Life & Technology – 2GB: 30 March, 2014

This week we looked into the future of the internet of everything with Cisco, and checked out the latest in internet connectivity with Netgear. Plus, there’s some revolutionary hearing aid technology about to change people’s lives, we’ll chat to ReSound about their smart hearing aid. 

 

The Internet of Everything represents the next phase of the Internet revolution Cisco’s Internet of Everything (IoE) Research shows that if we can intelligently connect people, data, process and things we can generate significant value for economies, industries and organisations. Indeed it estimates the ‘Value at Stake’ for the private/public sector to be $14.4T/$4.6T respectively over the next 10 years. Considering other pending 2014 developments above such as wearables, intelligently connected cars, diverse new mobile payment options, drones, lower cost sensors and tags and much more, the opportunity to make constructive, structural change by intelligently connecting everything, is significant.

 

Can Apple make hearing aids cool? This revolutionary hearing aid is capable of streaming high-quality stereo sound from an iPhone, iPad and iPod touch without the need for an additional pendant-like device. Users can also customise (through geotagging, treble/bass/volume settings, etc) their hearing experience through the ReSound Smart App. One of the most devastating effects of hearing loss is the way it can cut you off from your surroundings. This ground-breaking technology makes it so easy to be in command of your hearing, restoring that ability to relate with the outside world, and the iPhone compatibility means you're always current, connected and in control." 

 

Frank from Ryde you asked is it worth getting a GPS with smartphone’s getting so good at directing you where you need to go?

 

·      Smartphones still aren’t as accurate as GPS

·      Using maps will eat up your battery life

·      GPS’s are getting cheaper and cheaper

·      A lot of them, especially ones from TomTom and Navman are now working together with smartphones to make your life easier.