Hawking?s Wireless Home Automation System

Hawking showed Z-Wave-compatible home automation devices at CES. Connect the HomeRemote to your router and you can control Z-Wave devices throughout your house, and set up and manage macros to automate things like turning on the lights at dusk.

If you?re willing to pay for additional services, you can monitor and even control those devices--lights, appliances, heating/air conditioning, security cameras, etc., via your cell phone. Best feature: You don?t have to keep your computer on.

That?s because the HomeRemote has its own integrated server and a Web interface. Remote capabilities in home automation products aren?t new, but they are at least rare with Z-Wave products, especially at the price Hawking will charge: $199, which gets you the HomeRemote device and one remote control. The company says you just plug the device into your router, and using the magic of Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), it will automatically open up the proper ports in your router?s firewall (note to self: make sure UPnP access is turned off on my router--at least until I try one of these things out).

Hawking will also offer an IP-based wireless video camera that will work with the system when it goes on sale in March. The $169 camera will allow you to view your home at a thrilling 3 frames per second on an EVDO- or EDGE-capable cell phone, though Hawking says the frame rate will improve; it?s target is 10 fps. That service will cost $6.95 per month, all cellular carriers except Verizon will allow access to the service. If the frame rate is too slow for you (or you?re on Verizon), you can view 30-fps video in a Web browser on a PC, for free.

One interesting side note: We saw this device at last year?s CES, when it was going to use Zigbee technology; Hawking says it got tired waiting for Zigbee, so it switched. Zigbee says it's fully baked now, but apparently, it wasn't quick enough for Hawking. Ouch.

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