There’s no rest for the die-hard gizmo tracker who takes off in August. It’s a hyperactive time for product releases in New York, segueing into the giant IFA electronics show in Berlin where even more are unveiled. Consider these finds from my (sigh) “busman’s holiday.”
Alexa will rule the world. Amazon’s voice command technology Alexa keeps picking up allies. Take Sonos, the leading maker of streaming music speakers. By early 2017, all Sonos gear will be controllable with the voice tech, execs said last week. Just speak into an Amazon Echo, Tap, Dot or Fire TV remote to change the music at home.
Sonos gear also is playing nicely now with home automation control products from Crestron, Savant, Control4 and our own, Lehigh Valley-based Lutron. Its folks showed me a sweet Pico Remote for Sonos ($49), wall mountable next to matching Lutron light and windowshade remotes, that can pause, skip, and get the music playing even before you walk in the door.
At IFA, LG announced that its SmartThinQ home appliances will connect with Alexa as well as Amazon’s Dash system, the latter for reordering staples like laundry soap just as you polish off a bottle – of detergent, that is. Still, I have to fret: Can Amazon manage all this success? I groused to Amazon v.p. Mike George that my Amazon Echo speaker with Alexa stops responding in peak use hours, such as Saturday morning. Maybe he heard me.
Watch this space. Not into the geeky look of most smart watches, little-changed with the second Apple Watch introduced Wednesday?
Consider the many wrist wearables coming out for year-end gifts which combine traditional watch styling with activity tracking and phone alert/control skills.
The Steel HR from Withings is the first to marry classic French analog watch design with heart rate monitoring and smartphone notifications. Its swappable battery toils 25 days, then another 20 with reduced skill set. $189.95-$199.95.
Meanwhile, the Fossil Group will be transforming its department store counters this winter with 100 new smart watches and fitness trackers, many packing Misfit technology into traditional-look watches that “people love and in styles that we sell 30 million of today,” said Greg McKelvey, chief strategy officer. Texas-based Fossil bought Misfit last November for $260 million, for making wearables with a 6 month (!) button battery life, tracking sleep as well as other activities, and triggering a smartphone’s camera and music. The Fossil watch portfolio includes Michael Kors, Kate Spade New York, Armani, Diesel, and Chaps.
While it could pass for a traditional Swiss sport watch, Samsung’s third generation Gear S3 Classic comes in a model with full LTE connectivity, meaning you can make and receive calls and messages without needing to have a smartphone in range. (Apple Watch Series 2 can’t do that.) The Bluetooth+LTE Classic lasts three days on a charge, enables Spotify and iHeart Radio streaming and offers a time-always-on mode to “look as if it’s a real timepiece,” said Samsung’s mobile computing manager David Ng.
I’ll have what he’s driving at. Keynoting at IFA, Daimler/Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche tipped some features soon to turn his rides into a “quality time machine.” On select models next year, Daimler and Microsoft will introduce the “In Car Office,” software making it safe and easy to respond to emails, take phone calls and video conference calls. Also coming, Motion Seating, an automated system that adjusts the seat periodically to ensure different muscle groups get worked on. Europeans will likely get first dibs at Mercedes “me connect Concierge Service” to book appointments and dinner reservations.
This ‘n that. Lenovo earned several “best of show” cites at IFA with the Yoga Book, a 10-inch clamshell computer with two screens, powered by Windows or Android. The bottom screen is the transformative one, turning into a keyboard with haptic feedback, or a drawing board with a stylus (included) for direct scrawling or with paper laid down and entries made with a conventional pen or pencil. Metal cased, super thin, and light. $499 to $549.
A pre-IFA briefing by Sony blew my mind with the primo sound quality and sky high price of new MDR-Z1 headphones ($2,299), the TA-ZH1ES headphone amp ($2,199) and new high res music players, including the copper chassis NW-WM1Z ($3,199) and lighter NW-WM1A ($1,199).
But in the “lets get real” department, Sony’s wireless MDR-1000X ($399) noise canceling headphones have a real shot at success, especially with all the new iPhone 7 phone buyers who can’t plug in their old headphones (as Apple has eliminated the old school analog phone jack.) Among its charms, the MDR-1000X phones offer a Sense Engine that adjusts noise canceling to your head contours.
While being promoted to tight quartered Europeans, Americans would probably like a new generation of compact, two-in-one washer/dryers from Samsung “Add/Wash Combo” and Haier (“Duo”). No venting required!
Touted by some as the Keurig for beer lovers, the long-awaited PicoBrew craft beer maker is almost ready to ship, developers said at IFA. It brews a 5-liter mini keg in about two hours, using PicoPak pre-packaged ingredient packs ($15-$29) or your own blend. Could it be any easier? Pre-delivery (you have to pay in advance) costs $799. See picobrew.com.
215-854-5960 @JTakiff
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