A home that isn’t “smart” isn’t worth living in. In our golden age of high technology, good houses are those that closely resemble some fully connected and power-efficient gadget. It’s the kind of place where lights come on and go off on voice commands, the coffee is dispensed at the touch of a button, and the home entertainment system doubles as a control centre linked to everything from security to electricity. Now getting a house like that might prove a tad too expensive. But it’s possible to transform your existing house into a state-of-the-art smart home. Here’s a list of devices that can help you with that.
AMAZON ECHO
Amazon Echo is a hands free speaker that can be controlled through voice commands. Echo has seven multi- directional microphones and beam forming technology which helps users to listen to music across the room. Echo is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with 360° immersive sound. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, and weather. Sound quality of the Echo is absolute clear and detailed with low to middling volumes. Echo also consists of Mute button which can be used to Mute Alexa and it also consists of physical volume controls which can be used by moving the top ring of the Amazon Echo clockwise and anti-clockwise. Amazon Echo is priced at Rs 9,999.
Source: www.amazon.in
NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT
The Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation uses auto-schedule feature and smartphone’s location to learn when user will be home, what room temperature user enjoy, and when user usually go to bed, all within a week. User can connect the device to the Wi-Fi on smartphone, tablet, or laptop and control the temperature from afar. The device knows when the user is not at home or not awake and learns to adjust the temperature accordingly. This thermostat also knows tricks to keep the energy bills down, like turning on the fan to circulate cool air every so often so that user is not blasting the AC all summer. It also monitors air system and alerts when something’s wrong, like furnace is acting up or pipes are so cold they’re about to burst. When it figures out what time user will come home from work, the thermostat starts heating or cooling the place down in advance so it’s perfect when they get back. The Nest Learning Thermostat is priced at Rs 44,508.
Source: www.nestexam.in
XIAOMI SMART LIGHT STRIP
Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip is a flexible strip that can be stick to any corners of home, illuminating the region with different colors. With WiFi connection, users can choose from 16 million colors and have special control on smartphone. The strips are bendable, adhesive, plug and play. The users just need to tear down the adhesive tape on the back of the light strip, stick it to anywhere they want and plug the charger to create completely new indirect light effects. The Yeelight Smart Light Strip can link with a variety of Mi Smart Home devices to get wonderful experience. The device is compatible with FTTT, Amazon Echo and Google Home. Xiaomi smart light strip is priced at Rs 3,120.
Source: www.mi.com
SAMSUNG SMARTCAM HD PRO
Samsung Smartcam HD Pro is the security camera that user can view from mobile device anytime and anywhere in the world. The device is designed for optimum performance with Full HD 1080p video quality, simple set-up and an intuitive experience, the SmartCam HD Pro provides the high caliber video experience to its users. The SmartCam HD Pro can be easily customized to instantly alert motion and audio events. The SmartCam HD Pro also delivers real-time notification of activity through your iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone or tablet. It also comes with a built-in slot for a micro SDXC memory card which allows for video storage for later review. The SmartCam HD Pro WiFi IP camera introduces many advanced features such as wide dynamic range, Samsung light enhancer, advanced motion and audio detection, and motion zone select. Each camera is equipped with a built-in microphone and speaker for crisp and clear two-way talk. Samsung Smartcam HD Pro is priced at Rs 18,299.
Source: www.samsung.com
APPLE TV 4K
Apple TV 4K let users watch movies and programmes in 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) quality. It delivers brighter and crisp picture using four times more pixels than standard HD. Users can also stream movies and music through Netflix, Hulu, HBO NOW and WatchESPN and play interactive games through the app user download from the app store. User can also ask Siri to find something that interests them. The Apple TV comes with Apple TV Remote which has a precise Touch surface to easy use. The remote also works on Bluetooth that takes commands from anywhere in the room. It also comes with The A10X Fusion chip that takes gaming to the next level. Apple TV 4K is priced at Rs 15,900 for 32GB and Rs 17,900 for the 64GB variant.
Source: www.apple.com