Home Automation

Realistic Battery-Operated Candle is Safe and Cost-Effective

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous / By /

Battery operated candleLike candles, but are a bit wary of accidentally torching your room or worse your house? Check out these battery-operated candle that mimic a real candle with it’s triple-LED flickering light.

Operates on 2 AA batteries and works for 300+ hours. In addition to the safety factor, that’s should net you a 75% savings on real candles. But it gets better – you can set these on a sleep timer of 4, 6 or 8 hours. And/or set it to come on automatically at a certain time.

These are scented and come in a variety of sizes and scents – 3″ x 4″, 3″ x 6″ and 4″ x 8″; Amber Clove (pictured), Huckleberry and Spring Meadow.

Buy now!
Price: $20
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Kid’s Wireless Remote Controlled Light Switch Kit

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation / By /

Control Lights From a Distance with Wireless Remote Switch SetIf you have a small child that is still afraid of the dark, but you’re trying to get them used to sleeping in the dark, perhaps the way to do it is to give them control of the light switch, so once they feel comfortable they can turn it off on their own.

This remote control switch kit from Heath/Zenith does the trick and is reasonably priced. It works from up to 100 ft away and the remote itself glows in the dark so you can find it at night.

The remote works on a 12V A23 battery, and the kit is also available in an Adult version for you children-at-heart grown-ups!

Buy now!
Price: $36.67
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Child Locator alerts and finds your wandering kids

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous, Portable / By /

Brickhouse Security Child Locator

Got a small child? Worried that they may wander off (which they have a tendency to do)? Then take a look at BrickHouse Security’s Child Locator. Attach a small mini homing tag to your kid’s clothing or on their wrist and use the handheld locator to pinpoint their location.
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Perfect Portions Nutrition Scale breaks down food info like a packaged box

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation / By /

Perfect Portions Nutrition Scale

Here’s how this nutrition scale rocks – its display looks just like the side of any box you pick up at the supermarket with data on fat, carbs, protein, sodium, etc. For those of that do look at the sides of boxes, this is easy to understand.

Built into its thin little brain is a database of almost 2000 foods, and it can track your daily totals. It measures to sizes as small as 1oz or 1g.

While a similar scale we reviewed, the EatSmart, has some more power with foods in its database and more nutritional info, the Perfect Portions no-learning-curve-needed approach is a winner.

Buy now!
Price: $49.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Human Touch’s AcuTouch 9500 Massage Chair can be controlled with your iPhone

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous / By /

AcuTouch 9500 Massage ChairOne of our first gizmos we ever featured was the iJoy Robotic Massage Chair. Fast-forward a few years later and Human Touch and massage chairs have not stood still. In fact, take the AcuTouch 9500 Massage Chair, which interfaces with your iPhone or iPod Touch via Bluetooth.

Download the HT-Connect app and control the AcuTouch’s settings and programs from the palm of your hand.

But put aside the iPhone app for a second and consider how decked out this chair really is. It aims to simulate the hands and techniques of expert therapists and even includes dual-lumbar back heat, foot and calf massagers, and uses sensors to map the pressure points along your back.

You can choose from 8 15-min programs depending on how you’re feeling. It can remember your favorite positions, and you can adjust the intensity of the massage, and of course you can program in your very own customized massage routines.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $4999
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Xambox Anywhere digitizes, auto-files and makes your paperwork accessible from the Web

3 Comments / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Software / By /

XamboxXambox is an automatic paper filer for both your physical and digital docs. Just scan your paperwork and it automatically creates a PDF version along with a description of where you’re storing it (ex: box #10, blue folder, 6th page).
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Xambox Anywhere digitizes, auto-files and makes your paperwork accessible from the WebRead More »

Tocky, Clocky’s Brother, is an Alarm Clock that Runs Away

Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous / By /

Nanda Tocky Mobile Alarm Clock With MP3Remember Clocky, the alarm clock that goes off and rolls itself away and off your night table?! Well it has a new sibling, Tocky. Tocky is round and also jumps off your nightstand and rolls away too.

It has a few new features, such as the ability to upload MP3s or perhaps your own sounds. It has a touchscreen interface to let you set the time and alarm.

Tocky also comes in a bunch of cool colors.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $67.41
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Livescribe retools Pulse Smartpen, new version: Echo Smartpen

3 Comments / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Portable / By /

Livescribe Echo smartpenLivescribe has an updated version of its Pulse smartpen, the Echo. We reviewed the Pulse last year and absolutely loved it.  In case you

So what’s new with the Echo? The Echo is functionally very similar to the Pulse – you can use the same apps and notebooks, but it has some nice new upgrades. The most noticeable is probably the memory – the Echo comes in 4 and 8GB models.

The Echo has a micro-USB connector for charging and connecting to your computer, unlike the Pulse’s special cradle. It also uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can use your own headsets.

The Echo pen itself has a sleeker design than the Pulse and has a rubberized grip. The last major feature we’ll mention is the ability to password protect your audio sessions on the pen itself.

Buy now!
Price: 4GB: $164.99, 8GB: $199.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Pivot Power bends so all of your adapters get plugged in

2 Comments / Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation / By /

Quirky Pivot Power StripWhat a great concept. This power strip bends and pivots (hence the name) so that you can get all those weird-shaped power adapters plugged in without having to skip an outlet or 2.

PivotPower is another  community-developed product over at Quirky. It has 6 outlets, surge protection, and comes in versions for both American (110v) and European (240v) markets.

This is a much nicer version of the power strip liberator or the Power Squid.

Buy now!
Price: $25
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Review: Wet Circuits’ Water Resistant Power Strip

1 Comment / Home Automation, Reviews / By /

Wet Circuits Water Resistant Power StripWhen the folks at Wet Circuits contacted me about reviewing their water resistant power strips, I couldn’t refuse after seeing their demo videos – they were cute but powerful demonstrations. Their 4-outlet power strips can be practically submerged in water and still operate without electrocuting you in the process. Read on for the full review.

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Review: Wet Circuits’ Water Resistant Power StripRead More »

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