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SPECIAL FEATURE - homE nETwoRkS SmARTER STRATEGIES FRom IBm how ThE IT GIAnT IS FUELLInG TEChnoLoGY In ThE SmART homE Continuous connectivity and the rapid evolution of digital technology is transforming the concept of the smart home into reality, according to Scott Burnett, Director Business Development, Digital Convergence Group, IBM Research. IBM has been taking part in IFA’s TecWatch to showcase the concepts of the Smart Home and Smarter Scott Burnett, Director Business Development, Digital Convergence Group, IBM Research TV. According to Burnett, the time is right for IBM to provide a solution to how the plethora of consumer electronics would connect in a smart home. “This is clearly not IBM entering the consumer marketplace,” said Burnett. “This is IBM providing the back-end of what is now the whole emergence of connected consumer electronics devices. There are 800 million broadband homes today and there’s going to be 1.4 billion connected or IPenabled devices in the living room. So it’s really IBM’s pedigree of IT and supercomputing that is coming in to provide a solution. The use of cloud technology is pivotal to IBM’s smart home solution", said Burnett. By removing the complexities of how devices hook up and transferring that task into the internet cloud, life will be made much simpler for the consumer. “The vision is that the smart home exists in the cloud, a big data base in the sky. One of the examples we’re showing here is a Miele washing machine connected to a smart meter, which measures when the cost of energy is the cheapest,” he said. “Energy saving is the driver here. Miele has a smart home adaptor that connects the washing machine through the internet, via the router in your home. So you can provision and operate the washing machine from wherever you are, and program with the smart meter once you’ve identified the most economical time to do the wash. In addition to energy management, other smart applications would include pro-active medical monitoring and remote security monitoring and management.” Increased entertainment choices are also a major driver of the smart home. At IFA, IBM has also been showcasing the Smart TV, developed with Philips and due to roll out in 30 countries and 30 languages. Internet connection enables personalised content and advertising, as well as a wide range of news services and applications such as social networks, games, VOD and personal media. The smart function of this TV removes the complexity from the set-up process. “The smart element is that it automatically connects to the cloud service,” said Burnett. “So when I click on that button I go right to that service, I don't have to set anything up to do it. We’re taking the complexity away from the consumer in terms of setting these things up, and once it's connected, you now have unlimited number of services and content available in the living room.” Hall 5.3 / Stand 3 Hall X.X / Stand XXX 14 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday, 9 th September 2009
SPECIAL FEATURE - SoUnD GEAR hITTInG ALL ThE RIGhT noTES SCoRPIonS DRUmmER hERmAn RAREBELL ToURS ThE IFA SoUnDSCAPE YoYoYoYo... Hello, my electronics-industry friends! Herman Ze German is here! OK, name this tune: When I'm driving in my car, I wish it was a Jaguar…? Yes, it was Madness - and you all knew that, right? Which brings me nicely to Kenwood's latest Navitainer. It combines entertainment functions with an easynavigation system - and I LOVE it! After the 2008 success of the DNX5220 and DNX 5220BT Navitainers, Kenwood has just launched the DNX5240 and DNX5240BT models - two new all-in-one machines that fit like a glove in the dashboard of your car. The 2DIN enclosure of the Japanese company includes a CD/DVD player, and a car radio and amplifier, alongside a high-quality navigation system. The monitor is easily mountable in the interior of your car and offers both a wide range of connection options and intuitive control. The USB-port allows for the connection of a USB memory stick or portable hard drive in order to play back audio files (MP3/WMA/AAC) in excellent audio quality. Even video data and films in MPEG 1/2 and Div-X format can be displayed in brilliant video quality. Hall 6.1 / 101 I already told you how important headphones are to us drummers - and these babies are really something else. The PXC 310 and PXC 310 BT, the new travel headphones from Sennheiser, offer top-quality sound even in noisy environments. Proven Sennheiser acoustics ensure a detailed, lifelike sound image, while the patented NoiseGard 2.0 technology reduces the background noise of trains or planes by up to 90%.And get this: for the first time, the PXC 310 BT combines all the advantages of travel headphones with the new apt-X Bluetooth codec for wireless listening when you're on the move. Both models are optimally designed for use with portable video and audio players - and they are also ideally suited to in-flight entertainment systems. is bringing out a new iPod sound system in four different colours and two separate models. One is a pure iPod-driven machine; the other comes with a builtin radio. And it's not just a beautiful-sounding piece of gear - it looks pretty good, too, and comes in four colours: red, white, black and grey. Hall 1.2 / 101 Now this next gizmo, my friends, is a musician's dream. The new Olympus LS-11 Linear PCM Recorder delivers a combination of high-tech audio quality, portability and creative flexibility. This ensures that crisp and rich audio recordings can be captured anywhere, from the office to the street, from the dance floor to the lush soundscapes of the natural world. The Olympus LS-11 takes the style and substance of its predecessor, the LS-10, to the next level. Designed to complement mobile modern lifestyles, the LS-11 fits comfortably in your palm for maximum freedom and flexibility. I am SOOO having one of those. Hall 1.2 / 128 Hall 17 / 106 And there's more… Pioneer SoundYou is the new sound system from AddOn Technology. It's aimed at demanding gamers, music and film fans. The two loudspeakers and the subwoofer of the virtual 7.1 sound system come in black or black/ silver aluminium casing, with Dolby Digital Live, Dolby Headphone, Virtual Speaker, ProLogicIIX and DTS Neo providing a clear 3D sound from either Mac or PC. The two high-quality loudspeakers are of 6W each and the integrated 21.5-inch Subwoofer has an output of 12W. The Low Noise Class-D Amplifier provides the big, rich sound. That's all, folks. See you next year... Hall 27 / 630 The Olympus LS-11 Linear PCM Recorder: high-tech audio quality, portability and creative flexibility Kenwood's DNX5240BT Navitainer combines entertainment functions with an easynavigation system IFA International • Wednesday, 9 th September 2009 www.ifa-international.org 15
