Filed in archive
Cell Phones
, Gadgets
, Remote Controls
, Television
on July 24, 2010
You may keep losing the remote control to your television, but it's almost next to impossible for you to misplace an iPod Touch or (gasp!) an iPhone.
This may be the premise behind NewKinetix's creation of its Rē NK100 IR Accessory. When combined with the Rē Universal Remote Control App, the small gadget, connected to your iPhone or iPod Touch, turns into a universal remote control that, as the name suggests, works on all televisions.
The NewKinetix website sums up the Rē NK100 IR Accessory's capabilities:
"... (The Rē NK100 IR Accessory and Rē Universal Remote Control App) can work in any room of your home. Away from home, the Rē and your iPhone or iPod give you the power to mute the loud TV nobody is watching, or change channels in the break room when the office remote is lost ..."

© NewKinetix
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Cell Phones
, Home Office
, Telephone
on July 17, 2010
With recent advances in telecommunications technology and subsequent lowering of cellular phone costs, it is of little wonder why people are turning to their mobile phones as their phone of choice at home. The problem with mobile devices like the cell phone, however, is its size: because they are smaller, we tend of misplace them, even at home.
This diminutive problem balloons when you miss an important call you've been waiting for just because you can't find your mobile phone. Statements like "Where the heck is that (expletive) phone!" come to mind.
All these problems, however, is a thing of the past with the help of Panasonic's newest baby, the Link-to-Cell system (Panasonic KX-TG6582T). This device, which is part receiver/transmitter, is now available at retail in North America.
So how exactly does the Panasonic Link-to-Cell system eliminate the problem of missed mobile phone calls at home? It's simple: the system uses Bluetooth technology to make and receive cell phone calls using Panasonic handsets placed around the home. What one needs to do is, of course, purchase the device, place the base unit wherever the cell service is strongest and pair up a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to the system.

© Panasonic
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Gadgets
, Wired Home General
on July 11, 2010
Philips has always been known as a champion of healthcare, and this can be seen in its products. One of its more promising environment-friendly products is LED lighting. Cree shares this passion for, in its own words, "setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting.
So it's really no surprise that these two corporate powerhouses, Royal Philips Electronics and Cree Inc., have banded together by signing a cross-license agreement aimed at fast-tracking the growth of the LED lighting market.
"Philips and Cree have significantly invested in innovation in LED lighting solutions. The wide-ranging IP portfolios of the respective companies reflect the outcome of this effort," said Rudy Provoost, chief executive officer of Philips Lighting. "We wish to see the accelerated adoption of LED lighting, and are therefore delighted that Cree will be joining our LEd Luminaire Licensing Program."
What does this bode for wired home fanatics? Well, LED (or light-emitting diode) has a wide range of applications, the least among which is making sure you know when your television, stereo, or any other electronic equipment in your automated home is turned on.

© Philips
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Entertainment
, HDTV
, Home Theater
, Television
on July 3, 2010
A few days ago, during the press coverage of the inauguration of an Asian country's new president, I chided through Twitter a television network for grandstanding with its use of 3D cameras. "It's all part of the network wars crap. Who owns 3D televisions in the country anyway?" I remember saying.
It seems technology is not only keeping up, it's riding roughshod over critics like me.
There's good news for home entertainment fans in the United States. DIRECTV, perhaps the world's most popular video service, and Panasonic, the technology company leading the charge in 3D television technology, is ushering in a new dimension in home entertainment.

© Panasonic
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Camera
, Gadgets
, Video Camera
on June 26, 2010
Every wired home has some sort of security system. What type of automated home owner are you if you don't install protection for your most valuable possessions, the ones that make your house shine like a beacon of technological advancement. Powerful closed-circuit cameras and television may do the trick, but sometimes they're too conspicuous to matter.
This is where this nifty device being sold on SmartHome Home Automation Superstore comes in. Called the UniPride Marketing KC256L4 Motion Detection Pen Camcorder, the device is so inconspicuous, smart thieves or even nannies who are up to no good won't be able to tell they're being watched.
What's good about this pen camcorder is that, first, it starts recording automatically, thanks to its motion detector; second, its 2.0-megapixel color CMOS camera takes excellent videos even in poorly illuminated areas; and third, it can also function as a webcam and USB drive.

© SmartHome
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