AJ Dellinger
Contributor
AJ Dellinger is a freelance reporter from Madison, Wisconsin with an affinity for all things tech. He has been published by Gizmodo, Newsweek, International Business Times, the Daily Dot, and many others.
Amazon Echo Show 5 is a compact, affordable smart display (not an alarm clock)
Amazon is expanding its family of Echo devices with the new Echo Show 5. The smart speaker with a built-in 5.5-inch display features Amazon's popular voice assistant Alexa and is positioned to be the hub of your smart home. It retails for $89.99 and just started shipping.
Jasco is behind a new line of GE Z-Wave smart home products
Consumer electronics brand Jasco is teaming up with GE to launch a new line of smart controls that will give you the ability to manage your home however you see fit. The new line of Enbrighten Z-Wave light switches come with QuickFit and SimpleWire technology that makes it easy to fit in any home.
Astronomers are worried SpaceX satellites could soon put an end to stargazing
SpaceX is starting work on a plan to provide internet services from a collection of satellites. Other companies have a similar idea. Now astronomers are worried that the new constellations of satellites, equipped with bright lights and orbiting the earth will start to limit our ability to stargaze.
UN finds voice assistants aren’t helping combat sexist gender stereotypes
Most voice assistants have a female-sounding voice. While you may not think much of it, the United Nations believes it is reinforcing negative gender stereotypes that place women in antiquated roles. The study also argues that companies haven't done enough to have A.I. rebuff hostile language.
Lenovo’s pint-sized smart alarm clock is set to ship next month
Lenovo's Smart Clock, which it first showed off at CES 2019, is just about ready to be set up in your bedroom. The company opened up pre-orders for the smart home appliance today and announced that it will begin shipping to customers on June 2. The compact Lenovo Smart Clock is retailing for $79.
It’s time for you to stop using dryer sheets. Here’s why
Dryer sheets might make your clothes feel softer and smell nicer, but there's a downside to using them. They reduce the absorbency of your towels, disable the wicking capabilities of activewear, and cause lint buildup. It's time to abandon your dryer sheets before they do damage to your appliance.
Kwikset’s second-generation deadbolts get smarter and safer
Kwikset's line of popular internet-connected smart locks are getting even smarter. The company introduced the second generation of its Signature Series Deadbolt with Home Connect locks, which feature a more compact design and an improved chipset that offers over-the-air security updates.
Amazon Alexa now works with more than 60,000 smart home devices
Does it feel like Alexa is everywhere? There's a good reason for that. Amazon recently announced that its wildly popular voice assistant is now compatible with more than 60,000 products from more than 7,400 brands. That level of compatibility dwarfs many of Alexa's biggest competitors.
Control4 assures customers that its products will still work with Nest
Google is ending the "Works with Nest" program that allows third-party companies to build products that integrate with the Nest ecosystem. Smart home product maker Control4 is promising that its products will continue to work with Nest and Google devices through the "Works with Google Assistant" program.
Advocacy group asks FTC to investigate if Amazon Echo Dot spies on kids
An advocacy group wants to know if the company is storing information about children. The Campaign for A Commercial-Free Childhood is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the Echo Dot Kids Edition to find out if the device is effectively spying on its young users.
Judge says landlord must provide physical alternatives to smart locks
A landlord in New York who added smart locks to apartments will have to provide physical keys. A judge ruled this week that an apartment building using smart home technology has to provide physical alternatives to tenants who don't want to use devices like smart locks that they didn't agree to use.
Google’s Nest Hub Max smart display hopes to to take on the Echo Show
Google introduced its Amazon Echo Show competitor during Google I/O 2019. The company revealed the Google Nest Hub Max, a smart display that is powered by the Google Assistant. The device with a 10-inch screen with a built-in video camera and facial recognition will retail for $229.
The Keurig for cocktails is now available in a couple of states
Making cocktails at home requires a fair amount of preparation and drinks on hand. That problem is solved by the HomeBar, a collaboration between Drinkworks and Keurig. The machine is now available to purchase for consumers in Missouri and Florida after a limited run in St. Louis.
Alexa, stop recording me: Bill would limit eavesdropping by smart speaker makers
Alexa and other voice assistants are listening and recording what you say. California wants to control what they can hear. A new proposed bill would prohibit companies that make smart home speakers -- including Amazon, Google, and Apple -- from storing recordings without a user's content.
Let the Landroid M robot lawnmower do your yardwork for you
Yardwork is one of those things that you don't realize how much work it is until you have to do it. Luckily, you can farm out that work to a robot. The Landroid M is a robotic lawnmower from Worx that you let cut your yard all on its own or program and monitor its every move from a mobile app.
Survey says Siri and Google Assistant are the most used voice assistants
Alexa might be extremely popular because of smart speakers, but it still has a way to go to catch up to voice assistants the are built into smartphones. A recent survey conducted by Microsoft found that Apple's Siri and Google Assistant tied for the most used voice assistants on the market.
Hola, Alexa. Voice assistant will soon add support for Spanish speakers
Amazon's voice assistant is getting support for Spanish. The company announcedthat its Amazon Skills Kit development program will allow apps and skills creators to build support for Spanish into their services. Alexa devices will have Spanish support enabled later this year.
Family sues Instant Pot after daughter is reportedly scalded by appliance
A Colorado family is filing a lawsuit against Instant Pot over an incident that resulted in their daughter receiving third-degree burns. According to the family, they were making soup in the appliance and attempted to de-pressurize it when the Instant Pot exploded in front of the 9-year-old girl.
Amazon’s Alexa reviewers reportedly have access to customer home addresses
We already learned earlier this year that when you talk to Alexa, Amazon employees may also be listening. As it turns out, they may have even more of your information. According to a new report, some Amazon employees who review Alexa recordings also have access to user addresses and locations.
You can now have your Amazon packages delivered in your garage
Starting today, you can get Amazon packages delivered directly insider your garage. Amazon is expanding its Amazon Key service with Key for Garage. Eligible Amazon Prime subscribers in 50 U.S. cities will be able to sign up, assuming they have a myQ-enabled smart garage door opener.
Can new laws protect you from smart home security breaches?
Smart home devices might be convenient, but they also can put users at risk when a data breach occurs. To help combat those situations, state and federal lawmakers are exploring ways to protect consumers. California, Oregon, and members of the U.S. Senate all have proposals to protect people's data.
Apple’s interest in self-driving cars reported to be revving up
Let the rumors of Apple's interest in self-driving cars start up again. After it seemed like the company was backing off entering the autonomous vehicle competition, a new report suggests that Apple is in talks with a number of suppliers to purchase lidar sensors, an essential tool for self-driving cars.
Toyota leads $1 billion investment in Uber’s self-driving tech division
In a move that has been a long time coming, Uber filed its S-1 documents, which sets the stage for the company to finally go public with an initial public offering. Despite still losing more than $1 billion last year, the company is looking to sell stock while being valued at up to $100 billion.
Ring home security system now works as a hub for smart home devices
One of the problems with smart home devices is most of the time, you have to stay within the same ecosystem to make sure everything plays nicely. Ring is helping to fix that with its Works With Ring program. It lets thousands of smart home devices built on Z-Wave connect to Ring's Alarm Base Station.
Watch: Police responding to an alleged burglary find a Roomba, not a robber
Police officers in Washington County, Oregon, responded to a call of a potential burglary and were surprised to find the perpetrator was actually just a Roomba. Body camera footage from the response effort shows the police, guns drawn, walking in on the robovac robber cleaning the bathroom floor.
Vivint’s latest home security camera is infused with artificial intelligence
Vivint Smart Home has a new security camera that is infused with artificial intelligence. The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro uses advanced analytics to differentiate familiar faces from potentially dangerous intruders to keep your home safe and secure when suspicious activity occurs.
Use this tool to see where your smart home devices are sending data
Your smart home devices may only work inside your home, but they might be sending data your data all over the world. A tool developed by researchers at Princeton University can help you track the data being sent from your smart home devices to see where it is being sent and who is using it.
J.D. Power finds voice assistants are becoming important for new car buyers
What matters most when buying a new car? For some car buyers, it is increasingly becoming the inclusion of a voice assistant. A new study conducted by J.D. Power found that car buyers — especially younger ones — are increasingly interested in having a familiar voice assistant inside their vehicle.
Wink Hub has been out of stock almost everywhere for the past few months
The Wink Hub is one of the best reviewed smart home hubs around. There's just one problem: It hasn't been available for months. The Wink website lists the Wink Hub and other products as out of stock and no new product integrations have been added, leaving some to wonder if the company is still operating.
Alexa becomes more of a newscaster by giving you more in-depth information
Amazon wants Alexa to be your own personal newscaster right in your home. A new report suggests Alexa will soon be able to read long-form news stories to you from major publications including CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, and others. The in-depth reporting will be available in audio and video form.
Bosch plans to harness the power of Blockchain for its next refrigerator
Here's a gimmick: a refrigerator powered by blockchain. German electronics company Bosch is teaming up with Austrian energy firm Wien Energie to create a refrigerator that runs on blockchain. The appliance will give users more control over where their power comes from and how much their fridge consumes.
Across the U.S., popular video doorbells are recording their own thefts
Video doorbells are supposed to keep your house safe and let you see who is at your front door. But what happens if someone swipes the whole device, camera and all? There has been an uptick in instances of video doorbells being stolen right from people's houses, leaving homeowners looking for answers.
Students reportedly scam Apple out of nearly $1 million with fake iPhones
Chinese students living in the United States managed to scam Apple out of nearly $1 million by exchanging counterfeit iPhones for real ones. Apple's replacement policy allowed the scammers to trade-in devices that didn't start up for new phones, which were then sold for a profit in China.