Best Buy has started to embrace Home Automation and has started to dedicate floor space to Home Automation products. Browsing Best Buy the other day for a quick purchase of something else and I was shocked to see that it was already on a dedicated section of the store. They had the standard products from Belkin, Dlink, Kwikset, and Netgear. […]
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We did run into Honeywell at CES Showstoppers and you are probably thinking why do I care. Well they have announced the Industry First: Voice Activated Cloud-Connected Thermostat for D.I.Y. Homeowners. They were kind enough to show us the unit with the new app for iOS and Android. It will let you control your thermostat with your voice or anywhere […]
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NETGEAR didn’t have a ton to show in the consumer space at CES, but they did have two very interesting 802.11AC range extenders on hand and their Trek travel router on hand. There are a few things that make these devices interesting. First off, until now if you wanted to bridge an 802.11AC network it required two routers – […]
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Belkin was very generous and gave me a great tour of the booth at CES as well as some great previews of upcoming products for 2014. Belkin purchased Linksys in March 2013 to help excel in the router market and strengthen their current and future products. Their demos were helpful for both companies that are going to be running as […]
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In an effort to teach my children something about the importance of equity I don’t let them say “that’s not fair”, they have to use “I don’t like that” instead. Today, I have to take that message on myself as I resist the urge to stomp on the ground, because like the amazingly simple Nest thermostat, their latest innovation — […]
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When I was building my home automation (HA) system, the lack of devices and good integration between those devices was the main reason I settled on Z-Wave. In many ways Zigbee is a superior technology though, and also has the benefit of being supported by many chip manufactures (Z-Wave is controlled by Sigma Designs) so it’s great to see product […]
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No Home Automation (HA) is really complete without connected deadbolts making it possible to manage access. Which is exactly why I have the original Kwikset Z-Wave locks in my home. Frankly, I’m a big fan and there’s a lot to like about the locks, especially SmartKey which lets you re-key the locks whenever you want without involving a locksmith. There […]
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Even those without a Home Automation (HA) system can appreciate the value in a keyless entry option for the home, but the real value for a lock like the Yale Real Living Electronic Touch Screen Deadbolt is realized by leveraging Z-Wave to integrate it in a HA system. After doing that, it unlocks a wide array of actions that simplify […]
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I’ll admit that this wasn’t what I was hoping for when I saw the message from Dune HD in my inbox this morning (give us the VUDU already :)), but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t interested. Home automation is a natural next step for home theater geeks (if you’re here, this likely includes you) once the consumption problem has been […]
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Verizon currently has more than a half-dozen apps in the Android Marketplace that allow Verizon FiOS subscribers to access the functionality of their service from a mobile device. While undoubtedly generous, it also sounds a bit unwieldy. The newly released My FiOS app brings the functionality that had been spread across several apps into one single app. A similarly integrated […]
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