GAYLETTER

When I was a kid I loved playing with gadgets, I loved making them, I loved learning about them. I remember once my grandpa brought back a portable black and white TV from a trip to Japan. I was obsessed with the thing. To be able to watch TV anywhere (if you could pick up a signal) blew my mind. Today most people are able to watch every TV show ever made, while taking a crap, on a device that fits in the palm of your hands. We’ve come a long way baby. These days a gadget has to be pretty cool to impress me. The Birdi smoke alarm is one of the products that I wanted the moment I read about it. It’s a device that fits into a category known as ‘the internet of things.’ Basically in the next year objects are going to start connecting to the Internet, making them much smarter and much more useful. Everything in your home will be controlled through your smart phone. I plan on featuring more of these devices in the coming weeks.

I know what you’re thinking, what’s so desirable about a smoke alarm? Well the Birdi is more than just a smoke alarm, the Birdi will alert you not just when there’s a fire, but also if it detects carbon monoxide fumes, it’ll even let you know the quality of the air you’re breathing; and give you tips to improve it. If any of your neighbors have a birdi it will also alert you if there’s a fire next door. When you’re away the Birdi will alert you through it’s smart phone app if there’s any issues, and even call the fire brigade if it needs to. It runs on two AA batteries, but when they get low they’ll ship you a new pair for free. The Birdi cuts down on false alarms, and also looks much prettier than your current smoke detector.

The company behind it are in the middle of an Indiegogo campaign, so now is your chance to reserve one and get it for $99, which is $20 less than it will cost when it goes on sale in stores and online. Cheap, cheap.