Smartphone Apps That Make Your Life Easier

From the garden and the gym to tracking your luggage at the airport, here are three tech-inspired ways to make life easier.

1 For the garden:  Koubachi Plant Sensor

Hectic daily schedules may mean regular garden maintenance might slip your mind. Enter the Koubachi – a Wi-Fi-enabled plant sensor that gives your blooms a voice by sending data to your iPhone via the free app. Just stick the sensor in your potted plant or opt for the outdoor version for your garden. Then, Koubachi employs a soil moisture sensor and technology that detects ambient temperature to determine whether your plants are overheating or thirsty – and you’ll know right away. (www.koubachi.com; compatible with iOS (Apple) devices)

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2 For fitness: Fitbit Flex

A tech-inspired way to monitor your daily regimen on your own is with the Fitbit Flex. This wireless, waterproof wristband records all your activity – from calories burned to how many steps you’ve taken – and relays the data to your smartphone, allowing you to set and track your fitness goals. And at the end of the day, when it’s time to hit the sack, the Fitbit Flex grades the quality of your sleep with its Flex tracker technology. ( www.fitbit.com; compatible with iPhone and select Android devices)

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3 For travel: Trakdot

We’ve all been there – at the baggage carousel, sweating because your luggage hasn’t turned up. End the stress with Trakdot, a device (below right) placed in your luggage that’s designed to keep track of your gear. No matter where in the world you are, you’ll receive tracking notifications on your smartphone and the device will text you the city location of your bag if it gets lost. It can also be linked to multiple phones so your whole family can rest easy knowing the bags will be waiting upon arrival. (compatible with all smartphones, available in June at www.trakdot.com)

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