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Best Home Gadgets 2014: Philips Hue, Xbox One And The iKettle

Incredible Gadgets You Need In Your Home Right Now
Michael Rundle

Everyone is obsessed with having the latest gadget in their pocket, but for some reason the idea of a tech-filled home still fills us with dread.

It shouldn't. While WiFi lights, connected audio and digital weather stations all sound like a faff, they're actually brilliantly useful and can really change the way your home works for the better.

Admittedly, while we've been hearing all year about the 'Internet of Things' (whereby your fridge, cooker and bathtub will get online) we're not sure we're there yet. Not everything in life needs to have an app or a bridge connected to your router.

But we're still convinced that the connected home is a reality in 2014, not just a fantasy.

Here are our selections for the best home gadgets of the year. Roll on 2015.

Best Home Gadgets For Xmas 2014
Netatmo Weather Station(01 of10)
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You might not think you need to monitor the weather and air quality outside your home. But that's until you actually get around to it and find out how truly amazing, interesting and occasionally disturbing those data points can really be. £139
iKettle(02 of10)
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The iKettle is a WiFi connected kettle. And yes, that means you can lie in bed, load up an app and tell it to boil when you're still cosy underneath the covers. All other products? Meaningless. All other kettles? Woefully under-WiFi enabled. Read our full review here. £99
Withings Home HD Video Camera(03 of10)
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This is an incredibly powerful and potentially useful home camera and monitor. Just please pay attention to the security settings - and change your password regularly. You can never be too careful with a camera in your home. £169.95
Uutensil Stirr(04 of10)
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This thing costs £10, and jiggles around in your pot to automatically stir your food when you're out of the room. It's hilarious.
Sonos Play:!(05 of10)
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For £169 you get not only a great, powerful little speaker, you get full access to the glorious world of simple, connected audio. Sonos no longer requires a base station, which means you can plug this in and start listening to dozens of great services like Google Play Music and Rdio around the home. You'll get addicted and buy more, but this one little speaker can be the bulkhead into a world of better music.
Parrot Flower Sensor(06 of10)
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Do you kill your houseplants? Then you need this. This small, £39.99 gadget links up with an iPhone app to tell you when you need to water your plants, when you need to add food and exactly how likely it is that it's going to die while you're on holiday.
Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm (07 of10)
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For a shade under £90 this alarm does more than just (theoretically) go off when you're about to die. Instead it constantly monitors levels of dangerous chemicals in the air, sends the data directly to your phone and can alert you to problems even when you're thousands of miles away. It also talks to your other sensors - which means all the alarms will go off when there is trouble, not just the one that's actually on fire.
Xbox One(08 of10)
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The Xbox One features HD streaming from Netflix, Amazon, Plex and many more services, plus includes HDMI passthrough so you can watch Sky or any other TV without changing inputs -- and also send that video to a tablet or phone, for free. It also plays music, games and anything else you can throw at it. It's pricey, but it's hard to say there's a better home media box around right now. (credit:Damian Dovarganes/AP)
Underwater Disco Lights(09 of10)
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This thing projects weird lights in your bath, costs £8 and won't kill you. Sold.
Ice Cream Ball(10 of10)
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Fill it with ice, cream, salt and sugar, shake it and eat. It's low tech - but at least you're burning calories before you take them all back on board again in the form of milky ice treats. £29.99
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