Tag Archives: Household

AT&T launches HomeManager smart landline phone system

September 22, 2008 – 6:19 pm

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Juicing up landline phones with internet connectivity and large touchscreen displays isn’t exactly a new idea, but AT&T’s new three-piece HomeManager system might finally bring it into the mainstream. The Samsung-built HomeManager Frame is the highlight, with a seven-inch touchscreen that enables features like visual voice mail, address book synchronization with certain AT&T cell phones, Yellow Pages, and other internet-enabled content like weather and news, while the HomeManager Handset carries a similar interface over to a more traditional form factor with a smaller color screen, and the HomeManager Base serves as the heart of the system. It certainly looks nifty — the Frame’s interface seems nice and quick — but just as with OpenFrame, we’re not really sure who’s in that crossover zone between people who want this kind of gear and people who still have landlines. We’ll find out soon — HomeManager is available now for AT&T customers in Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles for $299, with more to follow. Check a quick video hands-on after the break.

Read - HomeManager site
Read - 3Screens hands-on

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Audiovox finally ships Homebase Digital Message Center

September 19, 2008 – 2:00 am

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Remember those way swank Digital Message Centers we peeked at CES this year? At long last, Audiovox has begun shipping the audio-only DPF710K ($149.99), which sticks upside your fridge and provides a 7-inch display, a dry erase board, digital clock, Post-it pad and a LED message indicator for good measure. If you haven’t pieced it together, this thing seeks to simplify your family’s lives by providing a base for leaving photos and messages, and we’ll admit, it does have a smidgen of a Jetsons vibe to it. Those holding out for the video-capable DPF711K can lay down their $199.99 later this month. Nice hair, kiddo.

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Google and GE in unlikely enviro-matrimony

September 18, 2008 – 2:37 pm

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Google and GE in unlikely enviro-matrimony

Google is the search engine monolith that everyone loves to love. GE is the energy and appliance maker whose public image ranges from ambivalence to dislike (and we don’t just mean Nikola Tesla fans). While the two have worked together in the past to put a button on a phone, they don’t exactly seem like ideal partners. But, hard times make strange bedfellows, and these two are snuggling up and cooing about the “smarter” energy grid they’ll produce together. This includes more intelligent systems driving everything from electric cars to wind generators, which Google will tackle, along with a better infrastructure to deliver that power efficiently where it’s needed. That is where GE and its industry-bending spin offs come in, though both expectant parents are hoping for a little help from our new administration to make the magic happen — whichever new administration we get.

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