eKeyPad Plus

[electron]

eKeyPad Plus is now available ($44.99). In addition to the basic security keypad functionality the regular version offers, it also offers control of your HVAC, lighting, outputs, tasks and much more. Here is the announcement:

eKeypad Plus is an electronic keypad that allows your iPhone to control all aspects of your Elk M1 Gold alarm panel. From alarm functionality to lighting controls, eKeypad plus allows you to view and control all aspects of your Elk. This includes:

• Area status information, with support for all 8 areas.
• Alarm Functionality: Arming, Disarming and Status indicators
• Keypad functionality: Function Keys, Function Key Status Lights
• Elk internal task activation
• Lighting control (UPB, X-10, OnQ-ALC, Centralite, Insteon, Lutron Radio RA and Z-wave)
• Relay Output control
• Thermostat control (RCS, HAI, and Aprilaire)
• Zone status information

Additionally, eKeyapad Plus is focused on providing features that make using your Elk from the iPhone as easy and convenient as possible. The current release supports:

• Support for both the secured and unsecured ports of the Elk-M1XEP.
• Fully configurable interface. Put items where you want them.
• Favorites screen. Consolidate most used elements on one screen.

More Info

 

[DeLicious]

this looks nice, but without replicating ElkRM's ability to see my cameras, it's still a no-go.

 

[fleetz]

Hi Jayson,

Well done looks neat. As you know I will be in when audio control is implimented

Pity there is no upgrade path with applications a limitation of the Apple setup.

Regards,

Fleetz

 

[tmbrown97]

Damn you Jayson! Right before the holidays! So, I bought the app today - and was pretty bummed to find that you plan to o whffer yet a 3rd version in the future... Can/Will you look into an upgrade path? It's one thing to pay $5 then $10, but to pay $50 then have to pay $75 for a single additional feature is just messed up. Specifically, I want the camera access when ready.

Overall impression - documentation is lacking - I'm pretty advanced, and it took me a few mins to find the settings... how about a message in the pop-up telling you the IP needs to be verified telling you where to go? Or even something under the installation instructions on your site?

All in all - just downloaded the app today, and I've crashed my phone about 10 times... but that's stuff I can get used to. I'm really impressed with how configurable you've made things - and truely amazed you added the momentary press of the outputs - that's a major flaw of the elk systems themselves. I did notice that it'd be nice if the status of outputs updated more real-time - I was playing with the sprinklers to show the wife... but ended up having to walk outside in my boxers to see which ones were left on - something more like how ElkRM handles status would be nicer.

All in all - I'm cool with early-version software... I'm pretty annoyed to see that there'll be yet a 3rd version that'll cost even more (especially if I can't apply the $ I already spent and it'll be truely flushed down the toilet) - I can deal with the quirks, and if desired, can provide useful feedback... I know how quick you moved on this, and I'm impressed... I get the impression Elk is helping too. I know once I set the VPN into my house it'll be a really nice system. The quick-access to all the arming modes is really handy as well. Again - I'm very impressed with the configurability...

Good job, and please let us know what if any upgrade path might exist - it's really not fair to flush an entire investment down the toilet for the lower-end versions that are available now just to get the next, fuller version later.

 

[electron]

I can not find any references to a '3rd version', can someone please post a link?

 

[tmbrown97]

It's on the Roadmap:
http://web.mac.com/japps/eKeypad_Plus/Roadmap.html

 

[electron]

IMO, that's a dangerous game to play. Too many versions, especially with prices this high, and someone else will come out with a solution which would be cheaper/free.

 

[jaysonc]

Everyone,

Allow me to address some of the comments I have heard in the posts so far:

- Concerning a cheaper/free solution, I would applaud such an effort. I am confident that eKeypad will continue to differentiate itself from other options going forward. I do not think people will pay for the technical connectivity alone. I hope people will purchase eKeypad for the ease of use it provides. The ability for eKeypad to pass the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is one of my consistent design targets.

- Concerning the multiple versions. I chose the current structure for the eKeypad applications to provide people options. I wanted people to be able to purchase only the features/functionality they need. This is the reason for the roadmap page. I am aware that this can be confusing so I wanted to provide roadmap clarifications so people can make a knowledgeable decision about whether to purchase, wait or pass.

- Concerning pricing. The price for each eKeypad application (basic, plus and pro) reflects the level of effort that has gone into creating the NEW functionality and integration. Once any of the 3 eKeypad applications is purchased all upgrades to that application are free.

- Concerning throwing away of old versions. I do have plans to release the expanded functionality (e.g. IP video) as a separate app. eK Pro will be the consolidated application, but you will be able to keep eK plus and obtain access to IP video functionality without purchasing eK pro. However, with out the integration provided by eK Pro my ability to provide enhanced usability is restricted. As I stated above, for me, eKeypad is not about technical connectivity, but ease of use.

I encourage everyone I speak with to look at the roadmap page. It contains not only a feature map, but also a detailed paragraph explaining the goal of each eKeypad application. They each have distinct direction designed to meet the needs of different Elk owners. I can offer this, the usability and feature jump between eK Plus to eK Pro will be larger than the jump from eKeypad (basic) to eK Plus.

--
Jayson

IMO, that's a dangerous game to play. Too many versions, especially with prices this high, and someone else will come out with a solution which would be cheaper/free.

 

[fleetz]

Hi Jayson,

Good explanation thanks for the clarity.

Just to clarify if I purchase eKeypad Plus now the audio, temp zone sensors and custom values will be available as a free upgrade as part of the purchase? How will the upgrade be available and when?

As you know Jayson I was going to wait until the Russound audio module was complete. I am happy to hop in now if there is an upgrade path not only from within eKeypad Plus but to eKeypad Plus.

I am concerned to hear ToddB comments on crashing the iPhone 10 times since he loaded the application has anything been done about this?

Regards,

Fleetz

Everyone,

Allow me to address some of the comments I have heard in the posts so far:

- Concerning a cheaper/free solution, I would applaud such an effort. I am confident that eKeypad will continue to differentiate itself from other options going forward. I do not think people will pay for the technical connectivity alone. I hope people will purchase eKeypad for the ease of use it provides. The ability for eKeypad to pass the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is one of my consistent design targets.

- Concerning the multiple versions. I chose the current structure for the eKeypad applications to provide people options. I wanted people to be able to purchase only the features/functionality they need. This is the reason for the roadmap page. I am aware that this can be confusing so I wanted to provide roadmap clarifications so people can make a knowledgeable decision about whether to purchase, wait or pass.

- Concerning pricing. The price for each eKeypad application (basic, plus and pro) reflects the level of effort that has gone into creating the NEW functionality and integration. Once any of the 3 eKeypad applications is purchased all upgrades to that application are free.

- Concerning throwing away of old versions. I do have plans to release the expanded functionality (e.g. IP video) as a separate app. eK Pro will be the consolidated application, but you will be able to keep eK plus and obtain access to IP video functionality without purchasing eK pro. However, with out the integration provided by eK Pro my ability to provide enhanced usability is restricted. As I stated above, for me, eKeypad is not about technical connectivity, but ease of use.

I encourage everyone I speak with to look at the roadmap page. It contains not only a feature map, but also a detailed paragraph explaining the goal of each eKeypad application. They each have distinct direction designed to meet the needs of different Elk owners. I can offer this, the usability and feature jump between eK Plus to eK Pro will be larger than the jump from eKeypad (basic) to eK Plus.

--
Jayson

IMO, that's a dangerous game to play. Too many versions, especially with prices this high, and someone else will come out with a solution which would be cheaper/free.

 

[mustangcoupe]

Dan I believe these two topics need to be merged. Jayson is answering basically teh same questions over in two places. Maybe lock one with a link to the other?

 

[jaysonc]

Fleetz,

The upgrades for each application are available through one of three places.

1. On the iPhone there is an app store icon. If you open it and there are any upgrades available for any application you have installed, it will tell you by displaying a badge on the icon telling you how many upgrades are available. This method downloads the app directly to your phone.

2. In iTunes, there is an application section on the sidebar. It works the same as the application on the iPhone by displaying a badge when upgrades are available. This method requires you to sync your iPhone.

3. Watch this forum. All upgrades are announced here. Once you see it here, either of the other two methods will allow you to download it.

I am not aware of any crashes that are caused by eKeypad, but I have PMed ToddB to track down his issues and make sure it is not something in eKeypad that was missed in testing.

--
Jayson

Hi Jayson,

Good explanation thanks for the clarity.

Just to clarify if I purchase eKeypad Plus now the audio, temp zone sensors and custom values will be available as a free upgrade as part of the purchase? How will the upgrade be available and when?

As you know Jayson I was going to wait until the Russound audio module was complete. I am happy to hop in now if there is an upgrade path not only from within eKeypad Plus but to eKeypad Plus.

I am concerned to hear ToddB comments on crashing the iPhone 10 times since he loaded the application has anything been done about this?

Regards,

Fleetz

Everyone,

Allow me to address some of the comments I have heard in the posts so far:

- Concerning a cheaper/free solution, I would applaud such an effort. I am confident that eKeypad will continue to differentiate itself from other options going forward. I do not think people will pay for the technical connectivity alone. I hope people will purchase eKeypad for the ease of use it provides. The ability for eKeypad to pass the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is one of my consistent design targets.

- Concerning the multiple versions. I chose the current structure for the eKeypad applications to provide people options. I wanted people to be able to purchase only the features/functionality they need. This is the reason for the roadmap page. I am aware that this can be confusing so I wanted to provide roadmap clarifications so people can make a knowledgeable decision about whether to purchase, wait or pass.

- Concerning pricing. The price for each eKeypad application (basic, plus and pro) reflects the level of effort that has gone into creating the NEW functionality and integration. Once any of the 3 eKeypad applications is purchased all upgrades to that application are free.

- Concerning throwing away of old versions. I do have plans to release the expanded functionality (e.g. IP video) as a separate app. eK Pro will be the consolidated application, but you will be able to keep eK plus and obtain access to IP video functionality without purchasing eK pro. However, with out the integration provided by eK Pro my ability to provide enhanced usability is restricted. As I stated above, for me, eKeypad is not about technical connectivity, but ease of use.

I encourage everyone I speak with to look at the roadmap page. It contains not only a feature map, but also a detailed paragraph explaining the goal of each eKeypad application. They each have distinct direction designed to meet the needs of different Elk owners. I can offer this, the usability and feature jump between eK Plus to eK Pro will be larger than the jump from eKeypad (basic) to eK Plus.

--
Jayson

IMO, that's a dangerous game to play. Too many versions, especially with prices this high, and someone else will come out with a solution which would be cheaper/free.

 

[tmbrown97]

Jayson did contact me and I passed on my notes. To be clear, it looks like he did a great job in the app design - it's very configurable and easy to use. I think there's things Jayson can do to make it run a little smoother - it tends to be laggy in general and not really register every click - in the case of momentary outputs, it can be problematic because you really don't know if it worked or not - same with my sprinklers last night - it would've taken more time and clicks to get status than it did for me to just walk outside and look. Just for fun, I tried to close my garage door this morning which requires 2 momentary pushes close enough together - I couldn't get it to take - I ended up using my car alarm remote.

To me, that's the biggest usability thing - positive visual status that what you're trying to do worked - just as in RM - if a motion triggers, I want to see the status change (OK I just tested this - it actually works pretty well - the list of zones is a little slow to load though)

Also, with the outputs - it'd be kinda nice if selecting the outputs screen had a list of outputs along with the appropriate button (latched or momentary) right there, with the more details arrow... that way if just clicking through my sprinkler zones, I don't have to go in and out of so many screens (this can be accomplished now if I add them to the favorites).

Also, Jayson - have you put any thought into doing more like ElkRM and having it cache everything locally and only update when you tell it to synchronize? Seems like that would cut down on the necessary communication and waiting - and it seems to work for RM - I haven't heard anyone complain. It just seems like that would make all the screens so much faster.

To be clear to everyone - knowing what I know now, I'd still buy the app in a heartbeat - with the expectation that Jayson is in this to make a rock-solid product. Based on his involvement in the forums, I'm getting that impression. I'd be really disappointed if he took his money and ran, or got too busy in life to see this through - but he's off to a good start. The configurability is great - you can really put the features you care about right there. It might get a little tricky when more features are added (audio, video, etc) - as there's really only room for 3 items plus a favorites in the bottom toolbar - but I don't know what the solution to that would be.

As far as the little crashes - to be clear, I'm not a patient man - if it doesn't respond in 10 seconds, I consider it locked and hit the home button... Apple apps are supposed to be fast and very responsive... one of my perceived crashes from last night turned out to be something that basically locked the phone for 20+ seconds, but eventually did come back (I tested this while responding to Jayson's questions and decided to just wait and see what happened). Another common one is trying to resume the phone with the app open, or trying to open the app too fast after power-on - before the wifi is connected - and it basically getting kinda hung up. The trick is to hit the home button, wait 'till wifi connects, then open the keypad.

I think part of those lockups have to do with how the iPhone handles connectivity - I had the same issues with an RDP app going completely unresponsive and locking too when the network wasn't in the state it needed to be or if it had trouble reaching the host. Those were fixed by the developer eventually though, so hopefully Jayson will figure out how to handle those things more gracefully.

I guess all I'd need to be thoroughly thrilled with the app is for it to just be faster - faster to load, faster to get around, faster to load statuses, faster for me to get to outputs, etc. As far as layout, the fact that it's customizable and the favorites being there makes it a really nice interface - but trying to put everything under favorites on a very large system is unreasonable, so the individual sections (outputs, lighting, zones, etc) need to be very quick as well.


Has anyone else bought the app yet? Any other feedback?

 

[fleetz]

Hi Todd, (and Jayson)

I have just purchased eKeypad Plus as I believe that a number of us have to hop on board and give Jayson support and feedback. That said I am very concerned about the latency issue and very concerned about the lack of staus both from an output and zone perspective. These are paramount to the interface in my case I can be 4000km from the house and if the output is not being tallied back to the interface it is a bit differcult to just go and check.

As I understand it the output and zone tallies are available as RM uses them to set the zones and outputs. Having the ability to synchronise like the RM is a good idea on the iPhone, I would suggest that the synchronisation needs to be done when you connect so you know what you are setting or unsetting as the case may be. Jayson the iPhone has to have the a similiar response and revertives to the ELKRM otherwise iy won't make the grade.

Whilst I have a VPN into the house I am in our other location until Thursday so I won't connect to it until I get up there tommorow. Give me a day and I will give my feedback.

Regards,

Fleetz

Jayson did contact me and I passed on my notes. To be clear, it looks like he did a great job in the app design - it's very configurable and easy to use. I think there's things Jayson can do to make it run a little smoother - it tends to be laggy in general and not really register every click - in the case of momentary outputs, it can be problematic because you really don't know if it worked or not - same with my sprinklers last night - it would've taken more time and clicks to get status than it did for me to just walk outside and look. Just for fun, I tried to close my garage door this morning which requires 2 momentary pushes close enough together - I couldn't get it to take - I ended up using my car alarm remote.


To me, that's the biggest usability thing - positive visual status that what you're trying to do worked - just as in RM - if a motion triggers, I want to see the status change (OK I just tested this - it actually works pretty well - the list of zones is a little slow to load though)

Also, with the outputs - it'd be kinda nice if selecting the outputs screen had a list of outputs along with the appropriate button (latched or momentary) right there, with the more details arrow... that way if just clicking through my sprinkler zones, I don't have to go in and out of so many screens (this can be accomplished now if I add them to the favorites).

Also, Jayson - have you put any thought into doing more like ElkRM and having it cache everything locally and only update when you tell it to synchronize? Seems like that would cut down on the necessary communication and waiting - and it seems to work for RM - I haven't heard anyone complain. It just seems like that would make all the screens so much faster.

To be clear to everyone - knowing what I know now, I'd still buy the app in a heartbeat - with the expectation that Jayson is in this to make a rock-solid product. Based on his involvement in the forums, I'm getting that impression. I'd be really disappointed if he took his money and ran, or got too busy in life to see this through - but he's off to a good start. The configurability is great - you can really put the features you care about right there. It might get a little tricky when more features are added (audio, video, etc) - as there's really only room for 3 items plus a favorites in the bottom toolbar - but I don't know what the solution to that would be.

As far as the little crashes - to be clear, I'm not a patient man - if it doesn't respond in 10 seconds, I consider it locked and hit the home button... Apple apps are supposed to be fast and very responsive... one of my perceived crashes from last night turned out to be something that basically locked the phone for 20+ seconds, but eventually did come back (I tested this while responding to Jayson's questions and decided to just wait and see what happened). Another common one is trying to resume the phone with the app open, or trying to open the app too fast after power-on - before the wifi is connected - and it basically getting kinda hung up. The trick is to hit the home button, wait 'till wifi connects, then open the keypad.

I think part of those lockups have to do with how the iPhone handles connectivity - I had the same issues with an RDP app going completely unresponsive and locking too when the network wasn't in the state it needed to be or if it had trouble reaching the host. Those were fixed by the developer eventually though, so hopefully Jayson will figure out how to handle those things more gracefully.

I guess all I'd need to be thoroughly thrilled with the app is for it to just be faster - faster to load, faster to get around, faster to load statuses, faster for me to get to outputs, etc. As far as layout, the fact that it's customizable and the favorites being there makes it a really nice interface - but trying to put everything under favorites on a very large system is unreasonable, so the individual sections (outputs, lighting, zones, etc) need to be very quick as well.


Has anyone else bought the app yet? Any other feedback?

 

[fleetz]

Hi Jayson,

Purchased the application. Couldn't help myself and wait thought I would at least run the application and via the VPN at least connect to the remote M1. Then check it out when I am up there tommorow.

Hmm not off to a flyer. Downloaded the app via the iPhone and ran it up. I am greeted with configuration problem ELK IP address, Unsecured port and valid user code....fair enough I need to set these up to connect....but where within the application does one do that? Went to the link to support and all I get is the flyer product page, go to the website and there are no instructions as to where the setup configuror is.

Double checked that iTunes see that I have actually purcheased the app and sure enough I have, now sync the app with my iTunes.

Anyway I get "no favourite difined" and can find no way to set the app up....what am I missing?

REgards,

Fleetz

 

[jaysonc]

Freetz and ToddB,

Please do provide me with the details of any issues you encounter. The more detail and context you can provide the better. The more people that provide feedback the better; even if you are reporting no issues.

For example, on the two iPhones I have direct testing access to, there are no latency issues. Zone and output indicators are real-time with no perceptible latency as compared to Elk RM. None of the other three testers have reported this issue, but I am following up with them on specific test cases to try.

There can be man causes for latency, please try and isolate as man variables as possible when documenting the applications behavior. Using your home network wifi to connect to the XEP IP address directly over the un-secure port is the best starting place. VPNs, the secure port and the internet all add varying amounts of latency.

Please note that I will be leaving for the holidays on Wed morning, so my responsiveness on the board will be intermittent until Saturday night.

--
Jayson