We are in an era where we treat gadgets as real persons. Nowadays, people introduce you to the electronic devices that they own. No kidding but this is true. Believe me when I say that the adjective “Smart” is used more often to refer a non living thing today than a living human being. We may even fail to mention the kids in our family, a close friend or a pet dog as “Smart” but when it comes to these modern day devices we always refer them as a Smart TV, a Smart Watch or a Smart assistant and they prove it right. Technology is everywhere around us. It has penetrated so much that everything around us has a touch of it. Home automation systems are coming up. People are constantly looking for improvement in various aspects like security, ease of access, comfort and  flexibility in their environment and smart devices are providing all of these. The concept of smart classrooms are becoming popular in schools and colleges. The Government is building smart cities by providing connectivity to every place that we live or travel. With all these advancements happening, here are few smart devices that can ease your daily tasks. 

Smart Wearables:

Smart wearable like a smart watch or a fitness band is great gadget to have. This is a must own product if you are a fitness enthusiast because it helps you track your daily fitness routine. It has a lot of useful features like tracking your daily steps, calories burnt and it also monitors your sleep cycle and heartbeat rate. And if you pair it with your smart phone, it gives you call and message notifications right on that small LED display. How cool is that! This comes very handy when you are driving a vehicle or in a meeting or in any place where you can’t access your phone quickly. Alternatively you can use the smart watch to locate your misplaced phone. Now you can avoid those mini heart attacks that you get while searching for your phone. One thing that many first time users may think of these watches is the battery backup. Nothing to worry on that because some of these devices are very consistent and can go up to 15 days on a single charge. So there is no overhead of carrying the charger everywhere you go. 

Smart Speakers:

Smart speakers are devices that can respond to your voice commands. These are interactive devices. And of all the smart devices that have come up in the market today, this is by far the best one. The stuff that this can do will make you go “Wow” for sure. It can fetch you information on any topic related to any field from the internet. It can play music, say facts and jokes, set a timer or an alarm for you, read daily news, say you the weather report and what not. It has a set of inbuilt games which is both fun and educational that it can play with one or more players. It can narrate you how to cook your favorite dish step by step. And Guess what! It can be controlled by multiple users too. It can differentiate voice commands from different users and respond you appropriately. It would be wrong if you underestimate the capability of this device. It takes hands on experience to understand how smart this device can be put to use. And if you can connect this to other smart devices like smart lights or your TV with a chromecast, you can control those devices as well by voice commands. Ask it to play some video from Netflix or turn off the lights when you go to sleep and it will do it. All it requires is a network and a power source. Unlike smart phones, these speakers are voice interactive. So it is not necessary that you should hold the device in your hand. It can be placed anywhere in your living room, kitchen or bed room and it can still detect what you say. Considering the world of technology that we all are living in today, I would recommend this as a useful addition to your homes.

Are you in a double mind whether or not to gift a smart phone to your kid? Try a smart speaker instead and I assure you that you will not regret it.

I got my hands on Google home mini recently. Here is a very small video clip of me trying to have some fun with it. Not the usual straight forward stuff but I was trying to explore what more it can do and I must admit it was really cool. 😀 I was trying this at around 11pm when my dad walked in my room wondering whom I was talking to all alone. I had to explain him about the device after which he took and examined it. I even showed him some samples. 😀

Smart Cameras and Smart Lights:

Cameras are on high demand recently and it is important to have it installed in places which are vulnerable to threats. And today, smart camera is preferred more than the traditional CCTV camera in most places. These devices are connected over network like WiFi or mobile network and can be easily controlled by your smart phones or voice. Most of them have support to be controlled from voice assistants like the Google home or Alexa. Along with providing continuous HD surveillance of your home or office, it also has motion detection and night vision capabilities and can send you short video clips or images on detecting any abnormal movements.

Smart lights are attractive and cool. They are a good deal if you are building a smart home or at least having a smart room in your home or office. They are energy efficient and it consumes a lot lesser power than your normal lights. These lights are also compatible with voice assistants and can be turned on/off using voice commands or from your smart phones. It has multi color and mood light features.

These devices can be used either as stand alone or combines with other smart devices that can turn your normal home into a smart home. A lot of these devices are cost effective and it is packed with a bundle of useful features. So if you are planning to buy a new watch, a speaker or a light, ask if it is smart and make a smart decision.

This article is a part of #GetFitWithFlipkart and Start a
#SmartHomeRevolution initiative by Flipkart.