Gadgetory

welcome to top five I'm your host Aya's Akhtar smart home gadgets are exploding but some of us don't live in places where it's advisable to just start removing thermostats or replacing locks some of us like me live in apartments or others in dorms where we'd like our homes to be as smart as any other home so these are the top five smart home gadgets for nomads well not nomads but people want to take their smart tech with them let's get to it at number five is a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector yeah I'm talking about the nest protect I know what you're thinking I as I'm not hardwiring that well listen pal you don't have to there's a battery-powered version that costs the same as the wired version also if you're thinking long term it could be a great companion to a nest thermostat in the future coming in at number four remote outlets using something like the Belkin Wemo switch can turn dumb devices into smart ones the device hooks into your home network and works with your phone so you can remotely control things with an on/off switch if you're curious about applications for such a thing think about lamps or fans if you think bigger you can actually have things turn on and off based on weather or other events by using IFFT that stands for if this then that if you have no idea what I'm talking about search for CNET IFTTT you're gonna find some awesome stuff number three is a smart air conditioner if you live in a part of the world where it gets hot or humid or both an air conditioner is indispensable why not get smart with it check out the quirky plus GE Aero smart a/c it syncs to your home network and pairs with your phone it can use geofencing to find out when you're near to turn on the air conditioning as need be and if you're on a budget the app will also give you suggestions on how to run the unit differently to save money at number two is a camera it's always good to have an eye on your place at my place I've got a drop camp since the device no longer exists why not take a look at a successor the nest cam it's incredibly easy to set up doesn't require any hard wiring the wide viewing angle makes it really easy to see plenty and its small size makes it easy to tuck on a shelf before we get to number one let's take a detour and see what you guys thought on I asked what your favorite smart home gadgets were Brad mentioned he loves his August smart locks Patrick liked his wiving scale which is an interesting pick for a smart home gadget I mean it's not portable so it's a home thing connects to the internet so it's smart so it is a smart home gadget anyway let's get to number one at number one our colored LED light bulbs I know this seems like a strange choice but let me walk you through an idea so many places are painted white stark white painting a wall requires permission from the landlord or somebody else alternatively you could just paint the walls and repaint when you leave or you could get some colored LED bulbs now take a look the Philips iris table lamp its function is to bathe an area in whatever color you want I've got two near my TV and it really adds the experience plus it makes those white walls not appear so boring why paint you could bay the wall in light what about robot vacuums like the neato or the Roomba I didn't include them on this list because they're more about home automation than smart gadgets am i splitting hairs about devices that specialize in things like picking up pet hairs let me know in the comments section or on twitter i'm a daya's for more top 5s like this visit top-5 cnet.com thanks for watching and I'll see you next time