Gadget Guru: Awair smart monitoring device helps improve indoor air quality

Most people don’t know there are five key factors to air quality and healthier breathing. I certainly didn’t until I tested the Awair Air Quality Monitor ($179), which tracks those five key factors – chemicals such as volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, dust, humidity and temperature.

Did you know indoor air can be five times more polluted than outdoor air, which can affect allergies, asthma, concentration, sleep and more?

The Awair measures the air quality inside your home and gives personalized recommendations that have been proven to improve air quality.

Connect the Awair to Wi-Fi to work with the app (iOS and Android), which alerts users of potential problem areas inside the home. One example: Measuring the amount of dust in a room.

Moreover, the Awair works with other devices to help keep air clean and healthy – I have a humidifier that Awair can trigger since it’s plugged into a smart plug.

That’s just one example. But with smart home and voice assistants, the help is always there.

More: getawair.com

Apple storage

The bigger and better Apple makes its devices, the more storage space needed.

That said, getting the device with the most storage space isn’t always the most cost efficient. But Kingston Digital has a cost-efficient option with more flexibility to combat the limited memory (and no removable memory) on the Apple device.

The recently released DataTraveler Bolt Duo has an Apple Lightning port on one end and a standard USB connector on the other. That enables users to connect directly to Apple iPhones and iPads with the Lightning end and to a computer for transferring data with the USB port.

Depending on the size, ($59.99 for 32GB, $89.99 for 64GB or $119.99 for 128GB), users can store up to 32,000 digital photos without using memory on an iPhone or iPad.

Think of it like a flash drive for an iPhone: Plug it in, download the app and back up your camera roll.

The pocket-sized Bolt Duo has a protective rubber case and a keyring for portability.

More: kingstongo.com/bolt

iPhone case

SnowLizard’s SLXtreme rugged and waterproof case ($149.99) for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is built with a solar panel to power its battery case, which powers the phone for extended power.

The solar panel is built into the case and harnesses the sun’s power or indoor lighting to keep the battery charged. The phone also can be charged with a standard power cord.

Users will have full touchscreen access to call or text as well as capture photos or videos while the iPhone is powered and protected in the case.

It also features rubberized side grips to make it easier to hold when wet or dirty and has a carabiner loop to secure it to a backpack or lanyard.

More: snowlizardproducts.com

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Gadget Guru: Awair smart monitoring device helps improve indoor air quality."