Enhancing your traditional cottage experience

Ah, its cottage season once more:  listening to loons at sunrise, sipping coffee on the doc, swimming and fishing, and roasting marshmallows and telling stories by the bonfire.

Heaven on earth? Indeed, it’s a reprieve from the 9 to 5 grind and chance to get away from construction fuelled city for a few relaxing days. But why go all “rustic” and do away with all electronics—save, maybe for a few modern conveniences, like, er, electricity.

No way I say… here are a handful of high-tech toys to keep your family and friends entertained on a quiet afternoon or a rainy days. And here are a few other gadgets that’ll serve you well at  mealtime, when you’re cleaning up or sneaking in some productive guilt-free time at your ‘lakeside office’. Let’s start the ball rolling.

It’s game time 

Just because you’re outside doesn’t mean you’ll have to miss the big game, your favourite shows, or the latest blockbusters.

Extra bright outdoor televisions are available and typically range in size from 46 inches all the way up to 85 inches. These all-weather TVs have a sealed exterior to protect internal components from the elements and insects, along with an advanced airflow system that keeps the television cool and dry. 

Samsung’s The Terrace brand of outdoor 4K TVs, for example, feature a bright and colourful NEO QLED screen, a 360-degree sound mode for full audio immersion, a solar-powered remote that never needs charging, and IP56 weather protection to withstand rain, humidity, and dust. It even tolerates heat up to 50°C.

These Smart TVs supports hundreds of thousands of apps to fully customize your experience, which include multiple streaming services and more than 1,100 free channels via Samsung TV Plus.

For $8,499, the 75-inch The Terrace Outdoor TV (model LST7D) also houses the AI-powered NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor, which optimizes picture quality to deliver exceptional resolution, whether you’re streaming content, playing video games or watching live sports.

If a projector is more your thing

Epson’s QB1000 ($10,500; available in black or white) is a 3-chip 3LCD laser projector with 3,300 lumens (of equal colour and white brightness) that can beam a bright and vivid image against a wall or screen—even in rooms without controlled lighting. The 15-element precision glass structure (Epson VRX Lens) helps ensure sharp focus across the entire screen.

Along with Epson’s QZX picture processor delivering a full 8.29 million pixels, this projector also has HDR10+3 for enhanced contrast and colour, along with Epson UltraBlack technology and dynamic laser dimming to achieve a dynamic contrast ratio exceeding 5,000,000:1.

Ideal for gaming, the QB1000 supports 4K resolution at 120 frames per second (fps), with a low input lag.

Move as you choose

Another good pick for the cottage, the LG StanbyME 2 ($1,499) is a portable and wireless LED TV that can be easily wheeled from room to room or even to an outside deck. It can last up to four hours on its internal battery before it needs to be plugged in again. And, as If that wasn’t unique enough, the 27-inch touchscreen display can be rotated and swiveled from a horizontal to a vertical format based on what you’re watching. For example, let the kids watch a Disney movie in regular landscape mode, then flip it into portrait orientation to watch a bunch of TikTok videos or Instagram reels while cooking dinner.

 LG’s StanbyMe 2 is also compatible with various devices, so you can stream your favourite content from your phone, tablet, or laptop. It also has LG’s ThinQ app, which lets you manage your compatible kitchen and laundry appliances—imagine preheating the oven or checking the status of your washing machine without moving from your easy chair. The TV sports a resolution of 1440p resolution.

Let’s eat

Bound to be a hit with the family, friends and neighbouring cottagers, the Ooni Koda 2 Max ($1,499) is a gamechanger for backyard pizza enthusiasts, boasting a massive 24-inch cooking area that allows you to cook multiple pies simultaneously—or perhaps a family-friendly  20-inch behemoth.

Featuring dual gas burners that provide independent temperature control, Koda 2 Max’s dual-zone cooking means you can bake a deep-dish ‘za at a lower temp on one side while blasting a cheesy Neapolitan on the other. In fact, it’s equipped with advanced G2 gas technology for even heat distribution and a digital temperature hub with Ooni Connect, which delivers real-time heat readings directly to your smartphone via Bluetooth.

When paired with the Ooni Rotating Stone ($499), the Koda 2 Max becomes the ultimate “hands-off” oven as the accessory eliminates the need for manual turning by automatically rotating your pizza 360 degrees for consistently even cooking. As such, it removes the risk of burnt crusts while ensuring a perfect, leopard-spotted bake every time. The turntable can either be controlled via a simple hand-wave sensor or be set to a 90-degree mode for consistent cooking of other foods (like roast chicken or steak).

This combination of huge capacity, precision control, and automatic rotation makes the Koda 2 Max a top-tier choice for effortless, restaurant-quality pizza—by the lake. 

If purchased together, the Ooni Koda 2 Max Rotating Stone Bundle costs $1,998.

Want  a new barbeque?

Why not consider a grill and a smoker in one? The Traeger Westwood XL Pellet Grill ($1,149) allows you to cook a ribeye and veggies, smoke a brisket or chicken wings, and bake an apple pie—all in the same machine—on its massive 823 square centimetres of cooking space.

Plus it uses 100 percent real hardwood pellets as the fuel source. Along with the front-facing digital controller, Traeger’s WiFIRE technology lets you monitor or control the temperature (even from inside your home) through a companion app on a smartphone or tablet (which includes access to more than 1,500 recipes), an Apple Watch on your wrist, or by using voice commands through a Google or Amazon smart speaker.

Speaking of wireless tech, Westwood XL is compatible with Traeger (and MEATER)-branded wireless meat probes, and includes an integrated wired thermometer probe, as well.

For after dinner, the Ninja Creami Swirl Ice Cream Maker ($299) turns your countertop into an ice cream shop. A TikTok sensation, this countertop machine is easy to set up and use, and lets you make soft serve ice cream, sorbets and gelatos, milkshakes, frozen yogurt, protein drinks, and much more.

Create recipes from the included book or experiment on your own, by adding cocoa, fruit, nuts, sprinkles, and other ingredients from your kitchen. Simply pull the arm down to dispense into a bowl, cup, or cone.

Back-saving robot cleaners

Why miss time on the dock  when you can have a robot do the dirty work?

The ultra-premium Roborock Saros 20 robot vacuum and mop system ($2,229) features intelligently mapping of your home, an incredible 36,000 Pa of suction (to handle significant pet hair, dust and messes), and a self-cleaning dock that uses 100°C water to wash its mop between jobs. 

Amazingly, Roborock’s “Adaptalift Chassis 3.0” technology allows the robot to raise its main body a few centimetres to adapt to different floor surfaces, climb high thresholds, and avoid getting stuck. 

‘bots for outside your cottage, too.

Designed for larger properties (up to 0.5 acres), the MOVA LiDAX Ultra 2000 Robotic Lawn Mower ($2,499) does not require a ground wire or RTK station (Real-Time Kinematic positioning) to map and mow your lawn, like many other robo-mowers on the market.

Instead, this mulching machine autonomously navigates your grass utilizing advanced 360-degree 3D LiDAR and AI vision—even with complex layouts, obstacles to navigate around, and steep slopes up to 45%. When the battery detects its running low, this MOVA mower automatically returns to the charging station and then continues its job once powered back up.

And then there’s the ECOVACS WINBOT W3 OMNI ($799), billed as the most advanced and autonomous window-cleaning robot on the market.

Building upon the success of its predecessors, which eliminates the need dangerous ladder, the latest WINBOT will ship with a first-of-its-kind “Vortex Wash OMNI Station” that stays on the ground to automatically clean dirty pads before continuing the job.

Other features include upgraded speeds, better streak-free cleans and edge coverage, and enhanced suction and safety systems.

Getting ‘er done

Need to work a little by remote? Look no further than the new ASUS Zenbook A16 (model # UX3607), a top-of-the-line Copilot+ PC that’s as powerful as it is pretty.

Starting at $2,799, this is the lightest 16-inch Zenbook laptop to date at just 1.2kg, making it uber portable, yet runs on the award-winning 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor for extraordinary AI performance.

Along with more than 21 hours of battery life, other features include an immersive 3K ASUS Lumina OLED screen with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, six separate speakers, and proprietary material called Ceraluminum that fuses the strength of aluminium with the scratch-resistant hardness of ceramic.

Finally, BLUETTI’s portable power stations (from $584) are gas-less generators that let you keep your tech, appliances and other devices going in the event of an outage.

Perfect for cottage country, city life or remote adventures, it could power lights, beer fridges, air conditioning units, microwaves, coffee makers, and so on.

Consider it a giant power bank with an integrated battery that can charge up multiple devices simultaneously, as they include multiple ports for electrical plugs, USB-A and USB-C devices. When the generator itself needs some power, it can be juiced up via a home’s AC outlet, a vehicle’s 12V (cigarette lighter) outlet, or solar panels. 

For the past 30 years, Marc Saltzman has been a recognized expert in consumer electronics, business tech, and automotive trends. Marc is a keynote speaker across North America and hosts the weekly Tech It Out podcast. You can follow Marc on X @ marc_saltzman.