All Articles Tagged Z Wave

Julie Jacobson | 01/16 11:43 AM, 2 Comments

DIY home automation systems were everywhere at CES 2013 but none was more compelling than the new Almond+ 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… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/11 08:10 AM, 0 Comments

If you run around in home automation circles, you know iControl (which powers Comcast/Xfinity, ADT Pulse, other providers), 4Home (acquired by Motorola Mobility, sold to Arris; powering Verizon), and maybe the former Xanboo (now AT&T, powering Digital Life with Cisco). But you probably haven’t heard of MiOS, exhibiting in the Z-Wave pavilion at CES 2013. You’ll run smack into it as you enter South Hall 1. It’s a sleeper of a home automation platform mostly known as the engine for the DIY system Vera from Mi Casa Verde – also… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/10 09:05 AM, 6 Comments

Lowe’s may well be the first retailer to succeed with home automation. That’s my verdict after visiting with the home improvement store at CES 2013 and revisiting the Iris solution that didn’t impress me a year ago. What started as a modest solution based on the AlertMe ZigBee-enabled home control system from UK is now full-fledged platform compatible with ZigBee and Z-Wave. At $9.99 per month, the system blows away what Verizon gives you for the same price. The Iris hub features ZigBee, Z-Wave and WiFi, and also boasts a… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/05 09:25 AM, 0 Comments

Evolve Guest Controls has stepped up its hospitality game with the new Evolve AI, an Android-based touchscreen that allows guests to control lights, temperature, music and hotel amenities via a single Z-Wave- and WiFi-enabled touchscreen. The product will be on display in the Z-Wave pavilion at CES 2013. Evolve already had been gaining traction in hospitality with its rather inelegant keypad controllers, but the new touchscreen makes it simple for technophobic guests to accomplish traditionally impossible hotel tasks – like adjusting the temperature. Walk through the interactive demo: You tell… View this story

Robert Archer | 05/02 03:56 AM,

Honeywell is one of the most popular security equipment manufacturers in the world of residential electronics and recently the Melville, N.Y.-based company introduced its latest home security product the LYNX Touch 5100 control interface. The LYNX Touch 5100 is an interface solution that incorporates Wi-Fi and an alarm radio that communicates with 2G, 3G and 4G networks to ensure reliability. With the 5100 interface as part of a complete LYNX Touch security system homeowners will have at their disposal an array of convenience and security features that provide energy efficiency… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/24 09:36 AM, 1 Comment

AT&T announced its new Digital Life platform yesterday, but don’t expect it to be anything like the home automation services offered by Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Rogers and others. In an interview with CE Pro, Kevin Peterson, senior vice president, Digital Life for AT&T Mobility, reiterated what yesterday’s press release indicated – that Digital Life is a wholesale offering for International service providers, not a branded home-control and remote management system sold to consumers. We caught up with Peterson just as he was leaving for Barcelona, home of the… View this story

Robert Archer | 01/23 07:51 AM,

When top dealers such as Nick Tamburri of AHA Design consistently laud HAI for its line of home control, home automation and security products, it says the company must be doing something right. Validating those opinions are actions such as the New Orleans-based company's recent announcement that it is releasing a software update to enhance its control and security systems' usability. Just after the start of the new year HAI revealed that it is updating its controller software to allow for the two-way integration of ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless door… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/19 10:25 AM, 3 Comments

Soon you'll be able to open your doors simply by holding a smartphone near the lock, thanks to new consumer-grade NFC-enabled door locks from Yale. NFC (near field communication) is a fast-growing technology that enables simple data exchanges between two devices in close proximity. Today, the technology is used almost exclusively in commercial applications, for example, to provide product information when users hold their smartphones near an NFC-enabled poster. NFC also is gaining traction for mobile payment and is the technology behind Google Wallet, expected to launch today with much… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/02 05:06 AM, 0 Comments

Control4 is largely a ZigBee shop, but efforts have been made in the past to bring Z-Wave RF technology to the home automation system. It never took. Now, true Z-Wave integration is available, thanks to a new Control4 driver from UK-based Extra Vegetables, which creates “side dishes” for Control4 and other automation systems. The driver connects Control4 systems to the Vera 2 home controller from Mi Casa Verde. Vera, a low-cost Z-Wave-enabled control system, has an enthusiastic following among do-it-yourselfers but has never quite made it to the custom channel.… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 07/28 08:33 AM, 0 Comments

The Z-Wave Alliance, the industry leading open consortium of global companies dedicated to establishing Z-Wave as the standard in wireless home control, has announced that it has appointed Mark Walters as chairman of The Z-Wave Alliance. Walters re-joins the Z-Wave Alliance having served as its chairman from its inception in 2005. Prior to making his return, Walters worked in the commercial building and lighting control markets. Preceding his time with the Alliance, Walters served as director, residential products at Leviton Manufacturing, a Z-Wave Alliance member. Walters brings more than 20… View this story