GADGET SPECIAL..... Mesh Routers and more PART III

Mesh Routers and  more PART III

PLUGS & SENSORS

Just like wireless lights, you can control appliances like TV sets, air conditioners and geysers wirelessly from your smartphone. The Oakter Basic Smart Home Kit (₹5,800) comprises a Hub, a 6-Amp, as well as a 16-Amp plug point (aka “Leaf”). The Hub acts as the wireless link between your handset and the plug points and can be controlled by up to five users. You can assign schedules to the points, to manage power consumption better even when you are not around. You can buy more plugs and accessories like a smart thermostat to change your AC’s cooling levels. You also get a 25A Oakter Leaf (₹2,340), which is meant for heavy-duty appliances like large ACs and freezers. This requires minor rewiring, so it should be handled by a trained technician.

Then there is the Pert Multi Sensor (₹8,300), which comprises an IR transceiver that functions as a universal remote control, a temperature sensor to adjust your AC’s cooling, a luminosity sensor to detect brightness levels and a gas sensor that will immediately alert you of leakage. All these functions are accessible via its mobile app and work over a Wi-Fi network.

Ashutosh Desai and Savio D’Souza

TOI 21JUL18

SMART SPEAKERS

Amazon and Google have a range of speakers that are powered by internet-enabled virtual assistants. Amazon has the Echo Dot (₹2,999), Amazon Echo (₹7,999), Echo Spot (₹12,999) and Echo Plus (₹14,999), while Google has its Home Mini (₹4,499) and Home (₹9,999).

All you need is a single app on your phone, and you can connect multiple devices from the same ecosystem—one in each room—to your Wi-Fi mesh network.

You can use voice commands to get the Echo and Home devices to stream songs from the internet; both brands can be queried for news, weather forecasts, and answers to general knowledge questions. The virtual assistants can be used to set alarms, appointments, reminders, and create shopping and to-do lists.

The Echo Dot and the Home Mini are tiny devices that are best paired with Bluetooth speakers for a fuller sound. The Amazon Echo, Echo Plus and the Google Home are a great alternative to home Bluetooth speakers, so you might want to give these a serious dekko.

The Echo Spot is the only gadget that comes with a 2.5-inch screen. You can use this to display clock faces, photos, weather forecasts, videos from Amazon Prime, NDTV, Times Now, ESPN Cricinfo and Aaj Tak; check out your calendar and more. The Spot can also be used for video calls with folk who have the Alexa app installed or a compatible Echo device, and is best suited for your bedside table.

Ashutosh Desai and Savio D’Souza

TOI 21JUL18

GADGET SPECIAL WI-FI CAMS

There are many reasons for installing Wi-Fi cameras at home: To watch over kids; even for security and surveillance reasons. Here, take a look at the Godrej Eve PT (₹7,999). Plug this device into a power source, and you can connect it to your router wirelessly.

Using the Eve app on your smartphone that’s connected to the same wireless network, you can configure multiple cameras. The Eve PT comes with a microSD slot to store the footage.

With its app, you can remotely control the camera to tilt upto 90 degrees and pan from 0 to 355 degrees. A twoway speaker and mic set-up on the device even lets you speak into your phone and be heard in your home/office through the Eve PT. Over and above, it is also equipped with a motion sensor that alerts your phone the second it detects movement on your premises.

The TP-Link NC450 (₹5,500) has similar features: Motion and sound detection, a microSD slot, and twoway audio communication; you can pan up to 360 degrees and tilt 150 degrees, all of which can be accessed and controlled via the tpCamera app.

Ashutosh Desai and Savio D’Souza

TOI 21JUL18