterproof. It is an amazing Bluetooth speaker and one I highly recommend. Now, however, the UE MEGABLAST is here. It improves on the MEGABOOM, which is still a great speaker, in almost every way.
It’s that time of the year again! For this gift guide we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite gifts for the home – but really for the whole family. We’ve made sure to include products from a wide price range, so you can decide to go large, or not to spend much at all, but you’ll still manage to impress them.
It seems like everyone is coming out with smart speakers this fall. New to the game is 808 Audio. They recently released the XL-V Smart Speaker. It includes voice-control for Alexa, Bluetooth and is priced at $129. It looks similar to the original Amazon Echo, and it’s a good option if you are in the market for a smart speaker.
I’ve been a huge fan of Ultimate Ears speakers and have always impressed with both sound and aesthetics. In fact, the ROLL 2, BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM serve as our poolside speakers all summer long. (Check out all the reviews!) Now the company has announced the BLAST and MEGABLAST. They look amazing and have Amazon Alexa hands-free voice control baked in.
After years insisting their system be as closed as possible with regard to everything but the streaming music services with which it has partnered, Sonos has finally moved into the “smart speaker” space. With the launch of the Sonos One, Amazon Alexa will be available out of the box with support for Google Assistant sometime in 2018.
Last year I reviewed a small Alexa-enabled speaker from FABRIQ. (Read the review.) I was impressed but wished it had the voice-enabled feature that makes my Amazon Echo so great. Now FABRIQ has released an updated device. The Chorus is bigger, sounds better and is voice activated. It is Amazon Alexa-enabled AND Bluetooth and costs under $100.
If you’ve got an Amazon Alexa or Google Home device, then you’ve already found out that while intelligent speakers are okay, they usually aren’t that great to look at nor do they sound as amazing as one might hope.
Smart home technology has offered added convenience to many users, but when those devices require activating a smartphone for all interactions, they can still be a challenge for some disabled users. Now, however, integration with personal assistant technology such as Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Apple’s new HomePod could enhance smart home device value for all users.
