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Alexa can now provide traffic updates and severe weather alerts
Depending on where you live, traffic can be unpredictable, making it yet another thing to check while getting ready for work. Alexa should make planning your commute a bit easier with a new voice control skill. Just ask Alexa about your commute, traffic conditions or directions. You can also have that information sent to your phone. A notification will appear on your device -- tap that and your preferred map app will open with the route guidance. Google Assistant has done this for a while, but Amazon customers will likely enjoy the added convenience.
Get a Play:1 speaker for $99 in Sonos’ certified refurbished sale
Sonos has restocked its certified refurbished sale. While supplies last, you can get a Sonos Play:1 speaker for $99. And you can snag the Sonos Playbar for $499. That's $200 less than the recommended retail price.
Dell’s cheap Philips Hue starter pack deal is even better with $50 credit
Philips Hue has become the go-to for smart home lighting. The LED light bulbs can transition between 16 million colors to compliment your home, set the mood or enhance your sleep. Those who haven't turned their home into a technicolor dreamland may want to check out Dell's latest deal on a Hue starter kit. It comes with three white- and color-capable bulbs, the Gen 3 Hue Bridge and a dimmer (which doesn't come with most bundles). The kit is $120 -- $35 less than Amazon's listing -- and comes with a $50 gift card so you can stock up on more Hue accessories like bulbs, light strips and motion sensors -- or Dell's computer products. If purchased separately, the items would cost $235, so this is a great deal even before Dell's discount and gift card.
The Morning After: Amazon's accelerated one-day shipping
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Amazon is offering faster same-day delivery that could get your order to you in a matter of hours. There will apparently be up to three million items marked "Today by" available to order for speedy same-day delivery to Prime members in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando and Dallas. Amazon will even deliver packages while you sleep. Given the company CEO's recent comments on global warming and controversy over its contracted "delivery partners" it seems an odd service to announce. The orders will apparently ship from local fulfillment centers, meaning less air freight and reduced driving distance. Amazon says, "while it may seem counterintuitive, the faster delivery speeds enabled by these facilities actually help us lower carbon emissions." That is if your shopping list is entirely from local centers. We should take those better-for-the-environment claims with a pinch of salt, as the convenience of getting something to your door could outweigh a short walk to local stores or businesses; it could also lead to more frequent orders, more deliveries, more trucks. But if we're doing the ordering, Amazon can claim it's not its fault. Market forces at work. -- Mat
Apple's HomePod slashed to $200 at Best Buy
If you've been thinking about getting an Apple HomePod but missed Best Buy's hefty Black Friday discount back in November, you've got a second chance to get in on the action. The smart speaker is once again on offer for $200 -- that's a chunky $100 off the usual price. At that price, the device represents much better value for money – it's one of the best sounding smart speakers we've reviewed, and recent updates means it now comes with radio streaming and multi-user support. Plus, there are rumors (and they are just rumors at this stage) that Apple is thinking about relaxing its attitude towards third-party music apps on the HomePod, which could make it an even more attractive deal if you're concerned about Apple's often restrictive ecosystem.
Eero's mesh WiFi routers now support Apple HomeKit
Eero has acted on its promise of supporting HomeKit for Routers. You can now add any Eero, Eero Pro or Eero Beacon device running eeroOS 3.18.0 (or later) to Apple's Home app, letting the mesh WiFi routers firewall your smart home devices so that a vulnerability in one doesn't compromise your entire local network. You can allow gadgets to communicate automatically with the devices their manufacturers approve, limit them to HomeKit or remove all restrictions if necessary.
Everything you missed at Toy Fair 2020
If you're a toy-loving child (and which kid isn't), your favorite times of year are birthdays and the big gift-giving holidays in December. If you're a toy-loving adult, however, your Christmas comes much earlier in the year, when all the companies announce their new stuff in February at the New York Toy Fair.
Xbox One gets another simplified dashboard redesign
Microsoft revealed last month it's been working on a whole host of changes for the February 2020 Xbox One Update, and now they're finally rolling out. The biggest change is yet another new Home interface -- so if you've got downloads set to install automatically you'll notice things are different as soon as it hits. Twists have been removed to make room for dedicated rows for Xbox Game Pass, Mixer, Xbox Community and Microsoft Store, and you'll be able to add or remove rows however you wish. Over in My Games & Apps, meanwhile, things have also been pared back for easier navigation.
Wyze is working on a fitness tracker that puts Alexa on your wrist
Wyze initially made a name for itself offering home security devices for low prices, but a major data leak at the end of 2019 -- where the sensitive information of 2.4 million customers was exposed -- has put big question marks over its reputation as a security company. Nonetheless, Wyze seems determined to put its past transgressions behind it, and is working on a bunch of new products -- one of the more interesting of which is the Wyze Band with Alexa.
KidKraft's Alexa-powered toy kitchen sizzles and tells dad jokes
Kids love to cook — or at least to pretend to. They enjoy emulating their parents, especially when it comes to making delicious things to eat. However, our kitchen routines have changed a lot thanks to voice control technology, which isn't easily replicated in a basic wood or plastic playset. So KidKraft's new toy kitchen doesn't even try to emulate it. Instead, it integrates the real Alexa to create an incredibly realistic but also whimsical play cooking experience.
Hot Wheels brings its NFC-enabled stat-tracker to even more toys this year
For stats-obsessed kids, last year's release of Hot Wheels ID was a godsend. The NFC-based system let you scan your cars into the app to keep tabs on how fast and how far the cars in your collection had traveled. And it definitely solved the problem of figuring out who won a race. But it wasn't cheap, and there was limited compatibility with Hot Wheels' existing orange track system. In 2020 the brand has a few expansions in the works for Hot Wheels ID that should place it in reach for a lot more toy car racing fans.
Toronto rejects some of Sidewalk Labs’ smart neighborhood ideas
Sidewalk Labs will have to cede a little more ground on its vision for Quayside, a planned smart neighborhood in Toronto. The company, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, published a draft version of its Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) last June. The technical document, which spans four volumes and almost 1,000 pages, is packed with proposals for how the district should be designed, funded and governed. Waterfront Toronto, a tri-government organization spearheading the city's lakeside overhaul, has now completed a technical evaluation of the draft MIDP, which will help its board decide whether to approve the project or sever ties with Sidewalk Labs entirely.
For $300, you can get an Alexa-powered kitchen for your kids
Alexa and other smart speakers can be especially useful in the kitchen, and toymakers are taking note. Today, KidKraft revealed its Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market. At first glance, it looks like your average play kitchen, but it comes with smart-chipped food, cookware and character cards that prompt a response from Alexa.
If you bought Flywheel's home bike, you can trade it in for a free Peloton
One of Peloton's biggest competitors, Flywheel Sports, announced today that it is shutting down its online classes. The company sent an email informing its users that it would stop its Flywheel At Home service effective March 27th 2020. The bikes can still be used of course, but without the live and on-demand coaching, which makes them not much better than ordinary stationary bikes. Peloton, however, is offering a deal where Flywheel customers can turn in their bikes in exchange for a "like-new" Peloton bike at no cost to them, though they'd still have to pay Peloton's monthly subscription fee.
Traeger's Ironwood smart grills now ship with a handy pellet supply sensor
If Traeger's Ironwood series caught your eye, the company is now including a handy feature in the box, rather than making it a separate purchase. Traeger is now shipping its WiFi-equipped Ironwood 650 ($1,200) and Ironwood 885 ($1,500) pellet grills with the pellet sensor add-on that it announced in November. Until now, you had to pay $80 to get one of these for your backyard barbecue machine. And, sadly, if you own one of the 2019 Pro Series grills, you still do.
Ring now requires two-factor sign-ins for its home security devices
Ring is continuing its bid to improve privacy and security after facing criticism. As of today, the Amazon brand will start requiring two-factor authentication for all users when they sign into their Ring accounts. When the feature reaches you this week, you'll always get a six-digit code sent to either your email or (less recommended) SMS in order to complete the login process. This move will seem more than a little familiar when Nest announced a similar requirement just a week earlier, but it's still good news when it promises to raise the baseline security for Ring's smart home devices.
Samsung offers at-home Galaxy S20 trials to mitigate impact of coronavirus
As the spread of coronavirus continues to keep people in quarantine and threaten promotional tech events, companies in Asia gearing up for low sales -- but Samsung's new home visit service aims to mitigate some of this fall out. Reuters reports that the company is offering a smartphone delivery service to allow customers to test its new products without having to visit a physical store.
Ring footage might not be very useful for catching criminals
Ring has said that camera footage sent to police can help reduce burglaries and catch criminals, but how effective is it, really? It might not be as helpful as you might think. NBC News has conducted an investigation suggesting that Ring's video doorbells and security cameras haven't been of much use to at least some police forces. Of the 40 law enforcement agencies the news outlet reached, just 13 said they'd made arrests after reviewing Ring footage, while two offered rough estimates. The remainder either made zero arrests (13 agencies) or didn't know how effective Ring had been despite partnerships that had lasted more than a year.
Online-only platforms are going offline with permanent spaces
The retailpocalypse started in 2010. It followed the 2008 global recession, with the parallel birth and rise of social media adding fuel to the growth of online shopping. Suburban and rural malls sat empty, underutilized or poorly maintained as the most affected brands lost their customer base in the squeezed middle class. Meanwhile, online retailers thrived without the overhead costs of a physical space. Nearly a decade later, the online-only platforms that disrupted retail are choosing to pay rent as an additional, unnecessary expense. There are items available for purchase in each space, but the stores' ultimate goal is to offer a tangible experience offline to their users or consumers.
Zillow's new search tool helps find housing for those in need
Escaping homelessness is an enormous undertaking, not least because so many landlords and property managers have strict criteria for new tenants. Those that have been homeless are often unable to provide rental histories or sizeable deposits, for example. Now though, property platform Zillow is teaming up with a housing company in Washington to help tackle the problem.

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