While Home Depot’s sell date may be 9/1, wireless Wink LED bulbs have started popping up on store shelves. And, along with them, is some very interesting box art… including the yet-to-be announced Wink Relay Controller. By way of Amazon and a Google cache, we learn the incoming device features:
- 4.3″ multi-touch screen allows access to all your smart products via the Wink app
- 2x smart light switches can be customized to turn lights, scenes, or other smart products on/off
- Temperature, humidity, and proximity sensors put even more data at your fingertips
- Microphone and speaker for intercom functionality (coming soon)
- Replaces most single or double light switches
So not only does this product seek to bring wall-mountable touchpads to the masses, versus the custom integration crowd and should the $250 price point stick, but it may also serve as the Wink hub itself … and reside in an existing electrical box (which slightly ratchets up the complexity). Of course, the benefit to a solution like this is you wouldn’t always have to physically possess a preconfigured smartphone to interact with your home. And, the touchscreen mated to a pair of programmable mechanical buttons seems quite versatile. We may not be quite ready to recommend the GE Quirky home automation collaboration, but they clearly have a broad vision with all kinds of goodies in the pipeline.
I can’t imagine this replicates all the radios found in the full fledged Wink Hub. Wondering if it’s a subset of communication protocols or merely an interface to a Hub. Hm.
If Wink expects customers to install multiple units in their homes (and seemingly they do, as indicated by the intercom functionality), it wouldn’t make sense to build all the radios into each switch. It would be redundant. Better to have one hub, and each switch will communicate with it.
I would love a ZNF wireless LED bulb shootout post.
I think Adam has TCP, WeMo, Wink, and Hue bulbs at this point. I have Hue. I mostly like them but both the price and flakey geofencing anger me. :)
Just the WeMo and GE Link bulbs for now…have had the TCP and Hue bulbs.
I just want them to build an iPad version of the app! I have an iPad mini on the side of my fridge serving as an info center for the household. It does a great job with other apps for my home alarm and controlling music. Adding iPad views to their iOS app would make this great.
Just as Jon describes, wouldn’t a used ipod touch or ipad serve the same purpose for less? You can buy AC outlets that have a USB power supply, with that an a ipod touch vecro’ed next to it, wouldn’t you almost have the same function with perhaps no temperature and humidity monitor?
I haven’t tried the Wink or TCP lighting app yet on my ipod touch but it’s worth checking out.
Amazon’s now taking pre-orders at $300 and a promo video can be found here:
Maybe I’m just a little biased given that I’m the founder, but I think what we’re doing with Nucleus (www.nucleusintercom.com) takes this concept a few steps further – we use voice activation so you don’t even have to touch the wall panel, and our system (given it’s base function as an intercom) is already naturally placed throughout the home.