Google Assistant
By far one of Google Home’s best features is its intelligence. Unlike Amazon Echo, Google Home allows you to search Google, control your smart home, and manage your affairs through Google Assistant, the smartest assistant around. Google Assistant can learn your behaviors and preferences (like with Google Now), for a more pleasant and satisfying experience with the smart hub. Those are features that Amazon Echo simply can’t compete with.

Read More: How to Best Utilize Google’s Voice Assistant

Google Assistant can manage your calendar’s events, online orders, travel itinerary, and all of your Google-related questions. Google Assistant understands what you want to know and can provide you with quick answers to your questions (from a Google search), in addition to information from any follow-up questions. It can even read you passages of text from a web page. Try asking it questions about monetary conversions, text translations, or even the schedule of a local movie theater.

Google Home As a Speaker
Google Home works as a Wi-Fi speaker for playing music. Connect your phone to play music from your phone, or ask Google Assistant to play music from services like Google Play Music, Spotify, or Pandora.

Google Home As a Smart Hub
Through Google Home, you can adjust the temperature of your home, change the lighting, and even manage other smart hubs in your home. Further, you can use Google Home to control your smart TV.

Enhanced Voice Recognition Software
Google Home will be able to understand your voice commands even when there’s background noise from music or a TV show.

Different Color Options
Google Home offers a variety of different colored speaker bases, in addition to different types of materials, to ensure that your device matches your tastes or home décor. Few smart hubs offer such customization options.

Samsung SmartThings Hub
SmartThings works with a variety of devices from different brands, which means it is one of the best smart hubs on the market. This device is available for about $75-$100 on Amazon. It offers a way to connect all of your smart appliances to one device, and control and monitor your home remotely through the free SmartThings app. The SmartThings hub can control devices like your smart lighting, locks, thermostat, and security cameras. Receive notifications on the status of your smart home, and set preferences for how you want your smart appliances to behave when you’re asleep or away from the home. You can even combine the SmartThings hub with Amazon Echo to control your smart home through voice commands. This feature, combined with all of the previously mentioned features, makes this smart hub one of the best smart hubs available now.

Read More: Check Out These Smart Items You Didn’t Know Existed

The Wink Hub
This smart hub is available for less than $70 from Amazon (or $90 from other sellers). This hub works with a variety of different connectivity options and devices from different brands. Like the SmartThings hub, you’ll control Wink through the Wink app. The app and hub essentially allow your smart devices to communicate with one another, so that you can control them all on one platform. Program your lights and A/C to turn on whenever you unlock your front door, for example.

The VeraEdge Hub
Another option for under $100, this smart hub will connect a variety of brands, and even other brand-specific smart hubs (like Nest). It can control hundreds of devices wirelessly. Create preferences for how your device should control your home when you’re at home or on vacation. Download the app to control your smart home from your phone, or even from your PC. For $50 more you can get the VeraPlus model, which allows you to more fully manage your home while you’re away. You can check in on your pets, receive alerts any time someone is in your home, and monitor your home while you’re away for possible flood damage from a storm.

What is Piper?

Piper is a small, yet diverse surveillance device. About the size of a small iPad, Piper packs a camera, panoramic video, home automation, and environmental sensors all into one gadget. Piper works in conjunction with your Android phone, and offers effective home security without you having to break the bank. The Piper application offers a great deal of information about the status of your home, including temperature, open doors, and recently detected motion.

Read More: How to Maintain Security on Your Android Phone

Benefits of Piper

Home Automation

Like several other security systems, Piper can automate functions inside your house. For instance, it can schedule and control lights, appliances, plug-in modules, dimmers, and sensors for windows and doors.

Real time alerts

Piper keeps you up-to-date on the security of your home. If there is any security breach, Piper will notify you with a text message and a picture/video of the situation.

No monthly fees

Say goodbye to annoying security bills. A one-time purchase is the only financial sacrifice you have to make for maximum security.

Wi-Fi Security

Piper utilizes Wi-Fi technology to ensure protection within your home. This Wi-Fi allows the system to use sirens, motion, sound, and environmental sensors for constant vigilance.

HD Security Camera

No more fuzzy black and white security surveillance — Piper utilizes top of the line HD technology to hold down the fort.

Adjust Security Sensitivity

Piper allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the security camera. This is especially important if you own large pets. So, no worries about Sparky setting off the alarm system.

Now that your home is protected from bad guys, what about your computer?

Luckily, PSafe offers applications that can help promote the security of your computer. PSafe Total Windows quickly scans all files and folders in your device to ensure it is safe from malware. This feature protects you from threats 24 hours a day, seven days a week!