Filed under: Home Entertainment

If you’ve always though the idea of Home Automation was cool, but thought it was too expensive, you should head over to Engadget HD as they check out the first affordable Home Automation in-wall touch panel from Embedded Automation — of course we use the word affordable very loosely around here, as there’s nothing cheap about a $1000 7-inch touch screen, but compared to the $7000 panels out there, it’s a steal. To find out what we liked, other than the price, ease of install, openness, and out of the box experience, click on through to the HD side.

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Filed under: Household, Wireless

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

We’re still retaining a slight bit of disbelief here, but the long teased BeoSound 5 controller could be awfully close to a formal release. Judging by scads of cryptic (and probably diluted) hints and just two images (one above, one after the break), we’re led to believe that this here device will sit atop one’s table and enable users to flip through multimedia and play back tunes through their Bang & Olufsen gear. The sell, obviously, is the design. Truth be told, this thing looks like something a few years ahead of its time at first glance, but considering just how ridiculous (that’s a compliment, we’ll have you know) the BeoCenter 2 looked over four years ago, we’d say this is just par for the course with B&O. Here’s hoping some more concrete information flows forth shortly.

[Thanks, JK]

Continue reading Bang & Olufsen’s BeoSound 5 controller in the wild?

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Filed under: Displays, Household

Look, we’re not going to argue that those chintzy clap lamps weren’t pretty sweet in their heyday. And we’re also not going to put up a fuss when you assert that snap bracelets were equally adorable in the early 90s. Nostalgia aside, Fraunhofer IPMS is headed straight for the future with its latest OLED breakthrough. Reportedly, the company has devised an OLED display that can be controlled via human touch or by simply waving one’s hand in front of the panel. Unlike similar applications that have come before it, there’s no additional hardware needed — and therein lies the magic. The outfit is currently showing off the design at the Plastic Electronic 2008 show, though it yet to reveal anything close to a release plan.

[Via OLED-Display]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

We’ve seen home automation touchpanels used for some — shall we say, unorthodox — activities, but this is taking things to another level galaxy. Franklin, NC-based Dan Quigley has whipped up a way for his WiFi-enabled Crestron TMPC8X to actually control a giant telescope. Rather than manually getting the ’scope into the right position, he simply touches a button and watches it automatically check to see “if and when that object is viewable.” While he’s at it, he can dim the lights around him and check the local weather, and once a celestial body is in view, he can snap a photograph or have the system channel the image to any computer / TV. Suddenly, astronomy has become entirely more attractive.

[Thanks, Chuck]

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Remember that intriguing KP-900 that came our way courtesy of the FCC late last month? Turns out, this creature is getting all official on us today, with Universal proudly proclaiming that its newest IR / RF dual-use remote will be debuting at the Electronic House Expo in Orlando next month. The multifaceted gizmo is made to be retrofitted into any home that could use a wall-mounted home automation controller and a sophisticated home theater remote, and it should be hitting authorized dealer locations next month for $599. Not bad, not bad at all.

[Via Widescreen Review]

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Remember that intriguing KP-900 that came our way courtesy of the FCC late last month? Turns out, this creature is getting all official on us today, with Universal proudly proclaiming that its newest IR / RF dual-use remote will be debuting at the Electronic House Expo in Orlando next month. The multifaceted gizmo is made to be retrofitted into any home that could use a wall-mounted home automation controller and a sophisticated home theater remote, and it should be hitting authorized dealer locations next month for $599. Not bad, not bad at all.

[Via Widescreen Review]

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Filed under: Household

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Hasbro_s_Room_Tech_Clock_in_kahoots_w_the_Lamp_be_afraid’; Despite numerous technological advancements in home automation, it’s never really seemed to catch on with the mainstream. Now it’s time for the children — our future — to take things into their own hands. Hasbro is launching the Room Tech Clock (left) and Room Tech Lamp (right), which put a bit of wireless conspiracy to good use by having the Clock turn on the Lamp when the alarm goes off. Sadly, these kids aren’t really dreaming big yet, since that’s about all this duo can do, other than an audio jack on the alarm to play tunes off your portable audio player. The two Room Tech devices will be out in September, at least in the UK, for £39.99 ($79 US) a piece.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

So do you go out and throw down on a fully-featured RF remote to control your home automation gizmos, or do you get one of those snazzy wall-mounted keypads installed to handle the same duties? Frankly, we’d recommend option C, which would involve picking up a device that operates as both depending on your mood. Universal Remote Control’s KP-900 is one such unit, which easily snaps into and out of a wall mount for use in both of the aforementioned scenarios. Furthermore, there’s even a built-in LCD which showcases relevant activities depending on what main selection you make first. As with everything else spotted in the FCC, you’ll have to wait a tick longer before finding out a price or release date, but it looks like this bugger may actually be worth holding out for.

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Filed under: Household

Admirers of Macs and Z-Wave have longed for the day in which they could finally use their two dearest loves simultaneously, and thanks to Wayne-Dalton, that day is upon us. The WDUSB-10MAC is hailed as the world’s first Z-Wave-enabled home control system “designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system.” Mac users simply plug in the USB dongle, install the bundled Houseport software and go wild creating and managing their home network. When all is said and done, OS X users will be able to “control light switches, appliances, electronics, thermostats and other Z-Wave-enabled devices from their computers or through the internet” — a feat previously only achievable by booting into Windows. Not too shabby for $87, eh?

[Via CEPro]

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Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment, Household

Merely months after Hawking finally got its act together and began shipping out the HomeRemote, the firm is already upping the ante with a new model at CES. Logically dubbed the HomeRemote Pro, this iteration weds IP and Z-Wave technologies to enable users to control lighting, access control, video monitoring, climate control and entertainment — and that’s just for starters. The system also touts a new web server-based system that reportedly “allows for true plug and play installation,” and yes, there’s already a slew of peripherals (lamp / appliance modules, door sensors and motion detectors) ready to snag as you futilely attempt to quell your paranoia. Users can grab their own starter kit while looking over a shoulder next month for $200, and considering that you can keep an eye on things even from a cellphone, you really won’t ever have to wave goodbye when leaving home.

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Filed under: Cellphones

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

This one’s been around the block for a bit, but it’s just now managed to sneak up on us. The VidaBox vPad comes from the same firm offering up those swank CableCARD-equipped HTPCs, and this home controller shares that very same pizazz. The 10.4-inch tablet rocks an SVGA (1,024 x 768) panel, integrated 802.11b WiFi, a built-in speaker and a rechargeable Li-ion good for around 2.5 hours. As expected, this unit enables owners to control multi-room audio, climate zones, security cameras, garage doors and WiFi-enabled toasters, we presume. ‘Course, you’ll need Mirage software for VidaBox control or your own home automation hardware to really take advantage of the vPad, and unfortunately, we’ve no pricing / release details to share just yet.

[Thanks, JoeyChina]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Exceptional Innovation — the same firm responsible for that quad-CableCARD media center — is looking to give you a new weapon of choice to control your Life|ware home network. The new Life|point touch panel is available in 8.9- and 12.1-inch sizes, and both high-definition versions rock 16:9 formats, integrated stereo speakers / microphone and an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts screen brightness depending on room lighting. Additionally, the panels are available in black, silver, cream, white and field-finish ready, and each one gives you in-wall control of your home theater, multi-room audio, lighting, security system(s) and temperature. ‘Course, it’s up to you to decide whether such a convenience is worth $6,000 (and up).

[Via Electronic House]

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Filed under: Wireless, Networking

If you’ve been scouting an unobtrusive range extender for your ZigBee network, look no further than Digi International’s XBee Wall Router. If you’ll recall, this isn’t the first ZigBee extender sharing the same name (acquisitions tend to do that), but this little bugger simply plugs into a standard AC socket and “patches areas within a ZigBee network where signal erosion or loss occurs due to distance limitations or air interference.” Additionally, it serves to create “multiple pathways, increasing the redundancy of the mesh communications,” and the US flavor even includes an integrated mounting tab to prevent “accidental unplugging.” Sound like just what you need? If so, you can snag one right now for $79.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Household

The ZigBee household device networking standard is starting to branch out even further — just a few weeks after announcing ZigBee PRO, the consortium has announced the ZigBee Home Automation application profile, which should make it even easier for companies to develop interoperable automation products based on ZigBee tech. The spec covers most of what you’d expect, like lighting, HVAC, power outlets, motorization, security and audio/video applications, and devices should just plug into existing ZigBee nets and be a part of the self-healing mesh love. No word on when HA profile devices will ship, but with the rate ZigBee’s going, it shouldn’t be long.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!