The Connected Home is the ability to connect to various devices in your house. For example, cameras, movement sensors, temperature sensors which can then be controlled remotely.
Archos are the latest company to get involved in the connected home scene and are offering up a range of products. At the centre of it all is the Archos Smart Home tablet which is used to manage all the connected “objects”. This can be tied to the Smart Home app on any Android and iOS device so users have full control wherever they are in the world.
The tablet can then be used to control the mini cams, movement tags and weather tags. Mini cams are about the size of a tennis ball and, as with all of the Connected Home kit, use Bluetooth to connect to the tablet. This allows a range of 20m and up to 13 items to be connected at once. Movement tags detect movement and door openings whilst weather tags are used to measure temperature and humidity.
The starter kit which retails for £199.99 includes the tablet and two each of the cameras and both tags. You can buy extra add-ons starting from £29.99.
Archos say the system doesn’t require wires or drilling and due to that Bluetooth connectivity and you have a battery life of up to a year, which would make it really easy to maintain. Also, if you use Tasker you can combine the sensors to perform tasks, eg take a picture whenever the door opens and then send a picture to your phone. Other add-ons (sold seperately) are motion balls which are used to sense motion up to 10m away and can be used outside as they are waterproof and smart plugs which monitor energy use and can be used to turn devices on or off remotely.
To see the full range and to see some example scenarios of the devices working together head to the Archos website here.
ARCHOS Announces Availability of its Smart Home and Enters the Connected Home Scene
The ARCHOS Smart Home enhances home connectivity like never before, providing real time information and control over your home from anywhere on your smartphone thanks to ARCHOS’ unique technology & proprietary connected objects
London– June 19, 2014 –ARCHOS, a pioneer in Android™ devices, announces the availability of its highly-anticipated Smart Home. Thanks to its unique technology, the firm enters the Connected Home scene andtransforms users’ houses.
The ARCHOS Smart Home Concept
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.
At the centre 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 connectedfrom anywhere.
To start transforming regular houses in Connected Homes, the ARCHOS Smart Home starter pack includes:
the ARCHOS Smart Home Tablet to manage the Connected Objects
two ARCHOS Mini Cams to take pictures
two ARCHOS Movement Tags to detect movement and door openings
and two ARCHOS Weather Tags to measure temperature and humidity
The Connected Home Goes Further with ARCHOS’ Unique Technology
Using Bluetooth Smart, ARCHOS was able to turn the Connected Home into an extremely easy to use and inconspicuous system. This technology allows the ARCHOS Smart Home connected objects to be completely wireless and their battery life to last up to a full year, making maintenance a no-brainer. Offering a modern but discreet design – no larger than a table-tennis ball – they are weatherproof and don’t need any screw or tools to install.
Thanks to an in-depth research and development work, ARCHOS is the first company using Bluetooth Smart to run Connected Homes. ARCHOS’ engineers improved this technology both in software and hardware – doubling its communications range (from 10 to 20m), tripling its capacity (from 4 to 13 connected objects at once) and improving its general stability.
As if that wasn’t enough, the ARCHOS Smart Home takes home connectivity even further by bringing Tasker into the loop, an application to trigger more in-depth actions. The tablet can also control some 433MHz radio frequency based objects, which many other home automation products use. Thanks to this capability, the ARCHOS Smart Home is an open system that can control other objects to turn them into Connected Objects. Opening the garage door can now be part of Connected Homes.
Building the Future of Connected Objects
“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 ARCHOS Smart Home starter pack is now available for £199.99. Its connected objects are also available as stand-alone products starting at £29.99. Other connected objects will be available during the summer and include a smart plug to control power supply, a siren to serve as an alarm and a motion ball to detect movement.
For more information about ARCHOS’ entire selection of smartphones, tablets and connected objects, visit us at www.archos.com and follow us onFacebook and Twitter.
About ARCHOS
ARCHOS, a pioneer in the portable audio and video player market, and now specializing in Android Tablets and Smartphones, has repeatedly revolutionised the market for consumer electronics since 1988. Today, ARCHOS offers its own line of Android Tablets and Smartphones, as well as a full line of OEM devices. In 2000, ARCHOS launched the Jukebox 6000, the first MP3 player combined with a hard disk. In 2008, ARCHOS launched the first generation Internet Tablets, and then the first ever Android powered tablets in 2009. In 2013, ARCHOS launched its first generation of Smartphones with the ARCHOS Platinum series. ARCHOS has offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. ARCHOS is quoted on Compartment C of Eurolist, Euronext Paris, ISIN CodeFR0000182479. Website:www.archos.com.
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