The Haven Lock Connect is the deadbolt that keeps you safe!

Over the past few months, I have written a few news stories about Bluetooth controlled door locks. Those locks either replace a part of an existing lock or install over an existing lock. In some cases, the installation can be a bit tricky and may require someone with a bit of experience to ensure that it is installed correctly. Since we live in a world where security should always be one of the priorities on our minds, I am always on the lookout for new and innovative security products.

The Haven Lock Connect is exactly such a device. It is installed on the floor at the base of your door, and according to the manufacturer, it is made of steel, nylon, and industrial strength polycarbonates, and is 10 times stronger than a deadbolt. It can be powered by either the included wall adapter or by batteries, and it can be controlled by the included key fob or a Smartphone app. Both the key fob and the app use Bluetooth to connect to the lock. Its features are similar to other Bluetooth locks, and it allows you to create temporary digital keys for visitors.

If you would like more information on the Haven Connect Lock, you can check it out on the Haven Lock website. You can also purchase one via their website for $349.

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The Haven Lock Connect is the deadbolt that keeps you safe! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 28, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Make sure each pet eats only her own food with these bowls

My friend has three cats, and they exhibit the alpha/beta/omega pack rankings.  The omega cat often loses her meal to the other cats, who gobble their food and then take hers.  If Leah had the SureFeed Microchip feeder for cats and small dogs, she could make sure that Pixel got to eat her own food.

You program the SureFeed feeder to open only for your pet’s unique microchip.  If your pet doesn’t have a chip, you can use an RFID collar tag (which the cat must then always wear) to program the feeder.  When the cat with the correct chip approaches, the feeder opens.  If that cat gets pushed away, the bowl closes and the greedy cat can’t steal the food.  This system is also ideal for animals eating a prescription diet.

Because the feeder is sealed, the food will stay fresher longer, and it can be used for wet or dry food.  The SureFeed feeder is made of plastic, holds 13.5 ounces, and is battery powered.  Batteries aren’t included, but each feeder comes with one RFID collar tag.

The SureFeed Feeder is $139.99 (list price is $149.99).  Order today at the Chewy website.

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Make sure each pet eats only her own food with these bowls originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 28, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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The BoomBottle MM wireless speaker pops tunes and bottle caps

Wireless speakers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The Scosche BoomBottle MM is no exception. The speaker has a unique bottle design, hence the name. However, that’s not the only thing that makes this wireless speaker unique. The speaker’s bottle design makes it perfect for placing into cup holders, water bottle cages, or even backpack water bottle compartments.

Features include 2 x 6W 45mm speakers, 2 x passive subwoofers, a built-in mic for hands-free calling and Dual Pairing for True Stereo Sound.

There’s also a rechargeable battery that will give you up to 12 hours of music playback on a single charge.

Its rugged design is IP67 rated for dust and water. And it’s fully submergible in up to 3 feet of water.

It does what?

But two things make the BoomBottle MM standout from other wireless speakers. You might be wondering what the MM in the name stands for, well, it stands for MagicMount. That’s because there are magnets built into both the top and bottom of the speaker. So you can magnetically mount your device to the BoomBottle MM while also magnetically mounting it to most metal surfaces. Perfect for mounting it onto a metal cooler or vehicle at the beach for example.

The other unique feature of this speaker is its built-in bottle opener. Yes, I said built-in bottle opener. Now you can pop the top off your favorite beverage while listening to your favorite tunes.

These unique features alone might make the BoomBottle MM the perfect summertime companion.

The Scosche BoomBottle MM wireless speaker sells for $129.99. Currently, its listed as out of stock on their website. But you can provide your email and get a notification when the speaker becomes available.

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The BoomBottle MM wireless speaker pops tunes and bottle caps originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 27, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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With the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker, you get the perfect dish every time!


If your household is anything like mine, then you are used to the chaos of kids running around and us as parents trying to maintain control, while simultaneously attending to several other tasks. In one specific scenario, my wife, who loves to cook healthy and who created her own recipes, is constantly running out of the kitchen to deal with the kids, or something else, and running back into the kitchen when she smells something beginning to burn. Being so distracted, she forgets that the dish is still cooking. I have seen this happen so many times, that I could not help but be intrigued when I came across a device that promises to take all of the chaos out of the cooking process. I immediately thought about my wife and how it could help.

The Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker claims to allow anyone to cook an amazing meal every time, without the perils for over-cooking or burning the food because of distractions, or maybe even because of lack of experience. According to the manufacturer, the way it works is, you clamp it to the side of a medium-sized pot filled with water, drop in a sealed bag or jar with the food inside of it, and then use the controls on the device or the app on your Android or IOS phone to control and monitor the food. It precisely maintains the desired temperature evenly throughout the contents of the pot. As stated in the description, “Precision Cooking enables you to produce results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method”. “Continuous temperature control provides reliable and consistent results every time. Perfect for vegetables, meat, fruit, cheese and much more”.

The app that connects via both WiFi and Bluetooth allows you to set the desired temperature and other functions, and even alerts you when the dish is “good to go”.

If you are interested in purchasing the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker, you can pick one up at Amazon for $128.96.

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With the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker, you get the perfect dish every time! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 27, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Sengled Element Classic Smart Bulb review

So you’re thinking about dipping into smart home technologies, but want to start simple. The Sengled Element Classic may be just the thing for you. It’s easy to use, sets up in minutes, and is a remarkably inexpensive solution to creating a smart lighting solution for your home. Let’s get illuminated!

What is it?

It’s a smart bulb lighting kit that you control from your smartphone, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant.

Hardware specs

Bulbs:

  • 9 W, 60 hz
  • 4.41” by 2.42” (standard socket size)
  • 800 lumens, 2700 K Color Temperature
  • Dimmable with app
  • 240 degree beam angle
  • 25,000 hour lifetime

Hub:

  • 3.07” by 1.02”
  • 2.4 GHz
  • 120 foot range
  • 64 bulb management capacity

What’s in the box?

You get two soft-white controllable bulbs, the Element wireless hub, and a power adaptor for the hub. There’s also a network cable to get connected for the setup process.

Design and features

The Sengled Element Classic Starter Kit gives you everything you need to get started with basic smart lighting. The Element hub, when set up on your network, pairs with the bulbs. The app on your smartphone controls the bulb functions. We’ll walk through the setup process and controls in the following sections.

Setup

Setup begins with downloading the “Sengled Element Home” app on your iOS or Android mobile device. You’ll need to create an account with Sengled to get started, after which the app will all you through the setup process.

The bulbs that come with my test sample (the “Classic”) are 2 soft-white LED bulbs. While a bit heavier than typical LED bulbs, they have the same form factor and fit in standard lamp sockets. Sengled offers 4-bulb packs, daylight bulbs, tunable daylight/soft bulbs, and multicolor bulbs on their website if you want to get fancy.

The setup process is very straightforward. You’ll plug the hub directly into your router with the Ethernet cable provided in the kit. Power it up, follow the instructions on the app to pair the hub to your network (you’ll need your network password), and the app will let you know when you’re all connected. You then go to the app to identify the locations of your bulbs in the house.

Once you have set up the connection, you can go fully wireless with the hub. Disconnect it from the router, find a discrete place to plug it in, and you’re good to go. It’s a tiny thing at 1” by 3”, so you can tuck it just about anywhere. See it hiding on one of our hallway display shelves below, behind the Flying Dutchman and Mickey…

It’s important to note that the Sengled setup has limited compatibility with third party hubs. I have the Deco mesh network set up in my house, and I could not plug the hub into one of the remote pods to set it up. Once I finished initial setup at the router, however, I switch back to my mesh network on my smartphone to manage things from the app. You can connect the Sengled system to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, but these configurations were not tested for this review. You should check out the Sengled web site to learn more about compatibility before purchasing.

Performance

As you set up the app, you’ll identify the room(s) where your bulbs are located. I put both mine in the living room for purposes of the test. Your home screen on the app now serves as your master control:

You can also manage your individual bulbs from the app, providing custom names for each bulb. You can expand your setup to include additional bulbs or hubs as well:

Once established, the app provides monitoring you can use to measure power performance across the setup or at the individual bulb level:

Once you’re in business, you can use the app to power on/off all the Sengled bulbs in a room, including dimmer functions. Here I’m turning everything on at once:

You can also control individual bulbs in the room. Tap on the “Bulbs” button, and you give each bulb a custom name for easy management. You can turn them on and off individually from this screen. Here I went in and turned off the bar lamp for purposes of demonstration:

You can also tap the name of the bulb to set individual dimming. The first pic below is both lights at 100% brightness, while the second shows the couch lamp being dimmed to about 20% brightness. (I should note that the couch lamp has a darker shade to begin with.)

In addition to on-demand control, you have the ability to schedule the lighting by room by tapping the “advanced” button. Here you can set a wake up time to turn the lights on, or two different scheduled events. This includes a start time, end time, brightness, and what days of the week to repeat the function. With two scheduled events available, this means that you could set multiple events for a single room if desired.

It’s important to note that the scheduled event either happens on the day it is set, or is repeated each day that you select in the interface. You cannot schedule for a specific date range, like a vacation.

According to Sengled a single hub can support 64 bulbs. I don’t imagine needing an additional hub unless you’re pushing the 120 foot range of the hub itself.

Setup with Alexa and Google Assistant also looks pretty simple but, as I mentioned, there’s limited compatibility with other hub networks. Advanced kits are offered that support Xfinity Home and Cox Homelife. Again, check the Sengled web site to make sure that the Sengled will work with your home setup.

What I like

  • Quick and easy to set up
  • Simple, clean app interface
  • Scheduling features

What needs to be improved

  • Limited compatibility with third party hubs
  • Would like to see a date-specific scheduling function for trips

Final thoughts

At $39.99, the Sengled LED Classic Smart Bulb system looks like a great deal to set up some basic smart lighting for your home. It’s easy to set up and use, and has options to expand beyond the basic kit for about $10 per additional bulb. There are a ton of options available in the form of advanced hubs and bulbs if you want to go beyond the basics. You’ll also want to check compatibility with existing systems if you’ve already started investing in smart home technologies. 

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: All Sengled products are available for purchase on Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Sengled.

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Sengled Element Classic Smart Bulb review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 27, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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