electrical outlets
Latest
Belkin announces WeMo home automation system; controls electrical outlets with your smartphone, motion
If you're looking to control the electrical outlets of your home or apartment via your newfangled smartphone, Belkin has you covered. The company has unveiled the first two products of its newly launched WeMo line of home automation technology. The WeMo Home Control Switch is a plug that doubles as a programmable on / off for any device from lighting to coffee pots. Alongside the outlet power control, the WeMo Motion Sensor will detect your movement and when used in tandem with the Home Control Switch, can be programmed to power on electrical items in reaction to motion. Both pieces of the Belkin kit require the free WeMo app and will set you back $49.99 and $59.99, in order of mention. These two initial products will be available in the US in March, with more devices coming in the Fall.
Pivot Power strip starts shipping, folks who ordered a year ago rejoice
Don't you hate it when you preorder something and it doesn't show up for, like, a year? We know of at least 960 early adopters who can feel your pain. The Pivot Power strip, which lets you rearrange six outlets to plug in adapters of any size, went on sale in June of last year for $23 a pop. But, because the community-driven website Quirky is selling it, the ordering process wasn't as simple as paying and waiting for it to show up on your doorstep: the company would only ship them when 960 people "committed" to buying them -- not unlike how a certain number of people are needed to activate a Groupon deal. Well, the company quickly met its goal, the strip is at last shipping, and Jake Zien, the inventor (that's that giddy fellow up there) couldn't be more pleased. When we first reported on the Pivot Power strip's availability, more than half of those pre-sale slots had already been filled so we're not sure just what took so long. Since then, Zien & Co. have been spending their time seeing the thing through the manufacturing process. In any case, if you missed the boat the first time, it looks like there might still be additional units up for sale. [Thanks, Dan L. and Zo] %Gallery-123507%
