The Samsung Galaxy Note is big…relatively speaking. It’s the biggest smartphone currently on the market and has been dubbed by some as a phablet—part phone and part tablet.
The larger screen is meant to make writing with Samsung’s stylus, called the “S-Pen” easier. Hence the note in Galaxy Note. The idea sort of makes sense; smartphones and tablets do a lot of the same things, so why not combine the two and cut down on your techy clutter? Unfortunately, the Note doesn’t seem to perform well as a smartphone or a tablet, so it might be a while before the phablet becomes a fad.
Haiku Home Automation for HAI
Developer: Nullriver, Inc.
Price: $49.99
Compatibility: iPad and iPhone
Description: Haiku combines HAI’s proven home automation controllers with iOS’s unbeatable user interface experience and versatility. This leverage brings the consumer a solid, user-friendly and convenient home automation interface that is as usable from anywhere in the world as it is from the comfort of your couch.
Pros: Frequent updates, intuitive layout, great interface, easy setup
Cons: No version for Android, reports of crashes after updating
SnapLink Mobile
Developer: Home Automation, Inc.
Price:$49.99
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, Android.
Description: Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a whole home remote control. Homeowners and property managers with an HAI control system can view and adjust lighting levels/scenes, temperatures, security settings, surveillance video, audio, and more.
Pros: Lots of control functions
Cons: Buggy
Crestion Mobile Pro
Developer: Crestron Electronics, Inc
Price: $100
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, Android
Description: Crestron Mobile harnesses the power of 3G and Edge networks to stay connected to the home or office when you’re on the go. View alarm status, adjust lights and room temperature while lying on the beach or sitting in traffic.
Pros: Quick load time, theme options
Cons: Pricey, reported crashes
Control4 MyHome
Developer: Control4
Price: Free to download, $99.99 licensing fee
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, Android
Description: The MyHome family of software apps allows you to access and control the lighting, temperature, music, movies, energy, security and more from a wide range of devices in your Control4 enabled home. By turning your existing smart phones, tablets and PCs into additional interfaces, Control4 MyHome offers you an affordable and convenient way to access and manage your system.
Pros: interface, updated graphics
Cons: misleading pricing
R2 Control for Crestron
Developer: id8 Group R2 Studios
Price: $99
Compatibility: Android
Description: R2 turns your Android device into a fully functional Crestron touchpanel!
R2 enables residential and commercial customers to control AV, lighting, thermostats, security systems, and thousands of other products via their Android device from anywhere in the world.
Pros: lots of options, speed
Cons: can be hard to configure for some users, price
Apple sold 4 million of their new iPhones in three days, smashing the already record sells of the iPhone 4.
It’s no surprise that people are excited about Siri, Apple’s AI assistant, voice-control has been on consumers’ home automation wish-list for a while. If Siri proves to be a success and not just a gimmick, we’ll no doubt end up seeing the technology used on a larger scale.
A new iPhone model was announced at Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event, but it was the iPhone 4s instead of the anticipated iPhone 5.
The iPhone 4s has many of the features that people predicted would be in the iPhone 5 but no new design. The iPhone 4S also uses the A5 chip that is inside the iPad 2, which means big advancements for graphics in iPhone games.
Another new feature is Siri:
Phone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mom when I get home” it can find “Mom” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking.
A good number of our customers ask about voice control in home automation, so it’ll be interesting to see the response Siri gets.
The iPhone 5 has been highly anticipated, but Samsung’s new Galaxy S II might prove to be heavy competition. Indeed, Apple has gone so far as to sue Samsung to try and stop sales worldwide. Samsung has responded in kind by trying to stop the release of the iPhone 5.
The S2 will be available at AT&T on October 2nd, and it’s boasting some powerful features:
4.27” Super AMOLED™ Plus Display
Access movies and TV shows on Media Hub
1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor on AT&T’s 4G Network
Customize with TouchWiz® and access to over 250K Android Market™ apps
I’m still not entirely sure what an amoled…er…Super AMOLED screen is, but the S2 seems like a worthy competitor for the iPhone.
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