I’m back this week from 5 arduous days covering the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, on the prowl for new electronics solutions for moms and dads.
Here are eight new devices I saw as I covered 6 convention halls full of new technology.
1. Temp-traq adhesive thermometer patches
These band-aid like patches can be used on adults but are especially good for babies when you might want to monitor them when they are ill and feverish. Fevers can be dangerous in infants, so this is one case where having a mobile app that sends continuous readings, as well as alerts, can be very valuable. The Temp-traq is currently under FDA review but I’m told the individual throw-away strips will be affordable for their purpose.
2. Pacif-i
This silicone pacifier is bluetooth enabled to monitor your baby’s temperature. It can also you helps you track the runaway paci under the couch through the connected app.
3. Naptime baby monitor and parent bracelets
This monitor is a classic audio baby monitor but also can differentiate between ambient noise and baby cries. But it’s special power is that it rotates its alerts between mom and dad depending on who’s “turn” it is. If you’ve ever had a fight at 3AM about who needs to get up, this is the gizmo for you! Is this something you really need? Of course not. Will mom ever be satisfied if dad has 50% of the turns? Of course not!
4. Intel Smart Clip
The Intel Smart Clip addresses “forgotten baby syndrome,” a tragic, though fairly rare situation where a mom or dad inadvertently leaves a baby or sleeping child in a car. Like most parents, when I read about these horrible tragedies, I say to myself, “there but for the grace of God go I.” While the media often demonizes the poor mom or dad who has now just lost their entire life to grief, the truth is that this could happen to anyone. If owning this device makes any new mom or dad sleep that much easier, I’m all for it.
5. SleepIQ Kids
Packed with features including nighttime sleepwalker alert, under-bed-monster defense system, and bed-activated night lights, this is some kind of bed!
6. Baby Glgl – This new bottle from Slow Control connects to a Smartphone app (sound familiar?) so that you can monitor and track baby’s consumption, including alerts for air intake issues that cause gas and colic. In general, there is no substitute for an involved parent, but in ongoing colic and gas issues, you can imagine this being very useful.
7. Bellabeat – Bellabeat is a “natural” technology company with a line of products that do “smart” things, but come in wood casings to give a natural feel. You can tell by the names of their three intro products, “Balance,” “Leaf,” and “Shell,” that we are more in the realm of the zen retreat than we are in a plastic-filled nursery. The activity tracker here is a soft blend of metal and wood (5 choices of types), and connects to their smartphone app that tracks both activity and sleep. They also make a smart scale and baby monitor.
8. Kodak Baby Monitor – Another wood accented product is the new Kodak Baby Monitoring system, designed by Seedonk a provider of video care monitoring services. A camera unit monitors baby and an audio unit is provided for monitoring, but video monitoring can be done via smartphone or tablet app. In this caser, the Kodak brand is used more for it’s family-friendly values than anything the erstwhile film manufacturer adds to the product.
I also saw several home monitoring systems that include baby monitoring capabilities such as the Simplicam
, Swann, and Canary, all of which we’ll take a look at in our update of our baby monitors buyers’ guide.
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