Author: Lucy

As this tech continues, it could mean that wearables will soon allow a gesture to change settings around the house.

Some of the latest in wearable technology is now starting to suggest that it won’t be too far into the future before a consumer will be able to use hand and wrist gestures to be able to control various features around the home.

For example, as soon as you walk in through the door, you will be able to use a gesture to turn lights on.

Once the lights are on, they can be dimmed to bring on the right mood and to provide the appropriate illumination, while the television or even the game console could be turned on. Once the consumer is settled in, the wearable technology could be used yet again to lock the doors and turn off the exterior lights. This is exactly the type of tech that is currently being developed by Reemo, a product from a startup called Playtabase, which is based in the Twin cities.

Reemo is a wearable technology wristband that could make controlling home functions with a gesture possible.

Playtabase is among the latest players in the Internet of Things market. It is aimed at helping to make sure that home automation will become possible, but it hopes to do so in a more accessible and less nerdy way. That said, this goal is not unique to this one company, as it is one of the most sought after efforts in the market.

This market is rapidly growing. Another example of the pursuit of this segment of wearables occurred when Samsung purchased SmartThings, a home automation company. That brand was snapped up when it became a trendsetter in home control. Google also bought Nest, which was a high tech smoke detector and thermostat maker. Nest, itself, had only just purchased Dropcam, a maker of webcams, not long before that.

Though the products in the wearable technology category that are currently on the shelves are made up primarily of products such as smartwatches, these “smart home” products are rapidly on the rise, to the point that they could be the next hot item. Best Buy is now working on adding “connected home” departments to over 400 stores by the time that the holiday shopping season begins.

Yesterday, Apple unveiled new and improved tablets.

The electronics giant showed off its new iPad Air 2 its iPad Mini 3 and new iMac with retina display at the Town Hall Auditorium within the company’s Cupertino HQ campus on Thursday, October 16, 2014.

The new tablet design is thinner and faster.

The iPad Air 2 is slimmer and faster than its predecessor and it s a quarter inch “thin”. More specifically it is 6.1 millimeters, making it 18% thinner compared to the original iPad Air. It is equipped with many features previously available on iPhones, such as the ability to take slow-motion video and burst shots. The rear camera has been enhanced from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels, just like the cameras in iPhones. Also, instead of unlocking the device with a passcode, it can now be unlocked with a fingerprint ID, making it more secure.

In addition, Apple’s new 27-inch iMac, dubbed the “Retina 5K” model has a shaper display with seven times the pixels found on standard high-definition TV sets. This may make the new high-resolution iMac appealing to consumers who primarily watch television over the internet. It went on sale Thursday.

The company also released its new Yosemite operating system for Macs, which was made available as a free download starting Thursday. The OS update includes new functionality, such as a one-stop search tool for online resources and locally stored documents, as well as the ability to make telephone calls with a nearby iPhone.

iPad Air 2 will be facing competition from cheaper tablets.

Apple has had a drop in iPad sales. During the first half of 2014, the company shipped 29.6 million iPads, which is a 13% decrease from the same time in 2013. Part of the reason for the decrease in sales is there has been a slowdown in tablet demand.

Also, Apple faces competition from cheaper Android-powered tablets. In fact, on Wednesday, Google announced its 8.9 inch Nexus 9 tablet which runs off Android’s newest operating system Lollipop and will be available next month and is $100 cheaper than the latest version of the iPad Air. However, Apple did announce that it will be lowering the prices of the earlier version of its devices, making them “more affordable”.

According to Apple’s senior vice president, Phil Schiller, the iPad Air 2 will cost US$499 and the iPad Mini 3 will be US$399. Advanced orders for the devices will start today and the tablets will be shipped next week.