Israel-based Sure Universal pitched its Open Connectivity Foundation-compliant software as a missing piece for MVPDs to make smart home deployments. MVPDs are well-positioned to dominate smart home/IoT because of their broad residential penetration with hardware and services, said CEO Viktor Ariel in Friday's statement. Smart speakers based on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are getting headlines, but are “dwarfed by the number of mobile phones, internet routers, and set top boxes," said Ariel. Operators can choose their own IoT hardware based on existing radio protocols: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Lora or NB-IoT, he said, with Sure providing the application programming interface between the OCF application layer and the smart device radio protocol. The approach enables MVPDs to “avoid the hardware supplier lock,” gaining interoperability and security of the OCF standard, he said.
Panasonic filed applications Feb. 16 in the U.S. and Japan to register “HomeHawk” as a trademark for the remote home monitoring system the company introduced at CES, Patent and Trademark Office records show. HomeHawk can be configured as a single HD camera to protect one’s front door or combined with up to 16 “peripheral” HD camera units for coverage of “the entire perimeter” of a home and yard, said Panasonic in Las Vegas. “As more incidents of stolen packages are reported with the increase of online shopping,” HomeHawk has a “package monitoring mode” notifying individuals at the front door that the house is being monitored, it said. Panasonic, also on Feb. 16, applied in the U.S. and Japan to trademark a stylized logo for goods and services that include “home security monitoring cameras,” says the application. Though the logo doesn’t specifically carry the name HomeHawk, it appears to depict a hawk’s eye inside the image of a chimney on a roof. Panasonic representatives didn’t comment.
On-wall LED lighting panel company Nanoleaf is offering a new spin on the remote control in a 12-sided tabletop orb. By tapping a side of the remote, smart home users can engage commands and scenes rather than having to go to mobile device apps, Nanoleaf said. The HomeKit-enabled Nanoleaf Remote turns on lights, raises blinds and increases temperature, and rotating the remote changes the brightness of Nanoleaf light panels, it said. The $49 Bluetooth device is due in February.
Sylvania brand smart bulb maker Ledvance will launch a HomeKit-enabled A19 LED bulb ($32) with a retro filament design this spring at Amazon, said the company Tuesday. The need to install a hub and have an internet connection has been a barrier for many consumers who want to try smart lighting, said Aaron Ganick, Ledvance's global head-smart business, saying the HomeKit-enabled Sylvania Smart+ Bluetooth line is simple to install and easy to use.
Limit legal barriers preventing users from modifying or repairing software-enabled products, the Electronic Frontier Foundation commented to the librarian of Congress, while CTA renewed it and the Auto Care Association's call (see 1709150048) to allow additional lawful user circumvention for automotive fixes and upgrades, partly citing EFF. EFF is continuing a “years-long fight” to allow owners and creators more control over devices and products they own without threat of infringing on companies’ copyrights, said Legal Director Corynne McSherry Monday. EFF is seeking exemption from Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for all modifications and repairs of software-enabled devices that don’t infringe copyrights, and to allow alterations to smart speakers and digital home assistants. The register of copyrights "acknowledged the real world inadequacy of having confined exemptions for circumvention only to self-help by vehicle owners," but CTA disagrees that "granting such an exemption would verge too close to approving 'trafficking.'"
Ledvance, maker of Sylvania brand lighting products, announced three additions to its smart bulb portfolio with retail prices under $20. The lineup, available on Amazon and due in major retail stores soon, include an A19 60-watt replacement bulb ($12), BR30 flood light ($15) and wet-rated PAR38 ($20) lamp. The company is transitioning from the Sylvania Lightify brand to Sylvania Smart+, it said.
Brick-and-mortar retailers have an advantage in the nascent smart home market, which is expected to sell more than 8 million devices through retail and related channels by 2021, blogged Parks Associates analyst Brad Russell Wednesday. Physical retailers are leveraging their positions as trusted advisers for consumers and lowering the barrier to entry by offering services at no cost, said Russell. The trend is influencing Amazon and Google, which formed partnerships with retailers to expand smart home visibility through point-of-sale displays, experience centers and a growing share of shelf space. Best Buy recently added demo space for Amazon Alexa and Google Home products in nearly 700 U.S. stores; Amazon widened its sales reach through partnerships with Kohl's, Sears, Best Buy and its own Whole Foods stores; and Google connected with Walmart through Google Express for fulfillment. Lowe’s -- after a successful pilot of its partnership with b8ta -- is expanding its “Smart Home powered by b8ta” shopping experience to 70 stores nationwide, where consumers can audition and get support for a variety of smart home technologies, Russell said. The program’s “innovative retail-as-a-service offering leverages data-driven customer insights to streamline the education and purchase process while giving manufacturers valuable data for future merchandising efforts,” he said, noting b8ta has opened stores of its own in eight U.S. cities. "These moves will blur the lines between online and offline retail," Russell said, and consumers will expect access to product information and products “anytime, anywhere.” At this early stage, “it remains to be seen whether these partnerships are mutually beneficial or more lopsided than intended,” Russell said.
FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry slammed the wireless industry Monday for not doing enough to fight contraband cellphones in correctional facilities. Berry's tweet responded to a Daily Caller story about Robert Johnson, a South Carolina corrections captain shot six times in a 2010 attack allegedly ordered from inside a South Carolina state prison using a contraband phone. Pai had Johnson address commissioners in March when the FCC took up an order on contraband phones (see 1703230056). “Unfortunately, the wireless industry isn't taking this problem seriously and is trying to obstruct effective solutions,” Berry said. CTIA didn't comment.
Slightly more than four in 10 U.S. broadband homes plan to buy a smart home product in the next 12 months, including 27 percent with high purchase intentions, said Parks Associates Tuesday. The most popular devices are smart smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, thermostats and light bulbs, it said.
Altice USA, which sells Optimum and Suddenlink-branded TV, phone and internet services, said Tuesday it’s adding Nest connected home products and services. It plans to offer the Nest Aware subscription service that provides intelligent security alerts and continuous video recording for Nest Cam users. Nest devices are available now in select Optimum and Suddenlink retail stores, and Altice said it plans to make the full Nest smart home product line available online, in stores and by phone in the future.