Just this afternoon, I found myself wandering through my one of my favorite stores - Best Buy. Oh man, the sweet smell of electronics greets me as the double doors open automatically. The associate says "Welcome to Best Buy!" to me, which also implies: You're welcome not to buy anything - but we know that that's not in my dictionary. I've never been to this particular branch in a long time, which means everything is quite new to me. The front row shows two or three aisles of DVDs, right after that was another couple of aisles of CDs, but then a few more aisles after is the one that got me. This aisle read, "Home Electronics."
Now, now, I know that that's not a new thing. Maybe it was just weird that I felt kind of... old. I felt old because when I was a kid, all I could remember were cell phones and video games in that particular aisle. But now, home electronics. Not only did I feel old, but I also felt excited, of course. Some of the products they were showing were ones that I've seen online and ones that I've owned. So with that said, let's start off with products that I find rather useful and products that I wish were in my house right this very moment.
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| Picture from Wikimedia |
1.)
Amazon Echo - I've mentioned this already in my
previous post. It really is amazing (to some people, scary) to have something controlling your house with just your voice or your mobile device. I've had the Echo for probably a couple of months, and it never fails me. My Amazon Echo, or Alexa, is now placed in my living room where I can access it when I enter or leave the room. I bought this because of its compatibility with other home products, so stay tuned to know what I'm talking about. Right now, I only use Alexa to play music and to give me general information, such as the weather or how heavy the traffic is going to school.
The Echo has three editions: The Amazon Echo, Dot and Tap. Both have the same function of a digital assistant. It's your preference and budget.
Google Home is the alternative for a speaker like the Amazon.
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| Picture from Amazon |
2.)
Ecobee is your best friend when it comes to your thermostat. Let's face it: it's pretty hard to schedule the thermostat on specific days, at least for me it is. It's just confusing, so I don't bother it at all. My friend who has the Ecobee controls the heater/air conditioning through his phone. By the time that he leaves the house, the thermostat adjusts its settings so that it does not use any additional cooling/heating.
Refer to Amazon Echo. Remember when I said that it is compatible with other home products? Well, this one plays along. For $185, you can tell Alexa to turn down the thermostat by 10 degrees, and it'll set it for you.
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| Picture from Amazon |
3.)
iHome Control Smart Plug allows any appliance or anything that plugs into the wall, well, smart! Connect this "smart plug-in" and you can control it with multiple platforms, meaning you can use this with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and SmartThings. This means that it's versatile enough to be controlled without buying additional accessories.
For $42, you can buy this to make your lamps, lighting and anything smart!
4.)
Philips Hue is number one on my wish list. These use LED light bulbs that you can turn on and off with Alexa or Siri. This is pretty impressive as some light bulbs allow you to change its color, which means change the ambiance of the room. This is also nifty for the lazy ones (like me). You have to admit; it's annoying to have yourself snuggled and comfortable in bed, only to find out that you forgot to turn off the lights in the living room. These are a luxury item, so of course, I'm sarcastic when I paint that scenario for you.
These retail for a little over $150 for three light bulbs.
5.) Lastly, the
Nest Cam Indoor is one of the best sellers as an indoor surveillance camera. According to Amazon, it takes minutes to set up, and it records in 1080p HD. It requires Wifi, of course, so that you can watch on your mobile phone. When I was doing research on other indoor cameras, they lacked night vision. Nest Cam promises a "whole room at night — not just a limited spotlight view."
This camera retails for $152 on Amazon.
Note that these are luxury items, which means that it's not a necessity. Before investing into one of these, ask yourself if you really need it. I'll be honest, sometimes I find the Amazon Echo as something unnecessary - and it is. But it sure does make life easy. I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy some of these. I'm saying to do your research first!
Let me know if you have any of these or if you plan on getting any soon. Comment below and let me know! Follow me on Instagram, on Facebook, and on Twitter and see if I do get the Philips Hue. Don't worry; I'll keep you in touch!
