I am going to start with the smart plug. This product has been awesome! The first time I used it was to scare the kids with a light that went off and on when Kjell and I were not home, but after that it has become practical in that we can turn a light on from a different city when we are away so that it looks like we are home, or when we get home late at night from somewhere I can touch a button on my phone and we will walk into a house with a light on. I see us using this product with our Christmas tree moving forward because we really enjoy having those lights on until we go to bed, now I will be able to shut it off from our bedroom! My only complaint about this product is- we just bought an electrical outlet that has two USB ports- well this smart outlet is a bit bulky so it can not be plugged in at the same time we are charging any of our devices. It would be fine if it were a normal outlet but that is not where I wanted to plug it in! (Price $10)
Moving on to the camera. This was a lot of fun, and the kids still have no idea that we have it. Well they may have some idea as we have used it to spy on them, and caught a candy thief hasn't quite figured out how we caught them yet. This has a motion detector on it that I set up notifications to get sent to my phone and then I can see the movement. It also has sound so you can hear the stuff going on and there is a way for the person on the app to communicate with the people being videoed. Once our kids actually know about this part of the feature it will be nice because they don't have a phone so when we leave there is minimal communication. My issue with this- and I sent an email that went unanswered to the company and then looked for a phone number to call so I could have it resolved before posting this review is that for the few times I use it, if it doesn't detect something for over an hour it seems to just get tired and not work anymore. I kind of thought the point of it was to use it when a person is not home and sometimes that may mean no movement for a few hours- I just feel it should still have the motion sensor working and the camera should work as well. (Priced $25)
The lightbulb- I am going to be honest with you. We haven't figured out a room that we want a dimmer on a light yet. I have seen several other people post about this product and they show how it works it's just like a dimmer switch that is controlled with your phone. I think if I found the perfect spot for it it would be a great product but right now I just don't know where to put it! (Priced $13)
Overall I like these products. I have been comparing them in prices to comparable brands and these seem to be a lot more affordable than some of the other options out there. But I do feel that because they are a bit cheaper you lose some of the bells and whistles (this is mainly just my feelings about the camera not sure what else needs to be added to the lightbulb and the smart outlet. These products are all available at Walmart so not hard to get your hands on!
Thank you Merkury Innovations and Tryazon for allowing me the opportunity to try these products for free in exchange for my review. All the words stated here are my own.
