Gadgets :: August 23, 2017
By Gregg Ellman
(@Greggellman)
The Nightingale smart home sleep system is designed to give you a better night of sleep by creating an optimal sleep environment. These are designed to mask common noises, which can be sleep disrupting by creating sound blankets to mask the awakening sounds.
In a nutshell, it looks exactly like a standard AC wall outlet and plugs right into the wall. It’s only about 1-inch deep and allows you to use the power ports as a pass-through outlet for lamps, chargers, whatever.
To set it up, download the free Nightingale sound app (iOS and Android) and follow the onscreen instructions, which includes setting up a quick account. You get the choice of using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, both worked well but you’ll get a little more range with Wi-Fi.
The app sets the system up for your room, including a time schedule and a few specific conditions for creating the right sound blanket. Among the setup preferences are choices to neutralize snoring or the right sounds for a youth’s bedroom. Sounds include crickets, loons, whale songs, rainstorm or my choice of lakeshore.
The perimeter of the Nightingale has a multi-color LED light, which gives off a very subtle amount of light to illuminate the room.
The setup was simple and I slept great with the sounds. Past that, I think it’s up to the user and the specific conditions, whether it works or not.
Earbuds can’t get any cooler than the updated Jabra Elite sport.
The true wireless (Bluetooth) and wire free earbuds have amazing sound, which is first and foremost why I purchase them.
Jabra, who is known for active lifestyle technology in sound devices, has a heart rate monitor and analyzer, which work with the free Jabra app.
The app is also great for planning fitness workouts along with recording and monitoring your results and in-ear coaching.
The battery life is rated at 4.5-hours and the on-the-go charging case will give you another 9 hours. A feature called hear through, filters in the sounds surrounding you so you are more aware while running or just walking city streets.
Built inside the earbuds is a four microphone system to use for handsfree calls on IOS and Android devices.
The Elite Sports fit with comfort and a secure fit right out of the box, but if the fit isn’t right for you there are multiple sets of silicon gels, foam tips and secure fit wings included.
www.Jabra.com $249
Electric Jukebox is expecting their new Roxi “to revolutionize family music entertainment in the home,” according to a recent press release.
There are a lot of cool features in the new device, which is immediately available.
Electric Jukebox launched the Roxi hoping it would help families who use it to have more quality family time together instead of being isolated with their own personal devices and headphones.
After a simple 2 minute setup with 2 cables (HMDI and AC power adapter), families will be dancing and singing Karaoke-style.
The Wi-Fi Roxi hub connects directly to your TV (or speakers) and the USB charged gesture based controller (6.75-by-1.25-by-1.25-inches) has a built-in microphone for voice search and is ideal for a sing along.
Included with the Roxi is a free 1-year unlimited music streaming service premium pass. The service is subscription free and can be added at your choice for $66.94 per year, after the initial free year.
The unlimited service includes thousands of radio stations for all over the planet, hundreds of playlists in addition to letting you sing karaoke-style with and an endless music library. You’ll also get access to music games and one of my childhood favorite games shows, Name that Tune.
The control also has Sound Machine, which includes yoga and meditation melodies, therapeutic sounds such as rain and white noise, to help a baby sleep. Parents can also block explicit lyrics and content.
