Author: Alistair Charlton
How should driverless cars communicate with pedestrians?
With Waymo’s commercial autonomous taxi service kicking off this month, you’d be forgiven for thinking the driverless car conundrum had already been solved; that robo-taxis are …
15 smartphones to get excited about in 2019
As 2018 draws to a close, the global smartphone market is expected to post an annual fall for the first time. Not since the days before …
What is 5G and when can I start using it?
Just as 4G followed 3G, 5G is about to land. 5G promises significantly faster speeds not just for smartphones, but also for infrastructure, VR and even …
6 ways to increase your home’s efficiency & comfort this winter
Just as the smart home can be used to keep you cool in the summer, it can also be relied upon to keep you warm through …
These smart-home predictions for 2030 are already coming true
A future vision of drones, smart kitchens and augmented reality came true quicker than anyone expected. Back in 2015, the Near Future Laboratory, Mobile Life Center …
Here’s how to trade stocks with voice commands
By now, many of us are familiar with how Alexa, Amazon’s friendly voice assistant, can answer questions, provide news and weather information, and help out around …
How to tap Apple Music through your Amazon Echo products
Apple Music is coming to Amazon devices for the first time. Announced on November 30, Apple’s move is surprising considering its walled-garden approach to tech. Beginning …
8 great holiday tech gifts for students
As the holiday shopping season begins, it can be difficult to buy for the student in your life. College demands a certain level of tech savvy, …
10 gifts that will have your favorite geek totally geeking out
We all have a geek in our life who’s first to buy new tech or fix our smartphone. Their early bird attitude can make buying them …
Holiday gift guide: Premium smart speakers for the audiophile in your life
Budget smart speakers like the $50 Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home Mini are great gifts for anyone who is new to smart home tech – …
First driverless taxis may hit the streets before year’s end
Waymo, the autonomous car company owned by Google parent firm Alphabet, will launch the first driver-free taxi service before the end of 2018. The as-yet-unnamed service …
6 high-tech holiday gifts for your favorite fitness fanatics
Anyone who works out regularly can tell you that health and fitness are more closely integrated with technology than ever before. With the holidays right around …
Is an 8K TV worth buying right now?
“Just wait until you see the beetroot being pulled up, that’s my favorite part.” As introductions to new televisions go, this is a strange one. Samsung’s …
How smart assistants can help you seek counseling
For most of us, an Amazon Echo is just a means of playing music or controlling smart home devices. However, smart assistants are also valuable tools for …
Alexa has a skills problem: No one is reviewing them
Sixty-two percent of Alexa skills have no ratings. Many others have just one, including 65 percent of five-star skills. Seventy-eight percent of one-star Alexa skills have one …
The beginner’s guide to not crashing a drone
With Christmas right around the corner, the number of drones buzzing through the skies is sure to increase. Between their long flight ranges, HD cameras and …
Google’s new Home Hub gives Google Assistant a touchscreen
Google has released the Home Hub, a smart speaker with a 7-inch touchscreen display and a new Home View app for controlling your smart home. Similar …
5 ways to turn your smart speaker into a travel agent
Did you know that you can use Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to book your next vacation without lifting a finger? GearBrain found ways to use Amazon …
This smart sofa knows who’s sitting on it
LG’s new smart sofa can recognize whoever sits on it. The company teamed up with Natuzzi, Italy’s largest furniture manufacturer, to produce a prototype couch of …
A beginner’s guide to buying drones
It’s easy to be wowed by drones, but they’re not toys — they are complex, powerful and expensive machines. This is important to remember when one wrong maneuver could …
5 ways tech can help you ax your gym membership
We all know that we should actually use that gym membership that we blindly pay for every month, but it can be easy to let traffic, …
Having a smart home with roommates can be hard
It’s easier than ever these days to build house-wide smart home systems and manipulate appliances with an Amazon Echo. Though some of these products don’t yet …
Want the first-ever 8K TV? You’ll need a cool $15K to get it
Samsung surprised everyone at IFA Berlin this year when it promised to begin selling its first 8K television before the end of 2018. Boasting four times …
Renault unveils a beauty of an autonomous vehicle
Renault is celebrating its 120th birthday in self-driving style. The French automaker unveiled an autonomous luxury car, the EZ-Ultimo, at the 2018 Paris Motor Show last …
Autonomous trucks are here
Autonomous driving is no longer exclusive to Silicon Valley hot rods. The Vera is a self-driving, cabin-free semi truck that is currently being developed by Volvo. …
Everything iPhone users need to know about Siri Shortcuts
Apple has launched an app that can dramatically shorten even your most complicated phone tasks. The Shortcuts app creates Siri-controlled workflows that function similarly to IFTTT (if …
The watch that knows if you’re having a heart attack
The Apple Watch Series 4 takes smartwatches in a new, potentially life-saving direction. In addition to a larger display, a more powerful processor and the other features …
Alexa Auto offers drivers navigation, weather updates & more
Drivers can now bring Amazon Alexa along for the ride. Instead of battling with their car’s default, oftentimes tedious voice command system, drivers can now ask Alexa …
BMW unveils its first smart motorcycle
It’s unnerving to watch a motorcycle drive itself around a track, lean into corners and even deploy its own kickstand. That’s exactly what BMW has created. …
The best tech gadgets to help you sleep
It is easy to say that technology is bad for your sleep. With their latest mobile software, Apple and Google both incorporate features that reduce the …
