Archos has announced the launch of its new super-cheap Smart Home starter kit. For $250, a user will be provided with two wireless cameras, two movement tags, two weather tags that track temperature and humidity, and a 7-inch Android tablet running Android’s Jelly Bean operating system on a RK3168 dual-core 1.2-GHz processor with 1 GB of memory, meant to serve as the system’s hub.
“With the ARCHOS Smart Home, connectivity has taken a big step forward as users can define actions based on specific triggers to meet their individual needs, creating as many possibilities as they can imagine. For example, a program could take a picture when someone opens the front door and then send a notification and the picture to its user's smartphone,” Archos explains in its press release.
“At the center of the Connected Home is the ARCHOS Smart Home Tablet which controls the Connected Objects and can be tied to the ARCHOS Smart Home application on any Android and iOS device to keep users connected from anywhere.”
Each component has a one-year battery life (according to the company) and communicates with the system wirelessly through Bluetooth Smart, so no complicated installation process is necessary.
Also, if the homeowner wishes to add components, cameras and sensors can be purchased individually for $25 each.
Worth noting: For $3, Android users can download the Tasker app, which allow them to do more advanced customization beyond the standard functions the kit offers out of the box. The system is also designed to work with select 433-MHz radio frequency products, thereby allowing the user to work other devices like, say, his / her garage door opener, into the Archos central hub.
In the announcement, the company pointed out that it is the first to use the Bluetooth Smart tech in connected homes, and that Archos actually engineered the technology to double its normal distance, covering a range of 65 feet instead of 32, with up to 13 devices at a time.
Down the road, Archos plans on offering more add-ons, including controllable plug sockets, alarm sirens, and motion detectors; the company even has a pet tracker planned for the future.
“The Connected Home is a booming industry that will reach no less than $71 billion by 2018 according to Juniper,” says Loïc Poirier, CEO of Archos. “Our goal with the Archos Smart Home is to deliver the most comprehensive selection of connected objects to fuel this Connected Home vision and drive our Connected Objects strategy.”
The announcement was just a way of generating buzz around the kit — it’s not actually available just yet, but is expected to be online in the coming days.
Story via archos.com
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