Smart home

Ho, Ho, holy, it’s almost Christmas Eve! Today on the 6th Day of Christmas gifts we’re looking at how you can have a smart home for the holidays by giving the gift of Nest.

You know what Smarthome product can get really expensive in a hurry? Smart Lighting. Do you know what Smarthome products shouldn’t need to get so expensive? Smart Lighting. Thankfully, there’s an introduction package out there that offers up a good taste of what smart lighting can do for your home. Introducing Philips Hue’s new Smart LED Dimmer Kit. It works out of the box and doesn’t even need apps or bridges to work properly. 

In this quarter’s edition of Gadgetwatch, join me as I take a look at some of this quarter’s neatest releases in the world of Smart Home, Smart Lighting, Smart Health, Indoor and Outdoor wearables and even energy management. If you’ve ever wondered what a smartphone powered thermometer or a wearable that films in 360 degrees looks like, grab a coffee and read on about some of what’s available to you now.

Keeping your home safe and secure has never been easier or more convienient than it is today. It used to be you needed to purchase an expensive system, hire a pricey installation team, and they’d take all day to wire your house. No more. Cameras are now small, sleek, and blend in to any home’s decor; like the Netatmo Welcome Camera with facial recognition. Netatmo makes a popular and well-liked Weather Station, but does the camera measure up to the company’s reputation? Find out.

Weather is one thing that affects each and every one of us every single day, so it makes sense to pay close attention to it.  While you can turn on the TV or the radio or go online, wouldn’t it be nice to havea personalized weather data, telling your what’s happening outside your very own front door? That’s where the Netatmo Weather Station comes in.

Has home security been on your mind? Are you looking to better safeguard your family and belongings, but want something that’s easy and doesn’t break the bank? We take a look at the Skylink Alarm System Starter Kit and also the company’s Motion Activated Lighting Control Starter Kit to see how simple it can be to add more control and security to your household.

“That doesn’t look like any router I’ve ever seen.”   That’s the general consensus I heard about the Almond+ when I showed it around. It’s a device that stands in for three types of things in your smart home: a powerful dual-band router, a long range wifi extender, and a smart home hub.   It arrived from Best Buy wrapped in brown packing paper and accompanied by a Securifi Door/Window Sensor, and a Peanut Smart plug. Also in the box were precisely two packing peanuts; I’m guessing the shipping budget was a bit tight, or those were rogue peanuts on the lam from a future Pixar film. Either way I got to researching the Almond+ and getting it setup. Here’s how it went.

Technology is a wonderful thing. By stumbling upon anything I’ve written, you know it’s what I like to write about the most. This year has brought us some of the best personal electronics I’ve seen in years, whether it’s in fitness tracking, streaming or home security. Let’s take a look at one item from each of those categories making the rounds this quarter courtesy of Microsoft, Myfox and Google.

As the undisputed multiple time defending winner of the “hardest person to buy gifts for” award, I know the difficulty I put my family through every year around the holidays. I guess it runs in the family. My dad has always been the hardest person for me to buy for. I can never read what he’s interested in and when I do, he’s already gone out and bought it for himself. I can usually rely on cool gadgets to do the trick though. This year, he’s right at the doorstep of retirement and has taken a shining to many of the smarthome things I have around the house. I’m going to start the gift search with stocking-sized gifts. From a possible smartwatch to a light bulb, here are a few ideas to mull around for that difficult-to-buy-for man in your life.  

Vacuuming has turned an evolutionary corner. Not the act of vacuuming; you can still use an old vacuum if you want to. But if you’d rather not “do” vacuuming you don’t have to. Vacuuming once required standing, pushing, pulling … and time! Not anymore. Vacuuming has reached the “set it and forget it” stage with the Roomba 980. Read on to learn about the latest from iRobot and how to win one for your home.