10/06/2016

1st round picks in Smart Home Technology

I purchased a new home five months back and although the repairs we want to make are minor and cosmetic, my home still has a long way to go. When we were in the process of shopping I envisioned a contemporary smart home filled with tech wizardry. What we have now is not too far off from being up to par with the latest tech for smart homes but it's not entirely wow worthy either and that's what I think technology is missing today. When I think of improvements that I want, I think of meal prep like defrosting drawer in the fridge, or a vacuum that set to run at 1pm.



Although my house is coming together on the tech side, there are still a few gadgets that I definitely have my eye on for the future. Life and the nuances of chores should be getting less complicated as technology simplifies our days. Things like scrubbing tiles and meal planning should be getting easier as our time spent outside the home increases leaving less time for home chores. I'm also not a huge fan of wasting money either so I would be more willing to invest in the latest and greatest as long as it enriches my family and our time together. Let's face it, life isn't getting any easier but our daily choirs that have been the same throughout generations should be, so I've compiled a list of the gadgets that I found to be game changers for the market leading the way to the new and improved smart home.





1. Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator  I absolutely love this refrigerator but it's too expensive and too new. In addition Samsung has been experiencing all sorts of problems lately with their mobile phones which lead me to believe their issues may also bleed over to their other products. Purchasing this refrigerator is like having a Samsung phone attached to your fridge and I'll be damned if I have my new $6,000 fridge cause me unnecessary stress or worse... blow up! I'll wait for them to upgrade it a few times and the price to drop significantly then I'm all in.

Features: camera that lets you see your refrigerator content from your phone, syncs your families calendars, streams music, has sticky note capabilities, and stores pictures. It can convert the freezer to an extended refrigerator if needed and you can even purchase food directly from the fridge online and provides recipes.
  


2. Amazon Echo: I like the fact that the Echo plays music catered to your preferences, can connect your appliances and can reads you a book from your Audible catalog but I don't really need it as other devices can do the same thing. It comes in handy when you connect the Dots to it so your entire home is wired. Dots are the smaller versions of the larger Echo that are synced to the main unit.

3. Nest: I have actually looked at the Nest since it's introduction but thanks to the SolarCity solar panels that we're purchasing, I'm getting one for free. It's not really free though because the cost of those panels more than makes up for it but still I'm interested in what the Nest can do. Again if you're looking to have multiple units interact within your home and you're considering a Nest, then you may also be interested in Lutron Caseta Smart lights. If you're preference is other units similar to Nest then there are other lighting options that are available. Just an FYI... Google is also venturing into the smart Home technology market and I'll be doing a review on those products shortly.



4. SkyBell HD: SkyBell is a cool little gadget but really I don't care if someone rings my door bell when I'm not home. However I do like the fact that I can record from it at night and the camera quality is outstanding. The SkyBell's night vision is crystal clear and one of the best on the market. I also like the motion detector feature which alerts you that someone or something is moving around your door despite if they ring the bell or not. The latest model is still a bit bulky for a doorbell but I'm sure after a few revisions, the unit will improve in size. 




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