Electronics

What if your desk lamp knew where you were at all times, and could broadcast your whereabouts to inquiring coworkers? Strange as it may sound, that’s exactly what the Place Lamp prototype does. Created by Seattle-based designer Sam Stubblefield, this elegant, cylindrical lamp connects with your smartphone and lets you set up invisible, GPS geofences Continue Reading →

Nest Labs is already well known by early tech adopters for its “smart,” energy-saving thermostats and smoke detectors. And it’s not only consumers that have taken notice: Internet giant Google acquired Nest Labs earlier this year for $3.2 billion dollars. But Nest, led by former Apple iPod executive Tony Fadell, says it is exploring a Continue Reading →

Too lazy to flick on a light switch? There’s a Kickstarter campaign you should check out. Homey isn’t the first crowdfunded home automation platform we’ve seen, but it is one of the most personable: the entire device is controlled by human speech. It’s designed to ape the computers on Star Trek, explained creator Emile Nijssen, Continue Reading →

Apple iWatch wearers might be able to charge the device wirelessly — at least if the latest rumors from Chinese media prove true. Insiders at Chinese electronics maker Luxshare say the company has sent wireless charging coils to Apple to be certified and approved for inclusion in the iWatch, according to the G for Games Continue Reading →

Ready for an update from the no-surprise department? Microsoft isn’t keen to sell either its Xbox or search businesses. On Tuesday at the CODE Conference Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella indicated that he has no intention to divest Bing, the company’s search property, or Xbox, its gaming and living-room play. This should come as precisely no Continue Reading →

Mentioned very briefly, and with far less emphasis than the many descriptions of the tiny size of Google’s new driverless car, is that Google’s new experimental fleet of robotic cars are electric. That’s important because as one of the leaders of developing the software and artificial intelligence that will move autonomous cars through the streets, Continue Reading →

Hoping to take the lead in the race to build the ultimate wearable device, Samsung offered a sneak peak Wednesday at its next-generation health-tracking wristband, known as the Simband. Using different wavelengths of light beamed at your skin, Simband will track multiple measures of its wearer’s health continuously, such as blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, Continue Reading →

Clothes are the original “wearables,” but Intel wants to make them smarter. At the Code Conference on Wednesday, the company showed off a shirt with conductive fibers for tracking your heart rate. Designed by partner AIQ, the shirt uses Intel’s Edison development board to stream EKG information over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The box of electronics Continue Reading →

Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts teased the idea of streaming-video services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime coming to Comcast, as part of a platform that sounds like the holy grail of home entertainment. In a Q&A session at the Recode technology conference in Palos Verdes, Calif., Roberts said the services could eventually be integrated Continue Reading →

The iPad is graduating; to Apple’s discount Education store, that is. The tablet now gets a price cut for qualifying education shoppers looking to buy either an iPad Air or iPad mini either in-store at its retail locations or online at Apple.com. The discounts aren’t massive, but they still get you $30 off the Air Continue Reading →