connected home

Apple unveils its late, expensive take on the smart home speaker market

Among a bunch of announcements from its developer conference, Apple introduced its HomePod smart speaker into a crowded market.

Verizon launches a 4G home hub for some reason

US operator Verizon has launched SmartHub – a wireless router that is fed by your LTE connection rather than broadband.

Smart home tech is not good enough – Intel

IoT is one of the more popular topics in the world of technology, but for the vast majority of the consumer world it isn’t anything more than science fiction.

Telefónica to trial AT&T’s smart home IoT platform

Telefónica has announced plans to bring a trial of US carrier AT&T’s connected home platform, “Digital Life”, to Europe. Digital Life allows customers to monitor domestic smart and connected devices such as intruder alarms, thermostats and ovens, and control them through mobile applications and other web based user interfaces.

Connected home leaders pitch device protocol

Building on growing momentum in the connected home space, several big name vendors including Yale Security, Silicon Labs, Samsung Electronics, Nest Labs, Freescale Semiconductor, Big Ass Fans and ARM, have joined forces to develop a new IP-based wireless networking protocol to connect devices.

LG has launched a range of smart appliances in its home market of South Korea

LG launches smart appliances integrated with Line

Handset and electronics manufacturer LG has launched a range of smart home appliances in its domestic market of South Korea in a bid to steal a march in the connected home sector.

Google acquires Nest Labs for £2bn

Web giant Google announced Monday that it will acquire Nest Labs, the cloud-enabled thermostat and smoke detector startup founded by iPod creator Tony Fadell, for £2bn ($3.2bn).

TeliaSonera has confirmed that it is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and has also been approached by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to its operations in Uzbekistan

AT&T opens two innovation centres

US operator AT&T has opened two innovation centres aimed to accelerate research and development of technologies and applications that will drive AT&T’s growth in the future.

Online TV revenues to double in five years

Platforms not services to rule connected home

Platforms that aggregate services rather than any individual device will play the most important role in the connected home over the next five years. Research released by analyst house Informa Telecoms & Media this week predicts that as yet unreleased platforms like HbbTV, Project Canvas and Google TV will play a significant part in the future of the connected home.

Embedded SIMs would help enable mobile broadband connectivity on non-traditional devices such as cameras, MP3 players, navigation devices and e-readers, as well as smart meters

Apple, Sony target connected home

Further blurring the boundaries between the communications and internet worlds, disruptive US firm Apple has unveiled a music oriented social network that is bundled in with iTunes.