Google Home

The Samsung SmartThings hub and smartphone app. Image: Digitized House.

Connected Home / Featured Articles / Product Round-up / Security Cameras / Smart Displays / Smart Lighting / Smart Speakers / Smart Thermostats

7 Best Automation Systems to Turn Your House into a Smart Home

Are you ready to bring your home into the 21st century? With automation products like lights, outlets, security systems, lamps, humidity sensors, and more, you can control your entire home from the palm of your hand. But managing dozens of products can get tricky. That's…

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18 July 2019

Amazon Alexa (Echo), Apple Siri (HomePod), and Google Assistant (Google Home Mini) are all vying for a place in your smart home. Images: Amazon, Apple, and Digitized House.

Connected Home / Featured Articles / How-To / Smart Displays / Smart Speakers

How to Choose the Perfect Smart Home Assistant for You

If you plan to turn your house into a smart home, choosing a digital voice assistant is one of the first steps. On the surface, it seems like a simple decision—pick the one you’re familiar with. But the choice of a home assistant shapes the…

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16 July 2019

The ConnectSense SmartOutlet2 features an over-outlet design. Image: Digitized House.

Connected Home / Featured Articles / Review / Smart Plugs

ConnectSense Smart Outlet2 Review

Smart outlets have become de riguer in modern homes, as they offer an express route to automating non-smart devices such as lamps, fans, and myriad other appliances. Moreover, their rapid adoption can largely be attributed to the integration of voice assistants, enabling the use of…

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8 July 2019

In Irvine, California, KB Home is selling homes with smart tech trickle-down from its KB Home ProjeKt concept house, revealed at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. Image: KB Home.

Architecture / Connected Home / Energy Conservation / Featured Articles / Healthy Home / News / Real Estate / Smart Speakers / Sustainable Home

KB Home Trickles Down Smart Tech from Concept Home to Production Builds

Shall we call it KB Homenomics? The national home builder has just trickled down smart health, wellness, and automation technology from its futuristic KB Home ProjeKt concept home to production builds in California. Located in the Genoa at Orchard Hills community in Irvine, the new…

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21 May 2019

With the new Google Nest brand, the Works with Nest program is slated to shut down. Image: Google Nest.

Connected Home / Featured Articles / News / Smart Displays / Smart Speakers

Fallout Mounts from Impending Works with Nest Sunsetting

Following the announcement by Google and Nest of the impending sunset of the Works with Nest third-party integration program on August 31 2019, major players in the connected home sphere are beginning to advise their customers to plan for the inevitable disconnect of these services.…

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10 May 2019

From the new Google Nest brand, the Nest Hub Max. Image: Google Nest.

Connected Home / Featured Articles / News / Smart Displays / Smart Speakers

Goodbye, Google Home and Nest. Hello, Google Nest.

In a move to streamline the connected home accessory lines of Alphabet Inc. sister companies Google and Nest, the new Google Nest brand has been hatched as an umbrella for all Google Home and Nest Labs products. Announced at the 2019 Google I/O developer conference…

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7 May 2019

Big Ass Fans Haiku L fan. Image: Digitized House.

Connected Home / Energy Conservation / How-To / Review / Smart Displays / Smart Speakers

Hey Google, Control My Haiku Fan

Haiku Home fans and lights just got smarter. These high-end products from the home division of Big Ass Fans have been uplifted by new integrations with Google Assistant and the Google Home ecosystem. We just tried out the new voice-activation features with the Haiku L…

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7 April 2019

March Madness bliss: Listen to your favorite game on Google Home speakers. Image: Digitized House Media.

Audio Gear / Connected Home / Entertainment / How-To / Smart Displays / Smart Speakers

How to Use Google Assistant for March Madness Listening

As March Madness rolls into its final days, the drudgery of work can get in the way. But seriously, what's more important than NCAA hoops this time of the year, particularly when your alma mater is still in the mix? Solve that dilemma by asking…

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29 March 2019

KB Home ProjeKt. Image: Builder Magazine.

Architecture / Connected Home / Energy Conservation / Healthy Home / Smart Appliances / Smart Speakers / Solar Photovoltaics / Water Conservation

Smart and Healthy Features Abound in KB Home ProjeKt: Part 2

As we wrote in Part 1 of our coverage of the KB Home ProjeKt, this Las Vegas-area concept home endeavors to deliver connected home and holistic design features aimed at the long-term health and wellness of its eventual occupants.  In this segment, we will take…

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10 March 2019

Amazon Echo vs. Google Home Mini Speakers. Image: Digitized House Media.

Connected Home / Smart Speakers

Amazon Alexa vs. Google Assistant for Smart Home Control

The soaring popularity of virtual assistants has set the stage for competition. With contributions from Amazon and Google, consumers across the country have to choose between two of the tech industry's leading brands. Neck and neck, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and each deliver value…

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27 February 2019

Image: KB Home.

Architecture / Connected Home / Energy Conservation / Green Building / Healthy Home / Home Design / Smart Speakers / Window Coverings

Smart and Healthy Features Abound in KB Home ProjeKt: Part 1

First revealed at CES 2019 in January and carrying over into the 2019 NAHB International Builders' Show (IBS) in February, the KB Home ProjeKt near Las Vegas strives to deliver on connected home and design features to focus on the long-term health and wellness of…

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18 February 2019

Just in time for Halloween: August Home brings new Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT skills to its smart locks and doorbells. Image: August Home.

Connected Home / Privacy & Safety / Product Round-up / Secure Home / Smart Door Locks

August Enables More Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT Skills

Adding to a repertoire of voice commands for its smart door locks, August Home has added a smart unlock feature for the Google Assistant. Designed to work with the August Smart Lock and Smart Lock Pro, the new integration pairs a voice command with a…

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30 October 2018

Goggle Assistant is taking on the world with its multilingual AI capabilities, enabling users to navigate seamlessly between two languages. Image: Digitized House Media.

Connected Home / Entertainment / Gadgets / Smart Speakers

A Closer Look at Google Assistant and Multilingual AI

While Google Translate may have a bad and sometimes hilarious reputation for mistranslated text, that doesn't mean Google Assistant won't understand you when speaking another language. The new Google Multilingual AI upgrade for the Google virtual assistant is adding three new Spanish dialects, and earlier…

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25 October 2018

Google Home Hub aims to be the central command center for your connected home. Image: Google.

Connected Home / Energy Conservation / Gadgets / News / Secure Home / Smart Displays

Google Home Hub Embraces the Hybrid Connected Home

Making a wager on the existence of connected home life beyond pure voice activation, Google has announced Google Home Hub, a 7-in. touchscreen tabletop display with the Google Assistant built in. As part of the growing Google Home speaker family, the device dutifully processes voice…

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11 October 2018

The Rachio 3 Smart Irrigation Controller has been upgraded to support Apple HomeKit. Image: Rachio.

Connected Garage / Connected Home / Sustainable Home / Water Conservation

Rachio Brings Apple HomeKit and Siri to Irrigation Control

Filling a gap in the Apple HomeKit home automation ecosystem, Rachio has added HomeKit compatibility to their latest smart irrigation controller, the Rachio 3. The Colorado-based company says this is the first smart irrigation controller with onboard HomeKit firmware. The integration facilitates control with the…

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28 September 2018

Now more than ever, your smartphone and your voice can make you master of your domicile. Smart tech makes sense in your current home or the one you are moving to. Image: iStock.

Connected Home / Energy Conservation / Gadgets / How-To

6 Tips for the Road Ahead—to Your Smart Home

Smart home technology is among the best things to come out of Silicon Valley in recent years. The ability to control your home from your smartphone or with your voice, even when you’re not there, can be quite compelling.  Summer can be the perfect time…

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1 September 2018

Voice-controlled digital assistants can be a valuable asset for parents looking to bolster the education of their children. Image: Digitized House Media.

Connected Home / Gadgets / How-To / Smart Speakers

5 Approaches to Make Digital Assistants a Partner in Your Kids’ Education

Your family has a voice-controlled home assistant, but you’re tired of asking silly questions like “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” If you haven’t explored the technology’s ability to help with more useful things—like supporting your child’s education—it’s…

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14 August 2018

Do you know if your garage door is open or closed right now? The new generation of smart garage door opener controllers can let you check via your smartphone. Image: Digitized House Media.

Connected Garage / Connected Home / Gadgets / Homes / Product Round-up / Secure Home

5 Smart Controllers to Elevate Your Garage Door

There are smart door locks and intelligent room lights and thermostats, so why not smart garage door controllers, too? As it turns out, you can buy those and there are a growing number to choose from. Here are five of the best ones.  [1] Chamberlain…

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8 August 2018

Skydrop Arc Controller. Image: Skydrop.

Connected Garage / Connected Home / Green Building / Product Round-up / Smart Speakers / Sustainable Home / Water Conservation

6 Best Smart Irrigation Controllers to Keep Your Lawn Happy

As the temperatures creep up during the long days of summer, lawns grow thirsty. Even though you might have the best intentions to keep your lawn properly watered and looking lush and green, busy work schedules and family activities can derail you from those plans.…

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21 July 2018

Science fiction meets science fact. Cinematic droid R2-D2 faces off with a Google Home Mini speaker and Google Assistant. Image: Digitized House Media.

Connected Home / Smart Speakers

Google Assistant expands with dialect upgrades

As technology progresses, so does the trek toward artificial intelligence (AI). One of the world's most popular AI tools is Google Assistant, which is learning at a fast pace and constantly upgrading. While it understands speech and can respond accordingly, Google Assistant still only understands…

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10 July 2018