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Everything you need to know about The Ambient, with details on our editors, writers, contact details and more
The smart home has become the most exciting space in technology – yet no-one has been covering the space in the manner it deserves. That’s where The Ambient comes in.
Part of the Candr Media Group, The Ambient is designed to be the first and last word in the smart home. We’re dedicated to demystifying this new world of connected home technology.
The Ambient is here to test and review the best gear on the market, explain how to get your smart home up and running, and show you how to get the most from it. And, perhaps most importantly, we’ll be charting what’s next.
Launched in 2018 by Paul Lamkin and James Stables, who also launched the world’s biggest wearable tech website Wareable, The Ambient has grown to be the authority on the smart home.
Speaking to Gorkana, Lamkin explained, “We’re very much pitching The Ambient as not just another tech site. As with Wareable, it’s a site that blurs the boundaries of tech, lifestyle, fashion and a whole lot more.
“The rise of smart speakers and assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Siri through Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant have proven themselves to be the missing link to truly smart homes.
“These devices have brought ambient computing – the idea of having AI all around us – to the masses. But with that comes a whole set of new questions for consumers. We’ll be providing in-depth reviews, detailed missing manuals, how-to hacks and a whole lot more.”
The Ambient is a champion of good home tech. Experiences that look good, feel good and add to your home. It doesn’t have to be connected – we’re championing any way technology can make our life better.
The Ambient was shortlisted at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards 2018 as the ‘Best Digital Launch of the Year’ and the Wareable Media Group was also nominated as a ‘Publisher of the Year’ as well.
The Wareable Media Group has grown to three publications now the latest site, Get Sweat Go, going live in mid-2019.
In 2023, the Wareable Media Group was acquired by Candr Media Group Limited and now we’re part of a big happy family with the likes of Trusted Reviews and What Digital Camera.
How we make money
At The Ambient, we believe in providing valuable content without any paywalls or subscription fees.
The operational expenses of our editorial and development teams are sustained through revenue generated from advertising and affiliate partnerships.
Affiliate Links and Price Comparison
We utilise affiliate links directing to products and services on various retailer platforms.
Clicking on these links or making purchases through them may earn us compensation. Across our pages, we display prices and deals to aid our readers in making informed purchasing decisions.
When a reader completes a purchase via the provided retailer link, we earn a commission. These commissions are standard compensation for referrals (known as ‘affiliates’).
Our affiliate links are either automatically integrated post-publication through software or manually added by our team members.
We regularly scan a vast array of products to identify the best deals available and we prioritise displaying the most competitive prices, barring exceptions such as retailers lacking credibility.
In such cases, we highlight Recommended Deals, emphasising reliable customer service over mere affordability.
Occasionally, we may endorse specific offers from particular retailers. In such instances, we transparently disclose this arrangement. We uphold the principle of impartial editorial content crafted by our dedicated journalists and editors.
We also occasionally feature advertorials (paid-for editorial content) and sponsored content, which are clearly marked as such for full transparency.
Advertising
We maintain a strict separation between our advertising and editorial departments. Advertisers are explicitly informed that they have no influence over our reviews or ratings.
The Ambient editorial team
Paul Lamkin – Editorial Director, Candr Media Group
Before launching Wareable with James back in 2014 Paul worked for a variety of the UK’s biggest and best consumer tech publications including Pocket-lint, Electric Pig, Tech Digest, What Laptop, T3 and TechRadar.
He also had a couple of years as the senior editor of tech at MSN, where we was allowed to write about other things than Windows and Xboxes on a few occasions. The Ambient was born because Paul was sick of Fitbits and Android Wear watches. Only joking.
You can email Paul – paul@the-ambient.com
Or check out his profile on LinkedIn.
James Stables – Editorial Director, Candr Media Group
James founded the Wareable Media Group with Paul back in 2014. He started his career at Future Publishing, and worked on a multitude of online and offline titles including T3, TechRadar and Official Windows Magazine.
As a technology journalist since 2006, James has reported on the world of gadgets through the explosion of consumer tech, from the release of the first iPhone to iPad, App Store, wearable tech and now the smart home.
It’s this appreciation of how technology shapes our lives that led James and Paul to see the promise of wearable technology back in 2014 – but in James’ opinion, that’s nothing in comparison to the promise of the smart home. In fact, James gave a talk at IFA+ Summit 2015 on the future of the smart home, and a lot of the thinking – around the opportunity of voice control – fed into the creation of The Ambient.
You can email James – james@the-ambient.com
Or check out his profile on LinkedIn.
Britta O’Boyle – Editor-at-large, The Ambient
Britta has been a technology journalist for over a decade. She’s covered everything from smart home, phones and tablets to wearables and beauty tech, with everything in between.
She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and prior to a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, she wrote about kitchens and bathrooms, covering the beginning of the rise in technology in the home. She has written for a number of titles over the years, from GQ and TechRadar, to iMore, the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror.
You’ll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate. When she’s not writing, she is usually annoying her other half by insisting on using her phone to turn the lights off rather than just getting up and doing it herself just to prove a point.
You can email Britta – britta@the-ambient.com
Or check out her profile on LinkedIn.
Conor Allison – Editor-at-large, Wareable
Conor started his career in tech journalism as a news reporter at Digital Spy, where his keenness was quickly dampened by the never-ending cycle of stories relating to exploding Galaxy Note devices.
He moved to the Wareable Media Group in 2017, where he found himself trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
After a stint as Pocket-lint’s Reviews and Buyer’s Guides Editor, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large.
He’s mainly found on The Ambient’s sister site, Wareable, but you’ll still see regular bylines from Conor on The Ambient too.
Conor has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent and The Mirror.
You can email Conor – conor@the-ambient.com
Or check out his profile on LinkedIn.
David Ludlow – Smart Home editor, Trusted Reviews
With than 20 years’ experience in publishing, David has written for a wide audience including business and consumer technology publications.
He launched Expert Reviews in 2010 and grew the site from less than 100,000 to more than 5 million UUs per month.
Currently, he edits the Home Technology Section on Trusted Reviews, writing reviews and tutorials on smart home, home appliance and consumer technology.
You can email David – david.ludlow@trustedreviews.com
Or check out his profile on LinkedIn.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy – Contributor
A writer and editor for two decades, Jennifer has covered the smart home, consumer tech, IOT and its intersection with sustainable living.
New York born, London raised and now living in Charleston, South Carolina, Jennifer began her career at The Daily Telegraph, before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho where she worked as a journalist and editor for local magazines and newspapers.
She was Contributing Editor at Dwell Magazine, Home Editor at Charleston Magazine, and regularly contributed to New York Times / Wirecutter, US News & World Report, Wired, BBC Science Focus Magazine and others.
She’s currently overseeing everything smart home over on The Verge.
Or view her profile on LinkedIn.
Find out more
How we test – take a look at our editorial promise
Security matters – Here’s how we handle data