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Introduce connected lighting to your home with this low-cost Philips Hue starter kit

For Christmas 2013, I received a Philips Hue starter kit with three color-changing LED bulbs and a bridge to connect them to my home’s WiFi network.  I was thrilled by the thought of having lots of light “recipes” to change the color and mood of my living room.  But I found that I really didn’t use the color changing ability of the Hue bulbs.  I always set them to white and used the Hue app to turn my lights on and off.  Over the years, I’ve replaced almost every bulb in my house with Hue bulbs, and every one that I’ve added has been the less expensive white-only bulbs once they became available.  That starter kit with 3 bulbs I got was about $200 at the time.  The new Philips Hue White Smart Bulb Starter Kit has four bulbs and a bridge for under $90.

The White Smart Bulb Starter Kit has four A19 bulbs (fit standard sockets) and the second-gen bridge that’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, and Google Assistant.  You can create lighting scenes and schedules with the Hue app or with IFTTT, and you can use the app to control your lights real-time from anywhere with an internet connection.

Once you have the Hue bridge, you can expand your system with up to fifty bulbs (I’m up to 40 bulbs) and 12 accessories like the Hue Tap on/off controllers and motion sensors (I’m up to 7 of the Taps).  Soon your entire house can have automated lighting.

The Philips Hue White Smart Bulb Starter Kit with four bulbs and a bridge is $87.99 at Amazon.

EasyAcc has your Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ covered

Samsung officially announced their next best selling phones in Barcelona, Spain at the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC) this past Sunday. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ have a few updates to the Samsung Galaxy S8 series of phones from last year, but one thing hasn’t changed. The new Galaxy phones are expensive and most people will want to protect them from everyday wear and tear. The easiest way to do that is with a case, and the folks at EasyAcc have you covered. Actually, they will have your new Galaxy phone covered with four different cases for the S9 and S9+ phones. And if you order one before 4/30/18, you can save 30% off their already low prices by using the coupon code: 6Y3GWH95. So head over to Amazon to check them out.

The Claw: A teeny tiny tool for your EDC

I love teeny tiny things so tiny EDC products like The Claw are just my thing. This tiny little tool by Malboro and Kane measures 0.7 inches long (18mm) and is made of stainless steel (comes in silver or gold colors) or titanium. It looks just like a small bottle opener and it functions as one too. But it also functions a flat head screwdriver, a flint striker, a battery removal tool, and a pry tool for things like key rings, staples, and paint cans. In addition, it can be used to open shipping boxes.

The Claw is a Kickstarter project which has already been funded before the fundraising deadline (March 8, 2018), but you can still get a stainless steel version for a pledge of $15 or the titanium version for a pledge of $20 via their Kickstarter campaign. And if you want more than one, there are pledges available for that as well. The Claw is estimated to ship in May 2018. Please visit their Kickstarter page for more info.

Cell phone battery dead? When all else fails, the USB candle charger is here!

If you are like me, and often find that your cell phone battery charge is low, there are so many USB battery packs in every shape and size to solve that dilemma. But have you ever been in this situation with no way to recharge your phone or battery pack? I have, and I found it to be the most frustrating experience with no alternative but to head out of the house in the freezing New York temperatures, and huddle in my car to get enough charge to keep my power-hungry apps going on my iPhone.

Enter the Candle Charger by Stower! This is an ingeniously designed device that allows you to charge your cell phone when conventional electricity is not an option. It is the first of its kind charger that uses the candle flame from a small fuel canister and water to create an electrical charge. And, if you run out of fuel canisters, a regular candle of similar size can work.

While it is miniature in size, it provides charging power anywhere, whether during a blackout or outdoors on a camping trip and maybe in some extreme places when the cell phone is dead and emergency help is needed. It even has an advantage over solar chargers, since they need sunlight to recharge. It will recharge the standard cell phone twice per one fuel canister.

The Candle Charger by Stower is available at Amazon for $99.99

This BESTEK surge protector has a built-in wireless charger

This BESTEK surge protector packs a lot of power into a small footprint.  Instead of the long-strip form that surge protectors usually take, this 1500joules protector is a vertical column.  Along the sides you’ll find eight power sockets and six USB charging ports.  And the cherry on top is the wireless charger on the top of the column.

The sockets all have safety doors to keep kids safe from inserting something in them.  Each row of sockets has a power switch to turn them off when they aren’t needed.  BESTEK says the USB ports “can intelligently detect your devices to deliver its safest maximum charge speed, up to 2.4A per port and 40W/8A total“.  And on top of the column is a 5V/1A wireless charger that works with all Qi-compatible devices.

The BESTEK 8-Outlet Surge Protector and 40W 6-Port USB Charging Dock Station with wireless charger is $49.99 at Amazon.