Nationwide service provider InstallerNet announced partnerships Monday with eBay for add-on automotive installation services to eBay shoppers and with smart home startup Brilliant. EBay shoppers will be able to add installation service during the checkout process for standard car stereo, car alarm and backup installation services. Brilliant customers have access to professional installation through InstallerNet's network of 2,500 trained and certified installers. With online scheduling, customers can make appointments through the website, or they can call customer service directly to schedule a job. The company will select a trained local installer from the area and coordinate the service experience. Brilliant products are designed for do-it-yourself customers, but “we know that not everyone will have the time or desire to do it themselves,” said Michael Williams, Brilliant vice president-marketing
Sprint will debut a Samsung 5G smartphone this summer, said the carrier Monday. The phone will feature LTE/5G “dual-mode connectivity” in Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum, it said. It also will support Sprint’s 1.9 GHz spectrum (band 25), 800 MHz spectrum (band 26) and other LTE spectrum bands for roaming, it said. Samsung didn’t comment. Sprint plans to launch its mobile 5G network in nine U.S. markets in 2019's first half. Sprint previously said it’s working with LG to deliver a 5G smartphone in the U.S. (see 1808140023).
NPR estimates 53 million U.S. adults own at least one voice-activated smart speaker, and smart speakers owned through December increased 78 percent year over year, it said Monday. Edison Research canvassed 1,002 respondents by phone for NPR just after Christmas and found the average smart speaker home now owns 2.3 such devices, up 35 percent from an average 1.7 the same time last year, it said. Other findings: (1) 52 percent of all U.S. smart speaker owners report using their device daily; (2) an estimated 14 million people in the U.S. got their first smart speaker in 2018; (3) roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population took ownership of a smart speaker between Black Friday and New Year’s Eve.
MicroVision will demo its interactive display engine and 3D scanning lidar sensor for connected artificial intelligence devices at ShowStoppers in Las Vegas Tuesday, it said. The company’s interactive display is said to create a more natural user experience for smart speakers connected to AI platforms by adding sight, touch and gesture to existing voice interactions. The company will demo various AI smart speakers enhanced with its multipoint touch and midair gesture capabilities. MicroVision’s 3D lidar, designed for indoor home automation, security and navigation products, allows AI-enabled applications and services to perceive environments accurately with low latency and high spatial resolution, it said.
Moen and Flo Technologies will launch a home water management system at CES, they said Friday. Flo by Moen is a Wi-Fi-connected device that installs on a home’s main water supply line, monitoring it for leaks, unnecessary waste and water usage. A smartphone app contacts the homeowner if a critical leak is detected and can automatically shut off the water to prevent serious damage. Homeowners can also monitor water usage by app.
Ooma announced Friday a smart high-definition wireless camera with night vision and seven days of free cloud storage. Built-in artificial intelligence allows users to train the camera to recognize faces of family members, friends and pets, it said. The camera can record without external power on a battery rated for six months’ operation and doesn’t require an internet connection; internal storage is 16 GB. Users can talk to people in range of the camera through the smartphone app, and a privacy mode allows the camera to be automatically turned on or off based on a user’s location. The camera begins recording when motion or a loud noise is detected. The company will demo the camera at CES in Sands booth #41146, it said.
Though the overall smartwatch business is experiencing “steady growth,” Apple Watch’s “hold” on smartwatch market share “continues to slip,” dropping below 45 percent for the last six months of 2018, reported ABI Research Thursday. It forecasts overall smartwatch shipments more than doubling to 99 million in 2023 from 40 million in 2018: “As the number of flagship and budget smartwatches continues to grow, consumers are increasingly opting for devices from companies other than Apple, such as Fitbit, Huawei and Samsung.” Apple warned on quarterly results Wednesday after U.S. markets closed, sending it and tech stocks down Thursday (see 1901030047 and 1901030036).
Pico Interactive plans to use CES to showcase its new 4K all-in-one virtual-reality headset, said a spokesperson. Pico also will demo "unconventional use cases" for VR, including as a reading aid for vision-impaired consumers and a tool to ease anxieties for people with a fear of flying or visiting the dentist, he said.
Financial savings could spark interest in U.S. broadband homes that don't own or intend to own smart home devices, Parks Associates blogged Wednesday. Roughly 46 percent of households surveyed currently have no intention to buy any smart home devices. The prospect of saving money -- through reduced household bills or an insurance premium discount -- raises interest in smart home devices among those customers, said analyst Patrice Samuels.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology sought a limited waiver of FCC Part 15 rules on ultra-wideband indoor devices for its WiTrack monitoring system. The system provides non-invasive health and safety monitoring of patients and senior adults but requires waivers for the definition of “UWB transmitter," measurement standards for swept-frequency equipment and UWB measurement procedures, MIT said. “By supporting remote health monitoring, the ultra-wideband technology employed in the WiTrack system facilitates fall detection and physiological measurements such as gait, breathing, heart rate, and sleep,” said an undocketed petition posted Friday by the FCC. “Approval of the limited waivers … will improve in-home safety and health care for senior adults and people with disabilities thereby encouraging independence and aging in place,” MIT said. “Grant of the waivers will also give medical researchers a valuable new tool for collecting research data heretofore largely obtainable only in laboratory settings, or not obtainable at all.”