This weekend the IFA show will be kicking off in Berlin, Germany. You probably gathered as much from the onslaught of pre-event announcements making their way online over the past few days. One that caught my eye came through from Belkin yesterday. The UK based tech firm has released a new range of connected accessories that help control your home environment.
The WeMe range features three key elements: WeMo Switch ($49.99), WeMo Switch + Motion ($99.99) and WeMo Baby ($99.99). The main hub of the range is the WeMo Switch. It’s what Belkin calls the “building block” of the gathering.
The Switch connects to your home wireless network and is the central point of the entire WeMo system. Once it’s connected to your network, you can attach any electrical product to it and switch it on or off from anywhere, or even set it to a schedule from your iDevice.
For instance, you could have a light or lamp in your living set to turn on at set times during the day. The other scenario (more likely in my home) is if you’ve forgotten to switch it off at night, you can do so from your bedroom without having to go all the way back downstairs to switch it off.
I know, it’s laziness, but it’s super cool. Add the “+Motion” option and you can have devices set to switch on when they detect motion. Example: your TV/Console/HiFi could turn on when you enter your living room/bedroom. In fact, you don’t even have to be in the house. You can control it all when you’re out shopping, at work, or anywhere you can get a data connection.
If you’re a parent of an infant or infants for that matter, you could be intrigued by the WeMo Baby system. In simple terms: it’s a baby monitor. I’d love this to have been released 3 years ago. Sadly, I’m a little too late to take advantage.
But, it’s looks fantastic. It’s stylish, modern design is a marvel. It also is controllable from your iPhone. As you can tell, I’m a little excited by all this. Check the press release below for more information or hit the link to the WeMo page on Belkin’s site.
Full Press Release:
Belkin announces European launch of WeMo home automation range at IFA 2012, Berlin
(Rushden, UK). – 29 August, 2012 – Belkin, creators of people-inspired products, today unveiled the WeMo range of modular, Wi-Fi-based home automation products at IFA 2012 in Berlin. WeMo is a family of simple, ingenious products that allow you to control home electronics remotely, turning them on or off, triggering them with motion, or even putting them on a schedule.
Bringing your home to your fingertips, WeMo is a scalable and customisable solution that makes home automation simple and inexpensive. WeMo works with a dedicated app to enable you to control individual or multiple devices from your iPhone, iPad or iPod, so you can turn off a lamp from the other side of the house, or turn on the living room lights from the garden.
The new WeMo range comprises three products: WeMo Switch, WeMo Switch + Motion and WeMo Baby.
The WeMo Switch is a small device that plugs directly into any electrical socket and serves as the main building block for WeMo. Once the Switch is connected to the home Wi-Fi network, any device plugged into it can then be turned on or off from anywhere, whether at home or on the go with the WeMo app. The app also enables users to put devices on a timed schedule, so they can be turned on or off at pre-set times.
The WeMo Switch + Motion adds a sensor that detects motion within 3 metres and will turn on or off anything plugged into the switch when activated. The WeMo app tells any device plugged into the corresponding WeMo Switch what to do when motion is sensed.
The app also allows users to create rules or schedules based on customised intervals, such as turning off a lamp if no motion is sensed in the room after 10 minutes.
WeMo Baby enables users to listen to their baby on their iPhone, iPad or iPod with clear digital sound from anywhere in the home or outside.
Working with the WeMo Baby app and existing WiFi router, one or more users can monitor sounds from the baby’s room, so you can listen from the lounge, kitchen, garden, or even if you’re away from home. WeMo Baby even allows users to receive cry notifications, as well as access your baby’s cry history with an upgraded app.
WeMo also features integration with IFTTT (if this then that), an online service that allows you to create tasks combining different Internet-based services from one platform. Through the WeMo channel on IFTTT, you can use a WeMo Switch or Motion to trigger a variety of services, including email, weather, phone calls, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
For example, you can set up a motion sensor by your front door and use IFTTT to create a rule that will send a text message to your phone anytime motion is sensed.
WeMo Switch (F7C027) – £39.99 / €49.99
- A pug that becomes a programmable on and off switch for any household device
- Accessible from within the home Wi-Fi network, and anywhere else you have an internet connection, either Wi-Fi or via GPRS/3G
- Works in tandem with WeMo Motion, or as a stand-alone device
- Modular system makes it easy to add additional WeMo devices
- Works with iPhone 3GS upwards, iPad and iPod touch 3rd generation
- Creates schedules for devices to turn on or off
- Free WeMo app for iOS available from the App Store
- Available in selected UK retailers and online from mid-September
WeMo Switch + Motion (F5Z0340) – £79.99 / €99.99
- Detects movement so devices plugged into the WeMo Motion can be programmed to react to motion
- 1.8 metre power cable and 3 metre, 120° motion sensitivity range allow for optimal placement of sensor
- Accessible from within the home Wi-Fi network, and anywhere else you have an internet connection, either Wi-Fi or via GPRS/3G
- Modular system makes it easy to add additional WeMo devices
- Motion sensor sold bundled with WeMo Switch, not available separately
- Works with iPhone 3GS upwards, iPad and iPod touch 3rd generation
- Free WeMo app for iOS available from the App Store
- Available in selected UK retailers and online from mid-September
WeMo Baby (F8J007) – £79.99 / €99.99
- Allows you to monitor your baby from anywhere over Wi-Fiwith iPhone 3GS upwards, iPad and iPod touch 3rd generation
- Offers clear digital sound
- Listening access from multiple devices simultaneously
- Unlimited remote listening
- Additional features available with upgraded app (Powered by Evoz): cry notification – SMS/Push/Email alerts based on cry duration, cry history, crying insights and patterns, sleep tips and coaching
- Free WeMo app for iOS available from the App Store
- Available in Europe from 1st November.
