Last year, I made my first official Internet of Things purchase when I bought a couple of Nest thermostats, which do a great job of keeping my energy bills low in an 85-year-old house. I also purchased a few WeMo light switches from Belkin and I love the new flexibility I have for my outdoor lights. I am looking to add to my IOT stable in 2015. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until some undetermined time to get (via pre-order) everything that I want to have today.
This is probably one of the more nonessential items on my list but it seems like it has a ton of potential. The Amazon Echo is essentially a physical device that is always on and is controlled by your voice. Ask it questions, play music, add items to a to-do list, etc. Since the device is powered by Amazon’s cloud service, the Echo is always getting smarter as Amazon adds new functionality.
Lockitron Bolt
To keep things simple, this bolt it is a smart door lock. I can unlock my door from anywhere and I can create temporary keys for house guests. I am not sure how much of an impact a smart lock will have in my life but the convenience factor is enough for me to spend $99.
LUNA
This purchase is the one I am actually the most excited about. (Probably because it’s February in Georgia and it will be 30 degrees tonight.) The LUNA smart mattress is billed as “the world’s first mattress cover that intelligently warms your bed, tracks sleep, and makes your bed smart.”
I was sold at automatic bed warming and Nest integration.