Holiday Gift Guide 2018

This year, the IoT For All (IFA) team accepted submissions for IoT- and tech-related products to purchase for the holidays. Our product reviewers and engineers tested out the products and below are our top picks to buy for the tech enthusiast! 

Your Smart Holiday Gift Guide

1. Owl Cam

An all-in-one car security camera, Owl Cam allows you to check in on your car from your smartphone no matter where you are in the world. 

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Hot Take

Living in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) our staff experiences traffic congestion, crowded parking lots, and garages with tiny spaces. The overall aggressive nature of drivers led to the Owl Cam becoming one of our staff’s top picks. The Owl Cam grants its user instant video access to their car and its surroundings. It's ideal for situations ranging from crashes to fender benders to maybe even catching that Yeti for which everyone has been searching. View website

2. Vital Scout

Vital Scout (by VivaLNK) is a new multi-day and showerproof wearable that pairs directly with the Vital Scout app. That app integration enables the Vital Scout to track active minutes/calories burned, stress recovery, sleep, and respiratory rates using ECG, providing users with a comprehensive picture of stress and recovery.

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Hot Take

To say life is stressful would be an understatement. I was curious to see whether my morning meditation practice and my evening gym sessions were helping with my stress levels. The jury is still out, but this is a great addition to any health and wellness lovers stocking! View website

3. Wynd (Plus) Air Purifier

Wynd filters harmful particles out of the air around you by removing dust, allergens, smoke, germs, and particulate pollution from your personal space. Wynd isn’t just an air purifier; it’s an intelligent personal air quality system that monitors your environment and cleans as needed. Wynd is an air quality tracker and air purifier wrapped into a single product.

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Hot Take

With the number of wildfires increasing and pollution rising, I expect that compact, connected air purifiers will become increasingly important to those who care about their environment. The Wynd is relatively small, but the device packs a lot of power for its size. One cool feature of the Wyn is how the air quality tracker lights up different colors to communicate the air quality based off of the Wynd and Air Bubbles apps. Whatever the air quality, the app communicates to the device and increases or decreases the speed accordingly. Within a couple of evenings, I was able to notice the difference the Wynd made for my allergies and sore throats, which normally bother me when waking up in the morning. The Wynd would make a great gift for college students living in dorms, small office spaces, and bedrooms. View website

*Note* Holiday sale on Amazon until December 25: 15% off Wynd ($169 instead of $199) and free shipping (US only) with discount code: 15WYNTER

4. Moodo

Moodo is the first smart home aroma diffuser that enables scent personalization and customization to fit any mood. The app automatically recommends scent presets based on your capsule combination, and you can also create your own scents by adjusting the levels of each of the capsules in the device.

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Hot Take

Moodo connects to an app where you can identify different emotions to various scent combinations. The Moodo is small but mighty. It has enough power to freshen the air of an entire office. Want to smell vanilla in the morning and chai in the evenings? Set the timer to align with your daily activities and enjoy the relaxing experience. Moodo allows you to combine up to 4 different scents for a relaxing aroma whenever you need it. View website

5. HARMAN Spark

HARMAN Spark is an easy-to-use connected car device and app that provides emergency crash assistance, vehicle diagnostics, location information, a roadside assistance manager, and more. It can also turn your car into a powerful WiFi hotspot.

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Hot Take

Who wouldn't want WiFi in their car? Considering the amount of time we spend on our phones these days, it makes sense to be connected in the car so that the kids can stream movies and you can play your Spotify playlist without data charges. Personally, my favorite part of the Spark is that I can monitor my car’s diagnostics through the app. I’ll be the first to admit that I know nothing about cars. And given that I drive a 12-year-old Jeep, knowing the health of my battery, recalls that may have happened, and various other system measurements are all fantastic perks that keep me safe and informed. This is the perfect family gift if you plan on taking a road trip! View website

6. Lockly Secure Plus

Lockly allows you to control and monitor door access from anywhere in the world and securely control who comes and goes right from your smartphone. It ensures that the digital keypad display is unique every time someone approaches your door through their patented PIN Genie™ technology.

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Hot Take

There are numerous smart locks on the market, so what sets Lockly apart? The IFA team enjoyed that the display is unique every time. This added security measure, the ability to create many access codes, remote use through the app, and its sleek design make it a great addition to any home or office. View website

7. Nima

Nima—The world's first portable, connected food sensor—can test the presence of either gluten or peanuts in foods within just 5-minutes.

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Hot Take

Chances are someone you’re close to has a food allergy. For people with a food allergy, one of the biggest concerns when eating out is how to determine whether or not a restaurant has cross-contaminated products. For example, even though a given dish might be "peanut free," chefs and kitchen staff often move too quickly to ensure that all traces of peanuts were removed from cutting boards, knives, saucepans, etc., before cooking that dish. The Nima Sensor is compact enough to fit into your purse or pocket. It can detect the presence of gluten or peanuts. This is a great stocking stuffer to keep in mind when shopping for loved ones with food allergies or sensitivities. View website

8. Scoot Drone

The Scoot motion sensor drone needs no remote—just all hands on deck. Yes, use your hands (and/or feet) to keep Scoot going where you want it to. Play solo or as a group, with or without friends. Parents can also play with their kids (ages 4 and up!)

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Hot Take

The Scoot may be marketed toward children, but the staff at IoT For All wasn't deterred. We're enamored with the mini-drone. The slightest drop of the hand and the drone rises in the air using sensors to prevent itself from running into walls, ceilings, and other objects—usually. The drone is a great item for introducing children to the world of technology or simply for keeping them entertained during the holiday festivities. View website

9. Samsung SmartThings Tracker

Samsung SmartThings Tracker is a small, lightweight GPS tracking device that is connected through an LTE-M network. It can be easily attached to backpacks, a set of keys, pet collars, and more. People can now quickly and more accurately keep track of their most valued items.

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Hot Take

Typically, when someone mentions smart trackers for our valuables, the mind wanders to Tile. What sets the SmartThings Tracker apart from the Tile is the addition of LTE and indoor positioning. It's great to be able to locate your keys but to know the exact position of a given object is a time saver and stress reliever. This tracker is perfect for anyone on your gift list that is prone to losing items or anyone who simply wants to track where their cat is sleeping all day. Heck, you could even throw one of these trackers onto any of the other gifts on this list. View website

10. Lotus

The Lotus by SEAM is a new personal safety wearable device. Consisting of the Lotus device, an app, and a cloud-based storage and streaming service, the SEAM personal safety platform keeps people connected, social and safe. It does so by sharing contextual data, including GPS location, images, and full streaming audio with a user's chosen personal network real-time.

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Hot Take

The Lotus is a wearable about the size of a quarter capable of keeping track of your location and conducting two-way calls if you find yourself in an emergency situation. This device allows you to choose when to be tracked and by whom. The immediate audience for this device seems to be for those wanting to keep tabs on the elderly, however, this device would be a great gift for many others. For example, runners who don't want to carry too much and college students walking alone on campus would both appreciate the Lotus. View website

Interested in having your product featured in a gift guide or reviewed by a team of product experts? Feel free to reach out to [email protected]