![]() ![]() Removing the four Phillips screws seen in the earlier photos was a seemingly obvious next step forward, but it initially only led to frustration: Not only could I not then disconnect the two wiring harnesses shown here, I couldn’t ascertain how they’d ever gotten connected during initial system assembly in the first place:īut then I realized that the assembly to the right in the previous photo was actually a two-level “sandwich”:Īlready visible on the display PCB is (among other things) an IC labeled: Speaking of LEDs, and before going further, I thought I’d temporarily connect power to the device and show you what the boot-up sequence looks like:Īt the end, there’s also an audible notification via the system’s 1.5-inch 3-W speaker to connect the device to the Google Home app on a Bluetooth-equipped mobile device to complete setup: The “screen” in this case is just a translucent piece of plastic. So I turned my attention to the front, aided by a thin, flat-head screwdriver:Īlready visible are the two microphones at top, with an ambient light sensor between them and toward the left side, and, of course, the array of LEDs. Those “feet” were my first-attempt path to the inside of the device, which proved fruitless. And on the left is the power input.īoth rubber “feet” have markings on them, including but not limited to the all-important (for research purposes) FCC ID, O57CD4N341Y. To its right is a USB charging port for a tethered smartphone or other device the Smart Clock Essential gets firmware updates over Wi-Fi. Speaking of which, here’s the mute switch, among other things: In the latter case, the microphone mute switch would seemingly defeat the function, although it appears that whatever the “tap” sensor is, it seemingly works in conjunction with the ambient light sensor (which may temporarily override “mute”). My guesses are either via an accelerometer (they’re tiny, so perhaps it’s there and I just couldn’t locate it) or through sound picked up from the front-mounted microphone array. You can supposedly also snooze the alarm by tapping anywhere on the top, although I was unable to discern definitively how this latter capability is implemented. ![]() Since the Smart Clock Essential (unlike its Smart Clock bigger sibling) doesn’t include a touchscreen, Lenovo added physical buttons for: Overviews of the back and sides of the unit show off its attractive (IMHO, at least) grey fabric cover for the white plastic chassis underneath: ![]() ):Īnd here’s a close-up of the specs of the “wall wart”: penny for size-comparison purposes (the Smart Clock Essential has dimensions of 4.8 × 2.5 × 3.3 inches and a weight of 11.6 oz. Here it is accompanied by its “wall wart” and an as-usual 0.75-inch (19.1-mm)-diameter U.S. Since mine was a refurb, it arrived already de-boxed, albeit still with a protective sheet of plastic over the 4-inch (10.2-cm) diagonal front. And finally, while ordinarily the differential between bill-of-materials (and other) costs and price is the definitive determinant of profit or loss for a consumer-electronic device, in these cases, I suspect Amazon and Google may be subsidizing their partner’s (Lenovo’s, in this particular instance) products’ costs as a means of expanding their ecosystems. To date, it’s developed two generations’ worth of the Smart Clock Essential, a voice-controllable “clock radio on steroids.” Lenovo has also developed two generations’ worth of the higher-end Smart Clock, which adds touchscreen support, but whereas both Smart Clock generations support Google Assistant, the company switched from Google Assistant (Gen 1) to Amazon Alexa for the just-introduced Gen 2 Smart Clock Essential.Įqually curious to me is the fact that Lenovo is a China-headquartered (albeit international) company many Google services are blocked by China’s Great Firewall. Lenovo is a particularly curious example. And in the latter camp are Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Home (again, now Nest) Hub variants.īoth Amazon (with Alexa) and Google (with its Assistant) have also strived to gain support for their “smart” ecosystems within other companies’ products, with varying degrees of success. Branded examples of the former include Amazon’s various audio-only Echo devices and Google’s Home (now Nest) products, along with Apple’s HomePod Mini (supporting the company’s Siri technology). Smart devices are an increasingly common presence in residences, often in multiples per address, and ranging from audio-centric smart speakers (also with microphones) to more capable screen-inclusive (and sometimes also camera-inclusive) products. ![]()
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