Hasta La Gadget!

The Pebble smartwatch has been promised multiple times now, only to be delayed for whatever reason. As such, some investors may be getting antsy, wondering if the product will ever come to light. Those worries can be eased, with the e-ink smartwatch gaining FCC approval, a sign that it is not only real, but closer to shipping than ever.

The Pebble has enjoyed widespread success on Kickstarter, hitting the $1 million mark in funding and breaking records – the smartwatch got to its $100k goal in only 120 minutes, in fact. But the product has been likewise plagued with continually delayed shipping. Back in July, it was revealed that the smartwatch wouldn’t be shipping in September, as it was originally intended.

Then there was bad news again on December 7, when it was announced that shipping had been delayed once again. Those who were expecting to receive the smartwatch by the holidays would have to run out and grab something else, because all they were getting on the Pebble front was a digital card with a cheesy apology rhyme. Now it seems the watch is closer to shipping than it ever has been, appearing on the FCC’s website and gaining approval.

The filing doesn’t show us much of anything that we didn’t already know about the watch. Pebble recently stated that the product verification build starts this week, meaning that the next phase is mass production. There’s no word on how long product verification will take, however, and no info on when backers can expect the watch to ship.

[via Android Community]

Pebble smartwatch gets FCC approval, is closer to shipping is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A new Sonos music component, the Sonos PLAYBAR, has cropped up in FCC testing, suggesting the streaming company is readying a push into TV audio. The PLAYBAR, spotted in an FCC filing, is believed to be Sonos’ first proper home theater device, likely including support for both streaming music in the same way as the current PLAY:3 and PLAY:5, and the soundtrack from your TV.

It’s not clear if that soundtrack will be played in stereo or some sort of virtual surround sound; the FCC filing is sparse on details, with only the label (and its rough location on the PLAYBAR itself) shown. However, the presence of WiFi 802.11n is confirmed, though since Sonos uses that for its proprietary mesh-networking system, that comes as little surprise. The fact that it is dual-band is an advancement on current Sonos components, nonetheless.

Sonos hasn’t been shy about its ambitions to challenge the A/V industry. The company’s CEO confirmed last year that some sort of home theater system could be on the cards, but argued that Sonos would do so in a way that challenged traditional “straightforward” options such as from Bose with greater audio quality.

The speakerbar would make a natural companion to the Sonos SUB subwoofer we reviewed recently, and the ideal centerpiece to a Sonos home theater system. Throw in a few “PLAY:1″ satellite speakers and the setup would do equally well for music as for accompanying your big-screen TV.

[via Gizmodo]

Sonos PLAYBAR hits FCC is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The FCC sometimes gets a peek at hardware and reveals nothing but a model number to hint at what’s passed through its labyrinth. The latest filing leaving us scratching our heads is for the ASUS P1801-T, a “tablet” which could be the final version of the Transformer AiO prototype we saw back at Computex. How did we arrive at the AiO? Well, the model number is a possible clue — ASUS’ Eee Slate B121 has a 12.1-inch panel, so P1801-T may point to this device having 18 inches of screen. As ASUS’ dual-OS prototype all-in-one is the only (sort of) tablet we’ve seen with roughly that many inches, we assume the company is getting paperwork done before a proper launch at CES 2013. A “P1801” running Android 4.1.1 has also popped up at GLBenchmark, with Tegra3 graphics, a 1,920 x 1080 graphics and a Cortex-A9 CPU inside. If ASUS is keeping two OS’s as per the AiO prototype, that processor caters for only one Microsoft product — Windows RT. We’ll just be kept wondering until we hear something official, but at least for us, an 18-inch Android / RT super-tablet and part-time desktop sounds like it could be a hard sell.

Update: We noticed that the original PR from Computex 2012 stated that the tablet portion could also “become a wireless display for the AiO PC,” which could mean that the base unit is full-fledged Windows 8 machine with x86 hardware, making it a much more tempting idea.

Filed under: Desktops, Tablets, ASUS

Comments

Source: FCC, GLBenchmark

Sonos is the de facto choice for multi-room audio, but even some of its biggest proponents will grumble about the lack of built-in WiFi — going wireless in any way has meant tacking a Bridge on to the cost of an already expensive system. An FCC filing for an upcoming device, the Playbar, hints that common sense might have the upper hand. While there’s few details of the audio system itself, there’s explicit mentions of dual-band 802.11n WiFi inside. Just what that WiFi does is another matter. Sonos prefers using its proprietary network to cut back on lag and interference, so the Playbar’s additional wireless may extend functionality rather than simplify our lives. With approval out of the way, there’s a better chance we’ll know the full story in the near future.

Update: We’ve done some digging, and the WiFi may be more innocuous: Sonos’ proprietary network is actually WiFi that’s just invisible most of the time. Android users have access to settings that expose Sonos’ WiFi network and make it usable. As such, the Playbar may be more conventional than first thought, although its exact role in the home is still a mystery.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Comments

Source: FCC

Sonos wireless sound systems might not be cheap, but their easily switchable, multi-zone design makes having wireless music throughout your house simple. In 2012, the company added a burly sub to its lineup of products, and from the looks of this FCC filing, a sound bar, called the Playbar, might drop soon. More »