SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 1 ― The company known for making affordable Android tablets wants to help consumers to connect their homes and themselves to their mobile devices.
Just like an overexcited child that can’t wait until Christmas before opening his or her presents, French tech company Archos has decided that a week is an eternity and has pretty much revealed its entire product line up for the 2014 International CES, even though it is only seven days away.
And unlike the act of festive gift giving, which no longer holds any surprises for many of us thanks to the prevalence of Amazon’s wish-list service and the fact that website cookies make it almost impossible to browse for a present without ad for it appearing on every subsequent website, Archos’ announcement is full of surprises and hints at a bigger hi-tech tend for 2014: the internet of things and simplifying how consumers connect to and with everything from light switches to motion trackers and smartwatches.
As such, the company is promoting that “the most comprehensive ecosystem of connected devices for home and self” will be on display when the International CES opens its doors to the public on January 7.
They include an Android tablet that will act as a gateway to the connected home by working as a remote control and command centre device. Owners will be able to programme it to turn lights on or off, record a television programme or, thanks to a range of motion sensors that can be positioned around the home, create any number of other “if this then that” smart commands.
It will also be debuting an activity tracker, smart blood pressure monitor and even a ‘smart' weather station that can not just provide hyper local forecasts but also monitor air quality.
And as simplifying this technology is expected to be one of the biggest trends of the coming year, Archos’ decision to show its hand early, and in doing so not get lost in the crowd, might be a shrewd idea.
There will no doubt be interest in simplifying the connected home, but the announcement that will probably pique most consumers’ interest is Archos’ decision to enter the smartwatch market and do so with a range of devices that will cost less than US$100 (RM3,277) and that work with both Android and Apple devices.
“Mobile devices have become the centre of our life and our demand for instant access to information creates the need for even more interconnectivity,” says Loic Poirier, CEO of Archos. “Archos’ new lineup of connected objects exemplifies the ability to share and access information and represents our vision of creating a universe where all devices complement and work together.”
Everyone from Microsoft to Apple has been linked with a smartwartch launch over the coming year, but so far, the only device to have received any positive press and to have caught consumers' imaginations is the crowd-funded Pebble watch.
It’s interesting to note that while Archos has said that its smartwatches will be focused on simplicity and function and described their design as ‘pebble-like,’ it has not released any images of the watches ahead of their unveiling in Las Vegas. ― AFP-Relaxnews
