Cochinoman tech, sushi, poker
In the what seems like a never ending stream of smart locks being announced, Kwikset has started taking pre-orders for their Kevo, which will cost $219 from Home Depot, Amazon, Build.com and newegg.com.
As with Lockitron, the lock will talk to your smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0 and will automatically unlock when you touch the lock from the outside. The lock will know if you are inside the house so somebody touching the lock when you are inside cannot open the lock. The package also comes with a FOB for people who do not want to carry their smartphones. According to Kwikset, the 4 AA batteries powering the lock should last about 1 year,
This is what $219 gets you in the box. As you can see, unlike Lockitron, which goes on top of your existing lock, the Kevo completely replaces your deadbolt lock with a new one.
Your $219 gets you 2 electronic keys that you can assign to other smartphones, but additional e-keys will cost $1.99. So if you were thinking of using this at a business with dozens or hundreds of users, forget it.
Unlike some of their competitors, Kwikset already makes locks and even electronic locks, so they have their retail connections in place. Will that be the winning factor in this race? Time will tell.
