STACK #203 Sep 2021

LIFE TECH FEATURE

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Other Cool Tech in the Home

I f you’re a dedicated photographer, or love to capture memories of your family, holidays and adventures, displaying your photos at home has long meant having to have prints made (or making them yourself), which limited you to a handful of photos you picked out to put on the wall. In those earlier times, the ability to make full- size colour prints yourself was about as good as it got, and while seasoned photographers were well used to it, for most of us, an easier way to display our memories has been a long time coming (and no, those dinky little digital photo displays don’t count!). Technology’s come a long way when it comes to decking out your home with pictures and memories. While compact devices like the Lenovo DIGITAL Bling you can Put Yourself In

Pretty From Every Angle The Lenovo Smart Frame uses an IPS LCD display for its huge image – and that’s important, because this type of LCD display offers by far the widest viewing angles of any screen of its type. That means that your displayed photos will look great no matter where you are in the room, and unlike some cheap photo frames, pictures won’t fade out at an angle.

Smart Clock 2 can easily display photos from your

frame – except the photo being displayed is infinitely changeable. Any album you set up on Google Photos can be displayed on the Smart Frame via a dedicated companion

Google account on its bright but tiny screen, Lenovo has a bolder solution which is, really, the ultimate in photo decoration bling – the Smart Frame. It’s a massive 21.5-inch full HD digital display embedded in a custom- designed frame designed for wall hanging, and it’s ready to go with Google Photos connectivity. Lenovo has made this screen with a matte finish, rather than the glossy, shiny displays we’re used to seeing. That ensures that the displayed photos actually look like printed photos in the

app – making it perfect for pictures of the kids, continually updated images from a shared family cloud album, or your latest creative photographic masterpieces. The Smart Frame comes with gesture control, too – just wave your hands in front of the frame to browse through photos, or leave it to cycle through the albums of your choice. It’s a brilliant and engaging addition to any wall.

charging dock, letting you juice up your phone overnight just by placing it on the pad. As a bonus, the dock enables a built-in night light. If you’ve got a Google-connected home, this well-priced clever clock is the perfect bedroom companion. Smarter Than Your Average Clock Radio

YouTube in Your

V oice control for tech like smart lighting can be absolutely game-changing once you get used to having it at hand – and when paired with a clock, can be incredibly useful for a huge range of things. Setting alarms and reminders, listening to audio books, calling up any live radio station you like from around the world, or just setting some ambient audio playing to drift off to sleep – all of it can be done with your voice. We’ve all used audio voice assistants on our phones, which have become the go-to for asking random questions ranging from the day’s weather to the latest news. But these assistants are now being enhanced with full-colour screens, and in the form of a connected clock, that can be immensely handy.

Looking up the day’s meetings, tasks and appointments now has a visual element to it – all powered by Google Assistant, so it syncs perfectly with your phone. That support extends to the other Google-enabled devices in your home, too – you can check the video feed from a Nest camera, or ask for a show to be streamed to any Chromecast-enabled TV. Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2 builds on the essential elements of a bedside clock with large front-firing speakers that deliver room-filling sound, hidden behind a stylish fabric exterior. It has a vibrant 4-inch colour touchscreen but, importantly for many, has no camera – so you’re completely in control of your privacy. The Smart Clock 2 can also be purchased with an optional wireless

Bedroom Because the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 is fully integrated with Google Home and Google Assistant, it can make use of the full range of Google features – and that means all of YouTube accessible on your clock, with voice search making it quick and easy to find the videos you’re after, whether it’s music videos, news or your favourite content creators.

70 SEPTEMBER 2021

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