Swidget Devices?

Any ever here of swidget devices? Panasonic? Just saw an add and it seems interesting.

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You mean “Swidget,” right? These? (The logo has the I hidden on the left side of the D, but it is there)

I saw them when they were a kickstarter. I’m guessing Panasonic acquired them? Or at least acquired the patent?

To me, they just look gadgety. I don’t see any any advantage over buying a purpose-built device, and some potential child safety hazards in the design. :man_shrugging:t2:

They’re also very expensive: $60 for the base unit, which isn’t smart. And then another 35 or so to make it smart. So $95 for a Z wave outlet, for example, is pretty high.

There’s no integration for the Wi-Fi version with smartthings except through Alexa or Google home as an intermediary, so there’s that issue as well. But if you can find the Z wave module, that should work for basic on/off.

https://www.amazon.com/Swidget-Customizable-Outlet-15Amp-Assistant/dp/B07K2F8MVJ/

The one model I noticed that did look interesting Is the 20 amp version, so that could be useful.

https://www.amazon.com/Swidget-20A-Smart-Ready-Outlet-functionality/dp/B08M3ZNMKN?ref_=ast_sto_dp

But the only place I’ve seen selling the Z wave insert is their own Canadian site.

So all in all, it’s not something that would appeal to me, although the 20 amp version might be useful.

JMO

(I would add that the market from the Panasonic site appears to be contractors rather than individual consumers but I would argue, then that if you want to give consumers a choice, maybe just offer them alternative Leviton models, which look identical, and install identically, but offer different protocols. And perhaps more significantly, Leviton WiFi now offers matter support, which swidget does not at this time. )

Yep. I see no specific Panasonic or Swidget fingerprints in any stock or community drivers (from the usual suspects) for Z-Wave or Zigbee. There are also no mentions on the Swidget website/support about Edge drivers and they tell you to pair it as a “Generic Z-Wave Device”.

You get better features like dual smart outlets and ST Energy Monitoring out of the Eve Energy Matter Outlet for half the cost.


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