Category: Smart Home

Google Inc launched a Wi-Fi router on Tuesday, the latest move in the company’s efforts to get ready for the connected home and draw more users to its services. The cylinder-shaped router, named OnHub, can be pre-ordered for $199.99 at online retailers including the Google Store, Amazon.com Inc and Walmart.com. The router comes with in-built antennas that will scan the airwaves to spot the fastest connection, Google said in a blog post. With the router, users will be able to prioritize a device so that they can get the fastest…

There are tons of high-tech gadgets to make homes “smarter” today, but homeowners are not asking for them as much as you might think. Full home automation is not high on the average house hunter’s priority list. That may be about to change. The trouble so far has been the technology itself: Consumers aren’t sure how to integrate it into existing home systems. Plain and simple, they don’t know how to use it. “It’s been a lot of fragmentation in the industry, a lot of confusion among consumers as to…

In 2015, the total value of reported stolen property was more than $12 billion, according to the FBI. A well-placed camera can help identify intruders and potentially get your stuff back after a robbery. If your security cameras are placed in the wrong areas, though, you may not be as protected as you think. Here are a few tips for putting your security cameras where they will do the best work. The optimal places to install security cameras The front door, back door and first-floor windows are the most common…