I have to admit, when I received the Belkin FastFit Keyboard Case For iPad Mini, I was impressed from the moment I unpacked it. It felt like a quality product. The back cover is made of aluminum that matches the iPad mini’s silver back. The hinge is a single piece of aluminum The top case is finished in a black matte. Inside, the black, slightly textured chiclet keys sit in an almost edge-to-edge layout. So right off the top, you should be impressed with what you have in your hands. It’s thin so it doesn’t take up any more space than required and a built-in stand accommodates the iPad mini in both portrait and landscape mode. It’s solid so that it will protect your iPad Mini from bumps when it’s in your bag. Though I will note that it does not protect the edges of the iPad Mini.

So, the next question is how does it work? It uses Bluetooth to pair to your iPad Mini and the process of pairing is dead easy. As for typing, given the size has to match the iPad Mini, you give up some space which might affect touch typists or those with big hands in terms of the occasional mistyped word. The reason is that it’s not a full sized keyboard. However, I adapted to it the more I used it and I got reasonably good at typing on this keyboard. The keys feel close to what you would find on a MacBook so that helps with adapting to it. One thing that I did like were the function-specific keys for copying and pasting text, moderating volume, using Siri and controlling music. Belkin says that the battery should last up to three months. I only used it for a few days so I can’t tell you if that’s true or not. But it never warned me about the battery being low (the light on the side of the keyboard will flash amber when that’s the case) the entire time I used it. So I have no reason to doubt them. It charges via a micro USB cable (which is included by the way).

My verdict? I’d recommend the Belkin FastFit Keyboard Case For iPad Mini for someone who needs a keyboard for their iPad Mini. It is on the small side, but once you adapt to it I think you’ll find it to be very useful. It’s $79.99 at Belkin.com and at your local retailer.

As long time readers of this blog will know, I was robbed a few years back. But I had a camera that sent me e-mail alerts when it happened. Thus I was able to call the cops. Though they didn’t get there in time to catch the criminals, the camera gave them something to work with in terms of the images of the scumbags who broke in.

Since then I’ve always been on the look out for a new Internet accessible camera that is easy to set up and use. Previously, I’ve had to go through a fair amount of work to set up a camera, and the ones that I’ve used have worked but they were far from user friendly. Not to mention the fact that I have had to get a static IP address and open port 80 on my router to make the camera accessible to me remotely. If you’re an IT Nerd like me, that may not be a big deal. But the average consumer isn’t going to do that.

Enter the Belkin NETCAM HD.

This camera is easy to set up as long as you have a smart phone and it is easy to use. Let’s start with the setup:

1. Plug in the NETCAM HD and flip the switch at the back of the camera to the setup position.
2. Download and install the NETCAM app for iOS or Android onto your smartphone or tablet.
3. Go into the WiFi settings on your smartphone or tablet and choose the NETCAM network. Then start the NETCAM app and follow the instructions including creating a unique username and password for reasons that I will explain in a bit.
4. When prompted, pick the WiFi network that you want to use and enter the password associated with it along with an e-mail address.
5. Wait as it does its magic.
6. Flip the switch at the back of the camera to camera mode when you’re told to.
7. Done. Declare victory and have a beer.

At this point you have a camera that you can access inside and outside your home either on your smartphone or via either the app on your phone or tablet or via the NETCAM web page.  Either way, you can use the app or the webpage to view or control multiple NETCAM devices. You don’t have to configure a thing on your router to make this camera accessible from outside your home. The only thing I note is that you may have to try to connect to it a couple of times before you see a picture. Not the biggest deal in the world, but something you should be aware of. In any case, this means that your home network is more secure because you don’t have to open ports to make the camera accessible from outside your network, and a non-technical user can make this work. Another thing to note, the smartphone app as well as the webpage which is a Belkin webpage are secured by the password and username that you entered earlier.

The NETCAM HD does 720P video and my tests indicate it was generally sharp. I say generally because the video quality that you see is adaptive depending on your bandwidth. So you will get better quality if you have a good connection to the Internet and to your phone or tablet. You can alter the settings to set it to the quality levels that you want, but I would not bother. It works best when it’s set to automatic. Another item to mention is that the video is jerky unless you have a lot of upstream bandwidth available to the camera. Unless you need absolutely perfect video, this may not be a factor. The other thing to note is that it has e-mail alerts if it detects motion. Unlike other cameras where you have to define areas where the camera needs to look for motion, the NETCAM HD will simply look for motion in the entire field of vision. The net result is that enabling this feature is as simple as flipping the feature to on using the NETCAM app. Any notifications in terms of motion are sent to e-mail address that you entered during the set up process. But it can be changed later, but only from the NETCAM webpage. The pictures that were e-mailed were very sharp and clear. Though I will note that it takes roughly five minutes from the time that motion is detected to the time you get the e-mail. I’m guessing that it has to do with the fact that the camera has to talk to the Belkin server and the server then has to take a couple of images from the camera and package them up into an e-mail to send to you. The NETCAM HD has night vision capabilities via a ring of IR lights that are around the lens. While the effectiveness of IR is going to vary from room to room, I found it to be very effective in my condo. I should also note that the night vision is set to be automatically turned on and off depending on the light levels. Finally, the camera has built in two way audio. I could use the NETCAM app to turn on the microphone and listen into what is going on at home. I could also turn on the speaker and via my iPhone 5 I could talk via the camera. That might be handy to scare away an intruder or talk to your spouse.

In terms of mounting the camera, it comes with all the hardware you need so that you can put it on the roof, or anywhere else you want to put it.

Downsides? If I really wanted to nitpick things, I would point out that the camera is driven by Belkin’s cloud service. That leaves you completely dependant on another party to use the camera. Now that’s not a bad thing as it gives you options to store clips on their cloud service if you pay to use it. Plus you can get push notifications to your phone as well. Not to mention the fact that this cloud service helps to make the NETCAM HD easier to use. However, some might argue there might be privacy issues (though there’s a clear privacy policy) and there’s always the risk that the cloud service might go down. Another thing to nitpick is the fact that you can see the camera in the Belkin WeMo app and if you click it, it will start the NETCAM app. However if you do that, it will require you to enter your username and password into the NETCAM app even if you have the app set to login automatically. If you simply go to the NETCAM app, it lets you log in automatically. Weird. Finally, it seems that there is no way to set up this camera from scratch using a computer. So if you don’t have a smartphone or tablet, you are out of luck.

My bottom line? If you want an easy to set up camera for security purposes or just to keep an eye on your cat or dog, you need to look at the Belkin NETCAM HD. It is extremely easy to set up and use and the video quality in both normal and night usage is great. Check it out at your local Belkin retailer or Belkin.com.

Something that was quietly launched recently was the Belkin Miracast Video Adapter. It’s purpose is to allow you to mirror the display on your Android smartphone to your HDTV over the air. That way you can play your favourite game or surf the net on a much bigger screen. The question is, how well does it work?

The first thing is that you need to have an Android phone that works with it. If you have a phone running Android 4.2 or higher, you’re in business. I didn’t have a test phone handy with Android 4.2 so I had to borrow one for this test. If you’re unsure about whether your phone will work or not, here’s a list of what Belkin has tested. Assuming you have a phone that works, here’s what you need to do next:

1. Plug the Miracast into your HDTV’s HDMI port. You may need the included HDMI extension cable to plug it in.
2. Plug the included USB cable into the Miracast and an available USB port on your HDTV.
3. Using your remote control, set your TV to the HDMI port that you plugged the Miracast into. If you see some instructions on your screen, you’re doing fine so far.
4. Grab your Android phone and follow the on screen instructions to connect the smartphone to the Miracast. What you have to do varies from device to device. But it’s not more than three or four steps to connect your phone to the Miracast.
5. Done!

Once you’re set up, anything on the screen of your phone will be mirrored exactly in 1080p resolution on your TV. Any sound that would normally come from your device will also be piped through the TV speakers. The mirroring (or “Casting” if you’re on a Nexus device) goes until you tell it to stop. The picture looked good. It’s likely best suited to watching YouTube videos in HQ. Games and apps looked decent. But some elements did suffer from being blown up in size to fit a HDTV. None of it is objectionable. The only real objection is that there is some lag between the phone screen and the TV. So if you’re playing a first person shooter, you’ll be forced to look at the phone’s screen to play.

So, what can you expect to pay for the Belkin Miracast? It retails for $80 MSRP. If you have a supported phone and you’d be using it for something other than hard core gaming such as displaying presentations or watching videos, the Belkin Miracast is worth a look to take what’s on your phone and display it on your TV.

I got some interesting equipment from Belkin’s WeMo home automation family recently. The whole point of WeMo is to utilize your Wi-Fi network and smartphone to control your home electronics anywhere. The key advantage over similar systems is to do this with a setup process that is so easy that you don’t need an IT Nerd to do it. Here’s what I got from Belkin:

• WeMo Light Switch: The WeMo Light Switch allows you to turn lights on and off from anywhere. It’s intended for light fixtures like your dining room chandelier for example. Unlike most of the items that I will talk about, you need to do some electrical wiring which means that you may need to employ the services of a licensed electrician if you don’t feel confident about doing it yourself (which isn’t all that hard from personal experience replacing light switches). MSRP: $50
• WeMo Switch: This is one of a number of WeMo products that is aimed at devices that you plug into an AC outlet. Simply plug the switch into an outlet in your home, and plug any device into the switch. Done. MSRP: $60
• WeMo Insight Switch: The next step up above the WeMo Switch is the Insight Switch. It can monitor your electronics and will send information about the device’s energy usage directly to your smartphone or tablet. That way you can see what that device is costing you. It is perfect for A/C units, TVs, washers, dryers, fans, lights and more. MSRP: $60
• WeMo Switch+Motion: If you need more than the ability to turn your devices on and off from your phone, then this is for you. It is capable of turning devices of your choice on or off as soon as movement is detected using a motion sensor. MSRP: $80

I was able to test the last three items. Setting this stuff up was incredibly easy, which is fortunate as there are little in the way of instructions inside the box. Here’s all I did:

1. Plug in WeMo device.
2. Download and install the WeMo app for iOS onto my iPhone 5. Don’t worry Android users, there’s a version for you too.
3. Go into the WiFi settings on my iPhone and choose the WeMo network
4. When prompted, pick the WiFi network that I want to use and enter the password associated with it.
5. Enable remote access. I should note that I did not have to change a thing on my router to enable remote access.
6. If it prompts for a firmware update, let it do it while you play Angry Birds (which is what the app suggests that you do).
7. Done. Declare victory and have a beer.

This was about 10 minutes from start to finish. When I completed the process, I was able to turn the lights that I had plugged into the WeMo Switch anywhere. By anywhere I mean in my condo, or anywhere that I had a data connection. Another thing to note, every other WeMo device I plugged in was easier to set up as it cached some of the info related to my WiFi network. You’ll appreciate that when you’re setting multiple WeMo devices up. One thing I did notice was that the more devices you add, the longer that they take to appear for remote access. Sometimes as long as 10 minutes. But once they have appeared, they seem to remain visible remotely unless you reboot your router.

Now using the app (which is extremely easy to use by the way), you can set WeMo devices to turn themselves on and off by a schedule, say sunrise or sunset, or by motion if the WeMo device supports it. You can also get a notification via e-mail if there’s motion or if certain power thresholds are exceeded. I should also note that two or more people can control WeMo devices as my wife and I were both able to turn devices on and off from our respective iPhones. If you’re really into customizing things, the WeMo devices works with if This, Then That (IFTTT) recipes. How can this help you? IFTTT is a free service that lets you relate functions across different applications and services.  For example, you could create a IFTTT recipe that alerts you by flashing the lights when Twitter is going nuts because Justin Bieber got arrested again or when Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford is in one his famous drunken stupors. Okay. Those are kind of trivial examples. But you can actually do them. I should not that there are all sorts of recipes available online that allows you to do whatever you want if those don’t interest you.

So, what’s the bottom line? The WeMo family of products are an easy way to automate your home. They’re easy to set up and easy to use. If you want to have the ability to turn your lights or other devices on and off from anywhere, or set up a schedule to do it for you, check out the WeMo family of products. Give the a look and I think you’ll like what you’ll see.