Review: The HomeLogic Mobile Control Application For iPhone and iPod Touch

Who doesn’t like to be in control? I recently had some fun checking out the new HomeLogic Mobile Control Application that can turn any iPhone or iTouch into a wireless housewide controller from anywhere. Think you’re in Jamaica on a sandy beach and you want to check to make sure you turned off your home theater system. You get the picture.

This was actually a demo application they sent me from HomeLogic, a manufacturer of IP-based control systems. I was able to turn on the iTouch and be connected to a demonstration housewide system that HomeLogic had set up at a remote location. Immediately, I was able to access the security, lighting, climate, audio & video and pool and spa settings of this remote house. The application works with either the EDGE or 3G networks, giving the iPhone or iTouch flexibility in the cellular mode with both battery life and processing power.

I started out by viewing and controlling live IP cameras at the site back east on my iTouch from my living room in California. The actual graphic user interface buttons are simple, colorful and intuitively placed. No real learning curve here, folks; plug and play at its finest. I touched the video button and then by touching anywhere on the video image I was able to tilt the remote camera so I could see anywhere in the space. Next I was able to turn on and off the lights in the demo room.

All very fun, but the feature that appealed to me the most as a homeowner was coming up in a minute: I was able to access the site’s security.
I have long thought that being able to access and control your home’s security system from anywhere in the world is completely the wave of the future and as technology has progressed and prices have dropped, it will soon be commonplace and clearly available to more people. This HomeLogic mobile application has proven that.

From the application you can arm, disarm, check out the security system status and view a history of what has gone on over the past year. I will at some point talk to a homeowner that is using this brand new application to see how they like it in reality, as opposed to just accessing the networked remote demo.

But at any rate, it’s nice to know that sometime soon I’ll be lying on a Greek beach and be able to check my nanny-cam back in LA at a moment’s notice. Now that’s real freedom. For more information, visit www.homelogic.com  EG