Lenovo introduces smart home assistant, NAS and HTPC keyboard
During its presentation at CES 2017, Lenovo announced an Alexa smart home assistant with “quality speakers”, a 6TB NAS and a wireless keyboard with capacitive keys that can also serve as a touchpad.
The Lenovo Smart Assistant has support for Amazon’s Alexa voice recognition service. It has a microphone that is guaranteed to receive voice commands from a distance of less than five meters, beyond that good recognition is not guaranteed. It has a 5-watt tweeter and a 10-watt woofer to play music. The hardware of the device consists of an Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 2GB RAM and 8GB storage capacity. It is also equipped with 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. Lenovo is also releasing a special Harman Kardon edition, which has an additional 2″ opening for better sound quality. The device will be available from May 2017 for a suggested retail price of $129.99, which is about $150 in conversion. Harman Kardon edition costs $ 179.99, or 208 euros.
The Lenovo Smart Storage is capable of being connected wirelessly to a 5GHz network. It comes in a 2TB or 6TB variant and, like the Smart Assistant, is equipped with an Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 2GB ram and 8GB emmc storage for the operating system. The device also has a gigabit internet connection and two USB 3.0 ports. The NAS can be controlled with the Lenovo Smart App. It is not known for which operating systems this app will be available. The NAS will be available in May 2017 for a suggested retail price of $139.99. Converted that is about 162 euros.
The Lenovo 500 Multimedia Controller is a small keyboard with a built-in touchpad. The keyboard is of a small size and must be controlled with the thumbs. The surface of the keys is touch-sensitive and can thus serve as a touchpad. To be reliable in a spacious home cinema, the range is twenty meters, Lenovo promises. The keyboard will be available from March for a suggested retail price of USD 54.99, which is approximately EUR 64, converted and including VAT.