Swann dives into smart home devices with SwannOne’s local launch

Do-it-yourself security manufacturer Swann Communications today announced the Australian availability of its range of SwannOne smart home products.

While Swann has previously built and sold a number of Wi-Fi enabled cameras and security products, SwannOne marks the company's first attempt to create an interconnected ecosystem where devices are able to talk to one another.

Swann Marketing Communications Manager Nicole Tyquin said that the company will stick to the products it knows, and will use its expertise in security to try and develop a niche in the smart home market.

"We're really focusing on our strengths – security, home automation, and energy," said Tyquin. "It's our best chance to standout against the big players."

The SwannOne range of smart products includes indoor and outdoor cameras, a thermostat, motion sensors, door and window sensors, a key fob, smart plugs, and an outdoor siren.

With the exception of the indoor and outdoor camera, the majority of SwannOne products are battery powered, and will last for about a year on commonly available batteries. Most of them can also be installed without the need for screws or wiring.

The SwannOne Hub, included in a number of starter kits, is at the heart of the SwannOne ecosystem and ties the remainder of the products together. In the event of a power outage, the Hub has an internal battery that will keep it alive for six hours and is able to talk directly to compatible products without the need for Wi-Fi. A future software update will enable owners to use the Hub's USB ports to host a 4G modem as a fall-back.

Swann Chief Technology Officer Alex Talevski said SwannOne users will be able to integrate SwannOne products with smart home appliances from other manufacturers for a "complete smart home solution".

"[SwannOne is] a complete, open and standards-based smart home solution, which is a very different approach to many of our competitors," said Talevski. "It's not our ambition to do a system completely on our own."

Philips Hue light bulbs, Kwikset Kevo smart locks, and Chamberlin garage door openers will be among the first smart home products to work with the SwannOne ecosystem.

The SwannOne ecosystem has a large focus on automation and communication between products. Talveski provided the following example: when a user a leaves home, they could hit the "arm" button on their keyring fob or smartphone. This will lock the door, arm the alarms, turn off indoor lights, turn on a porch light, and turn off the heating. When the user returns home, they hit the "disarm" button and the reverse occurs.

Talevski said that rules can be created on a per device basis, rather than per category.

In order to create rules using the companion app, SwannOne owners need to subscribe to the "Home Safe" plan, which also provides energy consumption information, the ability to add more than two users to the ecosystem, and extra sound-based alerts. The Home Safe plan is billed at AUD$13.95 per month.

Video filmed using the indoor and outdoor cameras can be recorded to an internal SD card, or to Swann's cloud video storage solution. Swann offers two options: a seven day rolling plan, or a 30 day rolling plan. These are billed at AUD$10.99 per month camera and AUD$34.99 per month per camera.

Users also have the option to add professional, on 24/7 demand monitoring to their plan, starting at AUD$21.99 per week, or AUD$359.00 for 12 months.

A SwannOne Alarm Starter Kit including a Hub, motion sensor, two door sensors and a keyring fob retails for AUD$499.95. A Video Monitoring Kit that also includes a camera is available for AUD$699.95. A Smart Home Control Kit that adds in a second keyring fob and a Smart Plug on top of everything in the two previous packs is available for AUD$799.95.

Individual products are priced as follows. With the exception of the two cameras and thermostat, all of these require a Smart Hub.

SwannOne Motion Sensor: AUD$69.95
SwannOne Window & Door Sensor Twin-Pack: AUD$89.95
SwannOne Window & Door Sensor: AUD$49.95
SwannOne Keyring Fob: AUD$44.95
SwannOne Outdoor Camera: AUD$229.95
SwannOne Indoor Camera: AUD$229.95
SwannOne Smart Plug: AUD$79.95
SwannOne Zen Thermostat: AUD$349.95
SwannOne Smart Hub: AUD$329.95
SwannOne Outdoor Siren: AUD$229.95
SwannOne Indoor Siren: AUD$199.95

SwannOne products are available from JB Hi-Fi and OfficeWorks now, and will available through Harvey Norman shortly.