BROWSING THE INTERNET OF THINGS
Do we really need toothbrushes that can connect to our smartphones? Companies are finding ways to link all kinds of devices to the Internet, even if it doesn’t always make sense,
THE GOOD
Nest Learning Thermostat: The prototype for successful IoT products, the Nest adapts to its users’ patterns and allows for remote control via smartphone. Easy to set up and use and selling for $249, it checks all the boxes for a good connected device. Nest Cam: Formerly Dropcam before being bought and rebranded by Google, the $219 Nest Cam is an easy-to-use home monitoring device that beams live video to the user’s smartphone. There’s also an optional recording function where, for a monthly fee, everything the camera sees is accessible for up to 10 or 30 days, depending on the package chosen. Sonos speakers: Sonos has been the name in multi-room audio for years now, but the company’s speakers have typically required a central, modem-like hub to communicate with the user’s mobile device. Sonos smartly eliminated the need for a hub last year by building direct connectivity into its speakers. WeMo switches: Belkin’s line of smart outlets gets a few things right. They’re inexpensive, generally selling for less than $99, and they’re versatile. The switch plugs into an outlet and connects to a Wi-Fi network. Then, whatever is plugged into it — be it a lamp, stereo, TV, space heater or whatever — can be turned on and off via smartphone. Parrot Flower Power: When it comes to gardening or even just maintaining a household plant, most people have no idea what to do. Parrot’s $79 Flower Power, a plastic dongle disguised to look like a twig that you stick next to your plants, solves that with sensors that beam soil moisture, fertilizer levels, temperature and sunlight intensity information to your mobile device.
THE BAD
Oral-B Bluetooth Toothbrush: Oral-B’s SmartSeries toothbrush is the antithesis of what a good connected device should be. At $149 (U.S.), it’s expensive and of questionable usefulness.
It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and the app awards videogame-like trophies for brushing correctly. The toothbrush also buzzes if you’re pressing too hard. Most of the functions duplicate common sense. HAPIfork Bluetooth smart fork: The HAPIfork received much attention at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, but for all the wrong reasons. The $147 fork — you read that correctly — connects to a mobile device via Bluetooth and tracks how quickly its user is eating. If you go too fast, it buzzes. Again, it’s an expensive and unnecessarily complicated way to replicate something a parent can easily teach a child. Smart TVs: Many “smart” TVs that have hit the market so far have been anything but intelligent, with wonky software and terrible interfaces.
Third-party connected devices such as Apple TV and Roku boxes have provided much better experiences, obviating the need for many televisions to be connected in the first place. Smartwatches: Still struggling to find their “killer apps,” smartwatches have failed to catch on for a number of reasons. Unlike their analog cousins, they need frequent recharging and they don’t do many things that smartphones don’t already do. Samsung’s tweeting refrigerator: Back in 2011, Samsung was selling a connected refrigerator that ran apps, including Twitter and Pandora, on an eight-inch LCD screen housed on one of its doors. Needless to say, it didn’t catch on.