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The Honeywell Smart Home Security System gives Alexa Eyes!

The Honeywell Smart Home Security System was just announced on Indiegogo ahead of its official debut at CES 2018. This DIY,  self-installed, all-in-one security solution is centered around a camera base station with an integrated 1080p HD camera and 145-degree field of view. The system is self-monitoring but also serves as an Alexa enabled speaker, so it can be controlled by and provide alerts to an app, other devices that are part of the Alexa ecosystem or respond to voice commands. It also supports Honeywell satellite wireless motion viewers to provide expanded home coverage. Read on to learn more!

The camera base station and additional devices can be adjusted using a schedule, location-based geofencing, or customizable event triggers. At launch, the system includes 24 hours of cloud-based video recording. Privacy may be achieved by turning video recording off in the app or by closing a manual privacy shutter on the base station. Monitoring and review of the video can be performed through the app. The system will incorporate facial recognition with push notifications upon launch, so system owners can be alerted to the people entering the secure location by name.  Future audio analytics updates will enable the system to know the difference between an alert from a smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) alarm, a dog barking or other loud noises.

Honeywell’s Smart Home Security System is available through Indiegogo’s Enterprise Crowdfunding service for a discounted price to backers through December 16. The bundle for sale includes the camera base station, window and door access sensors, and a key fob as another option to control the system. Following the exclusive Indiegogo pre-order campaign, the system will become more widely available early next year with bundled pricing starting at $499 MSRP.

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The Honeywell Smart Home Security System gives Alexa Eyes! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 4, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Let your Amazon Echo Dot be anywhere with “This Dottie”

I love my Amazon Echo Dot and one of the best things about it is its portability, but I always find myself looking for somewhere to put it where it’s out of the way and then trying to figure out what to do with its ugly cord. Say hello to This Dottie, a plug-in mount specifically designed for the second generation Amazon Echo Dot. 

This Dottie makes it possible to mount your Dot anywhere you have an electrical outlet; No tools required. Simply insert your Echo Dot into This Dottie and plug it in. It keeps your Dot out of the way and eliminates the need for furniture on which to place it. It comes with a short Micro USB cord and USB power adaptor which are housed inside the mount, so there’s no more cord to deal with. The Dots vertical positioning improves the microphone arrays sensitivity and also improves the clarity of audio playback. The sturdy one-piece design can be mounted in an up or down configuration. Made by ‘Nothing Like This’ it’s the perfect Echo Dot accessory you never knew you needed until now.

This Dottie is available in either black or white and is priced at $19.99. Visit their site for more info and Amazon to purchase.

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Let your Amazon Echo Dot be anywhere with “This Dottie” originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 21, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Sonos One Review

I’m an avid Alexa user. I use Alexa to control my lights, my Dyson, and even my air conditioner. I even miss her when I’m staying in a hotel. But until now I’ve been using the Amazon Echo Dots and Echo Taps to boss her around. I also have two Sonos PLAY:1 speakers at home, so when Sonos announced that they are bringing Alexa into their eco-system with the new Sonos One, I was ecstatic. 

The Sonos One is nearly identical in design to its predecessor the PLAY:1, but it’s a bit taller, and it houses touch sensitive buttons on its top side. The touch controls let you swipe to skip a track, and tap to turn up the volume. There is also a mute “button” for the mic for when you want privacy. An LED indicator light at the top is also used to indicate when the Sonos One’s microphone is active. But having a similar form factor to the PLAY:1 is where their similarities end, because on the inside, Sonos has completely reengineered the speaker system of the Sonos One. To that effect, on the inside you get two Class-D digital amplifiers, one tweeter, and one mid-woofer, that are complimented by a six-mic array that uses an adaptive noise suppression algorithm.

To make sure your Sonos One is operating at its peak, Sonos has a Trueplay feature in the Sonos app which automatically tunes the Sonos One for the room it’s playing in. So how does the Sonos One sound? It sounds incredible for its size. I’ve been listening to the two and comparing them, and would say that the Sonos One edges out the PLAY:1 in terms of clarity. To that effect, instruments and subtle details can be heard with more detail on the Sonos One. That’s not to say that the PLAY:1 is a slouch by any means, but the Sonos One does sound better than the PLAY:1. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that a single Sonos One sounds very powerful – even when not playing in stereo mode with another Sonos One. That said, we do wish that Sonos would let us pair a Sonos One with a PLAY:1 in stereo mode, and we’re hoping that Sonos will offer that feature eventually through a software update.

Sonos has packed in a 6 microphone array into the Sonos One. As a result, Alexa is super responsive, even while music is playing. Thanks to voice capture technology with echo cancelation, you can call out Alexa and the Sonos One will hear you – even while playing loud music. The experience is way superior to the Amazon Echo Dot and Taps that I’ve been using. So far I have been testing Alexa’s music commands on the Sonos One with Amazon Music. I’ve been telling Alexa to do things like “play Haim”, or “lower the volume” and Alexa on the Sonos One has been very responsive, and in general a pleasure to use. When you do call out for Alexa, the volume on the Sonos one will duck out to a lower volume so that you don’t have to shout.

Sonos is a pioneer and leader when it comes to multi-room speaker system set ups, and Alexa on the Sonos One can be used to control other Sonos speakers connected to your network. So you can tell your Sonos One in your bedroom to play music in another room, i.e.: “Alexa, play Alanis in the kitchen”.

We tested playing music with Alexa through Amazon Music on the Sonos One, but Spotify support should arrive soon, and hopefully before the holidays. The Sonos One will actually be the first third-party speaker to offer Alexa control for Spotify. At present, not all of Alexa’s voice commands work with the Sonos One, such as asking Alexa for a flash briefing, but an update will address this soon. Speaking of updates, Sonos has a great track record with bringing out software updates that continue to improve on their devices, and they are planning on bringing support for Google Assistant and Siri in 2018.

Final Thoughts

The Sonos One represents the next step for Alexa and voice control. To that effect, instead of voice control technology coming first and sonics coming second, the Sonos One offers the perfect marriage of beautiful audio with voice control technologies. And thanks to Sonos’ commitment to software updates, you won’t have to choose Alexa over Siri over Google Assistant. You’ll be able to have your cake and eat it too.

Like its predecessor the PLAY:1, the Sonos One sounds incredible for a $199 Speaker. Plus the fact that it has got Alexa built in makes it a pretty good value. Overall, the Sonos One is another superb connected speaker product from Sonos, and we’re looking forward to future software updates that further unlock its potential.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Sonos. Please visit their site for more info.

 

Product Information

Price: $199.00
Manufacturer: Sonos
Pros:
  • Superb sound for its size
  • Alexa works great thanks to a 6 microphone array with noise cancellation Redesigned Sonos app is cleaner and more intuitive to navigate
  • New touchscreen controls are neat
  • Support for Siri and Google Assistant is on the way
Cons:
  • Spotify support is not available yet, but it’s coming soon!
  • Not all of Alexa's skills are enabled yet – but software updates will address this
  • We would like to see the ability to pair a Sonos One with a PLAY:1 in stereo mode

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Sonos One Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 18, 2017 at 7:51 am.

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Sonos One is their first smart speaker with Alexa (Hands-on)

“Play mom’s playlist.” We suspected it was coming, and today Sonos confirmed that they are bringing Alexa into their eco-system. A software update is now available that allows Sonos owners to use Alexa to control their Sonos. The update is a beta that will be available for users in select countries, including the U.S. 

The company also unveiled their new Sonos One speaker which comes with Alexa support out of the box. But don’t let its familiar looks fool you, the Sonos One might look similar to their Play One speaker on the outside – but on the inside, it has been completely re-engineered. To that effect, it comes with a six-mic array and an adaptive noise suppression algorithm that has been optimized for Alexa. Worried that Alexa won’t hear you over the music? That’s where the echo cancellation technology inside of the mics come into play. Overall, the Sonos One is really positioned as a building block, since it allows you to use Alexa to control the rest of the Sonos family.

We briefly got to listen to the Sonos One, and it sounded fantastic for its size – even when playing all on its lonesome. Of course, like with other Sonos speakers, you will be able to pair the Sonos One with other Sonos Ones in stereo mode. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to pair the Sonos One with an older Play One speaker that you may have laying around. That’s a bummer, but Sonos did tell us that they may possibly add that feature later on in an update. And considering how great Sonos is with software updates, our hopes are high.  The Sonos One will retail for $199. Pre-orders for the Sonos One start on October 4th at www.sonos.com and it will be available globally on the 24th.

And not to make Google feel left out – especially on “Google Day”, Sonos announced that support for Google Assistant will arrive in 2018. In addition, Sonos unveiled plans to bring Apple Airplay 2 to their speakers in 2018, as well as the ability to directly control Sonos from within the Pandora and Tidal apps via an update within the next few months. Direct control from within Audible, iHeartRadio, and Kuke Music are also set to land in 2018. Last but not least, Sonos showed off a revamped Sonos app, which is more user friendly and modern, offering quicker access to your music.

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Sonos One is their first smart speaker with Alexa (Hands-on) originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2017 at 8:15 pm.

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Meet the new member of the Amazon Echo family: Echo Spot

“‘Echo Spot combines the popular small design of Echo Dot [it measures 4.1” x 3.8” x 3.6” or 104 mm x 97 mm x 81 mm], the display of Echo Show, and the features you love about Alexa into an all-new, stylish and compact device,’ said Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President, Amazon Alexa” (according to Amazon’s Press Release). Using Spot you can use all the features of Alexa (like ordering a pizza or requesting an Uber, controlling your thermostat or lights, or asking questions) and ask her to show you news flashes, the lyrics to Amazon Music songs, your calendar, the weather, etc. Its small design makes it perfect for use as a smart clock on your nightstand or your desk or really for any room in the house.

The Echo Spot connects to your home network via WiFi just like the other Echo devices. It has a built-in speaker you can use or you can connect it to other speakers via Bluetooth or 3.5 mm audio cable. It also has a front-facing camera so that you can make hands-free video calls or if you have one of these in each room in your house and you enable the Drop-In feature which allows you to connect it to other Echo devices, you can check in on each other (e.g. check on your baby sleeping in her room or check in on mom in the kitchen to see when dinner might be ready). Oh my gosh, I love this design and I love my Echo Dot so this has a definite future in our home. The Echo Spot comes in black or white and is available for pre-order right now from Amazon for $129.99 and will start shipping on December 19, 2017.

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Meet the new member of the Amazon Echo family: Echo Spot originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 29, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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