[CES 2013] In the future, I imagine a world where everything around us can be controlled by a small device like a smartphone or pocket watch. As time goes by, more and more signs seem to point at how close this future might be. Belkin is currently displaying a product at CES that really shows the potential of what the future might hold.

Belkin’s new product, the WeMo light switch, allows users to turn household lighting on and off via a few taps on their Android device. The switch will then respond to the Android handset through WiFi and turn out the connected light. When you sum things up and look at how the system works, it doesn’t sound all too revolutionary, and it’s not something we haven’t seen before.

However, what’s cool about the WeMo light switch is that you can control it from anywhere, regardless of what WiFi network you’re currently connected to.

You can also set the WeMo light switch to turn on and off at predefined times, allowing you to save electricity without having to physically go and turn the lights out every time you leave for work.

Belkin’s new tech could also be useful for when you need to enter a room or garage at night when the light switch is at the other end of the room. Being able to turn on the lights remotely saves you from stumbling in the dark and wrecking furniture or knocking over lamps along the way.

The WeMo light switch is definitely a step in the right direction, and perhaps in a few years’ time we could see similar technology being applied to our home heating or other every day appliances.

[Source]

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Baby monitors have certainly come a long way. Early devices plugged into the wall socket on both the monitor and the listening-end receiver. Then they became a bit more wireless as time went on, though they often operated at frequencies that dropped or had interference. Now, they work with your iPhone or iPad and can allow you to listen in anywhere you are in the world. That’s right, Belkin’s new WeMo works anywhere in the house, outside or even while you are thousands of miles away from home.

The baby monitor could be perfect for those new parents that are going out for an evening alone and want a way to listen in to make sure the babysitter is responding quickly to the baby’s needs. It is also convenient because you don’t have to remember to carry the monitor’s receiver with you in order to hear what is going on.

The device works in conjunction with an iOS WeMO Baby app and can connect via Wi-Fi or 3G/4G to receive the streaming audio from the monitor. This is not a video-based monitor, but it is still pretty cool and for most parents audio is good enough. The device is designed to be interference free and can allow up to six devices to connect to it at a time.

WeMo can provide even more with a $9.99-per-month subscription to a premium app. What’s different? You get text or email “cry notifications”, cry history information and an analysis of baby’s sleep and crying habits.

How necessary is something like the WeMo? The answer is going to depend for a lot of parents. If you have a 2500+ square foot house that is split between several stories and has a good sized backyard– might be great to have around. If you have a 400 square foot apartment? Might be a little bit overkill. What do you think, interested in something like this or not?

Via: Belkin

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Sometimes the simplest gadgets in life prove to be the most useful. Do you find that you’re lacking in USB ports on your tablet or notebook? Check out this sweet deal on a USB hub from the fine folks at Belkin. It’s only six bucks.

No, this isn’t exactly the fanciest thing in the world, but it certainly gets the job done. The Belkin USB 2.0 4-Port Ultra-Mini Hub is exactly what you think it is. You plug into the integrated USB 2.0 cable into an available port on your desktop PC, laptop, tablet or whatever else and you effectively gain access to four fully functional USB 2.0 ports to handle your various peripherals and accessories.

The compact design makes it super easy for travel and since that USB cable is integrated, you don’t have to worry about losing it either. Naturally, it’s backwards-compatible with USB 1.1 devices too, but I can’t imagine you have too many of those kicking around anymore. The USB 2.0 transfer speed can kick up to 480Mbps. There are no need for drivers, as it’s plug-and-play, and since the design puts one USB port on each of the four sides, it can more easily accommodate devices that happen to be a little wider or taller than usual.

The Belkin Ultra-Mini Hub is compatible with both Windows and Mac and it comes backed by a lifetime warranty. Pick it up through Amazon for $5.99, which is $9.00 (60%) off the regular price of $14.99. Tack on a few more items to get up to the $25 minimum and you can get free super saver shipping too.

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As you know, WPS can work two different ways. First, there is that button. You push the WPS button on your router, push the WPS button your wireless device (printer, laptop, etc.) and they automagically recognize each other to give you network access. There isn’t any problem with this method.

The security flaw that has now been revealed has to do with the second method: PIN. The PIN for WPS is supposed to be an eight-digit random number that is predefined by the manufacturer. As such, there are 100 million variations. A brute force attack would just take too long.

However, there is a flaw in how the PIN is addressed. When you enter an incorrect PIN on the wireless device, the router sends a reply saying it’s wrong. But that’s not all the reply indicates. It also tells you whether the first or second halves of the PIN are correct. What’s more, the final digit is a checksum of the other seven digits. Working this all out, a brute force attack can take only 11,000 attempts. That’s a 9000-fold difference. In effect, a brute force PIN attack on a WPS router can take less than four hours.

This apparently affects a wide range of router manufacturers, including such big names as Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin, and ZyXEL. I’m not saying you need to put on your tinfoil hats and put your home on lockdown, but if you are worried about these brute force attacks, the only way to prevent them is to disable WPS on your router.

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The Nintendo gaming system has won fans all over the world with its amazing capabilities. The uniqueness of the games and novelty of the machine makes the NES a must have for every true video game aficionado. If you like to do your own hack jobs and fabricate unique looking products then you should definitely have a look at the NES cartridge wireless router.

According to a recent DIY project, you can easily create a wireless router out from a spare NES cartridge. Yes, however unbelievable it may sound, the news is actually true. Recently, one of the true tech-hackers built his very own NES wireless router and released the pictures over the internet.  According to the Unconventional Hacker, you can actually fit in a Belkin wireless router into one of the spare NES gaming cartridges. It’s not very difficult. In the first step you will have to disassemble the cartridge . Then you will have to go ahead and disassemble the wireless router and then you will simply have to swap the two boards. The hard part is when you will have to re-solder a couple of capacitors on the Belkin wireless router to fit it into the NES cartridge perfectly.  The soldering job should be done very carefully, or else you may be left with a malfunctioning wireless router.  After you have fitted the wireless router into the NES board, put it back together just like before and voila! You have your very own NES wireless router. Now you have the bragging rights to the coolest set of hardware that will trump all your friends.

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Belkin Play Max Wireless 802.11n Router

Latest from the labs at Belkin are four new wireless routers that go beyond your typical “Internet sharing” and provide a more seamless experience between the Internet, your devices and media you use.

First up is the Play Max Wireless Router (F7D4301), it will stream HD, retails for $129.99, and features high-speed gigabit ethernet ports, simultaneous 802.11n Dual-Band antennas for speeds of up to 300Mbps, 2 USB ports for printer and storage sharing,  UpnP, and VPN Support: PPTP and IPSec pass-through.

The Play Wireless Router (F7D4302) will sell for a bit less, at $99.99 and offer the same features but with only a single USB port and lacking the gigabit ethernet connectivity.  The Share Wireless Router (F7D3302) is priced at $79.99 and more in line with smaller home networks not needing all the bells and whistles, it still offers 1 USB port but only single 802.11n antenna.   The most affordable of the lot is the Surf Wireless Router (F7D2301), at just $49.99 it’s really an affordable way to get the network up and running, but no USB ports offered on this model.

Two other devices that go hand and hand with wireless networks are Belkin’s Play Wireless USB Adapter (F7D4101), priced at $69.99 and their Surf & Share Wireless USB Adapter (F7D2101) for $49.99.  These connect your desktop or notebook to the wireless network, or optimizes your range and distance when connecting to an 802.11n router.

These routers are unique in a way.  They offer built-in apps, yes you heard me, apps.  Their not Android or iPhone apps, but more specifically apps designed by Belkin to unlock the potential of your wireless hub. Don’t expect an app store for your Belkin router, as there is no development tools released for the public.  No need to worry, Belkin has come up with a bunch of useful tools, here they are according to Belkin:

Self Healing: Automatically detects and resolves network problems and runs routine maintenance scans to give you the clearest wireless channel. Available on Surf, Share, Play, and Play Max.

Memory Safe: Automatically backs up precious photos and important files to your external hard drive. Available on Share, Play, and Play Max.

Print Genie: Print wirelessly from any computer on the network from anywhere in your home. Available on Share, Play, and Play Max.

Music Mover: Play MP3s from your music library on your home stereo wirelessly. Connect your external hard drive on which you store your music to the router—and move music from your computer to your stereo through devices like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Available on Play and Play Max.

Music Labeler: Automatically identifies and labels your track with the correct title, artist, and genre. Available on Play and Play Max.

Daily DJ: Get daily personalized playlists from your music library based on your mood. Available on Play and Play Max.

Torrent Genie: Downloads large media files like movies, music, and games, even when your computer isn’t on. Available on Play Max.

Bit Boost: Prioritizes traffic on your network for video, gaming, and VoIP, letting you easily select your most important data streams for seamless network traffic. Available on Play Max.

Availability depends on region,  expect them next month in the USA, Europe will get them in early May, Canada will get them in July and Asia Pacific will have to wait until Q3 of 2010.

Belkin’s new 802.11n Wireless routers with Apps

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If your the guy who has to have the latest, fastest, and most up to date technologies, then Belkin’s SuperSpeed USB 3.0 peripherals may be for you. The price is steep, at $40 for a USB 3.0 cable measuring only 4 feet, but you can expect transfer speeds “three times faster than USB 2.0,” if you have any USB 3.0 devices to begin with.

The specs for USB 3.0 are to achieve transfer rates of five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (theoretically). In Belkin’s tests they observed speeds of up to 180 megabits per second, or three times faster. Still great, but is it worth the price?

Devices launched today are the; SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe Add-In Card (F4U023) – $79.99. A SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ExpressCard (F4U024) – $79.99, this connects up to 127 USB devices (through cascading additional hubs. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Premium A-B Cable, and Micro-B Cable 4 ft. (F3U158-04) – $39.99; 8 ft. (F3U158-08) – $49.99.

They are backwards compatible to USB 2.0, availability is set for April 2010 in the US and May 2010 in Canada.

Belkin USB 3.0 products Photo Gallery

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Belkin announced the tunecast will be available immediately in North America. The price of $79.00 includes the ClearScan LIVE iPhone App which works in conjunction with the iPhone GPS system to locate the best FM frequencies based on your coordinates. It also has the ability to look up user feedback based on your location.

Europeans and Australasians will have to wait until March and April to pick one up.

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