iSmart Alarm turns iPhone into a home guard dog
Debuting a working version at CES, iSmart Alarm is looking to take home security out of the hands of security companies and put it into the hands of your iPhone.
Most people still choose to handle home security the old-fashioned way. They have a big slobbery dog or they pay a security company to monitor their home. For people who are allergic to pups and don't want to deal with security contracts, startup iSmart Alarm is hoping to turn the iPhone into the focal point for home security.
The system is made up of several parts that can be mixed and matched as needed. There are cameras, motion sensors, contact sensors for windows and doors, and a remote tag for tracking kids or pets (or both). The brains of the system is a square device called the CubeOne that plugs into an outlet and connects up to your router.
The iSmart Alarm app lets you arm and disarm the system, view live video, receive photos from the camera when sensors are triggered, and follow the locations of the remote tags.
One of the biggest selling points of this system is the portability. You don't have to have a security company show up and install anything, making it an option for apartment dwellers. So far, so good. What's the catch, then? Though iSmart Alarm has a prototype up and running at CES, you can't actually run out and buy the system just yet.
The company's Indiegogo campaign launches on January 8. The goal is $100,000, but the project is being used like a pre-order system. Flexible funding is designed so that backers will received their products even if the goal isn't reached. A $79 pledge will get you a basic package with one of each device, minus the camera, to play with.
Eventually, individual pieces will be available, letting customers design their own home security systems. Once you buy it, you own it. There are no contracts. That may be the most compelling argument in favor of this particular approach to home security. It definitely appeals to the do-it-yourselfer.
