Smart Homes Get Smarter with Wemo Mini and Wemo Dimmer Michael Kwan January 3, 2017 News, Press Release News out of Las Vegas and CES 2017 is coming in fast and furious. For this, we turn to the good people at Belkin and their Wemo line of smart home products to deliver more interconnectedness to your Internet of Things. The latest additions to the family are the Wemo Mini Smart Plug and the Wemo Dimmer Light Switch. As their names lead to you believe, both of these products are effectively upgrades or updates to existing devices. The Wemo Mini is a smaller version of the original Wemo Switch, retaining all of the functionality but lacking in the additional features of the Wemo Insight Switch. The most important thing here is that it will no longer block both of your wall outlets. The Wemo Dimmer Switch takes the fundamental idea behind the Wemo Light Switch and adds a dimmer functionality. See how creative they are with the product names? While you could dim the lights via the mobile app when you have Wemo LED lighting, this new product is much more flexible and replaces the standard light switch you have on the wall. There’s also a Night Mode “to prevent harsh lights at night.” Expect the Wemo Mini to ship this month for $34.99, with the Wemo Dimmer to follow later in the spring at a price yet to be determined. Full press release is below. [hide-this-part morelink=”Full Press Release”] WEMO® EXPANDS SMART SWITCH LINEUP WITH TWO NEW PRODUCTS ON DISPLAY AT 2017 INTERNATIONAL CES New Products Include the Wemo Mini Smart Plug and Wemo Dimmer Light Switch LAS VEGAS – January 3, 2015 – Continuing to expand its award-winning Internet of Things ecosystem, Wemo®, the smart home brand from Belkin International, today announced two new smart switch products, the Wemo Mini Smart Plug and the Wemo Dimmer Light Switch. Both new products, along with the entire Wemo line-up, will be on display at the 2017 International CES in the Belkin International booth, number 30451, in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. “The International CES is the biggest coming out party of the year for Wemo and the perfect place to debut our new Wemo products,” said Brian Van Harlingen, Belkin’s chief technology officer. “In 2016, we doubled down on our app, making enhancements to ensure that the Wemo experience is best-in-class, so we’re excited to launch two new pieces of hardware in early 2017. With Mini and Dimmer, we are rounding out our smart switch line-up, enabling new experiences and making Wemo even more approachable and easier to use.” Wemo Mini (F7C063) Big on smarts, but small in stature, the Wemo Mini is a smart plug that connects everyday household items to the Wemo app so you can control them from your phone or through voice commands. At half the size of the previous Wemo Switch, Mini’s streamlined, stackable design maintains all of the same features as the original, but is specifically designed to stack on top of each other, allowing for two smart plugs in a single outlet. Wemo Mini also works with Amazon Echo and Google Home to control via simple voice commands, as well as the Nest Learning Thermostat’s Home and Away modes. Additional Features: Turn household electronics on or off from anywhere Smart time rules to set schedules or turn devices on or off via sunrise or sunset Stackable design lets you use two Minis in one outlet Thermal cutout prevents overheating Operates over Wi-Fi or mobile Internet, at home and away Convenient WiFi technology, no hub required Plugs into any regular 120v wall outlet Free Wemo app Works with IFTTT, Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Nest Learning Thermostat Wemo Dimmer (F7C059) The new Wemo Dimmer, a 2017 Innovations Award Honoree, is a next generation smart dimming light switch that brings real intelligence to lighting. Wemo Dimmer includes all of the features of the original Wemo Light Switch, plus advanced updates such as Night Mode to prevent harsh lights at night and a customized bulb calibration. Current dimmer products have a single dimming range for all bulb types, which tends to create flickering and noise issues, but Wemo Dimmer uses the Wemo app to custom calibrate for any bulb type including incandescents (up to 400 watts), CFLs or LEDs, to eliminate those annoyances. In addition, Dimmer’s Night Mode feature enables users to set a specific level of brightness during a set period of time, which is ideal for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips or checking on the kids when they are asleep. With a touch-capacitive dimmer control instead of a mechanical lever and a responsive light bar to indicate status, Wemo Dimmer is as smart looking on the outside as it is on the inside. The light bar uses movement, full RGB color and brightness as a language to provide contextual information. For example, Wemo rules are always signified by green, third party actions like Amazon Alexa are aqua, a radar “pinging” animation indicates that it is searching for a Wi-Fi signal, and a left-to-right “sending” animation is used for other features to let them know the message is being delivered to other devices. Wemo also recently launched a new long press feature for both the current Wemo Light Switch and the new Wemo Dimmer, which allows for additional controls from the hardware itself. Pressing and holding the switch for more than two seconds will trigger a second action involving other Wemo devices. For example, long pressing a Wemo Light Switch or Dimmer upon leaving the house could turn off all Wemo-connected electronics in the home, or even trigger an away mode setting to randomize lights while away. Wemo Dimmer also works with Amazon Echo and Google Home for dimming and on/off control via simple voice commands, as well as the Nest Learning Thermostat’s Home and Away modes. Additional Features: Adjustable light levels with convenient control from the app, switch or voice Smart timer rules to set schedules or turn devices on or off via sunrise or sunset Night Mode scheduling– predetermined lower light level at specified times of the night minimizing bright-light blinding Works with IFTTT, Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Nest Learning Thermostat Universal dimmer – works with any dimmable light bulb—incandescent, CFL’s, and LEDs Custom calibration provides the widest light level range possible (based on individual bulb spec) Custom Long Press – Control additional Wemo devices with a single, two-second press Away Mode scheduling – automatically randomize lighting so it looks like someone is home Convenient WiFi technology, no hub required LED Light Bar communication to indicate activity Availability and Pricing Wemo Mini will be available in stores later in January for an MSRP of $34.99 US. The Wemo Dimmer will be available in the spring; MSRP has not been finalized at this time. About WeMo Wemo, the award-winning home automation brand from Belkin International, is the simple way to a smarter home. Modular and hub-free, Wemo products let users control their household stuff right from their phone from anywhere. Approachable and fun to use, Wemo smart plugs and switches work with other popular smart home brands to provide easy solutions to everyday tasks. To learn more about WeMo visit http://wemo.com. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Wemo, and follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/Wemo, and Instagram at Instagram.com/Wemo. # # # [/hide-this-part] Share This With The World!
