Thousands of gadgets were launched in 2017. A majority of them were variations or upgrades over versions we’ve already wowed over such as Nintendo or yet another tedious noise-canceling set of headphones. We sifted all the entertainment and utility gadgets of 2017 and came up with this list of eight gadgets – in no particular order — that can actually make your life easier or even save it

Developed by AliveCor, a Silicon Valley-based health tech firm, this wearable gadget called Kardia Band keeps track of your heart function and warns you when something is not right. It measures heartbeats and picks up signs of palpitation and shortness of breath – the most common symptoms of an impending heart attack or stroke. The product keeps an eye on your heart rate and gives you a “graphical display” of it. When it sees a pattern of heart rate and activity that is abnormal, it notifies you to get an ECG done.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 50%
Price: Rs 12,739

Fire alert on the phone

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), about 60 people die each day in India as a result of fire accidents. Modern homes in urban India now have fire warning systems but most don’t. The Nest Protect Smoke Alarm is one of the coolest gadgets that came out in 2017. You can connect it to your phone and be notified when a fire breaks out at your place. It also warns you when the battery runs low so that you don’t end up not noticing that the system had stopped working due to a low battery. Reviewers have given it a thumbs up with many calling it the best smoke detector of 2017.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 95%
Price: Rs 19,587

Suffering from dust allergy? This is for you

Have someone at home who’s battling allergy? If so, Honeywell’s HP 300 Allergen Remover may help. How does it work? It sucks in air from the room. The air is then allowed to pass through a filter that traps harmful particles. Then it is led through a chamber where it’s exposed to UV light, which kills microbes, before it is finally let out. Not just disease-causing bacteria, the product also freshens the air. “We can really tell a difference in our air quality after using this product in our room. We have two large dogs and this product has improved the dust/pet dander,” wrote Anna Cole, a reviewer

Positive reviews on Amazon: 84%
Price: Rs 12,099

How good is the air at home?

As our cities become more pollution choked, Netatmo Healthy Home Coach
is a product that will come in handy. It measures humidity, air quality and noise levels at your home and warns you when they dip to an unhealthy level. The product works with an app that can be downloaded on Google Play or App Store. The manufacturers claim it will be useful for those suffering from asthma.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 73%
Price: Rs 7,709

Look ahead when you drive

With this gadget, you don’t need to look away from the road while driving to pick up a call or answer a text message. Created using Augmented Reality technology, Navdy Heads-up Display and GPS Navigation project text messages, details of incoming calls, maps onto your windscreen. When you get a call or a text message, all you need to do is to wave a hand. Also, you don’t need to look down to the GPS device, as Navdy projects the map onto your windshield. Just look ahead and drive. “The Navdy has made me a safer driver. It has helped me keep my eyes on the road more than before. No more glancing down at my car’s dash to check on speed, or gas, etc. All of that information I need is projected in front of me,” wrote Daniel Terner, a user.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 78%
Price: Rs 79,999

Watch your home wherever you are

You’re going abroad for a week, but want to keep an eye on your home. Netgear Arlo Q Plus, an app-enabled surveillance system, fits your need. The main hardware is a camera that records and streams live video onto cloud storage. With this, you can watch what’s going on at your home, sitting thousands of miles away, on your smartphone. It also features motion capture technology. So you really don’t need to keep looking at your smartphone all the time to see if someone is breaking into your house. When it detects motion, you get a beep on your phone. Another plus is the 1080p quality of the recordings. “The quality of the video is superb and shows everything clearly and is one of the best of the ones available in the market,” wrote an Amazon customer.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 83%
Price: Rs 18,799

The chef’s favorite

Okay, so you are grilling a barbeque and you’re not sure if the meat is grilled sufficiently. Launched this year, the Therma Fast Pen has quickly emerged as one of the most popular kitchen accessories in the west. A pocket-sized gadget, it gives an almost instant digital readout of temperature the moment you stick its thermometer into the meat. Yes, there are many similar products on the market. However, this one claims to give accurate temperature readings, almost instantly. “I love the fact that this thermometer reads instantly. With the old thermometers, I was always waiting and wondering how high it was going to go. This one works as it says it will, instantly,” said an Amazon user.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 88%
Price: Rs 2560

Lock or unlock your door from miles away

A friend of yours is expected to visit your home at noon to pick up a package. Unfortunately, you have an emergency meeting and won’t be able to make it back by then. What to do? Or you are at a movie, and suddenly you start panicking if you had actually locked the front door. Enter August Smart Lock. An app-based gadget, it helps you check if your door is locked. If not, you can lock your phone through your smartphone — no matter how far you are from home.

Positive reviews on Amazon: 78%
Price: Rs 24, 382