There’s certainly no lack of interesting DIY home monitoring cameras at CES2016. The original Oco is here, still featuring self-learning sound and motion-detection algorithms, night vision capability, and two-way audio communication. But the diminutive 1280 x 720 (25 fps) camera isn’t alone at the company’s booth.
Parent company Invoxia calls Triby “the next generation voice-controlled speaker for the kitchen”, which is a relatively boring, generic description for a device that is much more exciting than that tag line makes it seem to be. And now that Triby is “the first third-party device to announce integration with the Amazon Alexa Voice Service” it’s even more exciting.
Most battery-powered smoke detectors are designed to give a warning when the battery is running low, and that’s a good thing. On the other hand, it’s almost inevitable that your smoke detector will wait until the middle of the night before it starts emitting that purposely annoying chirp warning sound. The Roost Smart Battery For Smoke Alarms is a dead-simple, very affordable device that will prevent middle-of-the-night chirping and also add some smarts to your “dumb” smoke alarm.
One of Sengled’s tag lines is “Be Surprised”; and if you had walked into CES Unveiled on Monday evening without a clue as to who or what Sengled is, you’d have been quite surprised at what the LED smart bulb maker has been up to over the past 12 months.
Although you might mistake the company’s name, Beddit, for something likely to be sold in an adult video store, the Beddit Smart Sleep Tracker isn’t all fun and games. In fact, the new Beddit Smart Sleep Tracker is super-serious about helping you get a good night’s sleep—and get even better sleep as time goes on.
Despite the fact that CES2016 hasn't even officially opened yet, DISH's press conference is likely to be one of the top highlights of the entire Show this year.
Still looking for the perfect gift for the smart home "enthusiast" (aka, geek)? Here are some smart ideas for smart gifts for smart homes and apartments—even caves and straw huts...as long as there's internet access, that is.
Stereo Cubes Speaker Performance Build Quality Value
One S Speaker Performance Build Quality Value
PRICE $2,944 as reviewed
AT A GLANCE Plus
Intuitive, easy-to-use app
Classy, minimalist cosmetics
Supports up to 192-kHz/24-bit files
Minus
No Bluetooth or AirPlay
Only four currently
supported online music services
No subwoofer outputs
THE VERDICT
The Raumfeld system’s excellent-sounding active/passive speakers, ability to handle hi-res audio, and very intuitive app make it a top-notch competitor and a standout in a category that’s spawning a plethora of me-too Sonos imitators.
It’s mandatory at the beginning of any wireless streaming audio system review to mention Sonos. The company is a Goliath that launched the category more than a decade ago and now dominates it. The reason is simple: Sonos gear sounds good, is reliable, and is about as easy to use as it gets. That doesn’t mean, of course, that Sonos is perfection incarnate, nor is it totally without flaws. (There are chinks in every suit of armor.) But you do have to feel at least a modicum of pity for any manufacturer that decides to pick up a slingshot and take aim at the Sonos colossus.