Smart home

Wi-Fi is the greatest thing since sliced bread —so long as everything is working the way it should. No ethernet cables strung all around the house (I remember those days) and the ability to use a Wi-Fi enabled device anywhere. At least that’s the promise. The reality is many homes have zones where Wi-Fi is dead or very slow. Building materials like concrete, ceramic and metal can block Wi-Fi signals and decorative items like glass mirrors can deflect them. While one approach to improving Wi-Fi coverage for your home or small business is to install a newer, more powerful router, you can often get just as much of an improvement for a lot less money and fuss by installing a range extender. In this review, I look at the latest such device from D-Link, the DAP-1520 Wireless AC Dual Band Range Extender.

Learn about ChargePoint's charging stations for electric vehicles, and how the company is working towards a more sustainable future.

Learn all about the value, convenence, and energy saving potential of smart plugs in today's blog... then consider adding a few to your own connected home.

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.  

Many people I know have mentioned their fear of break-ins or theft—especially my friends with rental homes. But there’s not much they can do outside of placing a broomstick in the sliding door, or hoping the deadbolts on their doors hold: they’re not allowed to have an alarm installed. Nor would they want to permanently install a device in a place in which they will only be residing temporarily. There’s a great solution to this problem now! The iSmartAlarm is a portable, yet powerful device that acts as a great theft deterrent using nothing more than a couple portable pieces of hardware, your wireless network and your smartphones.  I just had a chance to test it so click below to check out my review

Google unveiled its latest batch of hardware products, with the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel Slate and Home Hub rounding out the board.

What is that you’re looking at to the left of this text?  Would you believe it’s a wifi camera, LED light and doorbell set up?  Neat isn’t it?  That’s the Chamberlain Notifi, one of a few devices I mention in the second Smart Home Roundup from CES.  This time I’ll jump into brands that you know and have seen at Best Buy and BestBuy.ca, and may see again in the future. From Parrot, to Samsung and even D-Link, what’s else does 2015 in the world of Smart Home have to offer?  Come take a look.

Best Buy may be packed with the latest technology, gear and accessories from your favourite brands. But did you know it’s also the place to find some of the most innovative products launched on Kickstarter?

When you take it out of the box, the Ring Pro Video Doorbell looks as though it may be hard to install with all sorts of little pieces and wires. Once you get into it though, you'll see it's anything but. In fact, Ring is so confident that you can install it yourself that it will pay for free installation if you cannot. With cloud storage capabilities, motion detection and 1080p video output, Ring Pro is ready to be your next Home Automation pick up. Come take a look!

You can make it a memorable Valentine’s Day with a tech gift to bring you closer together. BestBuy.ca has you covered this year, and we’ve put together a list to get you started.