AV Adviser

Apple TV rumors and the new iPad 3

A couple of days ago I said that the consumer electronics industry was in a lull.  I added a caveat, saying that Apple (and Android) were the only things really exciting that were moving things forward.

It looks like the iPad 3 may be announced on March 7.  Last year I was darn sure I'd jump on the bandwagon and buy the iPad 2.  I didn't pull the trigger.  This year I'm springing for the 3.  The screen is rumored to be double the resolution which should be downright dazzling. 

There's also a rumor going about that there's something in store for the Apple TV.  That's not to be confused with the Apple iTV, or whatever they'll end up calling it, the physical television which should be out in 2013.  This has to do with the Apple TV device and a huge upgrade. 

Word is spreading that many more deals have been struck with content providers and that it will somehow tie-in with the iPad 3.  As usual, it's all speculation and, true to form, Apple is keeping a tight wrap on things leaking. It could be anything but dull in the consumer electronics business next month. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Consumer electronics are in a lull

Maybe I'm just jaded.  Maybe to a casual observer there are fascinating new consumer electronics components being introduced steadily.  I just don't see it that way.

Sure, the show floor at the Consumer Electronics Show last month in Las Vegas was teeming with new products.  Some of them were quite impressive.  I'm thinking of those ultra-high def TVs known as 4K technology.  Did you know they're already working on 8K even though 4K hasn't hit the mass market. 

And there's the problem.  Much of what I'm seeing from manufacturers right now, I mean the stuff that cries out "game changer", is not ready for the living room.  It's like when the Detroit Auto Show displays proto-types of their cars for the future.  They look cool but how many actually come to market?

What's really driving inovation in consumer electronics right now is the Android and Apple operating systems.  That's about the only place I'm being dazzled.  I'm still waiting for the myriad of products using Android At Home that could make the smart home in the reach of many and not just the wealthy. 

And 2012 is going to be a long year as we anticipate and speculate as to what this Apple television is all about.  Word is Apple would be unveiling it in 2013.  Will it use their Siri voice recognition technology to control the TV? 

I'm expecting other great things from Siri.  Like the integration with Crestron control that a small company called Carnes recently developed.  I'd written about the technology a month ago.  Odd, but the link to the Carnes site which showed off the product is gone.  I'm guessing Apple wasn't thrilled.

I'm hopeful that Apple will eventually release the Siri technology to third parties.  That's the kind of innovation just waiting to happen that can get the consumer electronics industry out of the doldrums. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Great story on Sonos

I was sitting at lunch yesterday with a customer and he inquired about some sort of slick distributed music system.  I knew right away he was thinking of Sonos. 

I told him the product sells itself.  I've never had a customer dislike a Sonos system I installed.  In fact, they beam with delight and show it off to their friends.  It is just that cool.

There's a great story in last week's New York Times about Sonos and how they survived and thrived in an Apple dominated market, How Sonos Outshines Apple in Home Audio.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

The main reason why I advise the iPhone over other smart phones

I'm having this debate with my son right now.  Which smart phone platform do you prefer?  He's taking the side of Android while I'm in Apple's corner.  There's the Windows phone which, from many reports, is good and is probably getting short shrift.  Microsoft is used to that these days. 

It's not surprising that my son is an Android fan.  The phones can be easily jailbroken and designed to an individuals needs or whims.  That is if you're techie enough.  The platform plays right into a techies hands.  Plus the fact that anyone can make an app for the Android platform.  And there's the big problem.

Android fans complain about the lockdown, closed system nature of the iPhone.  The fact that iPhone apps have to be submitted to Apple who then run them through a vetting process to determine if it's worthwhile, functional and not harmful to their device.  Since anyone can make an Android app and sell it or give it away directly to the Android user, apps can be glitchy or downright bad.  It makes for a poor user experience, something Steve Jobs abhorred. 

At worst an Android app can have a virus or spyware causing your phone to malfunction or quit working entirely.  Here's a story published yesterday from MIT's Technology Review, Attacks on Android Devices Intensify.  It suggests that 2012 could be a bad year for Android users. 

Is that what you want?  Having to defend from virus and spyware attacks on something so personal as your smart phone?  You know how miserable an infected computer can make your life.  My son lamely suggests that he simply runs an anti-spyware/virus program on his phone. 

I'm winning the debate though.  And I think this story from Technology Review will cement my case.  I'm quite sure my son's next smart phone will be an iPhone. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Pogue's list of 'duh' statements

Last week New York Times tech writer David Pogue came up with a list of absolutes in technology that were once "amazing" but now are old news.  Still, you'll hear these statements from people everyday.  Pogue tells us to get over it already.

Here's the story, Things That Were Once Amazing.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Spotify growing but slowly amongst oldsters

Spotify isn't perfect.  There's some great artists missing from its library like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.  Yesterday it was announced that Paul McCartney, who had some of his catalog on the streaming music service, has pulled all of his music including his new standards album.  It's not surprising that an oldster such as McCartney would miss the signpost leading to the future.  And just as some of the older musicians don't get Spotify, the older demo of music fans just don't get it either. 

I just read a story about the growth of Spotify here in the United States, Spotify hits 3m subscribers to improve conversion rate.  It looks as if Spotify's membership is beginning to accelerate.  The number that struck me was that half of the Spotify customers who pay for the premium service are under 30.  It tells me that the subscription fee of $10 a month isn't very objectionable.  After all, twenty-somethings don't yet have a great deal of disposable income. Oldsters are late to adopt because they can't wrap their heads around new technologies as quickly. 

Yet again I was surrounded by my peers at a Super Bowl party.  The party was held at a friend's home.  A friend who is a music fanatic, like myself, I might add.  He had tunes playing before the game started.  Unfortunately the music simply eminated from one room, where the stereo was located.  There was no music in the kitchen where the majority of people always gather for a party.  Why are some people still without distributed audio? 

It is so easy these days to get music playing in any room you desire.  And the options run from inexpensive to moderately expensive.  And it is so worth it to have music, sports or even talk playing through out your abode as you go about living your life. 

The perfect music source for distributed audio systems these days is a streaming music service such as Spotify.  So I took a poll of the roughly 30 people attending the party, all of whom were over 50, to see how many had Spotify.  The answer was none.  It's mind boggling to me. 

You'd think I were a bad salesman or something.  After all, some of them had heard me speaking highly of Spotify over the past months.  Here's what it is though.  They are luddites.  Most of them aren't on Facebook.  They just don't seem to grasp the ease of obtaining this service and using it. 

So I'm offering to set it up for them.  And I'm offering to set it up for any of you who just don't feel you're technically savvy enough.  I'll also come up with a proposal to get that music playing throughout your home.  This is not some sales pitch.  This is my life's mission, to enrich people's lives through the sharing of music.  Let me help enrich your life. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Was Steve Jobs working on a better sounding digital format?

Neil Young, a big proponent for better sounding music formats, says that Steve Jobs agreed with him and they talked of developing such a format for iTunes.  He also said that when Jobs was at home he preferred to listen to vinyl records. 

Young talked about this at a technology conference in California on Tuesday.  He said the format would be lossless, containing 100% of the original data, instead the poor sampling rate of an mp3.  It would mean far fewer songs on a portable device and the download would take a long time.  The reward would be a much richer music listening experience. 

The Wall Street Journal's tech writer Walt Mossberg confirmed Young's comments.  He said that Jobs was surprised "that people traded quality, to the extent they had, for convenience or price". 

Here's the story from the Huffington Post, Neil Young: Steve Jobs Listened To Vinyl.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Interfacing Apple's Siri With Crestron Control

This is awesome.  Before Steve Jobs passed away he hinted that he'd cracked the problem with controlling a TV without a cumbersome keyboard or remote.  It seems assured that Apple will unveil a TV of their own within the next year or so.  Speculation is that his control solution is Siri, the audio assistant built into the iPhone 4S.

Carnes Audio Visual has achieved such control and more by taking the Siri technology and interfacing it with Crestron's sophisticated control system.  Here's the Forbes story on it, Siri Takes Its Place in the "Smart Home".  Better yet, here's a video put together by Carnes to show it off.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

A Thermostat As Cool As The iPod

Tony Fadell spent years at Apple.  He developed the iPod and many iterations of it until leaving in 2009 to start his own company Nest Labs. 

Nest's first product is the Nest The Learning Thermostat.  Just like the iPod it is sleek in its simplicity.  The design makes it look attractive on the wall but the real beauty is its learning capability. 

You don't have to set up parameters.  It simply remembers how you adjust it throughout your day and then figures out how to control itself ideally.  That can add up to energy bill savings and offset the $250 price tag in the long run. 

Of course you can also adjust the thermostat via your iPhone while you're away.  It's a relatively inexpensive way to achieve a sophisticated home climate system. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

CNET's End Of The Year List Show

It used to be you'd subscribe to Consumer Reports or go to the library to look at an issue when you were in the market for a big ticket item.  You'd want to see how they rated models in a certain category, be it a car or a stereo receiver.  Nowadays CNET has taken the place of Consumer Reports, at least when it comes to consumer electronics. 

That's why this end of the year special show from CNET's Buzz Out Loud is worthwhile viewing.  It's a great way to see what was a hit and what was a miss in 2011.