Feb 10
This week a set of photos shows the Verizon 4G LTE certified version of the ASUS-made Nexus 7 from Google appearing in the flesh. This is after months of the … Continue reading
Feb 09
bRight Switch Wants To Upgrade The Light Switches In Your Home To Android Touchscreens
Posted in: Today's Chili
Google’s Android OS is the dominant mobile platform by market share, but it’s also increasingly pushing beyond portables and onto a range of other devices types — including, if this crowdfunding campaign delivers on its promises, the boring old wall switches in your home.
bRight Switch is a prototype project that’s within touching distance of its $115,000 Indiegogo crowdfunding goal (with less than a day of its campaign left). Its aim is to replace plain old light switch hardware with what’s basically a small tablet fixed to the wall, expanding the functionality of the switch interface beyond simply just switching your lights on and off.
The bRight Switch actually plugs into a base unit to convert a wall switch from dumb switch to smart screen, but its makers claim the installation process is an easy job for an electrician.
The bRight Switch tablet design is customised for a wall-mounted context to offer features that make sense in such a setting, such as people detection to automatically turn on lights on when someone walks into a room.
Other features the smart switch is set to support include the ability to remotely switch your lights on and off via the Internet and a learning mode that gets to know your routines over time and automatically switches lights on and off based on prior usage.
Also on board is a security feature whereby you can play back footage recorded by the camera on one of the switches in another room. Plus videocalling (via Skype, or similar) and streaming music via Internet radio services such as Pandora.
Other features include a built-in alarm; temperature display; dimmer ability for certain types of bulbs; an intercom feature allowing for chatting between bRight Switches located in different rooms; plus other security features such as setting an alarm to be triggered by motion in a particular room.
The units will also run standard Android apps, so you could presumably fire up Angry Birds on your wall if you’re really bored. bRight Switch’s makers are also planning to supply an open API to encourage developers to create new apps for the wall beyond what they’ve envisaged.
Of course, all these features are aspirations at this point with only a prototype of the bRight Switch in existence. If the device hits its funding target, which at the time of writing is looking pretty likely, its U.S. based makers reckon they can deliver to backers by July.
The switches use Wi-Fi to plug into your home router to support functions such as Skype calling and streaming Internet radio, while the Z-wave wireless protocol is used for talking to lights around your home that are not wired directly to the switch.
How much will this smart light switch set you back? They’re charging $75 per switch for non-Bluetooth switches, and $90 for the Bluetooth version. Or $325/$435 for a five-pack of the two respective options.
What’s the point of the Bluetooth addition? Added functionality such as the ability to link up to external Bluetooth speakers for “full spectrum sound” — or, getting even more customised about home automation, the ability to track your phone (and therefore you) around the house, providing a “custom personalized experience as you move from room to room.”
Feb 09
U.S. Cellular Offers Moto G For $99
Posted in: Today's Chili
Motorola’s Moto G smartphone was very well received when it was launched late last year, primarily because of the fact that its a bonafide mid-range Android smartphone that’s very competitively priced off contract. Motorola officially sells it for $179, but several carriers are selling it for even less, making it the perfect choice for customers who don’t want to spend too much on a smartphone and also want to avoid a conventional service contract, but do want a proper Android experience. U.S. Cellular adds itself to that list, the prepaid carrier is now offering the Moto G for $99 off contract.
U.S. Cellular Offers Moto G For $99 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 07
Google Now has been updated to make airline notifications more useful, with the contextual engine now able to figure out not only when your next flight will leave, but when … Continue reading
Feb 07
It would seem that US Cellular has joined the Moto G train, offering up this no-contract device amongst their own ranks with their own pricing plan involved. You’ll find our … Continue reading
Feb 06
It’s difficult to capture the tone of the red Nexus 5, that much is true. While we’d expected this tone of the machine to be offered up in a color … Continue reading
Feb 06
The Nexus 5 now comes in red — and it’s not your usual red, sensual and modest. This is a garish, bright, and very angry red.
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Feb 06
With the iPhone already having done quite a bit of business in the United States and internationally over the past few years, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak spoke up this week … Continue reading
Feb 06
This is something you would probably have never heard the late Steve Jobs say, he absolutely loathed Google’s mobile operating system and once even vowed to spend all of the company’s money to destroy it. In contrast, his Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is a bit more frank when it comes to such discussions. In a recent interview with Wired, Wozniak said that he thinks an Apple Android phone is not going to be a bad idea, and the premise that he lays down for this argument might make sense to some.
Wozniak: Apple Android Phone Not A Bad Idea original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 06
Looking at this Android-powered landline handset which U.K. telco BT has just started selling — christened with the (relatively) catchy name of Home SmartPhone S — you really have to wonder what took them so long.
BT is a broadband provider however its legacy business was copper telephone wires and landline phones — so its Internet packages, even the fibre ones, require subscribers to install a traditional landline too. Ergo, the company still brands (and flogs) a lot of landline phones.
Recent landline handsets BT was pushing on its customers included the likes of the BT6500 (see what I mean about relatively catchy) — a handset that looks like it was forged in the yuppie fires of 1985.
From there it really is a revolution to the Home SmartPhone S which is a smartphone in all ways except for being tied to the house being as it lacks the cellular radio bit — using Wi-Fi to hook into your Internet router to support web browsing, apps, and the rest.
The price-tag for this 3.5 inch touchscreen device is £150 — so pretty pricey for a landline phone, sure, but it’s far from being the traditional dumb button-pusher.
The BT Home SmartPhone S is by no means the first Android-powered landline phone. It’s just the latest slice of old school hardware Google’s mobile OS has found its way onto — as Android continues its onward march from mobiles to tablets, TVs, cars, cameras, smartwatches, fridges… and so on.
Android domination marches on. smartphones, tablets, TVs, smartwatches and now home phones: j.mp/1kYvmR7 http://t.co/DX9jFjVS8a—
Ben Wood (@benwood) February 06, 2014
Other Android-powered landline handsets on the market include the likes of the Panasonic KX-PRX120 and the Gigaset SL930A, both released last summer.
BT itself has sold Skype phones and videophones for years, but those devices were still coupled with less than user-friendly fiddly old interfaces.
Such legacy interfaces are steadily being replaced on more devices, whether it’s car stereos or landline phones, with touchscreen panels running Android, as the platform proves itself capable of leveraging the user familiarity built up on mobile to make the leap onto more device types.
Back in May Google pegged Android activations at 900 million, up from 400 million in 2012. This year there’s no doubt Mountain View will break a billion active Androids, the question is how much it will break that figure by.
As Android continues its spread, pollinating more electronic devices, that growth can keep on coming.
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