Tag Archives: honeywell

Intel and Ericsson form an alliance to explore 5G applications

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Intel is already showing off the building blocks of its 5G hardware at MWC and the big carriers are rushing to upgrade to the new standard, but the chipmaking giant is also launching a new initiative to build more than just faster cellular network. A...

Logitech Harmony Line Expands, Gets Better at Controlling Your Home

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Harmony Living Home 01

Harmony remote controls, once nothing more than just universal clickers, will soon play an important role in home automation, as Logitech has just launched a few new products with those abilities.

First showcased in June 2013, Logitech’s Ultimate Hub now becomes essential for smart homes. Its functionality was upgraded and was launched under a new name – Harmony Home Hub – along with a couple of new Harmony Living Home remote controls.

The previous generation of Harmony remotes were only compatible with Philips Hue ambient lights and Nest thermostats. Fortunately, the ecosystem was expanded to include smart locks, thermostats, and lights made by August, Honeywell, Kwikset, Lutron, PEQ, Schlage, SmartThings, Sylvania, Yale, and Zuli.

Harmony Home Control is a package that contains the Home Hub and a button-only remote, while the Ultimate Home bundle includes a fancier clicker.

It should be noted that the former can control up to 8 devices, while the latter can be used for up to 15 devices. The current ecosystem includes 270,000 devices, which was inconceivable with regular universal remote controls. A list of the compatible devices can be found here.

The hub features RF, IR, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity, so it’s basically impossible for it not to be able to control a device.

The previous version of the hub came with a companion app that was available on iOS and Android. Since that’s essential for controlling a smart home, Logitech didn’t give up on that idea.

Harmony’s new Android app features a new interface in order to better accommodate the new functionality of the hub.

Mind you, the new Harmony remote controls retain the functionality of the old ones, so you’ll still be able to control your home theater with one of these.

Overall, the new Logitech Harmony remotes look like the ultimate tools for home-entertainment and home-automation. The improvements are notable and make Logitech a pioneer in this field, with little to no chances for the competition.

The Harmony Home Hub costs $99 and can be purchased as a stand-alone products, while the Home Control and Ultimate Home packages will be available for $149.99 and $349.99, respectively. These prices might look a bit steep, but considering the great number of devices that can be controlled and the (hopefully) long life of the products themselves, they definitely look like a good investment.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Logitech Harmony Ultimate Hub that obsoletes common remote controls, and the Logitech Touch Lapdesk N600 that keeps notebooks cool.

Smart Thermostats: Honeywell Challenges Nest with Lyric Smart Thermostat

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Totally interconnected homes, that have everything merging with everything else in a computerized framework, have been here for a while. But to really take things a step further, some efforts have...

Honeywell Lyric Smart Thermostat Puts Nest to the Test

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Honeywell Lyric Smart Thermostat 01

Nest made big news at the beginning of this year, when Google bought it, and for a second there, it seemed that this is the only smart thermostat on the market. Honeywell Lyric wants to remind people otherwise.

As of today, Honeywell Lyric is available from HVAC contractors, and sometime in August, Lowe’s stores will start carrying it, as well. The minimalistic design is not the only similar aspect between Nest and Lyric, as the two smart thermostats also share quite a few features. Still, Honeywell’s product takes a slightly different approach, as it actually represents a complete platform designed from the ground up around the idea of smart homes.

Honeywell means to manufacturer much more than a simple smart thermostat. In this company’s vision, smart homes should be equipped with multiple appliances that automate various functions. The manufacturer started with small steps, the first of them being the Lyric smart thermostat. This small device can be easily controlled via a smartphone or tablet, to which it connects via Wi-Fi. Companion apps for both iOS and Android are currently available.

Since there are so many similarities between Nest and Lyric, some might wonder what are the aspects that differentiate these two smart thermostats. Most notably, Lyric features geofencing, something that is said to be the next step in the evolution of these devices.

Simply put, geofencing means that Lyric has a working regimen that depends on whether a specific person is at home or not. Users can choose between a 7-mile or a 500-foot radius, and whenever they go out of that area, the thermostat sets the temperature to an energy-saving preset.

Another interesting feature is represented by Fine Tune, a feature that increases Lyric’s accuracy by checking the temperature both indoors and outdoors, and correlating it with humidity and upcoming weather conditions. Using all these variables, Lyric manages to find the best options for your ambient temperature, so that you are as comfortable as possible.

Lyric is carrying a price tag of $279, so even pricewise this product is very close to its competition. People’s preferences regarding the best smart thermostat for their homes depend quite a lot on their needs. One will have to compare the two and figure out which suits his needs best.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Google’s acquisition of Nest Labs, and the way Google sold Nest smart thermostats on Play Store on Earth Day.

Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat learns habits, matches your neon decor (video)

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Honeywell WiFi Smart Thermostat

Honeywell has had WiFi-capable thermostats on the market for some time, but few of them would be a great match for home interiors that have escaped 1980s beige chic. The company's new Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat is going a long way toward bringing that design fully into the present century. Owners can color match the touchscreen interface with the paint on their walls, down to very exact shades. Of course, the thermostat wouldn't be much of a competitor in the Nest era if it didn't have some of that namesake intelligence underneath. As with its main rival, the Honeywell system has (already existing) Android and iOS apps, and can tell how long it takes to change the temperature; it's also aware of when filters need a change based on furnace behavior. If you're on the cusp of a home renovation and don't want anything so gauche as a differently-colored screen, home improvement shops should have the Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat this May for $249.

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Source: Honeywell

Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat learns habits, matches your neon decor (video)

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Honeywell WiFi Smart Thermostat

Honeywell has had WiFi-capable thermostats on the market for some time, but few of them would be a great match for home interiors that have escaped 1980s beige chic. The company's new Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat is going a long way toward bringing that design fully into the present century. Owners can color match the touchscreen interface with the paint on their walls, down to very exact shades. Of course, the thermostat wouldn't be much of a competitor in the Nest era if it didn't have some of that namesake intelligence underneath. As with its main rival, the Honeywell system has (already existing) Android and iOS apps, and can tell how long it takes to change the temperature; it's also aware of when filters need a change based on furnace behavior. If you're on the cusp of a home renovation and don't want anything so gauche as a differently-colored screen, home improvement shops should have the Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat this May for $249.

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Source: Honeywell

AMD, Intel and RSA team up, form the Cyber Security Research Alliance

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Tech giants, including AMD, Intel and RSA teamup to form the Cyber Security Research Alliance

Sure, it's not the first elite cybercrime-fighting team we've heard of, it's also not everyday you hear the likes of Intel, Lockheed Martin and AMD buddying up on research. The companies are looking to address the "complex problems" in cyber security, with the private, non-profit group (which also includes Honeywell and RSA/EMC) aiming to work somewhere between government-funded security research and commercial products already out there. The Cyber Security Research Alliance is already in talks with NIST, and plans to launch a security research symposium early next year. The CSRA will also start tracking cyber security R&D, "prioritize" those aforementioned challenges, and hopefully come together for the greater good.

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AMD, Intel and RSA team up, form the Cyber Security Research Alliance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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