Recently Filed in WiFi

Coming from the land of horse racing, it’s no surprise that Elan Home Systems has introduced a thoroughbred of a touchpanel. The Lexington, KY-based company has added the XP-8.4 Wireless Controller to its lineup of Whole Home Touch Panels, and there’s not much that this beauty can’t do. The 8.4-inch LCD touchscreen allows for wired or wireless home control, with color graphics, web browsing, extended 802.11g Wi-Fi, longer battery life and embedded Windows XP. The deluxe docking/recharging cradle gives you Ethernet and USB ports, as… View this story
Home Control • Home Control Systems • Touchpanels and Keypads • Networking and Communication • WiFi • Home Control • Product News

Want to be green, but are afraid to turn off your Wi-Fi router? Me too. Though now there are three new wireless network routers from D-Link with some cool energy-saving features.  D-Link’s Xtreme DIR-655 N Gigabit Router ($150), DIR-855 N Duo Media Router ($360) and DGL-4500N Gaming Router ($240) feature D-Link’s Green Ethernet technology that can save up to 41-percent in electricity usage when compared with a conventional router. The Green Ethernet technology detects link status and network cable length, then adjusts the power accordingly.… View this story
WiFi • Green Technology • Networking • Product News

Want some free Wi-Fi? Psych! On Friday, AT&T made a big stink about offering free Wi-Fi services for iPhone 3G customers, only to do something truly stinky—they took it all back. “AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot network with more than 17,000 hotspots, including Starbucks,” said the message. “Now users can relax and access music, e-mail and web browsing services with their favorite… View this story
Portables • Cell Phones • WiFi • Networking • Product News

High-definition is finally coming of age. Some experts think there will be 30 million HDTVs sold this year alone, and sales of Blu-ray players are starting to pick-up as well. Many of these new HDTVs will be flat-panels – either LCD or plasma – and a quarter or so of those TV purchases will end up on the wall. Very futuristic! Once you hang something on the wall, however, connectivity to other components becomes an issue right away because no one wants several cables dangling… View this story
Audio Cables • Video Cables • WiFi • Info and Answers

Kodak may be a part of your family vacation, but will it be a part of your family TV routine? If anything is going to get them in there, it will be the Kodak Theatre HD Player. This slim set-top looks like your DVD player, but can display photos, video, podcasts, music and other web-based content right on your HDTV—via Wi-Fi. Stream them off your PC or just pop a card into one of the unit’s card slots. “With the KODAK Theatre HD Player, consumers… View this story
Set Top Boxes • WiFi • Home Theater • Product News

The major audio-video accessory companies fear that the big CE manufacturers have finally delivered on the age old promise of "No New Wires." With Sony and Panasonic starting to introduce products that are supposedly wire-free, the accessory companies have been touting their own new wireless solutions for HDTV to HDMI to whole home audio and other house cluttering products and services. Here's a look at both sides of this ever troublesome home theater dilemma. No More Wires Please! (By Susan Davis, an award winning advertising… View this story
Audio Cables • Video Cables • Bluetooth • Ethernet • WiFi • Networking • Info and Answers

The Vudu set-top box doesn’t need to go on top of the set anymore (and really, with flat-panel TVs now, isn’t it time we ditch the term set-top?), it can be pretty much anywhere in your house. The company has introduced the Vudu Wireless Kit, so you don’t have to have it tied to an ethernet connection to get all of your downloadable movies. Vudu’s Wireless Kit is a plug-and-play solution for ease of creating a wireless network dedicated to the Vudu box, as it… View this story
AV Components • Digital Media Servers • Digital Media Stores • Set Top Boxes • Networking and Communication • WiFi • Home Theater • Product News

We’ve been covering energy monitoring and the huge hole that exists in the home control market to show your energy use in an easy way. (See “Saving Energy with Wireless Mesh Networks” and “Affordable Energy Monitoring.”) The really good news is that there are low-cost systems becoming available. One of the most affordable and simple may be from Threshold Corporation, a Northern California company due to release a suite of affordable and easily configured wireless control products in August. Threshold will offer a smart box… View this story
Climate Control • Web Cameras • WiFi • Green Technology • Home Control • Info and Answers

Looking for a little extra security for your home? SecurityMan has a new Wi-Fi security camera kit that you can install yourself and have up and running in no time. The SecurityMan FreeCam2 is a wireless security camera kit that the company says has no interference from 2.4 GHz/5.8 GHz devices on the Wi-Fi network. The DIY kit includes two weatherproof wireless color bullet cameras for either outdoor or indoor applications. The camera features microphone for audio monitoring, and a wall-mount/desktop bracket for adjustable viewing… View this story
Safety and Security • Home Security Systems • Surveillance • WiFi • Security • Product News

Now you no longer need to be tethered to the computer to express your feelings via emoticon. VTech’s latest DECT cordless phone is the IS6110, and it’s packing the ability to instant message from anywhere in the house. While IM is nothing new for VTech and its band of gab geeks, the design certainly lends a hand to the instant message feature. “With instant messaging becoming part of the fabric of everyday communication – particularly for young adults – we sought to deliver a product… View this story
Telephones • WiFi • Gadgets • Networking • Product News

Are people still searching for hotspots? It seems like one pops up everywhere I go with my laptop. For those of you wanting to get all old-school, you can go on a hunt using the HS20 Digital Hotspotter from Canary Wireless. This is the company’s second generation Wi-Fi detector. What makes the HS20 worth shelling out another $60 is a slimmer form factor and a better user interface. So instead of wasting precious battery life wandering around the airport seeking out a good wireless signal,… View this story
WiFi • Gadgets • Networking • Product News

No drilling, no wires, and some very respectable coverage. Wireless networks are here and adding one to your home network has never been easier. Eric Deming, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Linksys’ consumer business organization, answers some questions on the topic of basic home networking. What are the basic costs involved in setting up a wireless home network? Not including the computers themselves, there’s the Internet connection, which varies based on your selected service provider, and a wireless router, which varies by technology and quality… View this story
Routers and Switches • WiFi • Computers • Networking • Info and Answers • Slideshows