Amazon’s Echo and they latest Echo Dot have taken off with them becoming mainstream as of late. The Black Friday special on the 2nd Generation Dot being only $39.99 is what triggered me to finally order one. After you get the Dot, it’s time to accessorize as it’s virtually made to be a hub for your smart home.
Quick, what’s the most interesting innovation to go mainstream this year? You can make an argument for a number of ideas, but it’s pretty clear from the ad blitz that home automation, especially from Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home, are at the forefront of ideas that have gone from tech-y to everyday. Surprisingly, Apple appears to be letting that business slide right by them, which is an ominous sign for a so-called innovator.
This post is brought to you by Schneider Electric. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Gear Diary. I’ve spent a good bit of time adding smart functionality to Raina’s and my new home. When the chance to check out Schneider Electric’s Wiser Air was offered, how could I resist?
My favorite tech item in my home is the Amazon Echo; the Haiku L Series fan I reviewed is a close second, especially since they work together. So I was excited to check out the Haiku Light. At $199, it’s a pricey ceiling light, but now that I’ve reviewed it I’ll be buying a few more. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.
I’ve written about my experience with Nixplay frames previously. I love the ease-of-use they provide and really enjoy being able to see various pictures from the trips Raina and I have taken. The company recently released the new Nixplay Iris 8”. At $199.99, this is the company’s most refined WiFi frame yet and … I love it.
The average person sleeps roughly eight hours a night, and for a third of their lives so it’s important that the place you rest your head not only be comfortable, but will not only support your body for the night but over the course of time.
If you’ve been looking for a great home security camera that not only allows you to monitor what’s going on when you are not there but that doesn’t need to be attached to a wall outlet like most on the market, you really need to check out Logitech’s Logi Circle Cam.
I love Audioengine speakers. The HD6 are among my favorite speakers. So I was excited to hear about the new HD3 Wireless Music System. They look like AudioEngine’s familiar desktop speakers but they’re something new. As the company explains, “the HD3 is a complete music system that allows you to listen to all of your music from any source.”
We’ve looked at other indoor gardening solutions in the past, but this is the first soil-free version. Check out the OPCOM Farm GrowBox and GrowWall. They both use “automated systems featuring proprietary LED light spectrum technology with lighting and water cycles and nutrition finely tuned for optimal plant growth at a rate 25 percent faster than outdoor gardens.”
Attempting to set up a smart home through Apple’s HomeKit should be fairly simple, right? You have specific appliances and gadget that only work with this feature, but what if they don’t really… work?
If you are a fan of Apple’s HomeKit and looking to take your smart home to the next level, one item you certainly should check out is the Elgato Eve Energy.
Just like my Elgato Eve Energy review, I also had the opportunity to review Elgato’s Avea Flare mood lamp, and like most of Elgato’s products, not only does it work as it should, it’s pretty awesome.
If you are a fan of Apple’s HomeKit, you might have heard a thing or two about a company by the name of Elgato. Well, now the popular smart home product maker announces their Eve Motion wireless motion sensor, and it’s worth checking out.
Your home can never truly be complete without a great speaker, and there’s one in particular out there that won’t take up much space, but it will certainly fill a room!
We’ve got two TCL 4K Roku-enabled televisions in our house, and I feel like TCL is one of those brands that isn’t yet well-known, but they should be. TCL products are extremely well made, they work exactly as promised, and they are generally well priced.
Face it, a lot of us sit at our desks way too much throughout the day, and according to many experts out there it’s bad for us. If you’ve ever looked at standing desks, you might be familiar with a company by the name of NextDesk, who came on the scene attempting to change the way we do our day-to-day in the office. But what about at home?
Most of us spend an average of 8 hours in bed every day; that equals basically 1/3 of our lives, and that’s why it’s so important that the bed we sleep on and the sheets we sleep in are comfortable and conducive to a good night’s sleep. For the last week, I’ve been enjoying the Brooklinen Luxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle.
I’m terrible at estimating distances and dimensions, which is why I have to keep a measuring tape nearby when doing any reviews. InstruMMents, a company founded by the creators of Misfit Shine, is introducing 01 this morning; it is the world’s first dimensioning instrument. 01 captures, logs, and shares dimensions when it is rolled over straight or contoured objects.
If you love design, and you want a unique way to light your living space, then you should look at the nanoleaf Aurora. As they say, “it’s not light, it’s living paint.” The panel pieces snap together like LEGOs, so you can create a design you like and light your room beautifully.
Chefs and home cooks alike need their tools to be both quick and accurate. Maverick Industries checks both of those boxes with their PT-100 Pro-Temp Commercial Thermometer. This digital thermometer with a foldout probe, half-inch white LED digits, accuracy to within 2 degrees Fahrenheit and 1 degree Celsius and a response time of 3-4 seconds, carries an MSRP of $99.99.
Previously we reviewed WITTI’s Notti and Dotti, so it was actually a pleasant surprise to be able to review their newest innovation, the WITTI Beddi.