News & Analysis
Top 10 smartphone gadgets & apps
Junko Yoshida
12/10/2012 12:15 PM EST
Connected lighting
GreenWave Reality launched an IP-based home smart home platform. It consists of connected LED, a hand-held remote controller, and an optional gateway that allows remote access via a consumer’s mobile phone.
Consumers can set lights to automatically come on at dusk and go off at dawn; NXP Semiconductors’ JenNet-IP technology, using IPv6-based 6LoWPAN stack, eliminates delays in controlling the bulbs and can support up to 500 bulbs in a network.
Each lightbulb includes a wireless antenna that allows for reliable communication between bulbs via a wireless network. To increase the effectiveness of the in-home lighting network, the technology creates a mesh network between bulbs to strengthen the network’s range.
Next: Personal drones
Fully-dimmable, wireless LED and CFL bulbs can be controlled from PCs, smartphones or a handheld remote
GreenWave Reality launched an IP-based home smart home platform. It consists of connected LED, a hand-held remote controller, and an optional gateway that allows remote access via a consumer’s mobile phone.
Consumers can set lights to automatically come on at dusk and go off at dawn; NXP Semiconductors’ JenNet-IP technology, using IPv6-based 6LoWPAN stack, eliminates delays in controlling the bulbs and can support up to 500 bulbs in a network.
Each lightbulb includes a wireless antenna that allows for reliable communication between bulbs via a wireless network. To increase the effectiveness of the in-home lighting network, the technology creates a mesh network between bulbs to strengthen the network’s range.
Next: Personal drones
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junko.yoshida
12/11/2012 6:51 AM EST
I see a wave of new-generation CE vendors flooding the market by developing products that truly leverage smartphones consumers already have. Connectivity to mobile phones is no longer an afterthought for these companies.
Share your favorites -- gadgets and apps built for smartphones -- that are not listed here!
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Don Scansen
12/11/2012 12:26 PM EST
A nice list...and just in time for Christmas!
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pburger3
12/11/2012 2:05 PM EST
Whose editing on the baby monitor included "when the brat starts crying." Is this a Belkin quote?
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GPBobby
12/12/2012 7:29 AM EST
...sounds like one of those 'mic off' comments to me.
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Batman
12/12/2012 1:27 PM EST
I own a Roku HD and last week I installed their remote control app on my Razr M phone. It found the Roku on my Wi-Fi home network immediately and it works amazingly well indeed. There is no perceivable lag between touches on the screen and corresponding action on the TV screen.
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GREAT-Terry
12/13/2012 9:54 AM EST
Good list! I like the Parrot headphone.
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selinz
12/13/2012 12:57 PM EST
It's true that smartphones are becoming the center of our personal universe. I dropped off my son for an interview and he had a couple hours to kill. I suggested that he bring is relatively new laptop. "No, I can do anything I want to do with my phone." Because of the screen resolution packed into smartphones, the only headset that is really needed for me is a set of reading glasses!
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MClayton
12/14/2012 1:12 PM EST
Agree with Selinz: At age 76 I cannot easily read the my smartphone "stuff" unless I ban the banners and most web pages and stick to making phone calls and reading email without attachments. I can use 10 percent of smartphone features perhaps, and its much slower than answering my old phone so far, and bulkier. But that's a senior view. Grandkids love it, so no more PC's for them. Just games.
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Sparky_Watt
12/31/2012 1:28 PM EST
The main problem with these burgeoning apps is finding them. Search engines haven't kept up with the huge amount of data out there. Digging through 1500 apps in hopes of finding one that meets my needs is not an option. Especially when 90% of what comes up is useless or off-topic. A lot of them are malware, too. They report things about you and your phone without telling you. When you can search "certified safe" apps accurately by topic (i.e. a search for "weather" doesn't turn up "pretty girl" apps), these apps will have arrived.
The potential is great! Too bad that there is so much clogging the works.
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