Review: BMW i3, My First Drive in an Electric Car
After technology, cars have always been my other passion. So you’d think the electric car, sitting at the junction of both my interests would be…
Reviews
Indigo: Home Automation on the Mac – Part 3 – IP Garage Door Control
Adding IP control to your garage doors is a great little home automation project for a wet weekend and it really shows the power and…
Useful Gadget of the Week: TL-WR702N Nano Wi-Fi Router
Here’s a tiny, useful and inexpensive device that we added to our kit earlier this year. At around £15 the TP-Link TL-WR702N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano Router…
Useful Gadget of the Week: PortaPow 2.5A Quad USB Wall Charger
Our latest ‘gadget’ purchases seem to be all about keeping mobile devices juiced up, and this one’s no different. The £12 PortaPow 2.5A Quad USB Wall…
Roomie Remote: Your iPhone & iPad Smart Home Controller
We’ve been trying out the Roomie Remote app for a while now, comparing it to our dedicated home cinema remote control. Roomie goes way beyond…
Energenie LAN Power Management System – 4 IP Controlled Mains Sockets
Submission by Tim Hawes : So it was a forum post right here on Automated Home that first alerted me to this unit. It’s a 6-way…
HDMI over Cat5 – A Home HDBaseT Extender Review
Automated Home regular Tim Hawes recently moved his telly out if range of a standard HDMI cable. This created the opportunity to try out one of…
Indigo: Home Automation on the Mac – Part 1
14 years after moving into the Automated Home we’re still using those X10 DIN rail modules in the loft. There’s still no status available and…
New Trent iCarrier Heavy Duty Dual USB Charger Review
We all have gadgets that seemingly need endless charging and the nature of our favourite mobile devices means that they are often away from a…
Zipato ZipaBox Wireless Home Automation Controller Mega Review
The £170 ZipaBox from little known Croatian company Zipato challenges VeraLite’s Micasa Verde on price, yet promises a feature set on a par with high-end…
The Plex Media Server and the Mac mini DIY Fusion Drive
Yes yes, I know you’ve heard it a million times before but we love Plex! One of the best new features over recent months, PlexSync…
Netatmo Personal Weather Station for iOS and Android – Review
Netatmo is a weather station and air quality monitor for your iPhone, iPad or Android mobile device. It comprises of two cylindrical sensor units, one…
SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap Review
Around three years ago we reviewed the PetPorte SmartFlap, thanks to an urgent need to implement some sort of feline door policy. At the time…
Video: Leo Laporte Reviews Belkin WeMo Home Automation Modules
Here’s a great little 6 minute video from our favourite tech podcaster Leo Laporte. His TWiT network show ‘Before You Buy’ reviews new technology and Leo puts…
HomeSeer Hometroller SE-Pro Home Automation Controller Review
Long time contributor to Automated Home, Ken Watt documents his recent move from the world of HomeVision and X10 to a new Z-Wave home automation system…
Sonos Sub Review – A Wireless Woofer Wonder
A few months ago we got our hands on the latest product to come out of the Sonos stable and we’ve been listening to it…
Fibaro 3 in 1 Z-Wave Door / Window Sensor Review
Fibaro Door/Window Sensor (FGK101-107) First off, we must don our festive hats to Fibaro and congratulate them for winning the Best Gadget of the Year…
Affordable Klarstein Cleanfriend Robot Vacuum Cleaner Reviewed
Vacuuming droids have been one of the first domestic robots to catch on. The Klarstein’s Cleanfriend will be familiar to anyone that’s seen a Roomba in the…
Useful Gadget of the Week: Kingston DataTraveler HyperX USB 3.0 Flash Drive
For the last few years, usually around Christmas time, I’ve treated myself to a new USB flash drive. Doubling the capacity each time, I started…
Fibaro Z-Wave Home Center 2 Mega Review
The fine folks at Fibaro and Vesternet were kind enough to lend us a sizeable home automation system based around Fibaro’s premium Home Center 2…