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Securifi Almond+ is Best $99 Home Automation System
Almond+ home automation hub and router from Securifi.
Securifi started life with the Almond wireless 802.11n router, featuring a small built-in touchscreen for diagnostics and feedback – a handy little product, given the difficulty that most consumers have configuring and troubleshooting routers via the PC.
Now, take that product, tack on some home automation radios and applications, and you have the Almond+ system, which debuted at Eureka Park at CES.
This tiny router/smart-home hub packs:
- Gigabit Ethernet (4 ports)
- wireless dual-band 802.11ac/802.11n router (up to 1.17 Gbps wireless speed)
- Z-Wave home automation
- ZigBee: Home Automation Profile, Smart Energy Profile and the new Light Link for colored LEDs
- USB port for wireless printing, storage or an external 3G/4G modem
- home automation apps and features aplenty
All that for an introductory price of $99 via Kickstarter (coming soon; sign up at securifi.com to be notified).
For that price, you might expect only modest home control features, but the software is surprisingly robust. You can, for example, program scenes that trigger multiple devices even across different protocols. The “home” mode might ramp up the Z-Wave thermostats and light up the ZigBee lights. These you can program through the Almond’s itty bitty touchscreen or via PC or mobile devices.
Speaking of mobile devices, yes, there’s an app for Securifi so users can monitor and control their home from any browser or mobile device.
In addition to its smart-home features, Almond+ is a full-blown gigabit wireless/hardwired router with four ports.
I don’t necessarily see this as the hub of a whole-house system, although it could be. I see it as a really awesome alarm clock.
Take one of these, screw in one of the myriad new smart light bulbs (that story coming soon), and have the light ramp up at the designated time. Pity the thing doesn’t have a built-in speaker, but you can always trigger a Z-Wave sounder or hook up to a third-party music system via IR.
Card Access offers a ZigBee-to-IR module and Remotec has a Z-Wave-to-IR module. Possibly an IP-enabling iTach Flex device from Global Cache could do the trick.
MORE CES 2013 COVERAGE HERE
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Article Topics
News · Product News · Slideshow · Home Automation and Control · Control Systems · Lighting · Security · Energy Management · Events · CES · Z-Wave · Remote Automation · Ces 2013 · Z-wave · Zigbee · Diy · Eureka · Kickstarter · Securifi ·About the Author
2 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
John—I asked my HA mfg friends how they could make this so cheap, and in fact it’s by using an itty bitty touchscreen, which is a standard size for small screens. I doubt a box with Z-Wave, Zigbee and Wi-Fi would fare well behind a wall, without substantially increasing the cost (ventilation, etc.). Folks will just have to take it for what it is. My guess is it will retail for $150 after Kickstarter.
Cool idea, and great price point, but a larger screen should have been used, and make an in wall version. just my $0.03