People looking to breathe new life into "old" tech have a new option that offers convenience and ease of use. The Nyrius Smart Outlet enables standard outlets with Bluetooth wireless for remote operation through smartphones and tablets.
There's a wide variety of "smart home" products available today. Users can moderate a home's heating and cooling with a Nest thermostat, keep an eye on things with indoor security cameras, or even switch lights through app/voice control. While each are helpful in their own way, they don't do much for electronics that already exist, like regular lamps, fans, or appliances. The Nyrius Smart Outlet is designed to provide on/off/proximity control to anything capable of plugging into a wall outlet.
Unlike smart home devices that operate through a hub connected to a home's Wi-Fi network, such as D-Link's mydlink Home, the Nyrius Smart Outlet uses Bluetooth wireless to pair and communicate. Although users may be bound to a 33 ft (10 m) Bluetooth range, they won't be limited by the requirement of an always-on internet connection.
This means the Nyrius Smart Outlet can work remotely, needing only a standard 3-prong 120V 60 Hz AC outlet. Wireless dead zones in homes, separated garages, backyard in-laws quarters, and even vehicles (power inverter required) can benefit. And since the Nyrius Smart Outlet is compact and plug-and-play, it can make for a very useful travel gadget.
Mobile devices running the free Nyrius Smart Outlet app can connect to and operate up to three Smart Outlets for iOS, or seven for Android. The app is designed to let users set custom names, passwords (optional), and switch on/off outlets with a single tap. The Nyrius Smart Outlet can be especially handy to control out-of-reach electronics that are plugged into outlets not connected to a wall switch. And with the ability to set activation by proximity as well as schedules, users can save energy by having lights, floor fans, heaters, and more operating only at specific times.
The Nyrius Smart Outlet is available now for US$39.99.
Check out Nyrius' Kickstarter video below to see the Smart Outlet in action.
Source: Nyrius
"And since the Nyrius Smart Outlet is compact and plug-and-play, it can make for a very useful travel gadget." Looks like it is more than 4 times the size - in volume - of my TP-Link travel router. It most certainly is not compact.