T3 India

Smart Home

Samsung unveils SpaceMax Family Hub refrigerator for the connected home

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Home appliances are not what it used to be. They are more connected than ever with all the smart features and the latest to join the queue is Samsung’s SpaceMax Family Hub Refrigerator that not only helps to store food but also come with a host of connected features.

The refrigerator supports a capacity of 657-litres and the reason for such capacity is the intelligent SpaceMax design that allows the inside walls of the refrigerator to be much thinner, thanks to the high-efficiency insulation. This means more storage space without increasing the external dimensions or compromising energy efficiency. In addition to this, the refrigerator also comes with Digital Inverter technology that ensures up to 50% power saving, deodorizing filter to keep the air fresh inside the refrigerator through built-in activated carbon filters and support features like Power Cool & Power Freeze for rapid cooling performance.

Moving onto the connected side of things, the SpaceMax Family Hub features a View Inside camera that allows a quick peek of the contents inside without opening the fridge. There’s a 21.5-inch display on the front that can be used as a whiteboard, memo, photo album or use the same display for web browsing, go through the music library on Spotify or Gaana and play through the 25W speakers.

The SpaceMax Family Hub comes with a 10-year warranty on its Digital Inverter Technology Compressor and is available for pre-booking on Flipkart, Samsung.com, Reliancedigital.in, Croma.com and Vijaysales.com at a special price of Rs. 1,96,990, which will sell for Rs. 2,19,900 after the promotional period. The pre-book offer also includes additional benefits like cashback up to Rs. 9,000 and a free Galaxy Note 10 Lite worth Rs. 37,999.

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Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P makes every day cleaning much easier

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Intelligent features are slowly finding their way into our daily lives, making it easier and easier to live and perform daily tasks without any hassle. The Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P is exactly what you imagine it to be. The Mi Robot Vacuum Mop is a sustainable way to have homely floors cleaned through just a push of a button.

Branded as the ‘Modern Pro Cleaning Solution’, the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop P operates within 2 modes: (i) the sweeping + mopping mode and (ii) the sweeping only mode, where the former utilises a 2-in-1 storage tank for all the dirt cleaned and the latter uses a 550ml dust-tank which is good to go for multiple cleaning sessions. Developers at Mi have also taken into consideration the intricacies of manually sweeping and mopping and the have designed a specific dual-direction repeated wiping in the sleeping + mopping mode, thus promising a deeper clean.

More so, the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop P is equipped with 12 high precision sensors. The anti-collision sensor ensures accurate navigation and the anti-drop sensor avoids any possible falls from staircases and senses the surrounding environment. Its ability to achieve efficient navigation during sweeping and mopping is through the Laser Distance Sensor (LDS) coupled with the Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm, which foster real-time mapping and a scanning range of up to 8 meters.

The Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P comes with an electronically controlled water tank which is capable of dispensing the water with different intensities depending on intensity of clean and the type of floor the user wants to clean. This device connects to the Mi Home App which unlocks several smart features such as scheduled cleaning, spot cleaning, remote control, and real-time mapping.

Impressively, after its first clean, the device is capable of identifying the layout of the user’s homes and through this, the user can even tell the device what areas to avoid and which zones to clean, and set virtual walls to prohibit the device from going into some areas – all this through the smart Mi Home App.

The Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P weighs 3.6kgs and is powered by a quad-core Cortex-A7 processor and a dual-core Mali 400 GPU with a battery capacity of 3200mAh and the ability to go to its port to automatically recharge. This device also comes with accessories such as a full wet mop, semi-wet mop, drag bracket, and more.

Those interested in purchasing and supporting this product, can do so through Mi’s crowdfunding page – which also lists more details about the product which will be available from September 15, 2020.

Amazon’s Echo Show 8 features an 8-inch HD screen along with stereo sound

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Building up on Echo Show 5, Amazon’s new Echo Show 8 is made to do more than just manage the consumer’s day with Alexa’s smart features. The Amazon Echo Show 8 consists of an 8-inch HD display and stereo sound, allowing users to easily view latest TV shows, movies and more. Echo Show 8 users can also choose to speak to Alexa in Hindi and for convenience, change the language settings of the device right from the device as well. Echo Show 8 will be available for a limited period launch offer of Rs. 8,999.

Supporting HD video, users can get access to movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Video and Voot, and can also watch music videos on Hungama Music. With two 2” 10W speakers, Echo Show 8 allows streaming music from Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, JioSaavn, Gaana, Hungama and more. The Echo Show 8 runs on a MediaTek MT 8163 processor and is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices.

Echo Show 8 also brings the same smart home management features that you find on other Alexa-enabled devices. Enjoy hands-free control of compatible smart home devices or through the interactive screen of Echo Show 8 – ranging from controlling smart lights, viewing security cameras, to managing routines of allowing Alexa to switch on geysers or ACs through smart plugs. One can also connect to other Echo devices at home that can help parents to check in on their kids from time to time.

In addition to that, Echo Show 8 users can set timers, watch news bulletins, check for weather or traffic, ask for sports scores, movie timings, update their to-do lists, create calendar events, reminders and do much more. With a 1MP built-in camera, Echo Show 8 enables users to make video calls to those who have Skype, other Echo devices with a screen, or the Alexa app. Echo Show 8 also supports voice calls and messaging.

Echo Show 8 will be available from February 26, 2020.

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Correction: EBLT Amour 3.0 – December 2018 issue

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In the December issue we had featured EBTL Amour 3.0 under the Horizon section and had mentioned the following under T3 Says: An approximate cost of 1,5,000 is estimated for a 3BHK home which is inclusive of all costs.

The above is incorrect and it should have read: An approximate cost of ₹1,50,000 is estimated for a 3BHK home which is inclusive of all costs.

The error is regretted.

 

TP-Link NC450 Connected Camera

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TP-Link is synonymous for its expansive router range but off late, the company is expanding its portfolio to connected devices like smart bulbs, plugs, switches and the recent addition is the cloud camera – NC450.

The NC450 is a dome-shaped camera that gives no second guesses as to what you’re looking at. The camera boasts a shiny white exterior with the back reserved for the power slot, an external antenna for Wi-Fi reception, Ethernet and a microSD card slot. The good part about the camera’s design is that it can be placed on a table or mount on a ceiling. There’s an LED light on the front that indicates the camera’s status but that can be turned off.

Connecting and configuring the camera is as easy as downloading an app. Literally. Users need to download the tpCamera app on their Android or an iOS device and just follow the on-screen instructions.

The camera does not come with a built-in storage, so make sure you insert a microSD card to record. TP-Link recommends a microSD up to 128GB but in our test, the camera was able to detect a 256GB card without any issues.

The camera captures a decent quality HD resolution feed with its 1/4″ CMOS sensor and is also equipped with an infrared LED that ensures quality capture in the dark as well (up to 26 feet).

The hardware, however, is one part because instrumental to it is the app that acts as a remote control and a live viewfinder. The app has a slick interface and offers an easy way to explore the timeline based on time and date. If motion and sound detection is enabled, the timeline clearly highlights it for the user to scrutinise it. Furthermore, the app can send push notifications or email the user, in case it detects any activity. There’s also 2-way streaming audio, motion tracking, a 300-degree horizontal panning and 110-degree vertical tilting ensuring almost every corner of the house is under video surveillance.

The TP-Link NC450 is a perfect camera for homes and small offices that offers a lot of features at an affordable price. The only thing we didn’t like was the fact that it lacks internal storage, making a microSD card absolutely necessary to store recordings.

RATING 4/5
WE’RE IMPRESSED Feature set
WE’D IMPROVE Storage
THE FINAL WORD Affordable connected camera with lots of smart features