New H3 Digital T-Shirts

Wirut our Installation Director and Electrical Engineer Wit are up in Chiang Mai installing Sonos and Nuvo music systems at customers homes, at the same time our T-Shirt run has just been finished so it was an ideal time to snap a photo of them wearing our brand new T-Shirts.

Wit and Wirut modelling our new T-Shirts

Our work in Chiang Mai involves installing the latest in sound systems, audio visual and Smart IT networking into villas for our customers. This visit has seen us install Nuvo's wireless music system with P200's powering Nuvo's in-ceiling and outdoor speakers at this villa in Nam Phrae, Hang Dong.  Also we've fitted a Sonos multi room system and Sonos Playbar into another villa towards Doi Saket way, that also features a Flexson wall mount for the TV so that the SOundbar fits snugly underneath and directs audio exactly where it should be.

By the end of 2017 work should be well underway on our new Chiang Mai office in Namphrae, Hang Dong.  Our new HQ in Phuket should be finished shortly after, we think by Feb 2018 - there's not that much left to do but we've got a busy schedule over the next 6 months so it's finding the time to allocate.

Amazon looking at Alexa Glasses (maybe)

Amazon is working on Alexa-enabled 'smart glasses' to take on Siri and Google Assistant.

The new device is said to appear like a regular pair of specs with hidden high tech features, The glasses will pair with your smartphone to let you speak to and hear Alexa
Sounds are sent directly to your auditory system without the need for earpieces
Google Glass founder Babak Parviz is said to be directing Amazon's efforts

Amazon is reportedly working on a wearable device that will allow users to access its Alexa voice assistant on the move.

The smart glasses will appear to be a regular pair of specs, with high tech additions discretely built in, according to a new report. 

If they prove popular, they could allow the shopping firm to take on rivals Siri and Google Assistant, which are already both available in mobile voice activated form.

Amazon is reportedly working on a wearable device that will allow users to access its Alexa voice assistant on the move. The smart glasses will appear to be a regular pair of specs, with high tech additions discretely built in, according to a new report (artist's impression)    +4
Amazon is reportedly working on a wearable device that will allow users to access its Alexa voice assistant on the move. The smart glasses will appear to be a regular pair of specs, with high tech additions discretely built in, according to a new report (artist's impression)

This is not the first time in recent days that Amazon's plans to make Alexa more mobile have been revealed.

On Tuesday, the firm  unveiled a new tablet that allows users to summon the virtual assistant with just their voice for the first time.

Until now, the AI powered assistant could only be summoned on Amazon tablets and other mobile devices when a wake button was pressed or the Alexa app launched.

The hands-free version of the assistant has been included in the new Fire HD 10, Amazon's latest tablet, which will go on sale on October 11 for £150 ($150).

Reports of the development of the device were first made in an article on the Financial Times.

The yet unnamed project will see the glasses to pair with your smartphone, presumably via Bluetooth.

This will allow you to both hear and speak to the Alexa voice assistant. 

The smart glasses are going to use a type of headphone that can send sounds directly to your auditory system without the need for earpieces, according to sources familiar with the matter.

These bone-conduction audio systems transmit vibrations through the bones of your inner ear straight to your cochlea, where they are sent down the auditory nerve and to your brain.

Babak Parviz the founder of Google's ill-fated Glass, the first major attempt to popularise smart glasses, is rumoured to be directing Amazon's efforts..

Their device is unlikely to replicate the heads up display of the Google Glass and its onboard camera, however. While this might seem to limit the smart glasses potential, it may in fact avoid the pitfalls of the Google predecessor. 

By not including these additions, this could dramatically improve battery life and make the device's primary function.

This is not the first time in recent days that Amazon's plans to make Alexa more mobile have been revealed.  On Tuesday, the firm  unveiled a new tablet that allows users to summon the virtual assistant with just their voice for the first time.

Until recently, the AI powered assistant could only be summoned when a wake button was pressed on devices like the Echo or the Alexa app was launched

On Tuesday, the firm unveiled a new tablet that allows users to summon the virtual assistant with just their voice for the first time. The new Fire HD 10, Amazon's latest tablet, will go on sale on October 11 for £150 ($150)    

Babak Parviz the founder of Google's ill-fated Glass, the first major attempt to popularise smart glasses, is rumoured to be directing Amazon's efforts. In 2015, Google rolled out this secretive new version of Glass dubbed Enterprise Edition

Until now, the AI powered assistant could only be summoned on Amazon tablets and other mobile devices when a wake button was pressed or the Alexa app launched.

The hands-free version of the assistant has been included in the new Fire HD 10, Amazon's latest tablet, which will go on sale on October 11 for £150 ($150).

Kevin Keith from the firm's devices business said: 'For less than £150, the all-new Fire HD 10 offers a beautiful 1080p full HD display, plus faster performance, more storage, and up to 10 hours of battery life.

'We're also excited to introduce Alexa hands-free for the first time on a Fire tablet. 

'Now, you can ask Alexa to control video playback, show you your calendar, dim the lights, and much more - all without lifting a finger.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4901886/Amazon-s-Alexa-enabled-smart-glasses.html

H3 Digital Office - Home Cinema Room

Our new Phuket HQ Office is still under construction, our new office is going to give us much more room to show and store our home cinema, audio and light systems.

Currently underway is our custom home cinema demo room, this will feature a 120" screen, 4k projector and a fantastic surround system with 2 subwoofers all automated with mood lighting and voice control, courtesy of Alexa, Google Home and Apple's HomeKit.  We are looking forward to it.

On top of the cinema will be our meeting table, here we will sit down with our customers to discuss the amazing music systems, home theatre and lighting control that we can bring their homes to life with. 

Sony Launches new 4k HDR Projectors.

Sony is expanding its home cinema projector range with three brand new 4K HDR models announced at IFA 2017.

The new projectors feature our favourite projector technology, SXRD (JVC calls their version of this D-ILA). This technology otherwise known as LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) is basically LCD on steroids.  Brighter and with a less discernable grid structure, Home Cinemas powered by these projectors look smoother and there is no visible pixel structure on screen.

These new projectors from Sony are their native 4K SXRD technology, which Sony say delivers “high-contrast” and “detail-packed” images in combination with Sony’s Reality Creation resolution processing technology.

“All of these models are designed with Sony’s commitment in mind to bring the most ‘true to reality’ images to our customers,” said Anna Tan, Product Manager – Display, Sony ANZ.

“All three feature-packed 4K HDR projectors, from the cost-effective VPL-VW260ES to the premium VPL-VW760ES, have breathtakingly-real picture quality. So, whether viewers are watching the latest action film or a sporting event they’ll feel truly immersed in the experience,” Tan said.

The VPL-VW760ES laser light source projector features 2,000 lumens of brightness, Motionflow technology for stabilising fast moving scenes, and Triluminos technology for a broader colour range than standard projectors according to Sony.

As the projector uses a laser light source, no lamp changes are required and expendable parts are said to last about 20,000 hours before needing replacement. Sony also said it had reduced the depth of the projector by 40% on the existing laser light source model to make it easier to install or mount.

Sony’s “versatile” projector model, the VPL-VW360ES, features 1,500 lumens of brightness and an Advanced Iris for 200,000:1 dunamic contrast. The projector is also able to use picture positioning memory to adjust to a content’s aspect ratio.

Then there is the “affordable” VPL-VW260ES which rounds out the new projector range, with “great value-to-cost performance” featureing 1,500 lumens of brightness, available in black and white colours.

LG to double investment in Smart Home Technology by 2020

LG (Lucky Goldstar) is a South Korean multinational electronics company with sales of nearly 60 billion US$ per year.  At the recent IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, LG's commitment to home technology and in particular Smart Home technology was solidified with a commitment to double it's industry investment in home automation and AI by the year 2020.

"BERLIN -- As part of efforts to expand its smart home business, LG Electronics will double its investment by 2020 including mergers and acquisitions of promising artificial intelligence tech firms, said Song Dae-hyun, head of the company’s home appliance and air solutions division Saturday.

At a press conference held at a hotel in Berlin, Song said LG would spare no efforts to boost its smart home business and continue investing to acquire AI and Internet of Things technologies. “As for the AI business, inorganic growth would be more effective,” Song said. “LG officially seeks to acquire some AI companies. But so far, many acquisition projects fell apart due to market conditions.”“LG is aggressively looking for a good AI company,” he added.Song visited the German capital to meet with major European clients and check out latest tech trends at the IFA 2017. “LG was the first to add Wi-Fi to all of the home appliance lineups this year,” he said. “Based on connectivity, the company will try to bring value to consumers by establishing a smart home ecosystem pivoting on AI, IoT and robotic technologies.”

Recently, LG has been increasing partnerships with Google and Amazon to apply the two IT moguls’ voice recognition platforms to LG products for global consumers. “We do have our exclusive voice technology, but we apply the Google and Amazon technologies in order to allow consumers to conveniently use LG products with what they prefer to use,” Song said. “We are now working with Google to take advantage of its database accumulated through its search engine. But we are also continuing to develop our DeepThinQ AI platform at the same time.” The CEO added robots would be a major pillar of the smart home business.“We are nearing commercialization of robots,” he said. “We receive orders for robots from various industries, such as shopping malls and libraries.” "

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Startup_and_IT/30325678

Congratulations to Wirut our Installation Director

Wirut our Installation Director has been with us since day one, so that's 15 years we've been part of the same team.  Wirut also has a few hobbies outside of Smart Homes including his love for animals and running.

He's also pretty good at it, he just placed 15th in Thanyapura's King of The Mountain Phuket Trail race.

The King of the Mountain Run consists of 15 kilometres along steep hilly terrain and amid the beautiful waterfalls of Khao Phra Thaeo National Park.  We're all very proud of him here at H3 and want to share his success.  Well Done Wirut!

Google adds Z-Wave to Google Home

Google is making important strides in the reach of it's home virtual assistant with the Google Home now importantly being able to integrate with Z-Wave via voice.  Home automation based around voice control is becoming more and more common in today's Smart Home.  CNet reports

"Google Home expands its smart home reach with Z-Wave
Z-Wave shows off upgraded firmware at IFA in Berlin allowing you to control devices with your voice through Google.

Soon, you can build your own Google-controlled smart home.

At IFA, Berlin's annual tech showcase, Z-Wave is showing off a module that will allow you to upgrade your smart home with voice controls through the Google Assistant. Soon, if you have a Raspberry Mini Computer, a Western Digital MyCloud Smart Home System, or a Popp Hub Control Center, you'll be able to control synced devices with a voice command to your Google Home or Google Pixel.

Z-Wave allows accessories to talk to each other and to the cloud without using much energy -- so small devices can survive for awhile without expending much battery life. Z-way is software that will enable devices that use Z-Wave to respond to Google. 

You could already control quite a few smart home products with the Google Assistant -- the search giant's digital assistant akin to Siri or Alexa. The Z-Way firmware built into the hubs listed above should allow you expanded access to smaller accessories like sensors and plugs without needing to invest in a big-name smart home platform such as SmartThings. 

Google's working on expanding the number of devices with the Google Assistant built-in at IFA (the company just announced three new third-party speakers with the Assistant), while Z-Wave is working on helping you use the Assistant to control more of your home. Z-Way already works with Amazon's assistant Alexa, so a DIY smart home is becoming ever easier to control with your voice. "

https://www.cnet.com/news/google-home-expands-its-smart-home-reach-with-z-wave/

Building Your Own Home Cinema Business

I was recently approached by Roland from SimpleHomeCinema.com and asked a few questions about setting up a Home Cinema business and how we did it, here in Thailand.  Here is the interview, link is at the bottom.

"Ben Hobbs, Managing Director of H3 Digital kindly offered to do an interview for SimpleHomeCinema. I welcomed the idea as I believe in supporting each other in this line of business and our readers who may be passionate about starting their own business might well take encouragement to do the same. The interview has been printed below. Should you have any other questions for Ben, please use the comments area below the post and I’ll see if we can get Ben to help us answer them.

Ben Hobbs, Managing Director of H3 Digital

Another magazine feature about Home Cinema in Thailand from H3 Digital.

Roland: Ben, please tell us a bit about yourself so our readers can get to know you. Where are you from originally? Where did you grow up? 

Ben: I’m from the UK originally, I was born in Brighton and then moved to Milton Keynes when I was young.  I moved to Thailand when I was 26 years old. 

Roland: What made you move to Thailand at 26? Is there much of an English community where you are?

Ben: I’m into technology and after the dotcom crash it just felt like there wasn’t going to be much growth in that sector in the UK for a while. Yes there is quite a big expat community of people from all over the world here,  Thailand is a great place to live or holiday.

Roland: It does sound like an great place to live and work. Was audio-visual science and home cinema a passion for you from a young age or did you fall into it – so to speak – later on?

Ben: Yes, very much so.  I keenly remember applying for a Student Loan when I was at University and spending more time, and being more excited by planning what HiFfi gear I was going to buy, than on my college work.  (Sherwood CD Player, Sony Amp and Mission 732 speakers if anyone is curious).  It was then that I knew I had the bug.

Roland: How and when did the idea of making a business out of it come to you?

Ben: It was always a hobby of mine, I had always had a very special interest in Home Cinema and Music – It wasn’t so much that I listened to music a lot or even saw a lot of movies, instead it was piecing it together that I enjoyed, planning it and hearing and seeing what amazing setups I could build.  It never occurred to me that I could do this as a living.

Roland: That’s really awesome, Ben. It sounds like you share the same passion as me and some of our readers. How did you find your first paying client?

Ben: After the dot com bust in the UK I had a choice to make, either stay in the IT industry – I was in recruitment, pays well but not particularly fun – Or come to Asia, Thailand in particular.  My Father lived in HK and some of his friends were building holiday homes in Phuket, the problem was there wasn’t any Technology expertise.  My Brother and I came over and helped design intelligent cabling and systems into those holiday homes.

Roland: So it sounds like you kind of fell into it through connections that you had?

Ben: Going into business for yourself is a big life decision. We saw an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands, the safe thing would have been to stay back in the UK.  Moving abroad and starting a company at the same time is fairly risky for anyone – it was useful that we had some insight into prospective work.

Roland: Were you successful straight away or did the business grow slowly?

Ben: We were always busy, that doesn’t necessarily mean success. We have had our ups and downs.  So we grew slowly, then quickly, then shrank after the Global Financial Crisis and then grew again in a slower more measured manner.

Roland: What were some of the challenges you faced as you were growing the business? 

Ben: At first when you start a company there is so much to do to get the ball rolling, then once you come up with the processes, products and have staff it’s all too easy to become complacent. You have to make sure you keep busy. Constantly find new ways to make yourself useful and relevant in such a fast moving industry.

Roland: Did you have to have much of a capital investment initially?

Ben: There was some outlay to get the company up and running, mainly involving getting the company started, work permits, vehicle, etc. We’ve always tried to keep it as organic as possible though.  My advice here: be as sparing as possible with startup money – if you start with a big lump of cash it’s more than likely going to get wasted.

Roland: What were the critical success factors in getting the business where it is today?

Ben: Not giving up.  Running your own business can be really tough at times, sometimes you just want to roll over and give up – You can’t, so you make sure to fight through the hard times and you learn constantly through the whole process.  We’ve tried to keep it as much fun as we can, I didn’t get into this industry to get rich, I do this job because I love it.  That helps.

Roland: That is a great attitude to have, Ben. What is your business model? Do you charge clients for the man hours / consultancy or can you also make money on the equipment by getting wholesale prices? Did the business model change over the years?

Ben: We make some money on equipment and some on the installation, it’s probably around 50/50.  Initially we started out by billing labour as a percentage of the equipment cost but later we moved over to a per unit install cost, where we charge a set integration price on equipment install, That way our customers are fairly charged according to our time rather on how expensive their equipment is.

Roland: How do you make sure the business can be sustained? How do you get new clients coming on board?

Ben: Easier to keep your current and past clients coming back than advertise and market for new ones constantly.  We’ve done two or more properties for more than half of our clients now, sometimes the same property twice! When we first started iPhones weren’t even around so many customers have used us many times to keep their properties up to date.

To do that you must give good service, never cheat people and do your best to make your customers happy.  As a company there has been quite a few times that we’ve ended up losing money on jobs, through no fault of our own – perhaps a supplier let us down or raised their prices.  The customer though is our client, he is dealing with us and we have always been fair.

Roland: What are your plans for the business in the near and mid-term? How do you intend to grow it?

Ben: We are currently building a brand new office which will feature better demo facilities, a coffee shop, better staff facilities and more room for us to stock products.  In addition to designing and installing home cinema, audio and lighting systems ourselves we also distribute some audio and cinema products to other companies.  We hope to include great training facilities and warehousing for those products.

Going forward we are making sure we keep it fun, make sure our clients are happy and look forward to all the great new technology that will be coming out in the future.

Roland: Finally, is there any advice you’d like to give to our readers who would like to get into the business?

Ben: Do it!  If you like home cinema and audio as a hobby, you will more than likely enjoy setting up big systems for others.  Look into if there is a CEDIA in your country and try to get some certified training. Even if you don’t have experience, I think if you know your stuff and have a CEDIA qualification you could probably walk into a junior position in the industry.

I’d like to thank Ben for his time to answer my questions and I’d like to wish him – on behalf of all our readers – good luck with his business."

https://simplehomecinema.com/2017/08/15/building-your-own-home-cinema-business-interview-with-ben-hobbs/

Spotify launches in Thailand

Spotify the music radio service that subscribers pay a monthly fee to access the music from just about every artist in the world, has just launched in Thailand.  Those who use Sonos music systems in Thailand and other multi room audio systems may well be familiar with Spotify as the goto streaming service.  Previously to use Sonos with Spotify you had to reset up the system and pretend you were from another country where Spotify is available (and you have an account).  This makes it much easier to access all your favourite music all over your home.

"Spotify launches in Thailand to continue its Asia push. While talk of Spotify’s apparent upcoming IPO continues in the U.S., the music streaming service is furthering its coverage of Asia after it launched its service in Thailand.

Spotify Premium, which counts over 60 million paying users, will cost 129 THB in Thailand. That’s just over $4 and in line with its pricing across Asia. Customers in the U.S. and UK will be aware that it is substantially cheaper than what they pay, but Spotify has opted for local pricing worldwide.

Interestingly, Spotify will introduce daily and weekly packages to boost its potential in Thailand, where revenue from online music has actually declined by over 20 percent since 2012, Spotify Asia head Sunita Kaur told media at a press conference

The launch — which we reported was on the cards back in May — takes Spotify to 61 markets worldwide, and it is emblematic of the company’s recent focus on expanding its business in Asia.

Spotify first entered the region in 2013 with launches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, it only added one new market over the next two years. It restarted its expansion plan in Asia last year when it launched its service in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth largest population, and Japan, which is the world’s second most lucrative music market. Today’s launch takes it to seven countries in Asia, not including Australia and New Zealand when looking at the wider Asia Pacific area.

As we reported back in May, Vietnam is the next country in its sights, as evidenced by job listings and sources. India is a market that we understand Spotify has looked at seriously, but for now it has not committed to a launch.

Getting a solid position across Asia will help Spotify when it does finally go public. The latest reports suggest that will be via a direct listing, an unorthodox approach that involves going public without an IPO. Spotify is potentially missing out on hundreds of millions in proceeds from the IPO, but it could do a secondary offering to raise cash at a later date.

It’s also under pressure to compete with Apple Music, which is available worldwide. Spotify had an early head-start and it added 20 million paid subscribers in less than a year. It’s taken Apple Music more than a year and a half to make that progress. Spotify now has 60 million subscribers, compared to Apple Music’s 27 million, as of June."

https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/21/spotify-thailand-launch/

“Hello Alexa, read me the latest technology news.”

From The Phuket Gazette

Starting with Apple’s Siri, released back in 2011, and followed by Google Now in 2013 on Android, smart phone users became accustomed to talking to smart devices with their voice. Sure, it feels a bit strange at first but once you got over the psychological hurdle of talking to your phone, instead of into it, we took it as granted as one more weapon in the smart phones arsenal.

For many of us though, myself included, it all felt a bit clunky and convoluted and was relegated to the interesting but not particularly useful scrap-pile of smartphone apps.

It all could have stayed that way, except out of nowhere in late 2014, Amazon, currently the 4th largest company in the world, unveiled the Amazon Echo and alongside it Alexa – their intelligent personal assistant.  Inspired by the voice control system featured on board the Starship Enterprise in the TV series Star Trek, the Echo is a cylindrical speaker and microphone array that can listen to voice commands and play back music and speak back to users.  It might have gone mostly unnoticed however shortly after introduction Amazon launched a $100 million dollar venture capital fund – The Alexa Fund, a program that invested in companies making voice control skills and technologies.  A slew of young technology companies started purposing the technology for real life needs and integrating it with other technologies already available.

Initially Echo sales where limited by invitation only, eventually they opened up general USA sales in mid 2015, Canada in mid 2016 and UK in late 2016.

The response has been incredible – Amazon will ship more than 10 million Echo devices in 2017. In addition, Amazon users increased their spending by an average of 10% after their purchase of an Echo device.

So what can you do with Amazon Alexa?

Right out of the box you can ask; about the weather, traffic and road conditions, news updates, to listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks and even get it to help answer maths questions for the kids homework.

Where it gets really interesting is when you have smart home technology within your home, for example the Philips Hue range of smart bulbs. I have those in my home and I can simply Ask “Alexa, dim living room lights” or “Alexa turn off bedroom lights”. We haven’t used light switches on a daily basis for months.

Because it can control any other device on your home wifi network you can buy a smart plug for a thousand baht or so, connect it to a fan, name the socket as “fan” and Alexa can then then be told “Alexa, turn on the fan”.  Replace fan with coffee machine, air purifier, computer, lamps etc… and suddenly it’s very easy to control anything in your home. What’s even better is that electrical manufacturers are lining up to build Alexa technology into their products. At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year the buzz was all around Amazon’s Alexa with manufacturers building it into fridges, washing machines, cookers, fans, speakers, tv’s, stereo systems, air conditioners and all manner of home appliances. This means in the future we will see white goods that can connect with Alexa natively, directly, Alexa can automatically find them and you can issue commands directly to them through Alexa without buying any new hardware or complex programming.

It’s not all good news though for users or Amazon.

As Alexa isn’t currently released in Thailand, to use it here you will first need to sideload an app, rather complicated, then you will not have access to location based services such as traffic. You can still ask “Alexa, whats the weather like in Phuket” but will have to pretend you are in another country for initial setup, not ideal.

For Amazon the competition is phenomenal. Google (2nd largest company in the world) has launched Google Home – another smart speaker promising all the same control and assistance but backed by Googles exceptional search experience and Apple (the largest company in the world) is launching their HomePod at the end of this year, it’s own voice-equipped assistant for the home – essentially Siri for their home. They have a unique advantage of a tested technology tied to a very loyal fan base and although late to the game in terms of home assistants, with Alexa and Home already released. Apple have a history of being game changers in the technology space.

Google's Home is one of Amazon's competitors.

So there you have it, voice may well be the future of how we control our homes. With the worlds 1st, 2nd and 4th largest companies battling it out with competing technologies, we can certainly expect innovation to come hard and fast and soon you might be saying hello to your truly smart home.

https://www.phuketgazette.net/lifestyle/hello-alexa-read-me-the-latest-technology-news

Wired on the Ikea Smart Home Lighting System

Ikea are one of the worlds biggest home furniture stores but did you know they also sell lightbulbs, a lot of them. In the UK they sell over 2.3 million bulbs alone, they were one of the first companies to sell only LED bulbs.  Now they are moving their smart home offering forward with a range of easy to use, affordable Smart Home Automation lights that promise to be voice controlled by ALexa, Home, And Homepod in the near Future.  Wired website has an article on their new range and what it means for the home automation and smart home industry.

"THE "SMART HOME" has not yet distinguished itself. Sure, you might dim your lights with an app; you might even talk to your large appliances. But despite years of promised ubiquity, the connected home has yet to cleave with mainstream reality. It's too expensive, too futzy, too filled with interoperability landmines. You know who can fix that? Ikea. In fact, it's already started to.

Ikea's current smart home lineup is limited to a handful of lighting products. Nothing so special about that. But the way Ikea has so far approached its Trådfri LEDs illustrates exactly how the furniture behemoth can light a path toward a generation of products that finally fulfill the smart home's potential. They're cheap. They're easy. And most importantly, they'll soon speak HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Assistant with equal fluency.

No surprise, maybe, that a Swedish company embraces neutrality. But as Ikea goes, the rest of the industry may have to follow. Let's hope so, anyway.
Stick To the Basics

The Ikea smart home—which it calls "Home Smart," because even the branding is economical—reflects the rest of furniture giant's strengths. The Trådfri lights strip down functionality and flash. They don't change color, and you can't control them from halfway around the world. If those immediately register as disadvantages to you, chances are you're not the target market in the first place.

"The smart home has been possible for some time, but there's been two major dilemmas," says Björn Block, who heads up Ikea's Home Smart division. "It's too complicated, and too expensive. Let's make it super easy to install and super easy to understand, at a price tag you haven't seen before."

To that end, Trådfri bulbs work right out of the box. Screw them in, put a battery in the included remote, and you're set. Smart, but simple. You can also, of course, buy a hub and download an app so that you can control them through your phone, and most of buyers likely will. But at least you have the option of dumbing down your smart bulbs a bit.
Starting with just lighting also keeps things simple for Ikea. Rather than slapping a chip in the nearest Frostig, it entered the market playing to its strengths.

"They've had lighting fixtures for quite a long time," says Brad Russell, a research analyst at Parks Associates. "It's a natural fit for them. One of the use cases for lighting is design, so that fits into the design consciousness of the brand. Also more generally speaking, lighting is a low-cost entry point for any smart home."

There's a practical benefit to starting slowly, as well. By easing into the smart home market, Ikea can ease its customers along too. It doesn't have to be a mess; in fact, it's as easy as screwing in a lightbulb. Especially given Ikea's commitment to working with whatever tech you already have in the house.

Trådfri of Babel
Some good news under the hood: Trådfri uses the Zigbee Light Link standard to communicate with the rest of the smart home, meaning it'll play nice with a wide range of devices. That includes competing smart bulbs; after a planned software update, you'll be able to control your Trådfri from within the Philips Hue app.

The Secret to Hacking Ikea Furniture Is More Ikea Furniture, Says Ikea
That commitment to interoperability feels rare in today's smart home world. It's valuable turf, after all. A home only has so many sockets. But Ikea has still chosen openness, a model that, in an ideal world, every retailer would follow.

"We were pretty clear from the start that we couldn't succeed doing this by ourselves," says Block. "It was never our intention to create a proprietary system that would knock other users out."

Block likens that smart home approach to Ikea's more conventional offerings. "If you look at Ikea furniture, you can match with furniture from other retailers. We want to tap into the same behavior, and same type of story," says Block. "It should be the same type of freedom to choose."

Perhaps just as importantly, Ikea announced this summer that it would extend that freedom of choice to voice voice assistants. After an incoming round of software updates, it won't matter whether you own a Google Home or Amazon Echo, or both. You'll be able to shout at your light fixtures, and have them respond.

OK, so it may sound silly when you put it like that. But voice commands will be an important part of making smart homes viable. Pulling out your phone, opening an app, and tapping a few times doesn't feel all that more disrputive than just flipping a switch or adjusting a dimmer with your fingers. But a house that listens to you? That's sci-fi material.

"Ikea's move to support these intelligent assistants in the same device will appeal to a wider consumer base than could be obtained if they were to integrate with only one over another," says Adam Wright, senior consumer IoT analyst for research company IDC.
And consider the alternative: A world in which being a Google Home or Echo Dot household determine big-ticket home purchases. That's not as farfetched as it sounds; Sears recently cut a deal to sell Alexa-enabled Kenmore appliances through Amazon. Given that Amazon doesn't even sell the Apple TV on its digital shelves, it seems unlikely that you'll ever find a Siri-powered Kenmore dishwasher.

Set aside how appealing that might sound to you personally; if the smart home in general has a chance of mass appeal, it needs as much interoperability as possible. And that's exactly what Ikea's selling.

Big Footprint
Ikea's biggest advantage—and its best opportunity to boost the smart home overall—lies in its sheer size. Over 900 million people pass through the doors of its 400 stores each year. It's the biggest retailer in the world. That means Ikea can not just sell, but educate.

"The vast majority of consumers don't understand the value proposition of these products," says Russell. But what seems either too involved or not useful enough online can suddenly sharpen into focus when experienced in person. Being the first in-person introduction to the smart home should benefit Ikea, too, as it looks for ways to broaden its connected portfolio.

"We have a lot of insights, because when you try and test that product, that's when you make the buying decision," says Block.
Ikea hasn't announced its next smart target, though Block says his team works together with most sectors of the company. That doesn't imply a scattershot approach, though.
"I think we're quite curious about different product areas in the home, but the common denominator is we will not step in just to do it," says Block. "Only if it makes sense."

In a world filled with smart shower heads, smart trash cans, and even a smart hair brush, it's disorienting to hear a company focused on hitching fewer devices to the internet, not more. It's unusual to think in terms not of moving fast and breaking things, but moving slowly, simply, and getting it right.
In fact, that deliberately modest quality feels so refreshing cinches it: No one wins more with Ikea entering the smart home than the smart home itself."

https://www.wired.com/story/ikea-smart-home/

We need more space!

It's starting to get crowded in here.  We've just had our latest shipment of Nuvo speakers from Legrand.  We are the distributor for Thailand so we ship these to our dealers all over Thailand.

They don't look very interesting sitting there in cardboard boxes, but these fantastic sounding speakers are installed in some of the most luxurious properties in Thailand.  Here are some examples.

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Our In-Ceiling speakers blend into the architecture so that you can have great sounding music without the wires. Outdoor speakers are weatherproof even against the harsh elements of beachside living.

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Want to listen to great sounding music in your home? Then get in touch and we can design and install a fantastic music system for you to enjoy.