While I can see the author’s point (“Smart Home” technology doesn’t play nice together), I’m not convinced his approach is valid. Yes, the market is fragmented. Yes, there is a serious lack of agreement on standards. Yes, it can be very, very frustrating. But, it’s a new thing. We are very much still in the early adopter phase. I’d rather […]
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It’s true. The current HA market is kind of a mess… Everyone has their own app, nothing talks to each other, etc. While incredibly frustrating I prefer to see this as growing pains. An artifact of the newness of the market that will sort itself out eventually. Have a look at CEPro’s take on the matter. When a do-it-yourselfer emailed […]
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I’m sure I missed a lot of news by not being able to make it to CES this year. One of these things, and I know I would have seen it close up because I always stop by the Kwikset booth, is their new Z-Wave deadbolt. Frankly, I think it looks great and I was really happy with my Kwikset […]
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Lowe’s has made a solid play in home automation (HA) with Iris. So it’s great to see them bringing out another generation of devices including a slew of core sensors from Centralite. CENTRALITE DEVICES PLAY KEY ROLE IN NEXT GENERATION IRIS BY LOWE’S SMART HOME SOLUTION New Iris Smart Hub and Devices Redesigned For Sleeker Appearance, Greater Functionality and a […]
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I love the idea of a home router hub that integrates all the radios necessary for home automation (HA) in the same box. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Securifi’s kit since it launched, but it’s great that they are inovating and bringing a cheaper model to market. Hit up AnandTech for the details on their newest, cheaper, model. Securifi […]
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I know the HA market is still young, but is it really too much to ask that players start to integrate with each other? How many apps should I need to get a best-of-breed solution? Rant done, the Ring looks interesting, go check out what Neowin has to say… In the world of home automation we’ve seen all sorts […]
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The lack of smart locks in the UK is lamentable, there just aren’t any locks that work with the “Night Latch” scheme that is somewhat popular. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will work in my door though (it has a complex multi-bolt through the frame system) :(. If you do have a “Night Latch” lock, and were waiting for […]
Read moreIf you’re looking for a snazzy looking home automation controller (HAC), the quad-core ARM9 Android 5 based ZipTILE looks really interesting. Especially considering the compute power, HA ecosystem support (Z-Wave, Zigbee, Nest, etc.) and sensors. I’ve never played with Zipato’s kit, but the demo I saw last year was pretty impressive. Zipatile is the breakthrough system in a form of […]
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If I’m honest, I don’t really get the camera aspect of this light switch. I mean it’s cool and all, but as a light switch is in a fixed location it might not be optimal to monitor the room from where it is. The $299 DKZ-201S is packed with environmental sensors though, so from that perspective it makes a lot […]
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Harmony has been pushing its control ecosystem beyond the home theater and into the more general home automation space recently, with the Elite topping the lineup. The $350 price tag is a bit hard to swallow vs. its ~$130 siblings (what I use), but there are a few advantages to stepping up. Earlier this year I reviewed the Harmony Companion (former […]
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