Standard blinds, automated (misc Kickstarter devices)

So, I know I’m not the only one looking for new products to do the things some of us want. But I thought I would share these, since I wigged out when I found them

The attractive, expensive variety
and the hideous cheap one

and this is totally not about blinds, but damn.

I’m really not sure why anyone would purchase a ridiculously overpriced system to do what these can. Maybe I’m missing something.

Until you can buy it for two day delivery from Amazon, it’s all just marketing. There’s no way to tell what will actually be delivered until it’s ready to ship. All Indiegogo stuff looks great. That’s the point. :sunglasses:

As far as “ridiculously overpriced system” if you’re talking about comparing a kickstarter price to a currently available product price, that’s as apples and oranges as you can get.

Safety features, certifications, real world distribution costs, returns processing, customer support: there are a lot of things that go into real products that kickstarter and indiegogo campaigns don’t have to worry about. The pricing is never going to be equivalent.

Remember, you’re not “buying” something from an Indiegogo campaign. It is specifically not a retail transaction, and it says so all over the site. You’re a “backer.” You may never get the product or it may not be as it was originally described. You have no consumer protections the way you would if you bought something from Amazon or Best Buy.

I’m not opposed to kickstarter campaigns. I back one occasionally, particularly if they have an interesting patent or if they have a form factor where I want to demonstrate market interest. But I don’t try to evaluate them against products which are currently available. And I don’t expect them to arrive less than six months later than they say they will. :sunglasses:

JMO

2 Likes

BTW, if you want to check out new tech that you can actually buy now. Amazon’s launchpad is pretty cool. New items every week. :sunglasses:

I think amazon launch pad is basically full of garbage. I have gone through repeatedly and found no cause to utilize my spending abilities. I too would not be backing this, especially not through indigogo. I can wait for it to hit market if it does. By ridiculously expensive, I refer to the systems such as hunter Douglas. So unless you think that customer service and distribution is going to bring the price up another five hundred dollars, the equivalence in terms of my comparison is accurate. And yes. There already are similar products that eliminate the need for the other systems, but as far as I’m aware none of them are consistent. I’ve actually never heard anything about fibaro’s and I’m not entirely sure if that product is able to be added on to simple blinds. But thanks for trying to shoot me down

There’s a lot of junk on Amazon launchpad, but a lot of good stuff, too, including, for example:

Kuna light (very popular in this community)
Eero WiFi
Flic buttons
Automatic (for cars)
Garadget
LIFX bulbs
August lock ( although it’s not compatible with SmartThings)
Nucleus Intercom (which I believe you have)
Tado Thermostat
Leeo acoustic sensor
Roost
Nanoleaf Ivy
Netatmo camera with facial recognition
Zen Thermostat
Plum Lightpad (light switch)
Curb energy monitoring system
Zuli smart plugs (cool tech, but not ST-compatible)
Sens.me sensor system
Whistle pet tracker ( excellent product with IFTTT integration)
Foobot, air quality monitor
Scout alarm system (has official smartthings integration)
Keen home vents ( another device that is very popular in this community)
HugOne VOC/sleep sensor
Securifi Peanut plug (ZHA, one of the least expensive ST – compatible zigbee pocket sockets)

None of those are junk, and all of them have been previously discussed individually in the forums.

So you do have to be willing to do some digging, but there’s definitely interesting tech there, all of it available for order now with an easy returns policy. :sunglasses:

In your first post you specifically asked why anyone would use a different system and what you were missing.

The answer to both of those questions is the same: kickstarter and indiegogo products are just prerelease marketing campaigns. Many times what they’re describing can’t be built unless they have something really new and a patent on it and most of them don’t have a patent. Oftentimes they can’t be built at the price they’re listed at, which is why so many of these products come to market with a much smaller set of features than the campaign described. Many of them don’t understand industry standard safety issues, some of which may be mandated before the product can be sold.

If you’re specifically interested in automated window coverings, there are a lot of ways to approach that now. See the quick browse lists for “shades,” that has several project reports from different community members.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section

If you want to compare two specific devices, pick a brand and model and we can discuss them. Or we can talk about the features for a specific device class.

It’s hard to talk about details for any kickstarter project, and impossible to compare them to an existing product, because you just can’t know what will actually be delivered once they are ready to ship.

You can talk about whatever attracted you to a particular campaign and community members can discuss alternative ways of getting the same features now, either from existing products or from DIY projects.

I’m sorry if you felt targeted, I was just trying to answer your questions. Kickstarter campaigns are fun and interesting and inspirational and they do start a lot of good conversations. :sunglasses:

1 Like

If you want ridiculously cheap, and don’t mind a little work.

I have these running six large windows on full automation and they have run flawlessly. I think there is a video showing integration.

1 Like