Even though I’ve yet to wrap up my Kevo Smartlock review, Kwikset has gone ahead and revealed phase two of their Unikey-powered connected home strategy. There’s a variety of ways to slice and dice these smart components, and Kevo only ships with Bluetooth capabilities – unlike some of their competitors, who integrate WiFi. To extend Kevo’s capabilities beyond smartphone control near a door, the companies will be launching a Bluetooth Enabled Gateway this summer. The Gateway communicates with a Kevo lock, and by tethering it to your router, extends smartlock coverage — check and control the status of your lock, via iPhone, at the door (as currently implemented), from the bedroom, or even while on the road. Stay tuned, as we hope to provide more comprehensive coverage of the Kevo solution later this month.
When you finish your Kevo Smart-lock review, could you address the security vulnerability of all Kevo locks that have the “re-keying” feature? That has prevented me from considering this product. More info about that here: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-9788_7-57610253/can-you-really-crack-the-kwikset-kevo/
I will research, follow up with the company, and get those questions answered.
Related to the gateway, I just don’t understand why they don’t build wifi directly into the lock. Seems like generation 2 will probably do this.
I’m personally very interested in smart lock technology, but I just don’t feel like any of the current offerings fit the full bill. Full disclosure, my door is specifically incompatible with the “lockitron” (the knob and deadbolt are too close together), otherwise I like that solution.
Yeah, I hear ya… I think it’s probably two things (1) component size to cost and (2) power requirements.
next question: Why is nobody working on a smart garage door opener? :)
Ultimately, I want my phone to become my universal key (car, house, garage door). Probably going to be another 5 years before its beyond just early adopter tech (with all the headaches that go with it). Just some thoughts.
Re: garage door openers… Google for “iPhone garage door” and you see several options, from generic (presumably contact closure) units to retrofit kits like LiftMaster’s MyQ to new iPhone-enabled openers:
http://www.liftmaster.com/lmcv2/accessorydetail/19726/myq-retrofit-package/
Steve,
Thanks!
-Mike
Great.First mobiles became smart and now the homes are going to become smart in the near future with such products coming out.It is good to know see some more upgrades to the product.