As a parent with young children, my first priority is the safety of my family. My second priority is making sure no one wakes up my kids while they’re sleeping! The Chamberlain Ultimate Security Bundle covers all the bases, as it’s ultra-quiet yet super-secure. With tons of smart and safety features, Chamberlain hits the sweet spot of garage door openers.
I have an office with two windows on our house’s south side; these windows take in brutal amounts of Texas sun and heat during the spring and summer. Lutron Serena Shades are custom-made window shades that can be controlled by a remote, by your smartphone, or with an AI assistant. What you end up with are smarthome-worthy window coverings.
In the modern world, smart appliances fill homes to the brim. Artificial intelligence is a part of nearly every device now, making the average suburb almost sound futuristic. With everything else getting the science fiction treatment, from your refrigerator turning into a TV to your car self-parking into the driveway, safety devices can become smarter, too.
Electricity is a funny thing. We all use it every day, but very few track their usage closely or even know how much juice their devices use. Sense is here to change that, allowing us to tap into our electrical panel and track the electricity our home uses to help us be more efficient and informed, starting at $299.
NordicTrack has long been known for their high-quality home exercise equipment and they do not disappoint with their Grand Tour Series of exercise bikes. The Grand Tour features Android-powered HD touchscreens, access to professional trainer-led workouts, incline adjustments in addition to resistance, Silent Magnetic Resistance technology, adjustable seats, and included dumbbells. The NordicTrack Grand Tour series starts at $999.
The annual IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin covers about 160,000 square meters and almost 2,000 exhibitors. Whether it was on the floor, at a press conference, at the media-only Showstoppers event, or in private meetings, we scoured IFA to find the latest and greatest to make up Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2018 list.
Robot vacuums are one of the greatest inventions ever. It’s like having Rosie from the Jetsons, but without the dusting or conversational skills. In fact, I have one at home and my son seems to be under the impression it is some kind of robot pet. Neato has some new vacuums at IFA that take cleaning to a new level!
Not long ago we reviewed the Cori HD home security camera system from Momentum. Recently we have been testing the new Aria Floodlight with WiFi Camera from them and we have been significantly impressed.
Sometimes you need a damn good pizza cooked in a scorching hot oven to make your life complete. For those times, you need the Uuni Pro 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven in your backyard. The latest oven from Ooni can cook pizzas in around 60 seconds, perfectly sear steaks, roast vegetables, and much more. Starting at $599, you can be cooking with gas!
Mimish Designs is a company that knows about multitasking. Just take a look at the portfolio of products they have released since coming on the scene in 2013, specializing in household items that double as storage. Now they have released a backpack that converts into a sleeping bag in the Sleep N’ Pack.
Sometimes when I read a press release I cannot figure out what the item is when I see the name. That was not the case with the message that arrived from LampyPets, which I very quickly figured out (you guessed it) is a kid’s lamp in the shape of their pet or favorite animal.
My office is a room that was built on the back of our house. The only issue that we ran into when adding it was that there was no affordable way to tie that room into our central heat and air. An effective and convenient solution for situations like mine is the RolliBot RolliCool Cool 100H Portable AC with Heater.
How do you lock and unlock your front door? A key is SO last century, and using a keypad makes it look like you live in a bank vault. Kwikset knows this, and they’ve combined the looks of a traditional lock with the brains of a smart lock with the new Kevo Contemporary!
Honey, I shrunk the projector. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I opened the box of the new Apeman M4 digital mini projector. It occupies the same real estate as that of a drink coaster, and at less than an inch tall it can even fit right in your pocket.
Over the past few years since Apple has released HomeKit products, I’ve tested everything from smart plugs, light bulbs, and even smart cameras, but who would think that my favorite product would actually end up being one that’s so simple to use, but has multiple functionalities to control all of the HomeKit products I’ve previously reviewed? That’s where the Fibaro Button comes into play.
After two years of living here, we finally got our lawn looking close to what we have hoped for. The challenge is, of course, the fact that the summer heat is only going to get stronger over the next two months. Thankfully, B-hyve offers their B-hyve Hose Faucet Timer. It is smart, convenient and it even works with Alexa!
Summer is all about spending time by the pool, hanging out on the back deck, travel, and camping. The TYLT Block Party gives you a way to stay charged while outdoors while enjoying your favorite music. The Block Party is a combo portable Bluetooth speaker and 20,000mAh battery that can charge up to four devices at the same time.
I moved recently, and let’s be honest, I wasn’t as stressed about moving my furniture as I was about getting internet and cable up and running. We had Verizon FiOS at my old place, and I was able to transfer it to my new location easily. Getting it set up was less easy, but I was blown away by Verizon FiOS customer service!
When considering safety and security for your home, one of the top priorities has to be remote monitoring with a camera system. And if you have priced systems available today, some will leave you a bit intimidated. The Cori HD Smart Home Security Camera system offers an affordable dual-camera system that is easy to install and use.
As a member of a competitive BBQ team and lover of smoked meats, I do a lot of smoking in the summer. The big secret to great BBQ is correct temperatures and timing. ThermoWorks offers many products to make sure the temps are correct, and I recently had the opportunity to try their newest product, the $69 BlueDOT.
The newly updated Intuos pen tablet from Wacom builds on the brand’s great history of digital illustration tablets, bringing their top-tier pen-to-PC technology to an entry-level price range. With small and medium size options, wired and Bluetooth connectivity options, the Wacom Intuos is a great fit for beginners and experienced illustrators.