Schlage to put your front door locks on the Web

Lock company Schlage is launching Schlage Link, a suite of products to allow over-the-Web control of a home's locks, lights, and thermostats. It also integrates with Webcams.

Use your mobile phone as a key.

(Credit: Schlage)

The new lock is the centerpiece of the system (as we would expect from a lock company). It can be opened by key, with a four-digit code, or through the online and mobile sites. The lock can also alert its owners via a mobile message when it's opened or tampered with (when incorrect codes are entered multiple times in a row).

An online control center lets you program the system to turn on lights when someone enters the house or at certain times, to send your phone photos of your doorway when a door opens, and so on. You can enable and disable specific codes as you wish--useful to give service people access only at certain times, for instance.

There have been several similar home-control and DIY security systems to hit the market in recent years, and none, to my knowledge, has gotten much consumer traction. Schlage General Manager Dwight Gibson thinks that the well-known Schlage brand will help this product succeed where others have failed.

I'm somewhat skeptical, not just because history teaches that having expertise in one technology, i.e. locks, doesn't always translate into another, i.e. Web services (Fortunately, Schlage has a partner, Crayon Interface, in this venture). But I also believe the Schlage product is overpriced. The starter kit with one lock set, one light module, and the home network connector box, costs $299, and the network access costs $12.99 a month. The hardware cost is within the realm of reason, but the monthly fee is usurious, in my opinion.

Sill, if you don't mind shelling out for the hardware and then continuing to pay for Web access, this could be a very useful product for anyone who would like better management of their home's security.

[sanenazok]

Worst idea...ever.

[jumpjetta]

Yeah, I wonder how long it will take them to drop this idea after they get their a**'es handed to them in a lawsuit because of some software security flaw that allows an attacker to unlock their house and real attackers on the ground to steal stuff (or worse)?

[FranklinH10]

Looks expensive and impractical.Schlage should have spent their money developing some sort of usb deadbolt door lock that any homeowner with a computer and some handyman skills could install and program. If it were done correctly it could be at least as secure as a key lock but far more flexible.

[AndrewRich]

Gosh, I hope no clever criminal figures out that he can simply flip that big switch next to the electricity meter to completely shut down all this whiz bang sekurity technology.

[D3vildog699]

Ahhh.. Life with only one device...

Is it to hard for people to use a key? Or enter in a combo? Seriously... what happens if you loose the phone, or drunk text your ex in a furious fashion and it falls into the toilet.. (that sucks...)

[msg63d]

Nice idea, but like any Micro$oft product, don't buy version 1.0.

The home automation side of it has been around for years, including door control. Voice and telephone control of deadbolts and door operators were available in the early 1990s. All they are really doing is tying in the door lock. Too pricey as it is. Home automation to do the lights, temperature control and some intrusion detection can be done for less, with less expensive monitoring services, too

[Dalkorian]

The more complicated you make a system, the more problems that system will develop. Keep It Simple Stupid isn't just a saying. Is it really a good idea to make the front door lock more complicated? Consider: the above lock appears it can be picked (like any other keyed lock), or the combination can be guessed (people tend to pick easy combo's to remember, know them and know their keys), or the web interface can be hacked.

If you want in my front door, you have to pick the lock (or kick the door in). I feel safer knowing that.

[rbz275]

*Still