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Review: Nest Cam IQ is one of the best security cameras around, but it ain’t cheap [Video]

Connected security cameras are becoming more and more common these days, with the highest priority being remote access to your video feed via your smartphone. There are a number of good security cameras on the market, and Nest has always been one of the top players. The Alphabet-owned company’s latest product, the Cam IQ, adds a 4K sensor and even more smart functionality, but its $100 premium over Nest’s other models might not feel justified to everyone.


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Android Things is Google’s rebranded IoT OS, lets Android devs easily build smart devices

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Launched last year with only a few devices shown off at CES 2016, Brillo (Google’s stripped down version of Android for powering IoT devices) is being rebranded as Android Things. The new platform is launching a preview today, with its key feature being familiarity to existing Android developers.


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Google rolling out Nearby to Android, allows third-party apps to talk to smart beacons

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One of Google’s approaches to the Internet of Things involves placing low-energy Bluetooth beacons that can communicate with devices. Google is announcing new partners today who have updated Android apps that can talk to beacons placed in stores, museums, and airports.


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Google previews its smarter, prettier Amazon Echo killer: Google Home

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In a product announcement in which it gave credit to Amazon Alexa, Google today teased Google Home, a device which brings the newly announced Assistant in to the home. Design-wise, it looks very similar to the OnHub, and is customizable and incredibly versatile. “It will let anyone in the family, kids or adults, have a conversation with Google”…


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Samsung will show off five weird and wonderful C-Lab gadgets at its developer conference this week

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Samsung has announced that it will show off five experimental projects from its C-Labs group during the Samsung Developer Conference at Moscone West Center from April 27th to 28th in San Francisco. Among them is LiCon, an app that can recognize various IoT devices using a camera and download remote controls for them, plus a few other weird and wonderful gadgets.


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Google’s Eddystone beacons updated to support private and secure interaction

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Bluetooth beacons usually only broadcast public one-way signals. By allowing secure and private communication with users, the Eddystone-EID opens up a variety of new use cases for beacons. Along with the new secure open beacon format, Google is announcing a number of new hardware partners that will make compatible devices.


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Chrome 49 for Android will notify users of nearby smart beacons, Google announces IoT research pilot

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A part of Google’s Internet of Things approach involves placing low-energy Bluetooth beacons in the world that can communicate with smartphones. Starting with version 49, currently in beta, Chrome for Android will be able to read and interact with these beacons. Google has also announced a research pilot that provides gear to university researchers working on IoT.


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Nest software bug shuts down smart thermostats for many customers

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Nest owners have reported that their smart thermostats have stopped working and as a result many woke up to colder than normal temperature in their house and unresponsive completely dead Nests. The fault lies in a software update (version 5.1.3 or later) that was pushed out to devices in December that drains the battery and ultimately shuts down the device.


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First devices that use Google’s Brillo and Weave launch at CES 2016

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The Internet of Things is quickly shaping up to a big story at CES 2016. Numerous internet connected gadgets for the home will be announced over the next few days. Many of them are using the Brillo and Weave standards that Google announced last year. The former is basically a stripped down version of Android for IoT devices, while the latter is a language devices can use to talk to one another.


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PSA: Google’s ‘Ubiquity’ Internet of Things dev summit will take place in January

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The Internet of Things will become an increasingly big deal as all consumer technology becomes connected to the web, and by extension one another. Google has several technologies including Brillo and Weave that take advantage of this ubiquitous computing trend. Announced at Google I/O earlier this year, Google is hosting a developer summit for developers focused around those topics. They announced the speaker list and opened registration today.


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Samsung launches next-gen SmartThings Hub with 10-hour backup battery, new app for Android

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Samsung’s answer to Apple’s HomeKit, SmartThings got some valuable stage time at IFA in Berlin this morning, with the announcement of a brand new SmartThings Hub. The hardware has been revamped, and no longer needs a connection to the cloud in order to work. What’s more, it’s got a built in backup battery capable of giving you 10 hours use in the event that you have a power cut.  The new Hub is available to order today and was launched alongside a handful of complimentary sensors for tracking water leaks and motion among other things.

Whether you have two smart devices or 200, all you need is one Hub to create a smart home. Like a live-in translator, the Hub communicates with all of your different connected products—regardless of their wireless protocol—so that you can easily monitor and control them from the SmartThings app.

Samsung’s new SmartThings hub has a more powerful processor enabling it to handle video streaming and sensor monitoring tasks without the cloud. With this feature in mind, Sammy also introduced its new Smart Home Monitor which lets users access a continuous vide live-stream and can trigger video recording when something unexpected happens. Only important video is saved for viewing, and early detection enables it to capture the footage before the event.

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As well as new hardware, Samsung has released a new app for Android from today. You can organize and control your connected devices by room, view live streaming from cameras and manage the routines right from the app.

SmartThings is compatible with nearly 200 products, including the Amazon Echo, and devices from manufacturers like Bose, D-Link and Honeywell. The SmartThings hub is available to buy from today for $99 from SmartThings.com or Amazon, with sensors priced between $30-$55.

Google reportedly ready to launch Android-based ‘Brillo’ OS for the Internet of Things

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According to a report this morning from The Information, Google is working on new software built specifically for lower memory devices like smart home products. While current versions of Android are aimed at devices with at least 512 megabytes of memory, this new spinoff of the Android operating system, codenamed “Brillo,” is aimed at low-powered devices with as little as 32 or 64 megabytes of RAM…
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