Article

Sony’s Personal Content Station uses NFC for mobile backups, aims for April release in Japan

My Comments

I was impressed with the Sony Personal Content Station which is an elegant ceramic-white device that works as a 1Tb mobile NAS for your mobile devices and, perhaps, your home network.

One feature that stands out is to be able to use NFC-based pairing to permit device-to-NAS file transfer between an NFC-equipped Android handset or tablet and this device. Of course, it works as a Wi-Fi NAS for other devices and you can of course upload from a USB-connected device or dump the contents of your SD “digital film” card to this device.

There is the ability to show the content on a TV whether directly-connected via HDMI or via a DLNA network connection. Of course, a good question worth raising is whether the Personal Content Station could interlink with an existing home network as a media server / NAS or simply be one of many devices of this ilk that are their own network. This includes whether a Wi-Fi Direct transfer could occur while the Personal Content Station is connected to the home network.

Another question yet to be raised is whether “other” NFC-initiated Wi-Fi-Direct file transfer software like Samsung’s S-Beam could do the file-transfer job without the need to install Sony’s software. This could avoid the need to “crowd out” an Android phone with many of these apps to suit different devices. Similarly, I would prefer this device to support any DLNA “media-uploader / media-downloader” standards so you can move content between this device and similar devices; and your mobile handset or digital camera via Wi-Fi by using one piece of software.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Creative Labs LiveCam Connect HD Webcam which is a high-resolution compact Webcam that fits in with most peoples’ needs. There is a 1080p variant of this Webcam for those of you who value this resolution from a Webcam.

Price AUD$89.95

Connection: USB 2.0

Resolution: 720p

Lens: Auto-focus

Microphone: Noise cancelling single microphone

Installation

Flat base for shelf, desktop or CRT monitor

A common problem with many peripherals and I end up receiving assistance calls for is installing the peripheral device and making sure it works with the host computer’s operating system.

Firstly, I had to install it on the edge of my LCD monitor and it clipped to the monitor properly. It hasn’t fallen off for as long as I have used it but you may find that your monitor’s shape may cause it to fall off easily. This may include setups such as laptops or some all-in-ones where the user can angle the screen back as they wish.  Here, you may need to use Blu-Tack or something similar to hold it in place on the screen’s top edge.

As for software, the setup routine for setting up with Skype or similar software was a very quick plug-and-play experience with Windows identifying it very quickly and pulling down the necessary drivers from Windows Update. Here, I didn’t need to use the supplied CD to install the drivers. Even upgrading the operating system to Windows 8 didn’t require me to look for and download new drivers from Creative’s Website.

I didn’t bother to run the full-featured software that Creative provided because most of these cameras would primarily be set up as video-conferencing cameras with Skype or similar software and I wanted to replicate this kind of setup.

Stand hinged like a peg for use with flat-screen monitors or laptops

It presents itself as a microphone sound device and as a Webcam-class video camera device. There is the ability to add on a Windows Imaging Class driver from Creative to allow for full-on image-capture activity for photo applications.

In operation, there is a red light around the lens primarily to work as a tally light but this stays on all the time while connected to the computer. At the moment, the software doesn’t control the light.

Capabilities

The Creative LiveCam Connect HD webcam is capable of 720p resolution and can work with H.264 video. It has a real autofocus lens which yields clearer pictures compared to the typical Webcam that uses a fixed lens. I used this unit for a practice Skype videocall which was part of helping a friend of mine “get the hang of” Skype before their daughter went overseas and found that it could work properly in existing room light.

I also observed the sound and found that the camera’s microphone yielded clear sound without you needing to be close to and facing the camera for the recipient to hear your voice.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The Creative LiveCam is representative of a very mature Webcam product class where there has been work on improving its vision and audio capabilities.

There is a control  button which works properly with Creative’s full-featured software but I would like to see this tie in well with Skype and other softphone applications and it may be a driver and application-programming-interface issue with these applications.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Creative LiveCam Connect HD Webcam as a replacement for a desktop or laptop Webcam that has failed or worked below par. Similarly you could purchase this Webcam as a way to add a highly-capable Webcam to a regular desktop computer that isn’t already equipped with one.

Introduction

In Part 1, I had covered the home entertainment direction with such technologies as the 4K UHDTV screens, smart TV, and the presence of alternate gaming boxes. Then in Part 2, I had covered the rise of touchscreen computing, increased pixel density the 802.11ac Wi-Fi network segment amongst other things. Now I am about to cover the mobile-computing technology which is infact a strong part of the connected lifestyle.

Mobile technology

Smartphones

A major direction that is showing up for smartphones is the 5” large-screen devices that have been brought about by the Samsung Galaxy Note series of smartphones. These are described as “phablets” because they are a bridge device between the traditional 4” smartphone and the 7” coat-pocket tablet.

Sony are premiering the new Xperia premium Android phones which are the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL 5” standard with 1080p display. The Xperia ZL is a dual-SIM variant of the XPeria Z. As well, Huawei have increased their foothold in the US market by offering more of the reasonably-priced regular smartphones.

There has been some more effort towards standardised wireless charging for the smartphone. This is although there are two groups promoting their standards – the Power Matters Alliance and the Wireless Power Consortium who maintain the Qi (chee) wireless-charging standard. Examples of this include Toyota implementing the Qi standard in their 2013 Avalon vehicles and Nokia integrating it in to their Lumia 920 smartphones.

On the accessories front, Invoxia had launched an iPhone dock which connected two desk phones to the iPhone. The original device used the iPhone as an outside line for the desk phones whereas the current version launched here also works as a VoIP terminal for the desk phones. It also works with a supplied iOS softphone app to have the iPhone as a softphone for the VoIP setup.

Tablets

Now there is an increasing number of the 7” coat-pocket tablets which were previously dismissed in the marketplace but made popular by the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire. The Windows-RT-based devices were showing up more as a 10” tablet or a detachable-keyboard hybrid device.

Polaroid, trying to keep their brand alive in consumers’ minds after the demise of their legendary instant-picture cameras, have launched a few of the Android tablets. One is a 7” unit pitched for use by children. Here, this model uses 8Gb onboard storage and microSD expansion, 2-megapixel camera and works only with 802.11g/n Wi-Fi networks. It is built in a rugged form to withstand little ones’ handling but can work well for environments where a coat-pocket tablet device could cop a lot of hard wear-and-tear. The M10 is a 10” variant with a brushed-metal finish.

RCA fielded an 8” Android tablet that is made by Digital Stream and has integrated TV tuners. Here, it could pick up conventional ATSC digital TV and mobile ATSC (Dyle) broadcasts and works to the Android ICS. Personally, I would suspect that this device could be sold out to other markets, perhaps under other brands and equipped with local-spec tuners like DVB-T tuners.

Mobile technology

The ARM-based microprocessor has raised the ante for more powerful work by offering the same number of processor cores as the newer IA-32 or IA-64 processors used in regular computers. Yet this could allow for increased computing power with less power requirements thus making the embedded devices, smartphones and tablets that use RISC processing do more.

Here, NVIDIA launched the Tegra 4 which is a4-core ARM CPU that can yield faster response from tablets and smartphones. Samsung raised the bar with their Exynos 5 Octa which is an 8-core ARM CPU.

Samsung used this event to show a prototype 5.5” (1280×720) flexible screen and a 55” flexible screen as a proof-of-concept. As well, LG increased the pixel density by exhibiting a 5.5” 1080p smartphone screen.

The connected home

There has been very little happening concerning home automation and security through the past years of the Consumer Electronics Show but this year, the connected home has increased its foothold here.

This is demonstrated through the concept of mobile apps being used to control or monitor appliances, thermostats, security systems and the like.

Here, Motorola demonstrated a “Connected Home” router being a device that allows you to control a network-enabled central-heating thermostat using an app on an Android phone. What I liked of this was that the mobile device used to manage that thermostat wasn’t just the Apple iPhone and you were able to move away from that hard-to-program wall thermostat.

This has been brought about through the Nest thermostat opening up the market for user-friendly thermostats for heating / cooling systems. Here, this could lead to a commercial-style heating-control setup with a small wall-mounted box that works as a temperature sensor but may have a knob or two buttons for you to adjust the comfort level “on the fly”. Then you use your smartphone, tablet or computer that runs an easy-to-understand app to program comfort levels for particular times of particular days.

Alarm.com, a firm who provide monitoring for home automation and security sold through large retailers, has provided a “dashboard app” for their equipment that works on their platform. This app runs on the common mobile-phone platforms (iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 8) so you can use your phone to check on the state of things with your Alarm.com setup.

Similarly, the Securifi Almond+ 802.11ac Wi-Fi router was exhibited at this year’s CES. This is a regular home network router but has integrated Zigbee / Z-Wave wireless home-automation-network support. Here, this device can be seen as a dashboard for the connected home and they are intending to fund this with a Kickstarter campaign.

As for appliances, Dacor integrated a 7” Android tablet into their high-end wall oven and this provides for guided cooking including recipe lookup. Of course, Samsung hasn’t let go of the Internet fridge dream and exhibited a four-door fridge with an integrated app-driven screen that can work alongside their Android phones and tablets. They also exhibited a top-loading washing machine that uses an LCD control panel and is able to be controlled with a smartphone.

This is part of the “Internet of things” and this concept was underscored by a few manufacturers becoming charter members of the “Internet Of Things Consortium”. It is about an open-frame vendor-independent infrastructure for interlinking home automation / security, consumer entertainment, and computing devices using the common standards and common application-programming interfaces.

Automotive Technology

Of course the car is not forgotten about at the Consumer Electronics Show, and is considered as an extension of our connected lives.

A main automotive drawcard feature for this year are the self-driving cars; but the core feature for now are the app platforms for vehicle infotainment systems. Infact, Ford and GM are encouraging people to develop software for their infotainment setups. This is exploiting the fact that midrange and premium cars are increasingly being equipped with Internet connections and highly-sophisticated infotainment systems that have navigation, mobile phone integration and media playback.

Here, you might think of navigation, Internet radio / online content services and communications services. It may also include “one-touch” social destination sharing amongst other things.

For example, Google Maps to come in to Hyundai and Kia cars as part of their UVO connected infotainment platform. The first vehicle to have this is the Kia Sorrento (model-year 2014). Similarly Hyundai are implementing the MirrorLink smartphone-user-interface-replication technology in the infotainment setups.

As well. TuneIn Radio and Apple Siri integration are to be part of model-year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic & Spark cars. Ford has implement the Glympse social-destination-sharing software as part of their SYNC AppLink platform.

Similarly, Pioneer are extending the AppRadio functionality across most of their head-units so you can have certain iOS apps managed from the dashboard. They have also provided connectivity options for Apple’s iPhone 5 device with its Lightning connector and iOS 6 platform.

Last but not least

Pebble were showing a Kickstarter-funded concept of an E-paper smartwatch that interlinks with your smartphone. Here. I was wondering whether E-paper and E-ink could become the new LCD display for devices that can rely on an available-light display. It was also a way where these “smartwatches” were having us think back to the 80s where the more features and functions a digital watch had, the better it was and you could start showing off that watch to your friends.

Conclusion

This year has underscored a few key trends:

• the 4K UHDTV display and displays with increased pixel density being mainstream,
• the acceptance of touchscreen computing with regular computers courtesy of Windows 8,
• the arrival of very lightweight laptop computers,
• NFC becoming a common setup method for smartphones and consumer AV,
• the draft 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi network segment being exhibited with relatively-mature equipment,
• the 5” smartphone and 7” tablet becoming mainstream mobile options

and has shown up what can be capable in our connected lives. Who knows what the next major trade shows will bring forth, whether as a way to “cement” these technologies or launch newer technologies. Similarly, it would be interesting whether these technologies would catch on firmly in to the marketplace.

Article

Portable Touchscreen Monitor to Make Your Laptop More Windows 8-Touch-Friendly

My Comments

Do you run Windows 8 on an existing or low-end laptop that doesn’t have integrated touchscreen abilities? If so, you may find that the experience is not all that enjoyable, even if you work the interface using the multi-touch trackpad.

Lenovo have answered this situation with a portable 15” monitor known as the LT-1423. It is available as a USB 3.0 DisplayLink variant that connects to your laptop via the USB 3.0 cable or as a Wi-Fi variant which exploits the WiDi technology. The Wi-Fi variant has its own battery and can run a continuous session for four hours but the USB version is known not to put much impact on the laptop’s battery runtime.

What can be an issue here is that you may find it hard to get used to the idea of a second screen being the main touchscreen for your laptop while you have the screen above your keyboard serving secondary duties such as a copy-entry screen. As well, you may find that some applications like hardcore real-time games may not work well with this screen as DisplayLink doesn’t implement a high refresh rate for these applications.

Even if your laptop has touchscreen abilities, this screen could work well as a “B screen” for managing a screenshow or having notes on display during that screenshow. You could even use this as the wide-work-area setup on the road when you work that extra-large spreadsheet.

This is another example of Lenovo offering methods of gaining more mileage out of existing computer equipment.

Introduction

By the end of Christmas and, in some cases, even through Advent, manufacturers are starting to run teaser press releases about what technologies and products they will release or exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

TV technology

A major part of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was TV and video technology.

4K ultra-high-definition TV

Every TV manufacturer ran with a flatscreen TV set capable of displaying images at the new 4K ultra-high-definition resolution. This yields an image of 3840×2160 pixels, equivalent to an image captured by an 8 megapixel digital camera.

Some of these were 84” or 110” sets which wouldn’t fit in to most peoples’ living rooms and would be out of most peoples’ price ranges. But manufacturers like Sony are launching 4K TV models at 55” and 65” screen sizes. These are exploiting the high-pixel-density trend which is encompassing display design, in a similar effect to what the Apple Retina display has brought about.

At the moment, these sets upscale standard definition and high-definition images from broadcast and other video sources. But Sony is working on a hard-disk-based media player to play content that has been turned out in this form. This is part of a 4K media distribution network that they expect to launch by the end of the Northern-Hemisphere summer.

It is also reckoned that it will take a few years for the 4K UHDTV technology to mature and manufacturers to release models at a price that most of us can afford. This is something that will typically happen with most technology.

OLED and Display technology

Another trend that LG, Samsung and Sony are working on is the OLED display for the large-screen TV set. This is something most of us would experience with an HTC or Samsung smartphone and yields a high contrast ration and very deep colours.

Sony is wanting to apply it to a 4K ultra-high-definition display, but LG and Samsung are advancing the OLED screens at the 55” HD formats. For that matter, Panasonic was also showing a 56” 4K OLED screen as a prototype. Samsung also advanced a curved 55” HD prototype along with a curved 5” prototype for handheld applications.

On the other hand, LG has demonstrated a laser projection TV setup called the HECTO. This unit can show a 100” 16:9 image with a 22” throw using a special screen and yield this as a very bright image. The projection unit has what is expected of a flat-screen TV, including an integrated TV tuner.

Smart TV technologies

The TV is now more sophisticated and smart than it ever was. This is where it is not just a display device or just to pick up broadcast content. Here, the set effectively works as a computer with an app-driven ecosystem.

Panasonic has also now become part of the Smart TV Alliance which was started off by LG and Philips. On the other hand, Google TV had gained some more traction as a platform with LG with the GA6400 and GA7900 “main viewing area” sets.

As for Samsung, they have improved their Smart Hub user-interface and shown the Evolution Kit which is an upgrade kit for most of their current-issue flat-screen TVs and the sets to be introduced over subsequent years. This will add on improved processor performance as well as access to the new user interface; and is an example of what they have done to satisfy the reality that TVs do perform many years of service even as they are “pushed down” to other viewing areas.

The software that is being driven with the Smart TV environment is primarily content searching, TV Everywhere and “second-screen” applications. It is also leading to various “virtual cable box” applications where the TV is its own cable box with the content delivered via the Internet using end-to-end content-protection / subscription-management technology.

Audio and Video Technology

NFC “Touch & Go” operation

A strong trend that is showing up this year is NFC-driven “Touch & Go” operation. Here, you touch your NFC-capable Android smartphone or tablet to the device to have it pair up and connect via Bluetooth or set up via Wi-Fi for music playback. This avoids many confusing processes to get that wireless speaker going. As far as music systems and similar products go, it would also have the unit select the “Bluetooth” or “Network Audio” source automatically.

Sony had made a “big thing” of this feature with their wireless speakers and headsets through their press conference. As well, most of the manufacturers who are running wireless speakers, music systems or home-theatre-in-box systems are integrating this function in their products.

LG has implemented this further with their newer Blu-Ray home theatre. Here, the Android device can be set to throw its display on to the connected TV screen which would come in handy for viewing videos or playing games held on this device. Similarly the Android device can be set up to work as an “earphone” for the home theatre so you can use it late at night without scrambling around for the headset jack on the TV or home theatre central unit.

AV receivers

So far, Harman have fielded two new network AV receivers for that main audio-video system. Here, they can pull in Internet radio or content from a DLNA media source and have content “thrown” to them via the home network from your computer or mobile device using DLNA or AirPlay. The AVR-2700 has 8 HDMI connections with 4K image scale-up and a 7.1 audio output with 100W per channel while the more expensive AVR-3700 adds integrated Wi-Fi wireless and has a 7.2 audio output with a more powerful 125W per channel.

Smart video peripherals

There is an increase in the number of Blu-Ray players, home-theatre units and network media players that provide smart-TV functionality without you needing a smart TV.

For example, HiSense, ASUS and TCL were intending to sell Google-TV-based network media devices while Roku was providing a small but highly-strung network media receiver. This was eve to be able to work as a full-bore cable box for one on f the cable-TV companies in the US. Netgear also launched a new range of NeoTV network media players including some that had SlingPlayer clients and one driven by the Google TV platform.

But Archos are also fielding an Android-based network media box which is also showing that the Android platform associated with a lot of the smartphones is also appearing on the TVs as a low-cost option.

4K technology

At the moment, most video peripherals that connect to the new 4K ultra-high-definition TVs will upscale the standard-definition and high-definition images to the very high resolutions  offered by these sets. This is because there isn’t a common broadcast, on-demand or packaged-media distribution platform for distributing the content that is in this resolution.

Sony are using a hard-disk-based network media player with integrated BD-ROM drive, along with the content passed around on BD-ROM (Blu-Ray data) discs as a way of distributing the content. But they are working on an improved distribution method to go live by the middle of the year. As well, they said that consumer 4K will take some time to mature as equipment becomes more affordable.

Of course, Sony outlined that the 4K ultra-high-definition technology will be used in the video-production workflow, telecine (film-to-video) and video mastering applications. It is in a similar vein to the early days of digital audio recording before the arrival of the CD. This was where audio recordings were produced using at least a digital master-recording and this recording was used to turn out the records and tapes that were for public sale.

This will also involve films having their master negatives transferred to 4K video using equipment that scans the master negative at this resolution, then a 1080p scaled-down copy of this 4K master would be used for Blu-Ray distribution or HDTV broadcast. Sony also stated that they would implement the 4K production workflow into short-form video work like TV drama and commercials.

Broadcast-LAN cable TV setups

The FCC has recently laid down a pro-competition pro-consumer requirement for pay-TV providers to implement a broadcast-LAN strategy to work with most DLNA-compliant smart TVs and video peripherals. This is to drop the need to equip every TV in the house with a set-top box as is commonly the case with providing pay-TV to each set.

Intel has shown a broadcast-LAN gateway with 6 tuners and support for the DLNA content-protection requirements. This device is being positioned as being for use with Comcast’s cable-TV setups; while there are similar devices including cable boxes with this function being provided for other cable-TV systems.

Speakers and soundbars

There has been an increase in the number of wireless speakers and soundbars that are to work with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (AirPlay / DLNA) setups.

Samsung has furthered the hybrid valve (vacuum tube) / transistor design that they used in a few wireless speakers of theirs in to their latest TV soundbar. This unit uses an accelerometer to allow it to self-adjust for lying flat or standing on its edge in respect to how it sounds and where it displays its status.

Video gaming

The console gaming market has undergone a shakeup over this year with NVIDIA and Valve fielding their TV-based gaming systems – the Shield portable and the Steam Box TV-based unit . This is alongside the Ouya Android-based TV console and a Kickstarter-funded portable showing up as Android-powered alternatives.

Here, the Steam Box would have access to the Valve Steam game store while the Shield would have access to the NVIDIA TegraZone games store alongside the Google Play app store. This is showing up to be an “uh-oh” moment for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo who have thought of themselves in a position to “call the shots” for console gaming, especially when it comes to what titles can surface. I also suspect that this will also be a time for smaller independent studios to surface with some interesting games titles that are away from the norm.

Conclusion

Stay tuned for the next part of this series which will cover PC and home-network technology which will help in bringing the increasingly-connected home together from the CES.

Introduction

I haven’t reviewed any of the Internet table radios for over a year because of a desire to review the “big sets” such as the hi-fi equipment and systems; as well as encompassing other computer equipment.

But now I have the chance to review the Pure Sensia 200D Connect Internet table radio which is the successor to the original Pure Sensia, the first Internet table radio that is controlled in the same manner to the smartphone or tablet. This set has been optimised for Pure Connect which is the rebranded version of the original “Lounge” online content service offered by Pure, with this service also become a music-content streaming service as well as an Internet-radio directory.

Price

The unit itself

Recommended Retail Price: AUD$599

Accessories and options

Optional ChargePAK F1 battery: AUD$79

Functions

Connections

Speakers

The Internet radio iteslf

Oval-shape remote control

The Pure Sensia 200D Connect, which is available in white or black, is an egg-shaped radio which can sit directly on the bench with its touchscreen display angled upwards. As well it can be perched on its supplied base so the display can face straight forwards. It also comes with an oval-shaped infra-red remote control that can be used to operate the basic functions.

As for power. the radio can work on AC with the supplied AC adaptor or can work on the optional ChargePAK F1 rechargeable battery which allows it to be a portable radio.

The connections available on the radio – AUX IN, Headphones, USB

One feature I am pleased about is that this radio has a headphone jack so you can use it with headphones or connect it to external powered speakers like computer speakers for a better sound.

The sound from the internal speakers has some good bass response which works well for voice and music, something that would be expected from a good table radio. Even when I tried it with the New Year’s Eve broadcast form Heart London, the sound from Big Ben’s chimes that rang in the year at midnight GMT (UTC) had that same weighty sound. As for tone control, you only have the bass & treble settings, without any loudness compensation or other tone preset.

For FM radio, the Pure Sensia 200D Connect is not all that consistent in “nailing” a clean stereo signal for all Melbourne stations when it was used downstairs of our split-level house. On the other hand, the set was able to catch all DAB+ multiplexes in Melbourne and play the expected clean sound from the services that are on the multiplexes. Of course the radio supports full information display for RDS-capable FM stations and DAB+ stations.

This set is operated primarily via this touch screen

The Internet radio functionality that the Pure Sensia 200D Connect has work well even though it was dealing with over-subscribed Internet broadcast streams. Like other Pure radios, the Sensia uses a form-based selection arrangement for “drilling down” Internet stations that you are after. This is different to the “tree-based” arrangement that most Internet radios use.

As well, you sign up with the free Pure Connect to store your favourite stations, which can also work as a listening point for Internet radio on your computer. There is also the ability to record from DAB+ or Internet broadcasts to a USB memory stick in the same way that you used to in the 80s with the classic boomboxes. But this function doesn’t extend to FM broadcasts.

Controls for power and volume on top of the radio

The Pure Sensia 200D Connect does work as part of the DLNA Home Media Network, more so when you select the content from its display rather than “push” the content from another DLNA Control Point device. You also have the ability to have this device show images on its display thus working as an electronic picture frame.

It can also work as a clock radio that responds to two alarm events and a kitchen (count-down) timer. The alarm events can be set to a particular weekday, Monday-Friday or the weekend as well as the ability to sound every day. There is even the ability to set the alarm to sound once which can be useful for specific events or if you have the Sensia 200D Connect in a guest bedroom.

When you turn the Pure Sensia off, the screen shows the current time, but goes blank until you touch it. You can override this so that the radio can work as a clock, showing the current time all the time when it is off.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

One point of improvement that Pure could implement is to be able to use a USB-connected optical drive as a CD player when you just want to play CDs. Similarly, the support for Bluetooth, DLNA MediaRenderer or Apple Airplay functionality could allow for wireless playback of music from smartphones or tablets.

This radio has the potential to be the basis for a platform-driven table radio product with such things as an app store or a software package that provide enhanced functionality. For example, it could benefit from a “hotel package” which provides an easy-to-set alarm clock that is reset when a guest checks out, volume limiting, tourist-information display and the like to benefit the hotel industry. Similarly, there could be apps that show the news, weather or RSS newsfeeds.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Pure Sensia 200D Connect radio be useful for a network-enabled radio that can be used in the kitchen, office or shop; or as a clock radio for the bedroom. This is more so if you value the large touchscreen or the online integrated functionality that this radio offers.

Article

Iris Care Lets You Know When Your Parents Have Fallen and Can’t Get Up | Gizmodo

My Comments

As part of a new trend for the home automation and security industries, there is strong interest in technology to facilitate “independent ageing”. Here this allows older people or those of us with chronic illnesses to be able to live independently yet there is the gentle eye for illnesses or accidents.

Iris, which is sold through the US Lowes hardware-store chain, have set up an option for their home-automation and security offering which does this. Here, you have the standard medical-alert fob that hangs around the person’s neck but there is the ability to notify if certain things are out of order as you determine. For example, you could know if there is continual normal movement or, for example, know if the front door had been left open or the stove was left on at an odd time.

What I see of this is that the industry is answering to the ageing baby-boomer population which is becoming older; and a desire for “ageing with dignity” where an older person can live independently yet their relatives and friends are safe in the knowledge that they are OK.