Aiming to offer an affordable and personal smart home, PLUGAWAY is a simple concept that features a range of smart plugs and LED lights which are remotely controlled by a smartphone, through a stylish application. While this is not something that sounds very appealing, the usability of the concept is stunning. Pairing that with the company’s policy of keeping the system open, in both hardware and software terms, makes PLUGAWAY a project with great potential.
What can PLUGAWAY do for you?
In a few words, PLUGAWAY is an affordable home-automation system which uses power plugs and LED bulbs as the main course. After purchasing the gear, future customers will find that besides the hardware treatment, the system also comes with an Android or iOS compatible application, which lets them enable or disable these components, at demand, from afar. Involving an LED light in the equation means that you can also dim the lights right from the mobile, helping you setting the mood just right. But by far, the feature that we loved the most is the energy monitor and consumption menu, where you can find out interesting data about how much power is consumed throughout the house; and of course, optimize it.
Openness, like nowhere else
It’s very interesting to see that more and more developers opt for complete openness when it come to their new products. With PLUGAWAY, anyone who purchase a package is free to change it’s logo and add a personal one. This is a great thing for small businesses which want to brand any bit of their building. The logo switch is also applicable for the mobile application itself, not only for the hardware. Speaking of the app, this one can be redesigned by anyone using the pre-defined libraries or right from scratch. Within the application you can create new rules, new buttons and a brand new interface. The world is your oyster. Returning to rules, the system is also compatible with “if this then that” rules, which means that you can link it with almost any platform out there, including Twitter and Facebook. Moreover, the system is also compatible with other smart appliances, as long as they are open for discussions too.
The unit will be available starting with April 2014 and will set customers back at least $30 for a PLUGAWAY smartplug. Those who also wish an intelligent LED will have to pay $45 extra (or $35 if you hurry and still catch the early bird). Package deals are also available, for various discounted prices.
