The quirkily named Okidokeys are smart locks for your doors. Consider Okidokeys the gatekeeper to your Smart House. With these neat gadgets, you can unlock your doors using mobile phones or RFID tags without changing the look of your door from outside. Okidokeys are compatible with all cellphones and smartphones on all carriers. The Okidokeys Access Pack retails for $259.
This holiday season, you will be using your phone, tablet, and (shockingly) your camera to take dozens if not hundreds of photos. Some will go up on Facebook or Instagram, but many will sit on the device waiting. Well, with the Epson Expression Photo XP-860 Small-in-One All-in-One Printer the wait is over. Use it to print pictures now and your memoirs later. This printer looks similar to the Epson All-In-One we reviewed last year. It is but the updates Epson packed into this next-generation printer are impressive. That is especially the case with its ability to let you print wirelessly…
I can tell you from personal experience, it’s tough getting old. As I approach 50, I often find myself in low-light situations where there is just no way to read the small fonts on menus. In my full-time gig as a food writer, that can be a real problem. Fortunately, the Tip’N Split calculator and lighted magnifier offers a solution. I’m not a big fan of “unitasker” tools in the kitchen or in the rest of my life. I look for versatility in gadgets before I’ll dedicate any of the precious space in my kitchen drawers or my already overstuffed…
The REC15A High Power Wi-Fi Range Extender from Amped Wireless extender offers decent range extension that can boost the range up to 5000 square feet. This three-inch tall by five-inch wide extender plugs directly into an outlet and requires some configuration. It works with any Wi-Fi standard 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and transmits via single band (2.4GHZ) or dual band (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz).
Being new parents, my wife and I are always on the lookout for new and innovative baby products. We recently received the D-Link DCS-825L Wi-Fi Baby Camera for review, and we are absolutely floored by the 720p HD video quality along with the number of features jam-packed into this little camera. The DCS-825L retails for $179.99.
Can you ever have too many USB ports available? That’s a silly question; of course you can’t, and that applies whether you are at home, at work, or traveling. So here’s something that’ll help take some of the burden off of your laptop’s ports, allowing you to travel with just one power source: the Lumsing 5 Port USB Travel Charger. Measuring approximately 5.3″ long x 2.75″ wide x 1.25″ thick, the Lumsing charger is compact enough to fit into a pocket in your laptop bag, gear bag, larger purse, or briefcase, but it is powerful enough that it can charge up to five devices at once using USB…
Disney has released an amazing preview for their upcoming mystery adventure film Tomorrowland starring George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and Hugh Laurie with Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) directing, co-producing, and co-writing. Tomorrowland will release on May 22, and it offers a thrill ride of nonstop adventures through new dimensions that have only been dreamed of.
If you’re like me, you probably don’t treat that pair of scissors in your kitchen junk drawer very well. At best, you keep an extra set that you abuse by cutting wire, chicken bones, blister pack or heavy cardboard boxes, and they just continue to get duller and duller over time. With Smart Sizzors, now you’ll only need one pair!
I’m a big fan of Epson’s printers, so I was excited to check out the brand new Epson Expression Photo XP-860 Small-in-One printer. It leverages Epson’s MicroPiezo printing technology, and it offers much, much more in a compact, affordable printer. We have a full review on the way, but I wanted to serve up a first look.
Here’s a product that seems so brilliantly obvious that I wish I’d thought of it: the new Quirky Pickup Power is a three AC outlet power strip with a built-in external 4000mAh or 6000mAh battery charger that’s always ready to go. Starting at $99.99, you can keep your portable battery charged and ready, then pop it out when needed.
When we moved into our house, the seller’s realtor presented us with a small remote for the blinds in the living room; the prior owners had installed electronic blinds there. We thought it was a silly gimmick, but we have found it quite useful. Now you can automate your blinds, too! Just back Tilt My Blinds on Kickstarter!
I’ve wanted “The Ex” Voodoo Knife Holder set since I first saw the red one years ago, but … for whatever reason I held back, and now I’m glad I did. The original was made of plastic, and its blades were made in China. This Kickstarter project brings ‘The Ex’ to us in a solid metal stand with German blades.
A few years ago I set out to turn my mid 1970s home into an “after-market smart home.” At that time, I turned to a specific company. Since then I’ve taken a more individual approach that focuses on specific “best-in-class” products that work well, but are not part of an overall integrated system; the Kwikset Kevo is one such product.
I’ve heard of churches using projectors to beam words to songs, images, and page numbers onto a screen during services, and we’ve been considering it for our sanctuary; we wanted to test it out during the summer. Fortunately, I had a review sample of the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 2D/3D 1080p 3LCD Projector in hand. It turns out that the projector is phenomenal for home use, and it held its own during services as well.
Most Gear Diary readers probably don’t know, but my regular day gig is as a food and drink writer for online and print media outlets. Through that job, I am lucky enough to sample many different wines and spirits. But sometimes it’s difficult to detect the subtle nuances of spirits. Well, it was difficult until I discovered the NEAT glass.
If you care about your music, then you simply must check out the $189 Audioengine B1 Premium Bluetooth Music Receiver. And since Audioengine offers a no-strings attached “30 Day Audition”, there’s no reason NOT to check it out and add high-quality Bluetooth streaming to your current sound system. Easy to set up, it will be music to your ears.
I’ve been intrigued by the Dyson series of bladeless fans since they were introduced, but like many people, there was one little thing that kept me from purchasing — the price! A desktop fan retails for $299, and the pedestal fans start at 399! Needless to say, when the opportunity arose to review the Dyson Cool AM07, I jumped.
Have I mentioned that I live about 40 minutes from the nearest dry cleaners? And of course I have items which are “dry clean only”, so once or twice a week (when I make the drive to San Angelo) I bring along and pick up my weekly dry cleaning. It’s inconvenient and time-consuming, so I’m about to try SWASH.
While I generally do a really good job of keeping up with the weather conditions outside of my home, I can’t say that I have ever considered what the conditions inside my home might be like, beyond whether it was cool or hot enough for comfort, of course. That’s all changed since I’ve been testing the Netatmo Weather Station.
Synology’s new DS415play is a 4-bay Network Attached Storage (NAS) system that was designed with the home theater in mind. With room for 4 SATA hard drives, the DS415play can hold up to 24 Terabytes of data. Combined with Synology’s excellent user interface, DiskStation Manager, the Synology DS415play is an excellent buy. The MSRP for the DS415play is $539.99.
In your quest to make the entire home “smart,” check out emberlight. Emberlight is a brand new device that allows you to turn even your most boring light fixture into a smart light fixture. Emberlight will automatically turn the light on when you walk into the room and connects to your existing WiFi network. Check out the emberlight Kickstarter campaign.