Gear Up On IoT: Ecobee3 Integrates With Amazon Echo + Barbie Gets a Drone

Five IoT news bites to start your Monday

Amazon is pushing full-steam in the smart home race to be the primary device for connected gadgets. The latest to link to its voice-command hub Echo, is ecobee3's Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat. Using Alexa, Amazon's Siri-like voice technology, users adjust the heat for the first time, the same way they use Echo to turn on Philips Hue lights and WeMo Switch, among other products.

View-Master hit the New York Toy Show with its Viewer DLX—an updated version of the VR headset. When the new View-Master hits stores this fall, the device will sport upgraded lenses, while users will have a headphone option (for better audio), and the ability to adjust the focus.

You may not have a smart home, but Barbie's getting one this year. Toymaker Mattel also took advantage of the Toy Fair to showcase its most famous doll's new digs, Hello Dream House. Children will be able to turn on lights via voice command and even request the elevator come down to greet them. Plus? She gets a drone—more like a hoverboard for her size—sometime in 2016.

Dreamt of tracking earthquakes? MyShake, an Android app, takes advantage of sensors on your smartphone to pick up seismic energy, then send the data to researchers. The app only works when the device is stable—not in your pocket—but collects the time of the quake, location and its magnitude.

Finally, Apple buyers can count on one rule of thumb: iOS products never go on sale. Until the Apple Watch. The smartwatch is one sale yet again—with a $100 discount at Best Buy and B&H where the Sport model is starting at $249.