TRENDnet Releases the THA-101 Home Smart Switch with Wireless Extender

I live in a very old house, one that could use a touch-up or two from Bob Vila. While I really like the design and the look of things, there are disadvantages, one of them being that the house has a weird, maze-like layout. Another disadvantage is that the house has surprisingly few outlets and plug-ins. These two things combined means that our router is located as far away from my room as it could be, resulting in a pretty subpar Wi-Fi signal once you get to my computer.

This makes me the ideal customer for TRENDnet’s new THA-101 Home Smart Switch with Wireless Extender. What it is essentially is a combination of TRENDnet’s N300 wireless extender and a smart electrical outlet, as if a wireless extender weren’t helpful enough. The THA-101 lets you plug something in and switch it on and off remotely through a mobile app, which sounds incredibly useful.

I’ll admit it’s sort of a bizarre combination of features, but it does feel like TRENDnet just saw an opportunity to take one useful tool and make it useful in another way. It certainly doesn’t make the extender any less valuable, and this way it doesn’t take up an outlet in the process. Check out a video tour and the press release below. The THA-101 is available now for $79.99.

[hide-this-part morelink=”Full Press Release”]

TRENDnetŽ Ships Home Smart Switch with Wireless Extender

TORRANCE, Calif. – December 4, 2014 – TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the availability of the Home Smart Switch with Wireless Extender, model THA-101-a combination smart electrical outlet and powerful N300 wireless extender.

Place the THA-101 in a location where there is still two bars of home wireless signal strength from an existing wireless network, displayed on a mobile device. Plug in the THA-101 and follow a quick app-based installation. The powerful built-in N300 wireless extender then broadcasts a strong wireless signal to an area of your home with low or no wireless coverage.

Plug in a light, fan, or appliance into the electrical outlet on the front of the THA-101 and use the free AppleŽ or AndroidT mobile app to turn the outlet on/off from a mobile device with an Internet connection. Users can also use the app to create a weekly on/off schedule, with varying daily on/off times, so that lights are on when returning home or to give the illusion of being home.

Overcurrent protection trips a circuit relay, cutting power to the built-in outlet, when current exceeds 16 Amps. The free app displays detailed real-time electrical consumption including the current (in mA), voltage, power (in Watts), and total energy consumption (in kWh).

“The THA-101 is easy to install,” stated Sonny Su, TRENDnet technology director, “and the app can manage multiple THA-101 units to control lights, fans, and other devices.”

[/hide-this-part]