A Holiday Shopper's Guide to Smart Home Gadgets

Dec 11, 2014

Christmas is on the horizon. If you haven’t started buying holiday gifts for your loved ones yet, then you’d better get a move on. Market forecasters predict that the gifting of electronic devices and other tech gadgets will be more pronounced this year than ever before. Recent advances make tablets like Google’s Nexus 9 and the Apple iPad Air and e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle Voyage more attractive than ever. Drones are taking the personal consumer world by storm. And smart tech gadgets designed for use in home automation are growing increasingly popular. A few tech gadgets and other smart home-related gifts you may want to consider giving your tech-obsessed love one include:

Mr. Coffee Smart Coffeemaker

If you have a loved one who needs to start every morning with a cup of joe, his or her mornings can be made even better with the gift of a smart coffeemaker from you. Mr. Coffee has released an economical model that can be programmed and monitored from your smartphone. Get a pot brewing the second you wake up without leaving your bed, and schedule another pot to heat up when you are leaving the office if you’ve got to put in some work in the evening. There are several other smart coffeemakers on the market this Christmas as well. Shop around for one that suits the recipient and your budget.

Smart Sprinkler System

Most Phoenix home and office lawns do not get much help from Mother Nature. But when they do, it is always nice to save a bit of water. Optimize your lawn irrigation schedule and avoid overwatering or underwatering your lawn with a smart sprinkler system. With a system like the Rachio Iro Smart sprinkler system, you do not even have to modify your sprinkler schedule yourself. Input data such as your zip code, grass species, and soil type, and the system will track rainfall and humidity and adjust watering levels accordingly.

Myo Armband

What the Nintendo Wii did for video games, the Myo Gesture Control Armband is doing for smart home control. When the recipient of this gift wears his Bluetooth-connected armband, he can control his or her smart home devices without touching a button or making a sound. The Myo armband works by reading the myoelectrical pulses that signal a move you are about to make.

Amazon Echo Speakers

As a corporate entity, Amazon may incite mixed emotions. But where technological gadgets are concerned, the company has done it again with its Echo speakers. Like a pet parrot, they will absorb what you say. Unlike a parrot, their memory is not selective and they only talk when you want them to. Amazon Echo speakers can memorize shopping lists, alert you to news you care about, and control automated systems and devices in your smart home at your command. They are an ideal smart home companion, but as of yet are only available by invitation (you can request an invitation on Amazon.com).

SkyBell

A welcome fixture to the security-minded, technologically interested, and while-at-home lazy, the SkyBell is very likely the doorbell of the future. Its technology allows you to see, hear, and talk to whomever shows up at your door, even when you are not home. The SkyBell, a posterchild for the merits of Indiegogo and other crowdfunding websites, is compatible with iOS and Android-powered devices.

If the person for whom you are shopping does not yet have any type of smart home technology installed, consider giving him or her the gift of a basic smart home system setup. Using Control4 controller technology, Integrated IO® proudly serves residents thoughout the Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale area. Our home automation solutions are compatible with just about any smart gadgets and devices on the market, and they love what they do. For a free consultation with one of our Fountain Hills based home automation solutions experts, call us at (480) 836-1446. Alternatively, you can read about one our services at Integrated IO®Installation.com.

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