Alexa app where is smart home

I’ve played around a bit with Alexa, and even considered buying an Echo Dot or two before the launch of HomePod , but in the end decided to wait it out. However, while Hunter Douglas is still promising HomeKit support for our Luxaflex Duette blinds , and was expecting to get there by now, certification has been delayed until later in the year. In the meantime, it’s gone ahead with the launch of the new bridge which brings voice control to the blinds – but so far only for Alexa and Google Home … Rather than wait for HomeKit, we decided to get an Amazon Echo Dot as an interim solution – which also provided an opportunity to pit Siri against Alexa in a real-life smart speaker test. Note that I say ‘Siri versus Alexa,’ not HomePod versus Echo Dot. As speakers, the two devices aren’t even in the same league. HomePod is a $349 device which gets into what I think of as semi-HiFi territory. It doesn’t compete with traditional HiFi brands, but is definitely into Sonos territory … [Read more...] about Smart Home Diary: An update to our blinds revealing that Alexa is no smarter than Siri

Corporate social responsibility imperative for firms to survive pandemic: FCV chief Let no one succumb to hunger: Prudential instals rice ‘ATMs’ in many provinces AES Vietnam presents Tet gifts to 100 poor households in Binh Thuan Province Mondelez Kinh Do: An ideal workplace for talent to fly high “Millions of Meals” supports flood-hit children in Central Provinces On February 17, 2021, VinSmart Research and Manufacturer Joint Stock Company, a member of Vingroup, officially launched four models of Air Purifier and Smart Home Solution products. These are the latest product lines of the Vsmart technology ecosystem for families. Products are opened for exclusive sale on Vsmart Online e-commerce website ( https://shop.vsmart.net) with many attractive incentives. In their first official launch to the market, Vsmart Air Purifier products include two mid-end models (30LA5300 and 35LA5400) and two high-end models (45LD6600 and 55LD8800). All models use HEPA … [Read more...] about Vinsmart to start exclusive sale of air purifiers and smart home solutions on Vsmart online

Once you start down the HomeKit route, the convenience of having everything controlled from a single app is pretty addictive. So these days I view HomeKit compatibility as a pretty non-negotiable item with any smart home tech. But there are limits. And paying £16,500 ($22,000) for a Lutron system was definitely well beyond them! However, the thing about having a lot of windows – especially floor to ceiling ones – is that good-quality blinds are expensive no matter what. And in the winter garden (glazed balcony) in particular, which is where we spend a huge amount of our time, we wanted really nice ones. So when we found that we could have great blinds with iPhone control and promised HomeKit support for a little under half that price, we gulped and went for it … I should explain that we didn’t decide on spending that kind of money casually. It was a somewhat gradual process. My partner loves Luxaflex Duette blinds – which I’ll talk more about in a moment. These aren’t … [Read more...] about Smart Home Diary: Ending up with iPhone-controlled blinds after all … [Video]

Police officers in the traffic signal control centre of Hà Nội. In the ’smart city’ future, a system of sensors and actuators would automatically handle the management of traffic signals based on current demands, without the need for human intervention. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Local Vietnamese tech companies “are fully capable of” providing the core components of a smart city, said Lê Ngọc Tuấn, head of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) division in one of the leading IT companies in the country, FPT. The vision of modern, urban Việt Nam is usually associated with foreign giants such as Microsoft or IBM, which have partnered with Đà Nẵng and Hà Nội to realise their smart city dreams. However, as it stands, several made-in-Việt Nam solutions for smart homes, meters and transportation fleet management, are ranked highly even in the global market, Tuấn said during a smart city talk held on Thursday in Hà Nội by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and … [Read more...] about Smart city solutions for Việt Nam can be home-grown: tech businesses

Business leaders share views at WEF ASEAN Successful WEF on ASEAN concludes Deputy PM calls on young Vietnamese people to be less obedient Suu Kyi pleased with Myanmar’s progress PM meets with multinational corporations A view of Hà Đông District in the southwest of Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đạt Viet Nam News Trọng Kiên HÀ NỘI — Ranking among the world’s largest capitals and with a population of around 7.6 million, Hà Nội seems to be almost bursting at the seams with unceasing traffic and chaotic hubbub. The 1000-year-old capital of Việt Nam is a lot of things — its cultural quirks, historical richness and economic vitality might be fascinating; but most wouldn’t consider it an ‘organised’ city, in the sense of modern urban centres that have come to characterise much of the developed, post-industrial economies. At least, not yet. Authorities in Hà Nội are attempting to rectify this ungainly mess with an ambitious ‘smart city’ … [Read more...] about Hà Nội City makes the case for a smart transformation

The apps – VOV-Doctor24 for doctors and VOV-Bacsi24 for patients – are video calling apps for IOS, Android and Windows that allow patients to receive remote consultations. — Photo vtc.vn Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The broadcaster Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) yesterday launched two applications that allow smart phone users to register to get consultations from doctors online. The apps – VOV-Doctor24 for doctors and VOV-Bacsi24 for patients – are video calling apps for IOS, Android and Windows. Doctors who register to offer online consultation must have legal medical practice licences. People can pay for the consultation via phone cards, online banking or credit cards. They can also listen to the doctor’s advice over and over again, as the apps automatically record the sessions. Speaking at the launching ceremony, VOV General Director Nguyễn Thế Kỷ said that the apps were developed to help people deal with problems in the healthcare sector in Việt Nam, such as overcrowded hospitals … [Read more...] about VOV launches smart phone application for medical consultations

Lê Lai Street in front of the New World Hotel is one of three streets in District 1, HCM City, where the My Parking app is starting a trial run from now to the end of this year. — VNS Photo Lê Anh Vũ Viet Nam News HCM CITY – Military-run mobile carrier Viettel on October 21 piloted its My Parking app to allow car owners to find a parking lot and pay parking fees on several streets in downtown HCM City. The pilot programme, which runs from now to the end of the year, was jointly launched by the city’s Department of Transport and Viettel. The “My Parking App,” which is available for both Android and iOS, will allow drivers to find available parking slots, the best routes to get there and make a reservation, charging VNĐ5,000 (22 US cents). The app can collect information about the time a car enters and leaves a parking space to calculate the fee. Drivers can use the app to pay parking fees via SMS, bank transfer or by cash. The three-month pilot programme will cover … [Read more...] about Smart parking app debuts in downtown city

The Bình Thạnh Online app that allows people living in the district of the same name in HCM City to file complaints. It is set to be expanded to cover the entire city, possibly in December. – VNS Photo Việt Dũng Viet Nam News HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Home Affairs has called on the People’s Committee to expand the public complaint app Bình Thạnh Online city-wide following its successful trial in Bình Thạnh District. Since April the district administration has been trialling the app, which allows the public to report violations related to garbage dumping, pavement encroachment and illegal construction. A complaint, once sent to the authorities, is processed within two hours after which the complainant is informed how it has been disposed of. In more than four months of testing, the app helped deal with around 4,000 complaints. The expansion is likely to begin in December. — VNS … [Read more...] about Public complaint app to be expanded HCM City-wide

Bình Dương New City hosts the second Bình Dương Smart City Summit from November 25-27. —VNA/VNS Photo An Hiếu Viet Nam News BÌNH DƯƠNG — The southern province of Bình Dương plans to seek more partnerships with neighbouring cities and provinces, businesses and local and international experts to build a Bình Dương smart city, Mai Hùng Dũng, deputy chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said at a press conference on November 23. Dũng said the first Bình Dương Smart City Summit held last year was a big success as “it improved Bình Dương’s brand at the international level, helping the province attract interest from foreign businesses.” But the biggest highlight of the previous summit was the launch of the Bình Dương Smart City Project in collaboration with the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. This year, the province is continuing its cooperation with the Netherlands Consulate General in HCM City to hold a second smart city summit from November 25-27 … [Read more...] about Bình Dương seeks partners to develop smart city

Phú Quốc Island in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang aims to become a smart city by 2020. VNA/VNS Photo Viet Nam News HCM CITY – A smart city control centre that opened on Phú Quốc Island on Wednesday will receive residents’complaints and coordinate emergency functions, among other functions. Phạm Văn Nghiệp, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of Phú Quốc District, said the centre would receive information from citizens, visitors and organisations about theft, security problems and other complaints; improve traffic safety, and co-ordinate emergency responses and other activities. Việt Nam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) has helped the island build a safe city solution with mobile apps that help people report incidents (accidents, theft, acts that violate urban security) to management agencies and help the latter respond quickly. The residents must install the “Safe City” app on their smartphone. The VNĐ67 billion (US$2.9 million) project, … [Read more...] about Smart city control centre opens on Phú Quốc Island