Darryl Wilkinson

CES 2014
Samsung Says “My Home is an Honor Student”
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2014
Samsung Electronics thinks your home should be smart – as long as it’s filled with Samsung Smart TVs, Samsung home appliances, and Samsung smartphones that are all connected and managed through Samsung’s Smart Home platform. Samsung’s Smart Home is designed to enable homeowners to control and manage many of the devices in their homes via a single, simple app. The devices that Samsung envisions to be part of the Smart Home ecosystem will include refrigerators, washing machines, Smart TVs, digital cameras, smartphones, and wearable devices (such as the Galaxy Gear). In the beginning, Samsung Smart Home will offer three features: Device Control, Home View, and Smart Customer Service. Device Control provides what you would think from the name: the ability to monitor and control home gear, such as turning the house HVAC on/off or changing lighting scenes. Interestingly, Smart Home will offer a voice command function on all of the controller devices. According to Samsung, “Users can also use chat control on their smartphone app as a fun, convenient way to communicate with their devices.” (Only as long as the appliances don’t start talking back…) Home View will allow users to view their home in real-time thanks to cameras built into Samsung appliances. (So, that means no walking around in the kitchen in your underwear…) The Smart Home’s Smart Customer Service will notify customers “when it’s time to service appliances or replace consumables, and provides assistance in after-sales servicing.” The company has developed a dedicated Smart Home software protocol (SHP) to facilitate communication between Samsung devices as well as (hopefully) other manufacturers’ appliances and devices.
CES 2014
MartinLogan Makes Some Wireless Noise with Crescendo
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2014
At CEDIA2013, MartinLogan teased us with a sneak peak at a prototype AirPlay/Bluetooth speaker that was absolutely beautiful and sure to sound fantastic thanks, in large part, to its use of MartinLogan’s amazing Folded Motion tweeters. The new Crescendo wireless stereo speaker has burst out of its prototype cocoon and become an official product that includes AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity. The remote control, normally an item manufacturers tend to overlook, included with the Crescendo is made from extruded aluminum and is extremely well designed with rubberized button caps that are easy to find and use without looking at the remote. Twin Folded Motion tweeters flank the central 5x7-inch woofer. The tweeters are also positioned to fire away from one another to the sides of the room, a design that helps to dramatically widen the stereo soundstage of the Crescendo, and it includes a subwoofer output. The gorgeous sound machine will be available in “early 2014” for $899. Of all the small speaker systems I’ve heard so far at CES2014, the MartinLogan Crescendo is unquestionably at the top of the tall stack.
CES 2014
Metra’s Soundbar + Subwoofer + Wall Mount = Awesome
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2014
Metra Home Theater hates cords and cables more than you do. The company’s new 3.1 Audio Mount Sound Bar combines an active soundbar with a 160-watt class D amp with a wall mount capable of handling 50- to 90-inch TVs. But Metra didn’t stop there. It also incorporates a powered subwoofer into the mount itself, possibly making the 3.1 Audio Mount Sound Bar the world’s easiest-to-install and cleanest-looking AV system ever. The MSRP for the 3.1 Audio Mount Sound Bar will be $899 with the product shipping early this year.
CES 2014
In-wall DIYing Without Frying Yourself from SANUS
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2014
SANUS gave an X-ray view of its upcoming In-wall Power and Cable System that’s designed to make it easy for homeowners and DIYers to install flat-panel TVs – and soundbars – on the wall and hide the wires without having to hire an installer and/or an electrician. The basic kit includes a single- or double-gang in-wall receptacle, a matching in-wall AC connection box, and an extension cable that plugs in to an existing AC outlet. You can basically think of it as a safe, uncluttered way of running an extension cable in the wall along with all of the necessary AV connecting cables. The wide ELM809 in-wall mounting box is designed to go behind wall-mounted soundbars and provide access to AC as well as AV cables that are hidden in the wall. The basic package will sell for $99 with the soundbar solution being priced at $49. Both products should be available this spring.
CES 2014
LifeHub is a Life Saver for USB Power and Charging
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2014
You wouldn’t think that an ultra-fast 3-port USB hub would be exciting enough to write about, but Innergie’s LifeHub is special because it looks fantastic and has multiple features that make the LifeHub one of the most convenient multi-port USB hubs on the market. The LifeHub has three 2.1-amp, ultra-fast charging USB ports plus s 4.5 meter (14.7 feet) power cord. It’s excellently thought out CableCradle Manager provides power cord storage as well as a stable, magnetized base on which the rounded LifeHub securely sits. The InnerShield Power Protection includes short circuit, over current, and over voltage protection; and the GreenSense Technology incorporates high-performance, energy-efficient, power-saving charging capability. The beautifully designed LifeHub is available now for $54.99.
CES 2014
Digital Innovations Says Cleanliness Is Next To Your Faceliness
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2014  |  Published: Jan 09, 2014
Two new items from Digital Innovations caught my eye at CES2014. The first was the company’s new antimicrobial formulation for its line of ScreenDr. portable screen and device cleaner. The new cleaner includes antimicrobial ingredients that “stab” bacteria to kill them rather than employ a resistance-building antibiotic ingredient. The fluid in the Screen Dr. cleans the surface of your portable device or flat-screen TV and helps prevent the re-growth of bacteria and microorganisms on the treated surface. The patented all-in-one bottle/cap/cloth holder design is extremely convenient, too. Two ounce bottles are available for $9.99. Five ounce bottles are available for $14.99. Nine ounce bottles – ideally suited for use on large-screen displays – sell for $19.99. The Digital Innovations folks say that the best value is the combo pack containing a two-ounce and a five-ounce bottle for $19.99. Also available from Digital Innovations is the cleverly designed Nest Earbud Case that quickly stores earbud cables and allows them to be removed tangle-free with a single pull. The soft, flexible silicone case is available in blue, pink, and green for $9.99.
CES 2014
Piper Is the Pick of the Peck in Home Automation Awesomeness
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2014
One of the most exciting products I’ve seen so far at CES2014 bills itself as “the first home security and automation device that combines panoramic video, Z-Wave home automation and environmental sensors into a single elegant product that you interact with on your smartphone or tablet.” Or, as the company says, “Piper is the new way to monitor and interact with your home.” Piper has an extremely impressive array of features, including three customizable security modes with a motion detector, two-way audio, and 105 dB built-in siren; full Z-Wave compatibility allowing use of a huge variety of Z-Wave home automation-oriented accessories; an HD Panoramic camera with a 180-degree fisheye lens that offers pan, tilt, and zoom in 1080p; built-in environmental sensors for temperature, humidity, ambient light, and sound; 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity; as well as Android and iOS smartphone and tablet apps for controlling the system. The user interface is clean and intuitive. Piper is available for pre-order now and is expected to begin shipping by the end of January 2014 for $239. There are no monthly or other recurring service fees.
CES 2014
What a Crock of Bluetooth!
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2014
Proclaiming that “the era of smartcookers” has arrived, Instant Pot displayed its new “iPot” – a programmable electric pressure cooker that the company calls “the Industry-First Bluetooth Smart Connected Smartcooker”, which is shown to the right in the photo above. (iPot is a much better - but easily misinterpreted – name for the kitchen appliance.) According to Instant Pot, rather than being a gimmick, Bluetooth was added because the product designers had run out of space on the smartcooker’s control panel to support all the programming features that have been requested by users of the other Instant Pot models. Instant Pot says, “Once the limiting factor of a control panel is removed, the “iPot” app can implement complex cooking functions, expand and upgrade those functions at will. This offers unparalleled simplicity, a huge variety of functions and most importantly a consistent result.” The iPot is expected to be available for sale in the US sometime in the second quarter of 2014. Pricing info was not released. Belkin is also joining the smartcooker revolution. The company announced it has partnered with Jarden Corporation, the maker of Crock-Pot and Mr. Coffee to incorporate Belkin’s WeMo technology into everyday kitchen appliances, such as the WeMo-enabled Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker shown on the left in the photo above, which is to released in the spring of 2014. The MSRP will be $99.99.
CES 2014
Is This One a KEEKER?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2014
Paris-based KEEKER was one of more than a dozen participants using an appearance at ShowStoppers LaunchIt Power Session at CES2014 to give the company’s pitch for higher-level funding and partnerships to a panel of judges. KEEKER is part mobile computer, part robot, part home entertainment system, and part security system. It looks a bit like a large, 16-inch wide by 25-inch tall egg on wheels; and it contains a built-in projector, 360-degree sound system, and a lot more. It’s either one of the silliest ideas here at CES2014, or it’s going to be a paradigm breaker. For example, one of the benefits touted in the brief pitch session was the ability of KEEKER to bring the TV to the viewer, rather than force the viewer to sit passively in front of the traditional “black box” TV set. The built-in projector can be used to display an image on any wall or ceiling. Since KEEKER is on a motorized, wheeled platform, it can be instructed to move anywhere in your home – displaying the news on the wall in your dining room, for example, and then rolling into your bedroom and shining a late-night TV show on the ceiling. (Or substitute a variety of viewing situations and content based on your own experiences.) In fact, later in the day, KEEKER was out and about in the hotel hallways displaying video on the vaulted ceiling above. KEEKER is shooting for a release date of sometime in the fourth quarter of 2014 with a tentative selling price of $5,000.
CES 2014
Intel Says Hands Off With RealSense 3D Camera
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 06, 2014
At Intel’s packed press conference earlier this afternoon, Mooly Eden, senior vice president, general manager of Perceptual Computing Group, announced Intel’s new RealSense technology. The new technology is designed to bring “human-like senses to Intel-based devices” through a variety of software and hardware products developed by Intel and collaborating companies...
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