Gifts like these might not be the most romantic if you’re buying for your wife or girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find cool stuff that will put a smile on their face. Products for the home can be just as desirable if you focus on items with great design or that make someone’s life a lot easier, and if you stick to those simple guidelines, you’ll make whoever is on the receiving end very happy.
Click the links within the write-ups to purchase each product online, and for more gift ideas, check out the other categories in our Holiday Gift Guide.
Logitech Harmony Elite Remote
If your entertainment center is anything like ours, it’s overflowing with set-top boxes, streaming devices, gaming consoles and audio receivers… and with them, a small army of remote controls. So why aren’t there more options available for universal remotes like the Logitech Harmony Elite? Probably because nobody could make one as good as this. The latest addition to the Harmony family is the most powerful and intuitive remote yet, featuring a full-color touchscreen and the ability to manage up to 15 entertainment and smart home devices. It’s compatible with more than 270,000 products and can connect to Alexa for voice control, while the included Harmony Hub allows you to control devices in closed cabinets, even when you’re not home thanks to the free iOS/Android app. The best feature, however, is the option to create one-touch Activities like “Watch Apple TV,” “Play Xbox One” or “Dinner Party” that will automatically power on all the correct devices and switch them to the right settings. It takes a little patience to set up, but once it’s ready to go, you’ll be amazed how you went so long without having a Harmony remote in your life.
eero Home Wi-Fi System
Wi-Fi can be a fickle mistress; just when you need it most (e.g. it’s Sunday night and you’ve just settled down to watch “Game of Thrones” in your man cave downstairs), there’s either no signal or the connection is poor. Enter the eero Home Wi-Fi System, a set of small access points that are placed throughout the house (with each device typically covering 1,000 square feet) and automatically connect to create a single wireless mesh network, eliminating the need for a wireless router and range extenders. The sleek, minimalist design blends in with virtually any décor, and it’s incredibly easy to set up, although it works better in homes with a more open floorplan where the eeros can see one another. The accompanying iOS and Android app allows you to set up family profiles to help manage schedules for internet usage or pause internet access altogether, and you can even test internet speeds and provide temporary guest access right from your phone. Though the eero still has some growing pains to endure before it becomes a must-have gadget in every household (especially at its $500 price point), for early adopters desperate for a Wi-Fi solution, you’d be hard-pressed finding a better option.
Continue reading »
