Thomas Ricker

Deputy Editor

Aqara came to CES with something to prove

Thomas RickerJan 6

Pila makes the power station pretty

Thomas RickerJan 6

This free feature helps make stolen Bosch e-bikes unsellable

Thomas RickerJan 6

Thomas RickerJan 5

Anker teases whole home battery backup.

These are the boxes that’ll make up its new Solix E10, aka “the world’s first smart hybrid whole home backup solution.” What that means, exactly, won’t be known until the launch event on January 12th. I’m seeing stackable battery expansion and an inverter as you’d expect, an inlet box and smart panel to tap directly into your home’s circuitry, and what looks like a gas-powered generator like EcoFlow sells.

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<em>From left to right: the gas-powered generator, an inverter stacked onto an expansion battery, and the smart panel.</em>

<em>Here we see some kind of inlet box.</em>

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From left to right: the gas-powered generator, an inverter stacked onto an expansion battery, and the smart panel.

image: Anker

Thomas RickerJan 5

Samsung CEO warns of higher phone, TV, and gadget prices.

The global shortage of memory chips is great news for Samsung’s semiconductor business, but bad news for its consumer electronics business. Co-CEO T M Roh speaking to Reuters:

“As this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact,” Roh said, adding that the crisis affects not only mobile phones but other consumer electronics, from TVs to home appliances. He did not rule out raising product prices, saying some impact was “inevitable.”

Exclusive: Samsung to double AI mobile devices to 800 million units this year

[Reuters]

Jackery’s expensive solar-powered Gazebo is a good DIY idea

Thomas RickerJan 4

CES silly season begins.

You know it’s almost CES when Samsung Display announces a few weirdo concepts, including an “AI OLED Cassette” with 1.5-inch round displays and an “AI OLED Turntable” with 13.4-inch round display. It offers zero details to justify their existence which is why our team is headed to Vegas to find out. Stay tuned.

The cassette concept is big enough to hold an 8-track tape!

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Added value: zero.

Image: Samsung Display

Thomas RickerJan 2

Elon Musk’s not laughing anymore.

In 2011, the Tesla CEO didn’t see BYD as a competitor, laughing out loud at the mere suggestion, just like Steve Ballmer did in response to the iPhone. Microsoft no longer makes phones, and the Chinese auto giant is expected to officially surpass Tesla in global annual sales for the first time.