Parrot, a company more famous for making the AR Drone, is attempting to smarten up your garden with the Flower Power. It’s a Bluetooth sensor that looks like a cute little tree branch that you place inside your flower pot to measure sunlight, humidity, temperature and fertilizer. Basically, you’ll know exactly what each of your plants need in real time. More »
Would you like to work at the FCC? After all, that seems to be the place to be when it comes to picking up the latest and greatest gizmos for you to play around with. Well, the Parrot Asteroid Mini multimedia system for vehicles which was unveiled to the masses in October might be well on its way to the general public soon. Of course, this being a system that offers GPS mapping functionality, we do tend to ask ourselves whether there is still a market among the public for a standalone automotive GPS device, considering how our smartphones and tablets have turned out to be pretty powerful devices in their own right that can also help you find your way around unfamiliar territory.
Back to the Parrot Asteroid Mini, this bad boy will come withGPS mapping functionality at its core, while letting you manage calls and music at the same time. It will play nice with both iOS- and Android-powered devices, hooking up to them via Bluetooth connectivity, where it is also accompanied by a single USB port for you to slip in a 3G dongle. A 3.2-inch TFT color display is there, although touching it isn’t going to yield any response since this is no touchscreen device. At least there is a wireless remote control for you to play with. The Parrot Asteroid Mini will ship sometime in February next year Stateside for $300 a pop.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Electric Bigfoot Sounds Like An Oxymoron, SleekSpeak Wireless Speaker for Your Bike,
The Internets is currently amused-shocked-enraged-leaving enlightening comments about dogs that have been taught to drive. I think it’s time we show some love to Pepper the parrot and his one-of-a-kind ride, the BirdBuggy.
The BirdBuggy was made by University of Florida student Andrew Gray. It has a joystick that Pepper can move with his beak, propelling him along the sidewalk.
I’m not sure if Pepper is entirely sure of what he’s doing; fortunately Gray installed a couple of safety measures on the BirdBuggy. The thin lines in front of each front wheel are bump sensors. If they hit something, the vehicle will quickly back away. There’s also an infrared sensor up front; if BirdBuggy detects an obstacle, it won’t move forward even if Pepper pecks the joystick to death. Finally, the BirdBuggy can dock on it’s own, using its camera and a color-coded base station as its guide.
Maybe the perch should be mounted sideways so Pepper can keep his eye on the road.
[via Reddit]
This man sure knows how to entertain photogs, but he’s much more than just a charming French poser. Meet Henri Seydoux, the founder, chairman and CEO of today’s multi-talented Parrot. While promoting the recently launched Zikmu Solo wireless speaker in Hong Kong, Seydoux sat down with us to share the amusing story behind himself and his company. Check out the video after the break to hear how Seydoux’s encounter with Roland Moreno, the inventor of the smart card, made him drop journalism in favor of software engineering, as well as his detailed explanation on why many Bluetooth audio products suck, and how Bluetooth will continue to rule the world “like Beyoncé.” Enjoy!
Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux
Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Peripherals
The Engadget Interview: Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Back in January this year, we reported about the Parrot Zikmu Solo wireless speakers which are a beauty to behold. The latest in the Parrot Zikmu lineup were unveiled at CES 2012 and apart from their stunning looks, come with a number of mouth-watering features.
The design of these speakers allow them to broadcast a really acoustic sound, thus standing them apart from the run-of-the-mill wireless speakers. Parrot claims that these speakers are able to recreate a truly stereo sound. Moreover, they come with a conventional iOS dock to directly pair with your device and also pack NFC connectivity. The speakers can be easily controlled via a remote control which comes equipped with controls for the main functions and also through a web interface.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Parrot ASTEROID Lineup, These ceramic animal speakers are cute and inconspicuous,
Parrot has taken some time trotting out the Zikmu Solo speaker since we first saw it at CES, but those enamored with very vertical audio can rest easy now that the unit has a North American release schedule. Both Canada and the US can buy the Philippe Starck-crafted speaker in November, when it will cost $999 for Americans in its black and white guises (sorry, no red for now). While that’s a lot to pay for a 100W speaker, Parrot is counting on the unique acoustic design, a conventional iOS dock and a mix of Bluetooth, NFC and WiFi to tempt people away from the land of horizontal sound. It’s undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make a speaker dock the focus of a room — and that’s part of the point, isn’t it?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video
Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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With speaker docks getting as giant as a coffin this year for devices galore, it’s no wonder that accessories like the Parrot Zikmu Solo are as living room-worthy as they are. What we’ve got with the Zikmu Solo is a tower-like speaker that works either wirelessly or connected to your iOS device – or any speaker-cord-capable device with 100W of power under its hood. This device works with stereo output, a single unit speaker, and three loudspeakers on the upper part – as described here in detail, of course.
First you’ve got Two HARP (High Aspect Ratio Panel) drivers that diffuse the sound between the left and/or right side of the unit. Then you’ve got one central BMR (Balanced Modal Radiator) driver to diffuse the sound to the back and lower front of the unit. Inside you’ve also got a proprietary algorithmic processor called Sound Flex, optimized to bring you a “pure and perfectly balanced musical image.”
This device connects via Bluetooth, Wi-fi, NFC, and has an integrated ethernet port to boot! You’ll be able to connect the speaker to essentially any audio source with an integrated line-in input for both analog and optical digital connections. You’ve got UPnP and DLNA protocols on your side here and the whole thing is able to act as an iPhone or iPod dock as well.
The dock does not (yet) offer a dock for the iPhone 5, but is able to work with the iPhone 4S, 4, and 3Gs. You’ll be able to work with the Parrot Audio Suite application for both Android and iOS devices to connect wirelessly and control everything from your iPad, Android tablet, Android smartphone, or iPhone, and the whole package contains just the basics – plus a few extras. For MSRP 999 USD you get the main speaker unit, an AC power cord, an optical Toslink adapter / 3.5-inch jack, remote control (with included battery), a quick start guide, and a collection of “universal dock adapters” for your different iPhones and iPods – 3Gs, 4, and 4S. This device will be out in November at a collection of in-store retailers – check it out!
Parrot Zikmu Solo keeps the gigantic mobile accessory trend hot is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but “long-ranged” isn’t what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors.
[Thanks, Vincent]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We first laid eyes on Parrot’s first Android-based Asteroid car infotainment system a couple years ago at CES. Then, at this past year’s show, we got a sneak peek at a trio of successor Asteroid devices. Now, a mere 10 months later, the Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini have finally arrived in consumer-ready garb. First, there’s a flagship in-dash system, the double-DIN Asteroid Smart. It features a 6.2-inch 800 x 480 capacitive display, a Texas Instruments 800MHz processor and runs a heavily skinned version of Android 2.3. The Smart also has four USB 2.0 ports (one which pushes 5V to charge an iPod) for connecting external devices like the included GPS antenna or a dongle for cellular data. Plus, there are 3.5mm line-in and microphone jacks to go with a host of RCA connections and a micro-USB port round the back. Bluetooth 3.0 is baked in, and an SD card slot sits behind the detachable security strip to the left of the screen.
The Smart’s siblings, the Asteroid Mini and Asteroid Tablet are also coming to North America this month. The Tablet packs similar specs as the Smart, only it’s got a 5-inch capacitive screen and is portable, as opposed to an in-dash solution. It runs the same skinned version of Gingerbread, has GPS and Bluetooth radios, and packs 512MB of RAM and 1GB of on-board storage, plus an SD slot. It also comes with a wireless touchpad remote so you can control the system straight from your steering wheel. Meanwhile, the Mini, with its 3.2-inch, non-touch screen has a similar form factor to the Tablet and comes with a wireless remote as well. However, its OS is built on Android 1.5 and it relies upon an external GPS antenna like its bigger, double-DIN cousin. The Asteroid Tablet will retail for $399, and the Mini will cost a hundred bucks less when they go on sale in a few weeks.
We got to swipe our way around the Parrot Smart, so join us after the break to see it in action.
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
Parrot unveils Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini car infotainment systems, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ASTEROID Smart – in-dash
At CES 2011, Parrot unveiled the first Android-powered in-dash car radio, aka ASTEROID. Today, the company is updating its Asteroid lineup with three new products.
Priced at $599 (549 Euros), the flagship, the ASTEROID Smart, is packed with cool features, including a 6.2” WVGA (800×480) multi-touch capacitive screen, a GPS antenna with onboard navigation system, hands-free telephony, internet access via 3G/4G key or Bluetooth or USB tethering, built-in WiFi, SD card slot, USB connectivity and a broad range of connectors for audio/video extensions (6 RCA, 1 video input, 1 video output, and a rear camera connector).
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Parrot ASTEROID now available, Parrot Asteroid Android-powered car stereo,
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