Google is about to get into the smart home with new software called Brillo (http://nextmarket.co/blogs/smarthomeweekly/29309313-google-iot-os-brillo-effort-reports-to-barratt-targeting-home-routers) that will connect devices to a router. It won't be part of the Nest ecosystem of devices, but it will work with Nest devices, according to reports on the Google news. By the time the show airs, we should know more (http://www.zdnet.com/article/what-to-expect-for-android-and-chrome-at-google-io-2015/), but for now, we spend some time on this week's show discussing what another major entrant means for the smart home. It's mostly good news for consumers.
Kevin and I also explore a cool Kickstarter project that will ship in July for Microduinos, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/microduino/microduino-mcookie-the-smallest-electronic-modules/description) tiny sensors and modules that snap to LEGOs and work with your Arduino board.
They remind me of Little Bits, and are pretty intriguing. After we discuss that, Alarm.com's initial public offering (http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/alarm-com-ipo/) and a 5-minute review of Microsoft's Cortana, since it will soon be available on both Google Android and Apple's iOS (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/microsofts-cortana-coming-ios-android-devices/story?id=31316424), Joe Mann a UX designer at Artefact, a design consultancy discusses how we can expect the internet of things to change our travel experience. We start with the smart home, but move on to Disney, air travel and hotels, since those are the venues where many people will experience the joys of a connected experience for the first time.
Hold your books and costume jewelry close because they may not survive the connected device revolution, according to Rob Coneybear of Shasta Ventures. In a conversation on this week's podcast he and I had a fun conversation about what devices might disappear, what objects might stay analog and what devices get more intelligent as we embed connectivity and sensors into more things. He expanded on his thinking from an earlier blog post, and we covered a huge range of products, from the future of the kitchen to clothing and building materials.
Coneybear provided insights not only into what he thought, but how he came to his conclusions, so anyone interested in how to divvy up the world of consumer products should listen to his segment. Before he went on, Kevin and I broke down the week's news, which included Target's move into the home automation space and AT&T's big bet on the connected car and a new product from Honeywell that is straight out of the movies. I kind of want one in my home.
Finally, we cover out 5-minute review of a web site called SmartHomeDB that smart home lovers will want to bookmark.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Rob Coneybear of Shasta Ventures
Andrew Bell wanted to build a better doorbell, but now he's in the enviable position of pitching his wares to Comcast's millions of subscribers, and is an Apple HomeKit partner. The Skybell co-founder joined my on this week's podcast to discuss how to allocate time and resources as a hardware startup and also to talk about what it feels like to get a call from Cupertino about your device. For that, thoughts on the boom in connected devices and whether there is a bubble listen to our guest segment.
But first Kevin Tofel and I share the news of NinjaBlocks' demise and what happens when a connected hardware company goes out of business. We also discuss Samsung's new chip family for the internet of things and introduce a new segment. We call it the 5-minute device review, and this week we start with the Myo armband, a $200, gesture-based controller you can buy on Amazon. And of course, Kevin shares his thoughts on the Apple Watch and its ability to control his new Philips Hue light bulbs.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Kevin and I both got what we wanted this week, with Kevin getting his Apple Watch about an hour before we recorded the show and Amazon adding support for If This Then That for the Echo speaker/personal assistant device. However both long-awaited dreams had a few caveats as we explored this week on the show, with Kevin discussing the learning curve of the Apple Watch and me laying out a big limitation with the Amazon Echo's IFTTT triggers. You can't really use it for controlling your smart home just yet.
We also had a fair bit of news this week. Comcast opened up its Xfinity Home platform to devices from some great startups such as Nest, August Locks, Rachio connected sprinklers, Skybell, Lutron and more. It was so exciting I sang a little ditty about the smart home going mainstream! Prepare yourself. With LIGHTFAIR International happening in New York this week, we also discussed lighting news from GE, plus WeMo working with the cheaper Cree connected LEDs and coming back to IFTTT. We didn't have a guest this week because I need a little time to get my iTunes and editing house in order, but we should be back in top form next week, on iTunes and even with intro music!
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel