This week’s SmartHome roundup centers on announcements and product launches at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as well as new products for home automation.

Alpha Networks’ Smart Home Gateway

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At MWC, Alpha Networks announced a series of new 4G mobile communication products including the ASL-14331M 4G Smart Home Gateway, which integrates all connected home devices by seamlessly linking and setting up network communication devices, home entertainment units, surveillance systems, network-attached storage applications, automatic controls, and cloud computing platforms.

The Smart Home Gateway will a usher in a new breed of home automation controller hubs that are able to efficiently manage smart devices.

Alpha Networks also introduced the BLT-FAP01 LTE & WiFi Enterprise Small Cell, the WLT-RV02 LTE Integrated Access Device, and the WLT-OD02 Outdoor Unit, which can automatically search for the best signals.

Haier

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Chinese manufacturer Haier introduced the Smart Home Centre at MWC.  The Smart Home Centre is a 6-inch touchscreen tablet that features WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee for home control.

The Smart Home Center is similar in function to other mobile devices as it can stream content, shoot videos, take photos, browse the web, run apps, accommodates SIMs for GSM or 3G cellular cards and will allow users to “transform the living room into a videoconference” using the tablet’s front-facing camera and a WiFi dongle for the TV.

Samsung

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Samsung is offering premium videos for those who will purchase a new smart TV from them, thanks to a partnership with Polish VoD server iplex.pl.  Consumers who will purchase the Samsung Smart TVs or the Samsung Smart home cinema between February 20 to April 16 will need to register their purchase at website www.200.samsung.pl before April 19, 2014 to be able to access 200 premium films for free.

SeeSpace’s InAir

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Most people cannot do without their mobile devices even if they are already watching TV.  Some use their smartphones to find more information about the program they are watching, others use it to communicate, or they just can’t part with these devices even for just a second.  If you can’t put your smartphone down, SeeSpace offers InAir, an device that you attach to your TV to allow more content to become available on the larger screen.

That’s not entirely a new concept, but what’s new is InAir’s mobile apps that allows you to control what’s on TV using swiping and tapping gestures on your mobile device.  It also supports Leap and Kinect technologies so you can control what’s on the screen much like how Tom Cruise’s character manipulated computer screens in the movie Minority Report.

BitWise Controls Nest Module

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BitWise Controls added a Nest, the smart thermostat, Module to its library of supported systems.  The modules contains reconfigured GUIs and device programming templates which will allow integrators to set up, design, and install various subsystems, such as Nest.

“The BitWise Controls Nest Module makes it incredibly simple for integrators to add Nest thermostats to the BitWise platform,” says CTO Mark Buster. “By downloading the Nest Module from our Online Dealer Store, integrators will be able to immediately offer slick integration of the Nest Learning Thermostat into their customer’s BitWise Controls systems.”

This will also allow integrators to put virtual Nests to their projects, which has the same UI as the physical device.

photo credit: Travis Goodspeed via photopin cc