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SONTE: App-controlled digital shades for your windows
There's a new and completely unique Kickstarter campaign that started this morning, and it hopes to make it possible for you to control a window's opaqueness from an app. SONTE Film is a self-installed "digital shade" that is applied to windows and can be made opaque -- or clear again -- with a tap on an app button. The link between your iPhone and SONTE is a WiFi-enabled transformer and a thin cord that connects to the window film. The film can be cut to any shape or size, meaning that you finally have a way to opaque that odd round window in your master bathroom... The company notes that the opaqued film even works as a projection screen. While lower backing levels are available with non-WiFi transformers, kicking in at the US$219 level or above provides you with a 1-square-meter installation kit with the app-controlled switch. Pledge $1,494 or more and you'll get one of the first daisy-chain packs covering a whopping eight square meters (86.11 square feet) of window. SONTE is expected to ship the first kits to backers in September. You can check out the easy installation process and see just how well the film works in the video below.
Insert Coin: Sonte smartphone-controlled window film turns opaque in a split second
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Smartphone control of your home is nothing new thanks to the likes of Nest and many, many others -- but automated window coverings have always been a spendy proposition. Now, Sonte is bringing its smartphone-controlled tech onto Kickstarter, giving backers a shot at the high-tech digital shades we saw at CES 2013. It works by going from transparent to opaque in a split second when current is applied, giving you privacy and light control -- or a makeshift projector screen -- at the flip of a switch or via an iOS or Android app. After measuring your windows, you'll be able to purchase the size you need and apply it yourself like a regular window film as shown in the video after the break. Ten square feet or so of the material will run around $184 for a non-WiFi, switch activated piece, while a smartphone-activated strip of the same size will cost $234. So, if you've been looking for electric shades, and are up to the installation challenge, hit the source to pledge.
Sonte switchable film transforms windows into projection screens, works through WiFi (hands-on)
We might have seen digital blinds before, but Sonte's on-window film, deep within is pitched at home-owners rather than business signage. The switchable film is a thin, light layer that can be retro-fitted to existed windows and the company reckons it's so easy that you should even be able to do it yourself. We saw the film used both as a picture display and as a see-through panel that can be made frosted -- as you can see above in our before-and-after. To control how it looks, you'll need to install either the Android or iOS app, where there's controls for multiple smart films. Another use posited was transforming large windows into a projection screen. That extra layer to your windows will also notch up savings on your heating bills too -- at least according to Sonte. The product is still in development, so you won't be able to pick up Sonte's adjustable film yet, but the company looks likely to approach crowdfunding sites to help get its switchable film tech off the ground.
