interfaceGO Releases New Wireless Touch Screen Product for the ISY Series of Home Automation Control

[electron]

Milford, MA - May 5, 2008 – interfaceGO, a division of MB DataSystems, Inc., announced the release of the NK8 touch screen / control application supporting the ISY series of home automation controllers from Universal Devices. Working in conjunction with the ISY, the interfaceGO NK8 allows full wireless control of your home's Insteon lighting & thermostats.

The NK8 converts Nokia's popular N800 and N810 touch panels into full-featured wireless controllers for your entire home. A Windows/PC version of the NK8, called the NK8-PC, is also available.

The NK8 software retails for $119.95 and is sold direct from interfaceGO. Also available in several bundles, users can add a complete wireless touch panel to their home for well under $400 (retail $389.90). The Windows/PC version of the NK8, called the NK8-PC, retails for a low $49.95.



Both the Nokia N800 and N810 feature a sharp 800 x 480 4.1" display and 802.11g wireless connectivity. By leveraging Nokia's versatile touch panels, interfaceGO's NK8 software provides a completely flexible end-user experience. Users can dedicate the touch panel to lighting / thermostat control, or simply exit the NK8 software to browse the web, check their email, or utilize one of the many other features of the Nokia touch panels.

Bundled with the interfaceGO NK8 and NK8-PC is a powerful but simple Config Utility, allowing users to build their own personalized interfaces by simply dragging and dropping scenes & devices stored in the ISY. Users decide where they want their control widgets displayed on-screen and define the folder structure containing them. Create one interface for the touch panel in the master bedroom, and another completely different interface for the touch panel located in the living room - and yet another interface for the touch panel in the kitchen.

The NK8 and NK8-PC communicate with the ISY in real-time, providing instant feedback and control - both to and from the ISY. The NK8's thumb-friendly interface allows easy use of the touch panel without a pen. The Nokia's modern looks paired with the NK8's clean and colorful interface provide a high-end appearance at a low cost.

About interfaceGO: interfaceGO was founded with the goal of creating practical, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing interfaces to popular home automation products.

Both the NK8 and NK8-PC are available today. Please check out www.interfacego.com for more information.

 

[felixrosbergen]

The article states this can be turned into a windows/pc based touch panel. Anybody know how well this woudl work with CQC?

Pretty interesting stuff...what other devices could i use CQC based wireless remotes?

 

[DeLicious]

it says it only communicates with the ISY from Universal Devices. I've never heard of this product. Anyone know anything about it? The product page says seamless integration with Elk. Also, I couldn't find a price for the ISY products.

Imagine if someone developed a HS Plug-In to interface with this software... that's an instant competitor to HSTouch, but that would work on N800's instead of being limited to Windows devices.

 

[MikeB]

Just wanted to hop in and clarify.

The article states this can be turned into a windows/pc based touch panel. Anybody know how well this woudl work with CQC?

The Nokia N800/N810 runs an OS from Nokia (a derivative of Linux). I believe CQC only has a Windows client. We ALSO have a low-cost version of our software, called the NK8-PC, that runs on a Windows-based PC (in an 800x480 window) INSTEAD of the Nokia. We're also planning a version of our software that will run full-screen at various resolutions catered towards Windows-based touch panels.

Some people do use an app called RDesktop on the Nokia to "Remote Desktop" into a Windows-based PC and run the CQC client. This method might work well for some.

it says it only communicates with the ISY from Universal Devices. I've never heard of this product. Anyone know anything about it? The product page says seamless integration with Elk. Also, I couldn't find a price for the ISY products.

Yes, our application is currently designed to be the front-end while the ISY is the back-end. The ISY is an extremely popular automation controller for Insteon. It allows you to program/link all your Insteon devices, setup simple timers, triggers, and fairly complex programs as well. Some versions have an IR interface. It does integrated with the Elk - you can arm/disarm your Elk from the ISY, and we plan on offering an update to our software allowing this capability from our touchscreen as well. Elk/ISY integration also eliminates the need for a PLC for the Elk to control Insteon - with the ISY, the Elk can control all your Insteon devices & scenes instantly through the ISY over ethernet.

If you check out their forums you'll see they have many happy users. Per Universal Devices' web site, there are plans for UPB and Z-Wave versions of the ISY, but I'm not certain how soon we'll see them.

Thanks

 

[jwilson56]

The article states this can be turned into a windows/pc based touch panel. Anybody know how well this woudl work with CQC?

Pretty interesting stuff...what other devices could i use CQC based wireless remotes?

You do know you can run a Remote Desktop RDP client on the Nokia and connect to a WinXP that is running CQC or whatever windows application you want to run. It works very well.

Here is my 800X480 skin for the Nokia 770 running via RDP from a MCE2005 PC

 

[felixrosbergen]

You do know you can run a Remote Desktop RDP client on the Nokia and connect to a WinXP that is running CQC or whatever windows application you want to run. It works very well.

Here is my 800X480 skin for the Nokia 770 running via RDP from a MCE2005 PC

How does this work, do i need set the resolutionon the winxp machine to 800x480 as well?

 

[fitzpatri8]

You do know you can run a Remote Desktop RDP client on the Nokia and connect to a WinXP that is running CQC or whatever windows application you want to run. It works very well.

Here is my 800X480 skin for the Nokia 770 running via RDP from a MCE2005 PC

How does this work, do i need set the resolutionon the winxp machine to 800x480 as well?

No, not at all. The Nokia just shows a 800x480 window of the client machine's display. You can scroll around any size display, just looking at it 800x480 at a time, the same way you look at a portion of a spreadsheet at a time and can scroll around to different part of the sheet.