Hi Bill, Chris, Chuck and others, I guess competition is always a good thing so it's nice to see that more devices are coming on the market. Here are my thoughts:
1. Chuck asks if the app is accessible and of course for us Voiceover users that is the key question and one that can probably only be answered if somebody tries it. On the other hand we all know that the app from www.RadioThermostat.com is accessible and it can pretty much do anything they say their's can do. I can also say from experience as I have 3 of the Radio Thermostats, that they do put out fairly frequent app updates. 2. In the article they say that other comparible units are $150 and up. This is not true, yes, the Radio Thermostats are $139 on their website, but I know several people like Brett (can't remember who else) bought them at Home Depot for $99. 3. Installation of the Radio Thermostat does require a 24V C-Wire so yes, this could be an issue if you want to put the thermostat in a big house a long way away from the furnace and a wire is not in place. However, the Radio Thermostats use 4 AA batteries as backup and if you install it near a wall outlet you can use a simple AC adapter with the correct voltage and plug it in to deliver the power it needs for the WiFi module. It sounds to me as if the Hunter Fan thermostat uses some kind of gateway/bridge which you have to physically plug into the router and then the thermostat talks to it. They say that it's a big disadvantage that with other WiFi thermostats you have to know your WiFi's SSID and password. Well, you do have to know your password and in my opinion if you don't know your WiFi password you are in trouble because you need it to connect anything else from a new iPhone to a new laptop. You don't have to know the SSID, just your network's name, maybe that's the same, not sure. The Radio Thermostat setup is maybe a bit more involved than plugging in a gateway and then having it connect automatically because the devices are pre-paired, but it's not really difficult and once it' done it stays done. Also, if you don't want to always run your thermostat on batteries you still need that C-Wire which they state can be used as well with the Hunter Fan unit. In conclusion, this sounds like a good unit, but it's not so revolutionary as they make it out to be. I think I prefer the Radio Thermostat with a built-in WiFi radio rather than having to plug another device into my router which not only has to be plugged into the router but also into a power outlet. And of course it remains to be seen whether the app for the Hunter Fan unit is accessible. Regards, Sieghard -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
