There’s a lot of buzz about the Internet of Things and its potential. This buzz is no surprise since it’s expected to bring in $3.2 trillion for the next two years alone. It also translates into the rise of new technology that helps us do things that were once impossible with the likes of smart home products, connected vernacular, health and wellness, fashion, and more. Online shopping seems to be on a constant rise and according to a report by research firm Forrester, “By 2020, approximately 40% of online commerce sales will be made by voice or speech, compared to approximately 5% in 2016.” The team at GlobalWebIndex has also issued a report predicting that by 2020 the Internet will bring in $200 billion per annum in revenue.
1.) Roku: The streaming device that turns your television into a wireless digital video recorder that can be accessed through a variety of streaming apps.
Roku recently launched their latest 4k streaming player. This streaming player supports High Dynamic Range and HDR 10. When compared to previous streaming players, the newest player from the Roku family has a faster processor which allows it to handle HDR content more easily. Another advantage is that the new player comes with an enhanced remote with a headphone jack for private listening.
2.) NEST: A fully-automated home thermostat system that’s controlled through a smartphone or tablet.
The Nest thermostat can be controlled using an app, and it looks and feels more like an Apple product than something that’s intended for a home. The bigger difference is that you can control the temperature in individual rooms. I like that you can set your preferred temperature for any room you like. It’s not expensive at $229, and it’s one of the smarter thermostats on the market. I don’t have one of these yet, but it’s on my wish list.
3.) Google Home Mini: A voice-activated speaker with Google Assistant built-in.
With Home Mini, you can ask Google for information such as weather, sports scores, flight status, calendars, and directions. Plus, you can use Home Mini to control compatible smart home devices like your Philips Hue light bulb. Google Home Mini is perfect for a small to the middling living room and does the trick if you have a larger TV, and maybe one that needs to be hooked up to a soundbar. We’d be surprised if you didn’t find something for Home Mini to do this holiday season. You could even ask Home Mini to make your favorite holiday music selection, or a movie or TV show recommendation, or maybe music to put on for the holiday party.
4.) Amazon Echo Dot: A portable speaker with Alexa built-in.
Amazon Echo Dot is a portable speaker with Alexa built-in. Plug it in, and get the full Amazon Alexa experience wherever you are. It’s small enough to fit in any room and built to deliver all the deep, rich bass and clarity you expect from a traditional Amazon Echo speaker. With a built-in Alexa, it is also a powerful voice assistant that lets you search the web, play music, make calls, send and receive messages, set timers and alarms, ask for information, and more. Just ask!
You can also use Alexa in combination with other Alexa devices to create a sort of ‘boomerang’ mode. That is, you can use Alexa and Echo devices like the Echo Dot, Echo Show, or the Echo Spot to control something like your security system. Just ask Alexa to “Alexa, unlock the back door.” She will say something like “Touch your phone like you normally do to unlock it.”
5.) Sonos One: A high-performance wireless speaker that can be controlled through voice commands.
Sonos One is a high-performance wireless speaker that can be controlled through voice commands. The $300 speaker is available now on Amazon. Samsung is one of the early adopters of the device, and it expects to sell about 4 million units in the coming years, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has been developing the One since 2010. It can store up to 30 hours of music, which can be streamed wirelessly to compatible Android phones and tablets.