Computer products and consumer electronics distributor, D&H Distributing, has enhanced its portfolio of WiFi- and Bluetooth-based smart home automation devices, which allow users and SMB business owners to automate and control electronics in their offices, warehouse spaces, and homes, including lighting, thermostats, music, locks, and doorways.†
The connected device/”smart” automation trend, which surfaced as a consumer electronics category, states D&H, is making a transition to mobile workplace environments where on-the-go small business owners are looking to observe, secure, and automate their assets. Vendors such as Ascend, AwoX, Belkin, Kwikset, Oplink, and Quirky offer a range of products in this vein with new capabilities, including:
- Belkin WeMo automation:† This series of products allows users to control their electronics, power, water, and WiFi from a smartphone or tablet. Its light switches work via an app that is compatible with a range of mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, iPad and iPod touch, offering alerts on how much energy these connected electronics consume.
- Oplink Automation Systems:† Oplink offers WiFi-based devices that perform functions ranging from monitoring doors and windows and providing IP surveillance to alerting users to a fire or a water leak. Users can purchase a fully bundled “Security Kit” complete with WiFi cameras, window and door sensors, key fobs, plus a motion detector and siren.
- Kwikset “SmartKey” locks:† Kwikset’s SmartKey technology lets users re-key their security system in seconds if a key is lost or unreturned. The technology is available on door knobs, levers, and electronic deadbolts.
- Quirky connected electronics products:† Quirky offers a line of electronics that can be monitored and controlled through the “Wink” automation app, including its NORM thermostats, GE lighting, the Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner, a propane fuel tank gauge, individual light switches, and more. A Wink relay/hub system allows users to control their connected devices from a central location.
- Ascend/Quirky garage door controller:† The Ascend/Quirky garage door controller also works with the Wink app, letting the user open a garage door from anywhere via smartphone, compatible with most existing openers. Facility owners can monitor the status of doors via their smart phones, receiving alerts when doors open or close.
- AwoX WiFi lighting:† AwoX has developed “Striim” Bluetooth-enabled lighting, including four-way, multi-color LED bulbs that can be adjusted from the user’s smart phone for tone and brightness. One such model includes an integrated speaker. Music from the consumer’s smart phone can be synchronized across various AwoX bulbs for a rainbow light show.
“More manufacturers are looking to integrate their connected electronics not just with a WiFi or Bluetooth feature, but with the user’s ever-present cell phone. The pervasiveness of this category at this year’s CES event is proof that smart technologies are sharply on the rise, adding to the ubiquity of the Internet of Things, allowing users to maintain control over their business locations, homes, and devices from across the office or across the world,” says Rob Eby, vice president of purchasing at D&H Distributing. “Not only does this technology deliver convenience and security, it allows businesses and homeowners to use automation to manage the way they consume energy, conserving resources — and establishing a ‘green’ sales angle for resellers and dealers.”
