Home and Kitchen - The Gadgeteer

Blink adds home security products to their growing line up of monitoring gear

Only one month after announcing their new wireless outdoor camera, Blink is expanding further; this time into the home security products and services space. Later this week at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, the company will be showcasing their Blink Seecurity™ systems and monthly service plans which will be available this year in […]

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Netatmo Presence Outdoor Security Camera review

By Kathleen Chapman / December 26, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, security camera / 26 Comments

After reviewing the D-link HD WiFi Camera DCS-935L, the Zetta Z16 HD Wide Angle Intelligent Security Camcorder, and the DoorBird Video Doorbell, the overly sensitive motion detectors on the cameras of each device drove me crazy. Many security cameras also have subscription fees to store your recordings which I also find frustrating. I still wanted

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The java is strong with this Star Wars R2-D2 Coffee Press from ThinkGeek

By Andy Jacobs / December 22, 2016 / News / Coffee, Home and Kitchen, Star Wars / Leave a Comment

In the Star Wars stories, the faithful little astromech droid R2-D2 had many gadgets to help his friends out of numerous bad situations. Brought to you by our friends at ThinkGeek, here’s an R2-D2 feature we never saw in the films: a Coffee Press. Yes, Star Wars fans, R2-D2 can help infuse you with your daily

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BenQ WiT e-Reading LED desk lamp review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 21, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, LED lamp / 3 Comments

Good lighting is very important if you do a lot of reading or other activities like crafting. Overhead lights can help, but a good desk lamp can make all the difference. BenQ recently sent me their WiT e-Reading LED desk lamp to review and I think it’s the best desk lamp I’ve ever used. Let

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Samsung SmartCam PT camera review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 20, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, security camera / 7 Comments

Back in February, I reviewed the Samsung SmartCam HD Plus and found it to be a good alternative to other popular home security cameras that are currently on the market and charge a monthly or yearly fee to use their cloud service. Samsung doesn’t charge extra to use their camera. They recently sent me their SmartCam

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APC Back-UPS BE850M2 review

By Andy Chen / December 18, 2016 / Reviews / Computer Gear, External power supply, Home and Kitchen / 18 Comments

Despite the power-hungry gadget count in my home, I don’t have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). I just never got around to it. Power outages aren’t very common where I live. However, my son has been doing a lot of writing for homework on the computer, and it would be a shame to lose his

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Revogi Smart LED lights review

By Joyce Parker / December 17, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, LED lighting / 2 Comments

The Revogi Smart Color Lightstrip, Smart Color Lightstrip (USB version), Delite 2 Smart LED Lightbulb, Smart Candle Light and the Smart Meter Plug; I received all 5 of these products for review at the same time. It was a gadget reviewer’s dream early Christmas!

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it bed by Sleep Number review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 14, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, Sleep / 18 Comments

In my almost 20 years of reviewing products, this has to be the most and the largest boxes that I’ve ever received for one review. What is it you ask? It’s the “it bed” by Sleep Number. But Julie, you review gadgets, how is a bed a gadget? The it bed is no ordinary bed,

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FOODsniffer review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 8, 2016 / Reviews / Cooking, Food, Home and Kitchen / 2 Comments

Have you ever done the “does this smell funny” dance when you’re preparing to fix dinner? What’s that you ask? It’s when you take a package of raw meat from the fridge, open it and sniff it. But instead of smelling nothing which means it’s fresh and ready to cook, you smell “something”. At that

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Ring Stick Up Cam review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 5, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, security camera / 2 Comments

Back in July, I posted a review of the Ring Smart Video Doorbell, a battery powered wireless doorbell with a built-in camera and two-way audio. I liked the product because it brought new functionality to the push button doorbell and I was impressed by the ease of installation and the overall quality of the hardware.

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Blink announces new battery-powered outdoor camera

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 5, 2016 / News / Home and Kitchen, security camera / 1 Comment

Earlier this spring I reviewed the Blink Wire-Free HD Home Monitoring system and since then they’ve gone on to sell over 250,000 of their battery powered security cameras. Today Blink is announcing the addition of a new camera. The Blink XT is an outdoor version of their battery powered camera which features a two-year battery

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SnapPower releases SafeLight outlet cover night light

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 1, 2016 / News / Home and Kitchen, LED lighting / 5 Comments

Two years ago I reviewed the SnapPower SnapRays Guidelight outlet cover night light and am still using this product throughout my home. SnapPower has recently released a new version of this outlet cover night light that has been designed with child safety in mind. It’s the SafeLight night light outlet cover and it features sliding

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Ilumi LED smartbulbs review

By Liz Rodriguez / November 29, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, LED lighting / 1 Comment

The market is pretty full of “smart” LED bulbs these days. I love the concept of these since you can adjust your indoor lighting to any mood you feel at the moment. Here’s another one to add to the list, the Ilumi Smartbulb. I got the chance to view a couple of these bulbs so

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As seen on TV: Red Copper cookware review

By Julie Strietelmeier / November 28, 2016 / Reviews / Cooking, Home and Kitchen / 24 Comments

I’ve been thinking of replacing the hodge podge collection of pans in my kitchen for quite a while, but when I check the prices of nicer cookware, I change my mind because it’s tough to talk myself into paying $100 or more for one frying pan. Lucky for me, I was approached to try out

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Smart bottle openers are now a thing

By Julie Strietelmeier / November 25, 2016 / News / Beverage, Home and Kitchen / Leave a Comment

The Launch BOx bottle opener will alert your friends the next time you pop the top off a cold one. The one-handed AAA battery-powered wood and steel bottle opener is “smart” because it pairs with an app on your smartphone to send a “cheers” to a group of your friends when you open a bottle.

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IQAir HealthPro Series air purifier review

By Cheri Henderson / November 22, 2016 / Reviews / Air Filtration, Health and fitness, Home and Kitchen / 6 Comments

Before I begin my review of the IQAir HealthPro Plus air purifier, I must disclose a few things. First, I am asthmatic. Most of the time I’m fine, but my symptoms can go from 0 to 60 at warp speed. Second, we live in Florida, home of perpetual pollen. Third, we have two large dogs

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Battle funky smells with the Aera IoT diffuser

By Julie Strietelmeier / November 20, 2016 / News / Diffuser, Home and Kitchen / Leave a Comment

“Does it smell weird in here to you?” I’m sure you’ve heard or even uttered that question more than once (a week). Funky smells from cooking and other activities have a way of wafting through the home and settling in spots. So we spray air fresheners, light incense, candles, etc to mask the odors. Is

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Elgato Eve Motion presence sensor puts you in control of home automation

By Julie Strietelmeier / November 19, 2016 / News / Home and Kitchen, Home Automation / Leave a Comment

The Evo Motion sensor from Elgato is a wireless motion sensor with HomeKit technology for Apple devices. This sensor can detect a user’s presence or absence in a room to enable or disable power outlets, heating and air conditioning systems, lights and more without needing to open an app or voice commands with Siri or

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Color Muse color matching scanner review

By Julie Strietelmeier / November 16, 2016 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen / 5 Comments

There are gadgets that you use every day and there are gadgets that you only need to use once in awhile. Unless you’re a painter or a designer, the Color Muse color matching scanner probably fits in the “only need once in awhile” category of gadgets. That said, it’s fun and easy to use. Let’s

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Vimtag Outdoor Security Camera and CloudBox review

By Smythe Richbourg / November 14, 2016 / Reviews / Camera gear, Home and Kitchen, Home Security / Leave a Comment

Security cameras are nothing new. Even internet connectable cameras are pretty easy to find at this point. What can a new company bring to the table? Vimtag has put together a handsome weatherproof cloud-based IP camera that can be set up by most anyone. It offers 2-way voice, compatibility with a private cloud server, and

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