long overdue eKeypad Plus review

[signal15]

I've been meaning to do a writeup of this app for some time. eKeypad Plus is an iPhone/iPod Touch app that controls your elk M1 system. Not only does it give you a virtual keypad, but it allows you to control lighting, thermostats, and pretty much everything that the M1 can control.

The build in Java GUI on the XEP... I'm not impressed with it. The colors, graphics, and basic UI design looks like it's straight out of 1996, and I can't get it working on my Mac. Most mobile phone browsers don't support Java either, so I can't use it with a phone. I had considered returning my ELK system because it seems that HAI has more 3rd party products that integrate with it (even though the ELK has very similar functionality). eKeypad was what convinced me to stick with the ELK system.

eKeypad is very well designed, and defaults to a Favorites screen that you can customize. It's basically a dashboard for you zone statuses, temperature sensors, thermostats, lighting, and everything else. The status updates from the M1 are instantaneous over my local network, I haven't tried it on EDGE yet because I haven't exposed the XEP to the internet or gotten the iPhone VPN working with my firewall.

As far as app store apps go, $45 is a lot of money for an app. But if you look at the alternatives, it's a bargain. A WIRED keypad costs way more money, and it doesn't even give you half the functionality that this application does, and it's not portable either. You can get a refurb iPod/iPhone for $100 and toss a copy of this on it, and it's still cheaper than getting the ELK touchscreen or a separate home automation system touchscreen. I'm planning on getting a couple more iPod Touch units and just docking them in charging cradles in areas of the house most frequented by people.

http://web.mac.com/japps/eKeypad_Plus/Overview.html

Note that there is a more basic version which is just the alarm keypad, and a Pro version which also has IP surveillance camera support. I've heard there is an OSX native application on the way, and also planned support for whole house audio control.

 

[Digger]

I have been using the Pro version for about a month now. Other than a glitch in the download that caused an error (I had to resynch it) everything is perfect. VERY easy to set up and lots of neat features. I wish there was more documentation since I am finding out by hit and miss a lot of things it can do that I was not even aware of when I bought it.

Well worth the money!!!

 

[tmbrown97]

I bought the app right when it was released... It was a fairly young product at the time, but Jayson went out of his way to solicit feedback and work with us - making several updates (and did so quickly) and now it's a very solid product that I show off rather often. Because of that one app alone, I'll never give up my iPhone.

One bonus for iPhone/iPod touch users - once you buy an app once it won't charge you again if you do Buy Now again - even if you install it on several - as long as you do them all from the same iTunes account - so while $50 is by far the most expensive app I've bought from the app-store, having it on my iPhone and iTouch both is pretty nice - and the wife accepted it pretty quickly.

 

[bjdraw]

I really really love this app and not only is it well worth the $45, it's one of the few apps I use all the time.

Although it loads over twice as fast on my 3GS then it did on my 3G, I still wish it connected faster.

One thing I would love to see added though is push notifications. I'm not sure how this might work, but it would be nice not to have to use txt messages to get alarm event alerts on my phone.

 

[DeLicious]

push notifications would be extremely cool... and as long as we're talking about new things available in iphone OS 3.0, i had already sent an email to jayson asking about the possibility of in-app micro purchases. i was thinking this could provide an upgrade path for people who already have eK or eK+ towards getting some functionality in the higher-priced products (camera support, whole house audio) but don't want to pay for the completely new application as the old app store policies required you to do.

no response from jayson yet, though.

 

[jaysonc]

Notifications are coming to eK Pro! It will require the use of the upcoming eK Desktop (required to meet the Apple design for push notifications) and allow you to define arbitrary conditions you want to be notified of. This will include both simple status changes (The garage door was opened, an alarm has activated, etc) to complex criterial (If the alarm has not been armed before 9pm on weekdays).

I am also looking anxiously at the in-app purchase capabilities of firmware 3.0. The current design is not quite ready for production yet, but Apple is working on improving it and I am monitoring it closely.

I have created more detailed configuration guides for all eKeypad applications as PDF documents. This is part of a broader web site refresh. The documents can be downloaded here on the eKeypad website.


More good stuff to come this summer in eKeypad! A desktop client, ISY 99i support, and broader IP Camera support just to name a few.

 

[wuench]

Although it loads over twice as fast on my 3GS then it did on my 3G, I still wish it connected faster.

The slowness is due to the extreme latency on 3G. I see 500ms in town, sitting in my house. That means every request takes half a second to get to the Elk and back. I am sure it is much worse if you are further away. It's an extreme environment to program in, especially for an application you expect near-real-time responses from. Given that I think Jayson has done an excellent job with caching etc.

One of my biggest issues right now is with my router. I can only connect with WiFi or 3G, not both. Because both show up as different addresses depending on how you access it and probably due to asynchronous routing. I have to disable WiFi to use EK+ in my house. There might be a routing solution, but I haven't found it yet. But it would be nice if the app allowed you to use multiple configurations automatically. So if it can't connect on one, it would try the next.

 

[DeLicious]

Jayson, I saw on your website that eKPro is now at v1.8. is there a list of supported IP cameras?

 

[jaysonc]

Jayson, I saw on your website that eKPro is now at v1.8. is there a list of supported IP cameras?

The eK Pro update includes a pre-configured library of camera details with 84 camera models. This includes cameras from

Axis, D-Link, Etrovision, Hunt, Linksys, Ness, Panasonic, Sony and Visiontech.

I will be adding additional cameras to the library as quickly as I am able to assemble settings and verify them.

Additionally, there a custom camera setting that allows you to enter your own camera details.

 

[Madcodger]

Chiming in that this is one fantastic App. I had a few problems with the previous version, but now that 1.8 is out it's just incredible. Substantially better than the control options offered by Elk, and very easy to use. Looking forward to the additional enhancements coming later this summer, including eK Desktop.

 

[Digger]

This App along with the ELK system can be an incredibly usefull tool for monitoring an elderly person living alone. That is what I am working on now. Havent had time to look into the new features but the IP Camera's will be a huge plus for this and other things as well.

 

[signal15]

This App along with the ELK system can be an incredibly usefull tool for monitoring an elderly person living alone. That is what I am working on now. Havent had time to look into the new features but the IP Camera's will be a huge plus for this and other things as well.

You're stalking an elderly person?

 

[Digger]

This App along with the ELK system can be an incredibly usefull tool for monitoring an elderly person living alone. That is what I am working on now. Havent had time to look into the new features but the IP Camera's will be a huge plus for this and other things as well.

You're stalking an elderly person?

Yep.....

Actually its my mother. She fell in May and was down for 20 hours before I found her. Broken hip and heart attack. So now I have to keep a closer eye on her.

 

[Madcodger]

You bring up a good point about using the App for monitoring, Digger, and it reminded me of something I'm trying to figure out (and best of luck with your Mom, too).

Has anyone figured out a good way to monitor the last time a particular zone was opened / closed using just the Elk and this app? My Elk also talks to Homeseer, and I can use it and DooMotion to figure out the last time a particular door was opened or closed. But the 2.3 version of Homeseer sometimes decides to stop working after a few days for some of us (they're working on that...) so I'd like to be able to monitor the last time particular zones were used. I want it to make sure our live-in house sitter is coming and going as planned to take care of the dogs when we're away, but I think it would have some useful applications for monitoring an elderly relative, or perhaps open / close status of a business. I'm thinking something with outputs being turned on and off, but I can't figure out how to show elapsed time with the app.

Joe

 

[bjdraw]

One of my biggest issues right now is with my router. I can only connect with WiFi or 3G, not both. Because both show up as different addresses depending on how you access it and probably due to asynchronous routing. I have to disable WiFi to use EK+ in my house. There might be a routing solution, but I haven't found it yet. But it would be nice if the app allowed you to use multiple configurations automatically. So if it can't connect on one, it would try the next.

Not sure how this works for me, but it does. I point eK at my external dynamic DNS name and it works internally as well as externally. I believe it is because my router (Actiontec) NATs the packets even though they are sourced from the inside interface.