The Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock 2 features a fabric exterior with a 4-inch display on the front. This particular model includes a wireless charging base that you can set the clock on top of to provide power to the wireless Qi charging pad on the base. This way, you can wirelessly charge your smartphone beside the Smart Alarm Clock.

There is no camera on the device, providing a bit of peace of mind when placing it in the bedroom. There is a mute switch for the microphone located on the back of the unit.

The Qi charging base also has a simple LED night light that glows around the base of the alarm clock. This can be enabled by saying, “hey Google, turn on the night light.” 

Setup

The setup process is done through the Google Home app, so thankfully there is not yet another app to install specifically for this clock. In the Google Home app, you simply hit the + symbol to add a device, and your phone should automatically detect the Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock and walk you through the steps of joining it to your WiFi and customizing your music services. 

Oddly, although I’m a YouTube TV subscriber, it did not show up as one of the Live TV choices and the clock doesn’t allow me to play anything on its built-in screen. Sure, I wouldn’t sit down to watch a 2-hour movie on the tiny screen, but it would be nice to have the news on while getting ready in the morning.

At the end of the setup process, the Smart Alarm Clock installed a firmware update and was then ready to use.

Performance

While the screen is small, I’m able to clearly see the time from across the room. There are different clock faces available that you can swipe through on the device. I like the weather clock face as it shows a subtle image in the background of the current conditions along with the temperature. I also like the option to use a Google Photos album that cycles throughout the day. Oddly, the display settings cannot be accessed in the Google Home app and must be done through the small touch screen interface. Hopefully, this is corrected in the future.

The Smart Alarm Clock 2 also seems to do a good job of picking up my voice from across the room and it responds to queries very quickly, similar to a regular Google Nest Hub. 

The Smart Alarm Clock 2 doesn’t seem to support streaming video as it does not even show as an option to Chromecast video content from my phone. It works fine with my Pandora and my free Spotify account, but my requests to play content from Apple Music come back with a, “sorry, I can’t do that right now,” which is odd because Apple Music works fine on my Google Nest Hub. Hopefully, Lenovo can address this in a future update as well.

The sound quality is surprisingly good on this little device! Music comes through clear and doesn’t sound “tinny” as you would expect on a small speaker.

At night, the unit can be set to show a simple black and white clock face. The screen gets very dim making it ideal for a dark bedroom.

-14%

Lenovo - Smart Clock 2 with Wireless Charging Dock - Heather Grey

$76.99 $89.99

BUY NOW

Best Buy U.S

Last update was on: October 6, 2023 12:40 am

The post Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock 2 Review appeared first on Technically Well.

Setup

Prior to the Sync Box, my setup was fairly simple. I have a Samsung TV to which I connect an Apple TV 4K, a BluRay player, and a Nintendo Switch. I use a Harmony Hub to control all of the devices and it works great, so I didn’t want to add the complication of the HDMI switcher on the Sync Box since I was already happy with my setup.

Even if I wanted to use the Harmony Hub with the Sync Box, I’m not sure how I would. There is an IR receiver on the front of the Sync Box, but no remote included in the box, so I can’t use the Harmony Hub’s learning feature to learn the IR blasts for the Sync Box. Also, the Harmony Hub does not have the Sync Box in its database at this time (November 2019).

Therefore, I only connected the Apple TV 4K to the Sync Box, then connected the Sync Box to the TV. Setting up the Sync Box requires the download of a separate app (grrrr) called “Hue Sync”. The app guided me through connecting the Sync Box to WiFi and performing an oddly long firmware update (took about 15 minutes to complete).

When I powered up the Sync Box and set my TV to HDMI 1, all I saw was a flashing screen. I took the Sync Box out and connected the Apple TV directly to the TV, and everything was fine. I tested the Sync Box with several HDMI cables and different devices, and found the following: you must use the HDMI cable included in the box between the Sync Box and the TV. Why would that not explicitly state this somewhere in the app on in the instructions in the box?

Sadly, the included HDMI cable is very short, so I had to do a lot of rearrangement of my cable management to get the Sync Box in a suitable position.

Performance

OK, everything was finally connected properly and I setup the Sync Box to work with a 1st-gen Hue Lightstrip (which the app complained would not be “vivid” enough) on top of the TV, and to Play Bars on either side of the TV. I streamed some shows on the Apple TV and was, sadly, disappointed.

The delay between what happens on screen and when the lights change seems just a tad too long. Sure, it takes less than a second, but when watching a show where there is some back-and-forth scene changes (which is basically every show), the lights become more of a distraction than they should. It’s like seeing something out of the corner of your eye and looking to see what it is.

In some cases, it works really well. For example, when viewing a scene with a smooth pan across a landscape, the lights really help complement the scene. However, any fast changing colors on screen become too distracting. The system’s setup is the reason for the delay: the Philips Sync Box must connect via WiFi to your router, which then sends a signal to the Philips Hub, which then sends a wireless signal to your lights. Obviously, this would be prone to a small delay and I don’t believe this is something that can be fixed in a future firmware update.

Later, I moved the Sync Box to my Nintendo Switch and actually liked the experience more. I found the lights to be less of a distraction when playing and helped add to the gaming atmosphere. Therefore, I plan to use the Sync Box for gaming instead of movie and TV watching.

Things to Know Before Buying

• The Sync Box must connect to an external HDMI device, such as an Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, cable box, Bluray player, etc.
• The Sync Box will not work with your TV’s built-in apps since they play directly on your TV (not via HDMI)
• The Sync Box will not work with channels you receive from an antenna since they play directly on your TV
• The HDMI cord included with the Sync Box must connect between the Sync Box and the TV
• There is an IR receiver on the front of the Sync Box, but as far as I know, it is not usable (as of November 2019). That means no integration with Harmony nor other universal remotes.

Philips - Hue Play HDMI Sync Box - Black

$249.99

BUY NOW

Best Buy U.S

Last update was on: October 6, 2023 1:12 am

Works with up to 10 existing Hue White and Color Ambiance bulbs and fixtures; transition of up to 4 HDMI devices; comes with HDMI cable

The post Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box appeared first on Technically Well.

Arlo Pro 3 – Wire-Free Security 2 Camera System |...

$449.99

October 6, 2023 12:35 am

× Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com (Amazon.in, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, etc) at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

2 new from $341.05

9 used from $128.99

BUY NOW

Arlo - Pro 3 2-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free 2K HDR Security...

$499.99

BUY NOW

Setup

Having setup several cameras with my Arlo Pro 2 system, I thought setting up the newly released Arlo Pro 3 version of the system would be a breeze. However, I hit some snags on my initial attempts.

I was able to add the new base station to my existing Arlo account with no problem. Adding the cameras were another story. After getting over my disappointment that Arlo hadn’t already paired the cameras that were included with the base station, I began the pairing process by following the instructions in the app.

It took several attempts and several presses of the hidden “Sync” button on each camera until the base station detected them. I thought that the battle might be over at this point, but I was quickly proved wrong when prompted to “name” each camera. After typing in a name for the first camera, the app simply hung for about 2 minutes and then took me to a generic error message directing me to “try again later”.

OK, surely the next camera will work, right? Well, I couldn’t easily go back and pick the other camera… I had to restart the whole syncing process. After another song and dance of opening the camera and pressing the sync button, I still ended up at the same error message. OK, maybe if I unplug the base station and plug it back in it will work? Nope!

At this point, I had to go to work, but I tried again that evening and, finally, the cameras were able to be paired to the base station and named. I didn’t do anything differently, so I’m stumped as to why it didn’t work in the first place. I’ll chalk it up to a temporary server issue and the fact that the system has just been released.

Design

I like that Arlo has relocated the charging port to the bottom of the camera. If you’ve mounted the cameras, this allows you to use a portable power bank to charge the cameras without needing to take them down (in previous versions of the camera, the charging port was on the back next to the mounting point, so you needed to take the cameras down to access the charging input).

Unfortunately, the charging port is no longer Micro USB and is instead a proprietary wireless contact. While this is more convenient, you do need to be careful to not lose the special charging cord.

While Arlo advises not to touch the lens of the camera, but accessing the battery and the sync button basically begs you to touch the lens: instead of flipping open, the camera now pops forward and you need to grab the front of the camera and pull the inner portion out.

Image Quality

I am impressed by the wider angle view available on the Pro 3 camera. I can now capture almost my entire back yard with one camera. There is a bit of “fish eye” distortion, but I’m still able to make out what is going on outside.

When motion is detected, the camera can now zoom in and follow the movement, which makes watching recordings a little more convenient. When motion is detected, the camera can activate it’s built-in LED spotlight to help improve night vision and hopefully scare off whatever is tripping the motion.

The upgrade 2K video looks great and captures a lot of detail! To achieve the full 2K video quality, your camera will need to be relatively close the base station for the strongest signal; otherwise, the stream will be downgraded to a lower resolution

Features

Siren: Each Arlo Pro 3 camera has it’s own built-in siren that can be activated from the app or it can automatically be set to off when motion is detected.

Built-in Spotlight: As noted earlier, you can set the built-in LED spotlight to turn on whenever motion is detected at night. It can also be configured to flash or pulsate to hopefully confuse and scare off intruders.

Color Night Vision: This seems a little gimmicky, as it requires that the LED spotlight be turned on to see color “at night”. In fact, if you turn off the spotlight LED option in the app, the Color Night Vision option also disables. So, in reality, you’re not seeing color with the infrared lights only (that view is still in black and light).

Gripes

Flash required on web interface: Believe it or not, I don’t always want to watch the fancy new 2K resolution in a tiny little box in the app (or get the timing just right to tap the “full screen” icon before it disappears). At work, I like to check the cameras on my computer. Unfortunately, live viewing your cameras on the My Arlo website still requires the Flash player (you know, the player that Adobe announced they were discontinuing years ago). It’s 2019! Most browsers either don’t include Flash or disable it by default, requiring you to jump through hoops to enable it again. I hope Arlo makes their site HTML 5 compatible soon!

No HomeKit at launch: I was very happy when Arlo upgraded the Arlo and Arlo 2 cameras to be HomeKit compatible. However, the Arlo 3 cameras do not have HomeKit functionality at this time, although I hear this is something that is coming in the near future.

The post Arlo Pro 3 Review appeared first on Technically Well.

Setup

The setup process was fairly easy thanks to the app-based guidance and handy Quick Start guide included in the box.

1. First, unpack the vacuum and remove the foam inserts that protect the protect during shipping.
2. Attach the two side brushes to the bottom. They just push into the pins.
3. There’s a “master” power switch on the bottom. Flip it to “On”.
4. Attach the power cord to the charging base and place it on the floor against a wall. Optimally, there should be about 3 feet of free space to each side.
5. Plug in the charging base and place the RoboVac on the base, making sure the charging pins line up. It should be charged fully before use.
6. If you want to control the RoboVac with the app or Alexa, download the “EufyHome” app and create an account (or login if you already have one).
7. Tap the + icon in the top right corner and select RoboVac. The app will walk you through the rest of the process.

Performance

The Eufy RoboVac cleans in a very familiar pattern as the iRobot Roomba. They both kind of just “ping pong” around the room and what seems like a random pattern, but somehow manage to clean most of the room. There is no “smart mapping” feature in either vacuum. Advantage: Neither

The Eufy RoboVac 30C does have an extra advantage of an additional side brush, where the iRobot Roomba 690 only has one. This helps the RoboVac pull in some additional debris without directly rolling over top of it. Advantage: Eufy RoboVac 30C

Both vacuums boost suction power when they encounter dirty spots, but the Eufy RoboVac and be manually set to always use a boosted suction mode (at the cost of battery life). Advantage: Eufy RoboVac 30C

Both vacuums have a “Quick Cleaning” or “Spot Cleaning” mode where the vacuum will concentrate on one area. However, the Eufy RoboVac also has two additional modes not found on the Roomba: “Edge Cleaning” (where the RoboVac only cleans along the walls) and “Manual Cleaning” (where you can manually move the RoboVac around with the d-pad on the remote, like a video game). Advantage: Eufy RoboVac 30C

Check out my “Skittles test” in my review video below. After 30 minutes of vacuuming, the Eufy missed some Skittles around the chairs and along the wall. By comparison, the Roomba seemed to maneuver around the furniture a little better to collect more Skittles, but still missed the Skittles along the wall.

At first I thought the Roomba was the winner, until the next day when the Eufy RoboVac vacuumed another room that was just vacuumed the day before by the Roomba. After checking the dust bin, the Eufy seemed to collect a good bit of dirt that the Roomba left behind. So the Eufy may not be the best about maneuvering around furniture, but its suction power is no joke.

Features

Does your vacuum really need WiFi? Initially, I would have said no. However, both the Eufy and the iRobot allow the vacuum to be started via the app when you’re not home. This solves the problem of forgetting to start the vacuum before leaving for work. Advantage: Neither

The iRobot Roomba take the app functionality a step further and sends a push notification when the Roomba gets stuck or has any other issue. The Eufy app doesn’t appear to do this. Advantage: iRobot Roomba 690

Both the iRobot Roomba and Eufy RoboVac have Amazon Alexa integration, allowing you to start the vacuum with a voice command, “Alexa, ask Roomba/Robovac to start cleaning.” Do I use this feature very often? Well, only to impress friends when they’re over. But I usually need to empty the dust bin before starting the vacuum, so it’s easier to just hit the start button on the vacuum while I’m pushing the dust bin back in. Advantage: Neither

Maintenance

Both the Eufy RoboVac and iRobot Roomba have very similar maintenance tasks and schedules:

• After each use: Clean the dust bin
• Weekly: Vacuum off the filters, clean off the brushes
• Monthly: Wipe of the sensors and charging pins.

Therefore, I wouldn’t say one is easier to take care of than the other. Advantage: Neither

When something goes wrong, such as a stuck wheel, the iRobot Roomba actually plays a voice recording describing the problem and how to correct it. Additionally, the app gets updated with the information as well. The Eufy RoboVac just beeps at you, in a series of beep codes, which requires flipping it over to read what the beeps mean (the folks at Eufy were nice enough to include a “legend” of the beep codes on the bottom of the unit). Advantage: iRobot Roomba 690

Which should you choose?

No robotic vacuum is perfect and all of them will miss a spot or two (or three). However, with a robotic vacuum, you can it multiple times a week (or daily!), so any missed spots will eventually get cleaned.

The Roomba’s cleaning algorithms may be a little more matured than the Eufy’s (relatively new) RoboVac line of vacuums, but if you’re running the robotic vacuum often, you likely won’t notice a difference in how clean your floors are. I typically run the Roomba downstairs and the RoboVac upstairs and really don’t notice a difference in the cleaning ability. Therefore, if you can score a deal on either one, you likely won’t be disappointed either way.

eufy [BoostIQ RoboVac 30C, Wi-Fi, Upgraded, Super-Thin, 1500Pa Strong Suction, 13 ft Boundary...

eufy [BoostIQ RoboVac 30C, Wi-Fi, Upgraded, Super-Thin, 1500Pa Strong Suction, 13 ft Boundary...

$259.99

$299.99

in stock

3 new from $224.99

2 used from $179.99

as of October 11, 2023 2:32 pm

BUY NOW

Amazon.com

Last updated on October 11, 2023 2:32 pm

The post Eufy RoboVac 30C Review appeared first on Technically Well.

While we attempt to refresh the prices on a regular basis, please visit the merchant’s website directly for the latest price.

Google - Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant

$55.00

BUY NOW

Setup

The setup process was very easy.

1. Install the smart bulb and plug in the Google Home Mini in the same room. Since the bulb is Bluetooth-based, it will only work a short distance from the Google Home Mini.
2. Download the Google Home app to your iPhone, iPad  or Android device. Upon opening the app, I saw a banner asking me to “Setup 1 Device”.
3. The app walked me through setting up the Google Home Mini first.
4. The app then automatically asked me if I wanted to setup the bulb.  It quickly found the bulb and added it to my Google Home profile.

Performance

I have a mix of both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home at my house and I find that the Google Home is a little better at understanding my voice commands and a little quicker at responding.

I was pleasantly surprised at the sound performance of the Home Mini’s speaker.  It’s definitely better than the Amazon Echo (2nd generation) with decent minds and highs and a tiny bit of bass.  Listening to Pandora was definitely doable and sounded a lot better than my iPhone’s built-in speakers.

The Google Home Mini also is fast to control the included GE smart bulb, responding almost instantly to commands to turn the bulb on and off and also to adjust the brightness.  However, the bulb connects via Bluetooth, which limits its range compared to other wireless connections such as WiFi, Zwave and Zigbee.  Therefore, the Google Home Mini and the GE smart bulb should be located in the same room (or the next room over) to avoid communications issues.

Features

The GE smart bulb does what most smart bulbs do: turns on and off and dims from 0% to 100%.  Unfortunately, the bulb only outputs a “daylight” color temperature only and cannot change to a warmer (or colder) white color.  It is also not a multi-color bulb, so you can’t change it to “red,” for example.

The Google Home Mini can do a lot more than control this one bulb.  It can give you the weather, check your calendar, control other smart home products (like Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings), play Pandora and much more.

Unfortunately, the bulb included with this kit will not work with an Amazon Echo and it requires a separate hub to work with Alexa.

Value

Whether you’re just getting started with a smart home or you’re converting from Alexa to Google Home (or maybe maintaining both?), this starter pack is a quick and easy way to jump into home automation.  The setup process is very easy thanks to the Google Home app’s awareness of the Google Home Mini and smart bulb combo and the app easily walks you through the process of getting both up and running.

Google - Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant

Google - Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant

$55.00

BUY NOW

Bestbuy.com

The post Google Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant Review appeared first on Technically Well.

The Eufy Smart Plug has a compact, square design.  It’s meant to occupy the top outlet to prevent blocking the bottom outlet on a standard home electrical outlet.  It is somewhat wide so if you’re using it on a power strip, it will likely block the outlet next to it.  I found it to be significantly smaller than the Samsung SmartThing’s smart outlet.

There is a single button on the Eufy Smart Plug.  One press of the button will turn the connected device on or off, allowing you to manually control the device (for times when your home internet service is down, for example).  Holding down the button for 5 seconds will reset the smart plug, which then requires using the EufyHome app to configure it again.

A single LED also show the status of the device.  A solid blue LED indicates it is connected to WiFi and working.  If the blue LED flashes, the smart plug is attempting to connect to WiFi (or your internet connection may be down).  If the LED flashes between blue and amber, the smart plug is in setup mode and you’ll need to use the EufyHome app to configure it.

Setup

Configuring the Eufy Smart Plug is straightforward.

1. Download the EufyHome app for your iPhone or Android device.  Open the app and create or login to your EufyHome account.
2. Plug in the smart plug where you would like it and connect your lamp (or other device) to it.
3. Open the EufyHome app and tap the “+” icon in the top corner.  The app will then guide you through the process and connect the smart plug to your home WiFi.

The plug is limited to 2.4Ghz networks.  Your router may broadcast two different networks, so you’ll want to be sure to pick the regular 2.4Ghz (and not the 5Ghz network) during setup process.

If you want to use the Eufy Smart Plug with Alexa, there is some additional steps involved.

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone (you likely already have this app installed from when you initially configured your Alexa device).
2. Tap the menu icon (the icon with three lines) in the top corner and select “Skills”.
3. Search for a skill named “EufyHome”.  Tap “enable” when you find it.
4. You’ll be prompted to enter your EufyHome name and password (the same login you use for the EufyHome app).
5. You’ll then need to have Alexa discover the device by saying, “Alexa, find my devices” or by using the “Add Device” feature under the “Smart Home” menu item in the Alexa app.
6. When speaking to Alexa, you’ll use the name you gave the device in the EufyHome app (for example, “Alexa, turn on the Living Room light.”). If you want to change the name of the smart plug, use the EufyHome app to rename it.  If you rename it, you’ll likely need to ask, “Alexa, find my devices” again so Alexa can learn the new name of the smart plug.

If you want to use the Eufy Smart Plug with Google Assistant:

1. Open the “Google Assistant” app and go to “Settings”.
2. Look for “Home Control” and tap it.
3. Scroll to “EufyHome” and tap it.
4. You’ll be prompted to enter your EufyHome name and password (the same login you use for the EufyHome app).
5. You can then say something like, “OK, Google, turn on the Living Room light.”

Features

The Eufy Smart Plug works with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home.  It does not work with Samsung SmartThings or Apple HomeKit at this time.

The EufyHome app allows you to do some additional functions with the Eufy Smart Plug

• View power usage: You can see how much power a device is using.  There is also a built-in calculator to estimate the cost of using the device.
• Set up a schedule: You can set up a lamp to come on every day at 6:00pm, for example.
• Count down: You can have the device turn off after so many minutes/hours.
• Away mode: The Eufy Smart Plug will randomly turn on and off when “Away mode” is enabled to simulate someone being home.

The Eufy Smart Plug’s label shows that the output is rated at 120V at 15 amps (1800 watts), so it should be able to control larger appliances. Please note that there is no UL-certification label on this plug. This does not necessarily mean that the smart plug is not safe, but it has not been through the UL-certification process yet.

[No Hub Required]Eufy Smart Plug, Works With Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, Wi-Fi Enabled,...

[No Hub Required]Eufy Smart Plug, Works With Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, Wi-Fi Enabled,...

out of stock

3 new from $48.82

as of October 6, 2023 1:05 am

BUY NOW

Amazon.com

Last updated on October 6, 2023 1:05 am

The post Eufy Smart Plug Review appeared first on Technically Well.