Here’s a gadget that you may never have heard of, but would probably fall into the “why didn’t I think of that” category. It’s an electronic replacement for the age-old peephole standard in so many front doors of houses across the world. No more do you have to plant your eye right up to that ridiculously small piece of glass to figure out who’s knocking at your front door. Instead, you press a button and see a nice flat (not a tiny fish-eye view) 1.3 megapixel color video image on a 2.5” TFT LCD screen. Definitely a nice improvement, wouldn’t you say?

I took the Brinno/Phase 3 Systems Electronic Peephole Viewer, model PHV1325 for a spin, and found a lot to like. Installation was fairly easy, although it does involve some minor surgery on your door in replacing the existing peephole viewer with the one provided, but that’s easier than it sounds. The video shows you how to do it. Once you do that, the actual LCD screen snaps on easily.

Normally the screen is off, but all you need to do is press the button to activate it and up comes your video. The screen turns off 10 seconds later. What’s really nice is that you no longer have to stick your eye up to the door, which also means it doesn’t matter who tall or short you are. Oh yes, one additionally nice security feature is that your caller doesn’t know you’re on the other side looking out, unless you make a lot of noise of course.

One minor problem is that if you have very low lighting conditions, your image quality isn’t going to be great, but that’s true even for a traditional peephole. The easy solution is to install a motion-sensitive light outside your front door. The difference between using a traditional peephole and this large flat image is stark enough.

The Brinno Peephole Viewer sells for about $80 (Amazon)-$90 (Smarthome), which I think is a bit steep, but really adds a huge heap of convenience, so it’s your call.

(Disclaimer: Gizmos for Geeks received a complimentary review copy of this product.)

If you have a good-sized collection of wine, WineM is a must-have gadget to take your cellar into the next generation. WineM allows you to place an RFID tag on each bottle of wine, creating a searchable database with multiple query options. You can search through your wine collection on a screen and find wines from certain regions, their grapes, or when they will be ready to drink.

When WineM has located a few bottles of wine that match your query, it will light up the LED behind the bottle so you can easily locate the bottles of wine.

In effect, your bottles of wine become networked to a portable screen and you can find out any information you need about them. The video below will make the concept clearer:

See here for more info. Unfortunately, this is still a prototype, awesome as it is. Sorry!

You know when you’re vacuuming the house and someone decides to trip over your cord and hurt themself? What we really need is a socket that easily detaches at that point so you don’t get caught out. Stanley Tools have got the answer – their Stanley Safety Socket.

A little bit how Apple’s magnetic cords plug into your Mac, simply tug on the cord and the socket breaks away, meaning no accidents and no stretched wires. You can have this safety for just $20.

We’ve been holding onto this gem for a long time now hoping that Stanley would release this widely, but we still can’t seem to find it on the Interwebs for sale. If you spot it somewhere, drop us a line so we can update the rest of our readers. Thanks!

Search this page for availability
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $19.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that sometimes we do get real mail – you know, those paper letters that end up in our mailboxes. If you want your mailbox to behave more like your email inbox though you don’t need to look much further. This wireless mail chime will let you know when you’ve got mail just like Mail or Outlook.

To set up the mail chime you stick a sensor on the inside of your mailbox door, and place the receiver in your house somewhere. When your mailbox door is opened, the box will beep and light up red, alerting you to the fact you have mail.

Under ideal conditions, the receiver should be able to work about 450 feet away from the mailbox, and could also be used to find out if someone is tampering with your mailbox or stealing your mail. You can alter the volume to your desired level.

Buy now!
Price: $45.94
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Household chores—they’re a drag. Unfortunately they have to be done. According to some statistics, 85 percent of women and 67 percent of men spend 2.6 hours and 2 hours respectively each day tidying up the house, cooking and mowing the lawn.

But these daily housework activities don’t have to consume your life. With the help of home robots, you can use those ‘extra’ hours in your day doing more enjoyable things and/or relaxing. We found 5 robots for the home under $2500 (most under $1000) that can help you out.

Robomow: For many, mowing the lawn is their least favorite chore, especially on sizzling hot summer days. But thanks to Robomow, maintaining your lawn has never been easier.

How does it work? Consumers are required to first outline their lawn with a special wire that is included in the Robomow kit. The barrier is set so that the automatic lawn mower is aware of its boundaries. Then with a simple press of a button, the robot clips overgrown grass in its perimeter. The grass is turned into extra fine mulch so clippings do not need to be collected. Installed crash sensors also enable the mower to avoid solid objects in its way. Price: $1400-$2300

Nitro Robotic Pool Cleaner: Do you have a huge swimming pool that you love taking dips in but absolutely hate cleaning it? No problem. The Nitro Pool Robot is designed to brush and scrub, vacuum and filters any sized and shaped pool. It even climbs walls, steps, cleans in and around corners and will even scrub around raised drains. Price: $500

iRobot Scooba: This robot designed by one of the leading home-robot manufactures in the U.S., iRobot, relieves consumers of performing one of the most dreaded indoor household chores: cleaning floors.

It’s relatively small, about 6.5 inches in diameter and 3.5 inches tall. This makes it not only easy for storage, but also enables it to get around in tight spaces around the toilet. The best part? It never uses dirty water. Price: from $300

Roomba: By far one of the most recognizable home-robots, this vacuum (also manufactured by iRobot) automatically cleans dirt and small foreign objects found on your home carpeted and wooden floors.

At the beginning of 2011, iRobot released a newer and improved Roomba that claims to have more sucking power and a longer-lasting battery. Price: from $100

Wow Wee Rovio: This last robot may not help keep your home clean, but it will undoubtedly help you protect it. This Wi-Fi enabled mobile web-cam is designed to work as a “patrol-dog” allowing you to monitor what’s going on in and out of your home all the way from the other side of the continent. Price: $250

Calling all cooking geeks! The time has come to put those handheld devices and laptops aside and get cooking. Even if you’ve never cooked a meal in your life it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun trying with these 7 unique kitchen gadgets inspired by all the things geeks love.

Star Trek Enterprise NCC-1701 Pizza Cutter

What geek doesn’t love a slice of pizza every now and then? With its authentic Star Trek Enterprise design and chrome plated finish, this pizza cutter will help geeks everywhere slice it up in style. Serve it up Scotty!

Smokey the Silencer

Funny to look at and substantial to hold, this one-of-a-kind remote control can silence your smoke detector when you burn your meal and your kitchen fills with smoke. This little gadget won’t improve your cooking, but it is the perfect way for any geek to make the most of a bad situation.

Tetris Ice Cube Molds

Perfect for game night with the guys, these Tetris ice cubes will make a real splash. Tint them with food coloring and stack them in your glass for some game inspired fun. The silicone molds are perfect for flavored butter or candies too.

R2-D2 Pepper Grinder

Oh no! One of the most heroic movie icons of all time has been taken to the dark side. This unique R2-D2 pepper grinder is a great conversation starter for your dinner table. Just fill him up and turn his head to add some extra flavor to any dish.

Space Invaders Inspired Cutting Board

Remember the classic video game Space Invaders? Well now, gamers everywhere can take a little piece of that beloved game into their kitchens with this super cool cutting board. Made of solid wood, this ultra-durable kitchen tool can withstand even your most cosmic slicing and dicing attack. (Unfortunately, you’ll have to beg the original designer to produce some more.)

UFO Shaped Juicer

What better way to start your morning than by squeezing yourself some fresh OJ using one of these UFO juicers. These little aliens are fun, funky and friendly and they’re perfect for a fresh pick-me-up after a late night at the office.

GEEK Apron

Protect your clothes from stains and spills with a ‘GEEK’ apron. This stylishly simple apron is a practical and fashionable must-have for any geek who loves to cook. Now you can let your geek pride show even in the kitchen.

PS> If you buy all these gadgets and then remembered that you don’t know a frakking thing about cooking, then do yourself a huge favor and buy the awesome book, Cooking for Geeks [review].

Today’s Gizmo is an updated version of an alarm system we featured almost exactly 4 years ago, the Web-enabled SecureLine. The new SecureLine 2 offers a more modern display and extra features.

The main control panel looks flashier, with a style that would fit in better with the modern home. It also supports home automation management, such as the control of your compatible lights or blinds.

With the web-enabled side of this you can control your home from anywhere in the world provided you have an internet connection and you can be alerted by a variety of communication media, including email, SMS or pre-recorded phone calls in the event of a security problem.

Partitioning is available with this model meaning that you can divide your house into 4 different areas, each with different settings and controls. The system is fully expandable so you can add to it as your needs grow.

Buy now!
Price: $269.98
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

TaHomA (Total Home Automation) by Somfy Systems is a great-looking total home automation device that can be used to control HA products around your home.

It was initially built to control your motorized shades, blinds and thermostats but has been expanded to also control your lighting and climate control devices using Somfy’s proprietary Z-Wave and Radio Technology.

The technology means that parts of your house can be controlled from anywhere in the world via computer. Some of the pre-programmed sequences allow for energy saving too, for example in summer the blinds can be closed to keep the house cool, and the thermostat can be set to automatically kick off when motion is detected. The reverse is true in the winter months.

The software for the device is intuitive and user friendly, with a real ‘Web 2.0′ feel to it. All settings can be accessed via any computer, or iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch. Pricing and availability is still hazy. A full list of what you can control is here.

If you’re looking into home automation you might want to consider Indigo 4.0 INSTEON-compatible software for Macs. The software works with INSTEON, X10 and their respective related devices and uses the existing wiring set-up in your home.

The list of features is impressive, with the ability to attach commands to an array of variables such as events being triggered by times, or by sunset or put it on a random schedule for when you’re on holiday. It will also allow for motion events such as switching lights off after x minutes of inactivity. If you remember us telling you about Light Show Master back in 2006(!), Indigo 4 has absorbed the features from this as Light Show Master is no longer available.

Remote access to the system is available online with a computer, or with your iPhone or iPod Touch. The iPhone/iPod app is free with the Indigo software and works seamlessly with it.

The major selling point of this software is that it was designed specifically for Macs, rather than Windows, although we suppose that’s also a con. Pricing is $180.

Buy now!
Price: $179.98
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Remember the ELS LED light bulb that could save you a ton of money? Well that’s hardly the only game in town when it comes to new super energy-saving lighting products.

Take the newly announced Philips AmbientLED 12.5W bulb which is not only a replacement for a traditional 60-watt incandescent, but is ENERGY STAR rated as well. A few more details for you lighting/energy buffs: 806 lumens, 2700K, a CRI of 80 and a six year warranty. The mere mortals amongst us should pay attention to the 6-yr warranty.

No word on availability, but you can already pick up Philips AmbientLED bulbs in different wattages.