Archos Launches Smart Home Kit, Including Tablet
On Thursday, Archos launched a new bundle that promises to turn your regular mundane home into a Smart Home. This bundle includes the Archos Smart Home tablet for controlling connected objects, two mini cams for taking pictures, two movement tags for detecting movement and door swings, and two weather tags for measuring temperature and humidity.
According to Archos, Bluetooth Smart allows the bundle's components to be completely wireless, and extends the battery life up to a year. The company's engineers improved this technology on both a software and hardware level, thus doubling the tech's range from 10m to 20m. The company also managed to increase the capacity from four to 12 connected objects at once and improve the overall stability.
Archos reports that the tablet can control a number of 433 MHz radio frequency-based objects, which is used by other home automation products on the market. With this capability, the Archos Smart Home system can control other non-Archos devices like garage door openers, turning them into "Connected Home" devices.
"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."
This bundle (starter kit) costs $249.99 USD, but customers can purchase the components separately. These include the Mini-Cam, the Motion Ball, the Weather Tag, the Movement Tag and the Smart Plug for controlling appliances. Pricing for the objects starts at $24.99 USD.
For customers looking to turn their homes into a Smart Home, this bundle appears to be a great deal. The company also offers monitoring apps for Android and iOS, giving users peace of mind when leaving the house at night or going on vacation. Setup appears to be quick and simple too, allowing customers to establish the system in minutes without having to call a professional.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Bill McDonough I cannot find where to buy it in the US.Reply
I can only find it on the UK site.
http://www.archos.com/gb/store/index.html?pn=502660