The Amazon Dash Wand is a small stick designed to make ordering (or re-ordering) products from Amazon simpler. Wave the device’s built-in scanner over barcodes of products in your home and it can re-order those items from Amazon. A few years ago Amazon launched a version of the Dash Wand with built-in support for the […]
Tag: iot
Rock Pi S is a 1.7 inch square, quad-core computer priced at $10 and up
Radxa’s Rock Pi S is a tiny computer that’s less than half the size of a Raspberry Pi Model B. With a starting price of just $9.90, it’s also less than a third of the price. But this single-board computer is also aimed at folks who are willing to forego some of the usual goodies… […]
Amazon Dash buttons discontinued (but existing users can keep buying stuff by clicking the buttons)
5 Comments on Amazon Dash buttons discontinued (but existing users can keep buying stuff by clicking the buttons)Amazon’s $5 Dash Buttons debuted in 2015, allowing you to buy a $5 button that you could place anywhere in your home so that you could instantly order refills from Amazon simply by pressing a button. Need more dog food? Press a button and it’s delivered within days (or hours). Out of laundry detergent? There’s […]
Android app update break Nike’s $350 self-lacing shoes
Three decades ago a pair of fictional, self-lacing shoes made their debut in Back to the Future II. And a few years ago Nike actually released a limited edition set of shoes inspired b those seen in the movie. This year Nike went a step further and released a set of self-lacing smart shoes that anyone […]
Google’s Android Things is now aimed at OEM partners building Smart Speakers and Displays
1 Comment on Google’s Android Things is now aimed at OEM partners building Smart Speakers and DisplaysWhen Google launched the Android Things platform a few years ago, the idea was to offer an Android-based operating system for Internet of Things gadgets as well as a platform that anyone could use to build IoT projects using Google’s SDK and popular devices like a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. Now Google says it’s […]
Now you can buy mini PCs with NXP i.MX8 chips
Chip maker NXP is finally rolling out the successor to the i.MX6 line of chips that were first introduced way back in 2011 (by Freescale, which was later acquired by NXP). The new i.MX8 line of processors are 64-bit, ARM-based chips with support for 4K and they’re expected to come in a few different configurations, although […]
Mozilla Offers a Slick New Way to Control Your Smart Home
Mozilla may have put Firefox OS for smartphones on ice, but they didn’t just walk away from the operating system completely. They went looking for other places to put its code to good use. Smart homes seemed like a good fit. What they cooked up was Things Gateway. It’s an open source home automation control […]
goButton is a one-click button for anything (Crowfunding Amazon Dash buttons for the rest of the world)
5 Comments on goButton is a one-click button for anything (Crowfunding Amazon Dash buttons for the rest of the world)Amazon’s Dash buttons are small, internet-connected wireless buttons that you can press to instantly re-order anything from snacks to household products like cleaning supplies. Amazon sells them for $5 each, and typically gives you a $5 credit the first time you use one, which makes the buttons practically free. Like the idea of a simple […]
Orange Pi 2G-IoT is a $10 single-board PC with a cellular modem
There’s no shortage of cheap single-board computers that you can use for development projects, media streaming, or even general purpose computing. But up until recently many of the most popular lacked built-in support for for WiFi or Bluetooth. Now that the Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi Zero W include those, what’s next? How about […]
MODI is a modular kit for making your own IoT gadgets
There are a lot of “Internet of Things” products on display at CES, including smart lights, speakers, and even trash cans. But Luxrobo is showing off a system that makes it easy to build your own smart home system. It’s called MODI, and it’s a modular system of sensors, motors, lights, buttons, and other components. […]
Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant is coming to IoT
Microsoft may not be planning to launch its own Google Home/Amazon Echo-style smart speaker. But the company does have big plans for letting you interact with smart home devices using the company’s Cortana voice assistant. The company recently started adding features to Windows 10 for computers that allow you to use your voice to turn off a PC, […]
Google launches Android Things OS for Internet of Things (Project Brillo grows up)
A little over a year after introducing a new Android-based operating system for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Google is giving the OS a new name and giving developers new tools to create things like smart light bulbs, plugs, thermostats, and more. Goodbye Brillo. Hello Android Things. The name change makes sense, given that Android […]