Tag: iphone

Room Locator now makes it possible to control smart home devices in individual rooms automatically

Room Locator is a smart motion detector that triggers smart home actions when entering or leaving a room.

Munich, March 6, 2017 – Room Locator by LinkDesk is the smart motion detector that controls smart home devices simply upon entering or leaving a room. A smartphone or tablet uses Bluetooth to recognize Room Locator and on doing so, triggers preselected actions. When combined with the iOS app “Devices”, it enables HomeKit devices to be easily managed, conveniently linked, and simultaneously controlled. An IFTTT connection provides additional application options when used with additional smart home devices and online services. 

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The facts at a glance:

• Room Locator is the smart motion detector that makes it possible to control smart home devices automatically, when entering and leaving a room
• A smartphone or tablet recognizes Room Locator via Bluetooth and triggers programmed actions
• It manages, links to and controls HomeKit devices, thanks to the intuitive “Devices” app (iOS 9.0 or later)
• An IFTTT connection makes it possible to link additional smart home products and online services
• Suitable for room sizes between 10 and 40 square meters
• Compact design: 5,1 centimetres in diameter and 1,2 centimetres deep
• Weight: 19 grams
• Battery-powered with a service life of two years
• Items delivered: Room Locator including battery
• The Room Locator is now available for €29.95 in stores and online on Amazon and other retailers

The room as a control unit

Early in the morning, upon entering the kitchen, the light goes on immediately, the heat is turned up, the radio is switched on, and the coffee machine is already brewing coffee. This scenario has been triggered simply by an inconspicuously mounted motion detector. Working in conjunction with the “Devices” iOS app, the Room Locator by LinkDesk has automatically turned on HomeKit devices to increase comfort inside the four walls of the kitchen. Upon entering the room, the iPhone or other Apple device has recognized the smart motion detector via Bluetooth and automatically triggered programmed actions. It is just as easy to define what is supposed to happen upon leaving the room.

The Room Locator is optimized for room sizes between 10 and 40 square meters, is battery-operated, and can be mounted anywhere in the room using the adhesive pad that comes with it.

Intuitive app for the operation of HomeKit devices

The “Devices” app by LinkDesk was specially designed for managing and controlling HomeKit devices. It provides an organized overview and an intuitive user interface. HomeKit-enabled lamps, electric sockets, thermostats, and many other devices can be logically grouped and allocated to individual rooms. By establishing scenes, the actions of these devices can be networked and controlled simultaneously. The Room Locator triggers the relevant scene in each case. In order to optimally match smart home activities to individual needs, additional settings such as time or the status of particular devices can be set as conditions. For example, the light is only switched on if the room is entered after a certain hour. Or the baby monitor is only activated after leaving the room if the night light was left on.

IFTTT opens up even more possibilities of usage

With an IFTTT connection, the Room Locator can be combined not just with HomeKit products but also with other smart home devices and online services. With simple if-then commands, the smart door lock can lock the front door, for example, as soon as the entry area is left. Or, when you enter and leave your home office, the time you spent working is automatically recorded in a document and filed online.

Availability and price

The Room Locator by LinkDesk is now available in stores and online at Amazon at a price of €29.95.

LinkDesk

LinkDesk is a future-oriented startup, founded in 2014 in Munich. The company’s goal is to simplify significantly the use of modern smart home technologies, and thus enable a particularly intuitive kind of smart home best suited to everyday life. The young developer team has put lots of love into its software and hardware solutions, offering users an unusually simple and yet outstanding user experience. www.linkdesk.com

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A group of banks in Australia have accused the iPhone maker of delaying the progress of mobile payments.

A number of Australian banks have come together in a claim that Apple NFC technology restrictions are keeping mobile payments from progressing. They feel that mobile wallet services could be advancing faster across multiple platforms, but the iPhone maker’s tech restrictions are proving to be highly problematic.

The banks have said they feel that lifting the NFC restriction considerably change the ecosystem.

The group of Australian banks described the struggle they feel with the Apple NFC technology restriction in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission(ACCC). The submission was 27 pages long and described the way the NFC restriction is not only stopping new mobile wallets from being accessible across different platforms, but it is also placing a barrier in the way of progress.

The four banks insist that the restriction is leading to a fragmented customer experience and that if access is not made available there “simply will not be the same incentives and ability to innovative,” when it comes to progress on iOS based devices or others, for that matter.

The restriction from Apple NFC technology is important in Australia as it represents 40% of smartphones.

In the report from the banks, they pointed out that “approximately 40% of smartphone sales are iPhones,” in the country. That said, they also underscored that “the value and importance of the iPhone customer segment for app uptake, use and expenditure far outweigh this share.”

To illustrate the point, the report said that about 60 percent of mobile banking transactions come from iPhone users. Moreover 70 percent of Australian mobile app revenues come from those same devices. As Apple smartphone users are more likely to use mobile wallets and banking and will more readily embrace newer technologies, these are also the users most likely to push tech innovation, such as with mobile payments.

By restricting the Apple NFC technology, the banks claim that progress in other areas of mobile payments is being hobbled. iPhone users are typically more tech focused, wealthy, engaged by and attached to their devices. By cutting them off from tech other than that produced by the iPhone maker itself, competition and opportunity from elsewhere is stunted, said the report.