When I chose A to Z Smart Home Ecosystems for a title to this group of articles, it seemed natural, since four of the major “environments” that I loosely dub “eco-systems” are Apple HomeKit and Amazon Echo, and at the other end of the alphabet are Zigbee and Z-Wave – two major device standards that are widely used.
There is an incredible range of products for the smart home. Eco-systems can bring together many different devices, say smart light bulbs, a front door lock, a smart thermostat, etc., so that they can be controlled in a similar fashion. If nothing worked together, you could end up with 20 or more different apps to control your devices, as you purchase your favorite products from various manufacturers. For the DIY types that might be OK, but most people want simplicity.
In this discussion, I plan to touch on two types of eco-systems (or at least that’s how I describe them).
I want to talk about some of the benefits and limitations that these offer. Call it “big picture stuff,” as opposed to the details found in our reviews.
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One type are what I’ll call “standards type.” In terms of home automation, the best known ones are Wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Bluetooth. An example: The SmartThings Hub that is currently a key part of our home’s automation (being reviewed now) supports Z-Wave, Wifi, and Zigbee. One of our reviewers, Dave, is posting his review today of the Wink Hub, which goes one better and also supports Bluetooth. Others, like the Homeseer I started with, and the Nexia I reviewed last fall, are just Z-wave (and of course Wifi, because without wifi, we can’t operate these devices from our phones and tablets.
The other type are primarily the Voice controlled, personal assistant types.
You’ve heard of most of the big ones: Apple’s HomeKit, using the Siri personal assistant, Amazon’s Echo device, uses their Alexa personal assistant, Microsoft’s is Cortana, and Google’s new assistant, is simply named Google.
Art's been reviewing high tech products and editing their reviews for 15 years. He launched his first website presenting solutions.com (sold in 2003) in early 1995 when there were only a few thousand .coms. He launched ProjectorReviews.com in 2000, and started planning Smarterhomeautomation.com back in 2011.
Art's goal is to provide in-depth reviews on the latest and hottest products that fit into the Smart Home, aka Home Automation, as well as insightful articles to educate people into what's available, what makes the most sense, and where the market is going, so people can better plan, and implement their goals for energy efficient, convenient, and downright "cool" capabilities.
Ancient history: Born in Allentown PA, Graduated 1972. Sold and managed stereo stores (and did a little surfing) in the early, mid-70's before getting into computers and more AV. Managed the first computers store in Pa, starting in 1979 (not the first manager). Moved to selling computers to major accounts. Then moved west to SF area, for a four year stint with Epson starting in 1982, then left for one of the early large venture backed start-ups in the Silicon Valley - Presentation Technologies. Left there to start up Presenting Solutions, which became the first projector focused reseller on the internet (Jan 1995). Married Lori in 1990, and have been enjoying our daughter Lisa, since 1992! Presently living, and working in San Clemente, CA.
