Ring, maker of the innovative smart home doorbell, has added a wire-free outdoor Stick Up Cam to the home security system. The weather-resistant camera works with or without the Ring doorbell and installs in minutes. After mounting it and downloading the Ring app (iOS and Android) follow the app for an easy setup.
You can choose among five zones in a 180-degree radius to record video and set the sensitivity for motion alerts. The camera has two-way audio so you can talk from any location without your viewing subject knowing if you are in the house. It has night vision and all your recording can be saved with a cloud recording subscription, which is as low as $30 annually.
Inside the camera is a rechargeable 5,200 mAh lithium-ion battery for 6-12 months of use; to avoid charging they have a perfect solution with the Ring Solar Panel. The panel (7.50-by-6.00-by-1.25-inches) connects to the Stick Up Cam with a microUSB cable and needs only a few hours of direct sunlight to keep the camera up and running.
Both the camera and color panel include a mounting bracket, tools and installation hardware.
https://ring.com $199 for the Stick Up Cam, $49 for the Ring Solar Panel
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The FireBoard cloud connected smart thermometer was described to me by a company spokesperson as a fitness tracker for cooking and after using it, I see why.
While your food is cooking on a grill a probe is inserted into the meat, which is connected to the smart thermometer. It then connects to the cloud with Wi-Fi or directly with Bluetooth to broadcast the food temperature and cooking status.
After you make the wireless connection you can view the temperature on a smartphone or the web. Alerts can be set up so you know when your target temperature is reached, which I found to be incredibly handy.
Flipboard is also designed to work with Amazon’s smart home voice assistant, Alexa (sold separately). When you have Flipboard connected to your steak, just ask Alexa “what is my Flipboard temperature?” and you’ll find out instantly, without having to walk to the grill or view the app.
It reads temperatures from minus 58 to 662 degrees Fahrenheit with a tested accuracy of 0.7 F. It also measures ambient room temperatures and has six channels to measure up to six foods simultaneously if you purchase extra probes.
All this lets you walk away from the grill, while still knowing when it will need attention to turn the meat or remove it for dinner time.
Flipboard saves all your cooking data in the thermometer and also in the Flipboard cloud for future reference. An internal rechargeable battery will last for 24 hours before a charge is needed.
An ambient probe and a food probe is included with the thermometer, additional probes are $15 each.
www.fireboard.com $189
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The Cous wireless remote control electrical smart home outlet system works without needing a smartphone, app or the internet to control up to five electrical outlets on a single remote.
Each system includes five outlets and two remotes to control lights and small appliances for up to a 100-foot distance, which I even tested successfully from the other side of my house through walls and closed doors.
Just insert the outlet plugs into any AC wall outlet; it has a pass-through plug for whatever you want to control. Each outlet is pre-numbered so you just press the corresponding number on the remote to turn it on or off.
The remote is powered by the included 12V battery and is preprogramed so all you do is plug it in, it’s that easy.
http://tudiaproducts.com/Cous $34.74 for 5 plugs and 2 remotes
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Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman
