Tag Archives: ios

How to control all your home devices in one application – This is Really Slick Stuff – Imperihome for iOS & Android

Android, Apple, Tech News, ,

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Imagine being able to control your home automation systems and connected objects from a single and highly customizable interface as I have done above with several of my home devices. An app called Imperihome for android and iOS allows you to do this.

You could for example wall mount a tablet or use your smartphone to control your smart home the way you want and without any required modification on your current installation.

Systems that are linkable include –

– Logitech Harmony hub-based remotes (universal remotes)
– Musaic HiFi speakers (audio HiFi system)
– Fitbit (fitness and health devices)
– XeeConnect (connected car module)
– Sonos (audio HiFi system)
– Kodi (home theater software, formerly known as XBMC)
– LIFX connected bulbs (lighting system)
– Parrot Flower Power (plant sensor)
– Legrand EcoCompteur (energy consumption sensor)
– Myfox Home Control 2 (security and home control system)
– Philips Hue (lighting system)
– Vera, VeraLite (ZWave controller by Micasaverde / Vera Control) UI5, UI6 and UI7
– ZiBase (Multi-protocol controller by Zodianet)
– eedomus (ZWave controller by Connected Object)
– Fibaro Home Center 2 (home control system by Fibaro)
– IPX800 v3 / v4 (Relay controller by GCE Electronics)
– Eco-Devices (Teleinfo energy counter by GCE Electronics)
– Netatmo Weather Station and Thermostat and Welcome Camera
– Zipabox (Multi-protocol controller by Zipato) / Cameras and security features not yet supported
– Systems implementing the ISS API (ImperiHome Standard System)
– MJPEG, MPEG4, h264 IP cameras
– Withings – activity trackers, scales, blood pressure monitors
– Jawbone UP

And more systems are being added constantly.

Options include –

List View – Smartphone optimized portrait layout, ability to hide devices and groups, notion of favorite devices, grouped actions (all on/off)…

Dashboard View – Tablet optimized landscape layout that matches the wall-mounted tablet use case, different layouts fully customizable, place holders for smart widgets, automatic wake-up using camera move detection. The screenshot shown at the start is one of my dashboard views.

Highly Configurable – Devices icons animated and changeable with built-in or personal images, possible customization of sensors units, customizable refresh rates, ability to define a custom name for each device, export/import of your configuration…

Use Power of Your Device – Fast and responsive user interface, voice recognition, NFC Tags (android), shortcuts on Android launcher, Android Wear & Sony Smartwatch 2 integration… Works great on my Huawei Mate 9 for example.

Charts Module – Built-in, generic, compliant with several systems, configurable timeframes, integrated in the different views…

Third Party Integration – ImperiHome Control API (android), integration with Tasker, ImperiHome Standard System for home-made installations

Ultimately, you are only limited by your lack of imagination in many cases. I have used Imperihome for over 2 years and it has been vastly improved in that time. In the screenshot shown at the top I have linked in 4 different connected systems on to one dashboard. From the one dashboard I can see all my security camera footage, adjust all my Philips Hue lights from fading, on/off and colour changes, check all the data from my weather station and much more. Have a view of the video below too, to give you a better idea of what is possible.

Useful Links

Imperihome for iOS
Imperihome for Android

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Apple releases new firmware updates – details and a warning if you have the iPad Pro

Apple, Tech News, , , , ,

Apple releases software updates for all its hardware yesterday, including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac’s and more.

iOS 9.3.2 – This is mainly about bug fixes. The main points –

– Ability to use Night Shift while Low Power Mode is activated.
– The Game Center bug has now been fixed.
– iPhone SE bluetooth audio issue where some Bluetooth accessories could experience audio-quality issues when paired to iPhone SE is fixed.
– Fixes an issue looking up dictionary definitions which previously could fail.
– Addresses an issue that prevented typing email addresses when using Japanese Kana keyboard in Mail and Messages
– Fixes an issue for VoiceOver users using the Alex voice, where the device switches to a different voice to announce punctuation or spaces
– Fixes an issue that prevented MDM servers from installing custom B2B apps

However, according to Macrumors.com iOS 9.3.2 is causing problems for some 9.7-inch iPad Pro owners, with multiple MacRumors readers and Twitter users reporting issues shortly after installing the update over the air. Affected users are seeing an “Error 56” message that instructs them to plug their devices into iTunes. So it might be worth holding fire for a few days before updating your iPad Pro.

watchOS 2.2.1 – this software update is all about making your Apple Watch run smoother by fixing a number of annoying bugs.

tvOS 9.2.1 – like other updates this is all about bug fixes.

iTunes 12.4 iTunes 12.4 introduces new interface tweaks including a new media picker that allows users to quickly switch between Music, Movies, TV shows, and more. Next there is a persistent sidebar . This interface tweak makes it easier to switch between different categories of content. The menus interface has also been simplified.

OS X 10.11.5 – this is all about bug fixes.

Seems Apple had a lot of bugs to fix across all its devices!

HTC launches the Re and Desire Eye along with new software for iOS and android phones

Android, Apple, Tech News, , , ,

HTC held a press event last night and revealed 2 new pieces of hardware, the Desire Eye and RE camera. Then they announced that the RE camera software would work on android and iOS devices. That was after telling the audience HTC’s Zoe app was out of beta and available on the Google Play store and downloadable by all phones not just HTC handsets. And the iOS version was due out soon!

So the HTC Desire Eye is a 5.2-inch smartphone similar to One M8 specs except it’s in a flat polycarbonate body, a 13-megapixel camera front and back with decent dual tone flash on both sides. It is also water resistant with boomsound and advanced noise reduction.

The HTC RE camera, looks like a periscope miniaturised or an inhaler is a handheld camera with a 16-megapixel Sony DSC sensor and a 146-degree field of view. It then connects to Android or iOS phones via a dedicated app. It can of course shoot on its own.

The main aspect of HTC’s event is the fact it was opening up its software to iPhones and all android phones. Maybe HTC is trying to create a photo social network and of course raise its brand awareness. Whatever it’s long term plans, it’s good to see the company to start to think outside of the box, and away from just selling hardware.

So what did you think about the event, new software path and the Re camera and Desire Eye?

Re Camera photo –

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HTC Desire Eye photo –

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Skydrive gets updated for iOS with photo uploads and increased security

Tech News, Windows,

Microsoft has finally updated Skydrive on iOS and in the process made it iOS 7 friendly and allows automatic photo uploads over wifi or using mobile data.

If you’re concerned about SkyDrive storage space, then you can ask the app to automatically resize photos instead of uploading originals. The app also enables an additional feature for those using Windows 8.1 and an iPhone. SkyDrive automatically pulls out any text captured in a photo using OCR, and the built-in Smart Search in Windows 8.1 will surface that text in search results.

If you’re an Office user then there’s also some improvements for opening up documents from SkyDrive on iOS. You can now select a document and open it directly in Office Mobile or OneNote, instead of loading a viewer inside the app. The app now supports the new two stage sign-in interface that Microsoft is using.

Will Nokia release it’s Music app for iOS and android?

Android, Apple, Tech News,

Nokia is potentially looking to roll out its Nokia Music application to iOS, Android, according to a leaked internal document reported by Phone Arena.

The radio streaming service offers Nokia Lumia users free access to genre-themed stations and specially-curated playlists, while for a monthly fee users can also save tracks for offline playback. So will Nokia charge the same fee as it does on its windows phones.

And do you think it will undercut the competition or even release it’s service ? I think it will release it, and I hope is cheaper than Google and Apple.

Google Play Music coming to iOS later this month?

Android, Apple, Tech News,

The internet is abound with talk that Google is to release its Google Play Music app on iOS later this month. If this happens, this will be the last piece of the Google apps needed to complete its library of apps that are also on android.

iOS apps like gmusic and its new gmusic 2 will sadly become unnecessary unless they offer a more refined experience.

Since iOS 7 using Google on an iPhone is really no different than on an android phone. In fact, I would even say it is a better experience as the iOS apps now talk to each other. Sign in on Google+ and the other Google apps are aware of this.

Why iOS is the most advanced operating system?

Apple, Tech News

iOS 6 and Apple hardware is knocked regularly as looking old and tired and out of date. Android is stated as far more advanced. And yet when it comes to a basic need nothing could work as well as the iPhone or iPad.

Why?

Game of Thrones Season 3 is not available on DVD until next year. HBO for some reason stopped iTunes US from showing the third season, when it was fine for the first two. However, Blinkbox by Tesco, now has the third season available for download. Except the iOS app doesn’t work with AirPlay. Well it does , just turn on AirPlay mirroring. And voila.

Now when it came to trying to use an android phone or tablet, this basic operation was not possible. iOS to the rescue.