New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Onkyo today unveils its new Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 featuring Amazon Alexa Voice Service for voice-controlled entertainment, information, and lifestyle management that together with a built-in HD video camera and an array of sensors enable remote home control, environment automation, and room monitoring capabilities via a free companion app for selected smartphones and tablets.
Alexa can answer questions and provide information, set timers and reminders, play music from online services, and control a wide selection of smart devices all by voice thanks to a library of more than 15,000 skills.
The Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 pairs with Toshiba Smart Home Services, a cloud-based storage and smart home management solution, and the Toshiba Smart Home App for iPad®, iPhone®, and Android™ devices. Together with the speaker's built-in webcam and sensors for motion, temperature, humidity, sound and light, users can control and monitor their home from a smartphone and automatically manage interior conditions according to app presets. Notifications can also be sent when built-in sensors detect a change in conditions in the room.
Video monitoring capabilities are useful for keeping an eye on a room while away from home, as well as for communication with family members, all enabled by Toshiba Smart Home App. An integrated camera lens-cover is included for privacy.
Onkyo's Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 features 5 GHz/2.4 GHz Wi-Fi® for a secure connection and Bluetooth® wireless technology for audio streaming flexibility from a wide range of devices.
Sensors for Remote Home Management
The Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 includes sensors for motion, sound, temperature, humidity, and light. Home owners can create environmental presets in the Toshiba Smart Home App, configure their compatible smart devices (such as a smart thermostat), and maintain interior conditions automatically. Additionally, Toshiba Smart Home App can be used to command connected and preconfigured smart devices to heat or cool rooms, and turn lights on or off before returning home.
Alexa Supports a Large Number of Smart Home Skills
Alexa supports a range of smart devices from leading brands. With compatible devices, such as smart lights or thermostats connected via Wi-Fi®, users can dim lights, control room temperature, and more by voice. Onkyo's Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 supports the ZigBee® and Z-Wave® protocols.
Remote Room Monitoring and Video Chat
The HD webcam facilitates room monitoring via smartphone or tablet using the Toshiba Smart Home App. A camera lens-cover is integrated for privacy and recorded footage can be stored in the associated cloud service. Family members can also use Toshiba Smart Home App on a smartphone to video-chat with people at home via the speaker's camera and mic.
Hands-Free Assistance
Owners interact with Alexa with just their voice, so their hands are free for other things. It can answer questions or find music without interrupting the moment. Put the mobile away when cooking, cleaning, or relaxing with the family and let Alexa read out a recipe, play requested music, find information, or pass the time with an audiobook. A wide variety of skills let users ask for many different things, including sounds to assist with sleep or relaxation; guided meditations or workout routines; the day's news headlines, weather forecasts, and sports scores; traffic conditions in real time; or a schedule from a calendar.
Enjoy Your Favorite Music
Request music from selected streaming and
Internet radio services. The Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 supports a variety of on-demand services and enhances music with rich and immersive sound reproduction. Users can control playback volume, skip tracks, and change music by voice, even from the other side of the room thanks to a sensitive microphone.
Beautiful Onkyo Sound
Designed by Onkyo's experienced engineers, clear and energetic reproduction of both music and voice is made possible from compact speaker dimensions. A custom 1.57-inch (40 mm) ODMD (Onkyo
Double Molding Diaphragm) full-range driver features robust transducer material with a tough yet flexible gasket for extended cone excursion, producing a frequency bandwidth approximately equivalent to that of a 3-inch (8 cm) driver with excellent vocal fluency and taut, lively bass.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Included
Dual-band 5 GHz/2.4 GHz Wi-Fi selects the 5 GHz band to avoid traffic congestion or interference on the 2.4 GHz channel, enabling a more stable connection even where range boosters are used. Built-in Bluetooth wireless technology is handy for streaming audio from apps on a wide variety of devices.
Onkyo Smart Speaker VC-FLX1 is available this
September for an MSRP of $279.99 USD. For more information on this and other Onkyo hi-fi, audio-video, and lifestyle entertainment products, please visit https://www.onkyousa.com.
