http://www.smarthome.com/2440.html
As of tonight (01-May-2007), though the RemoteLinc is in the catalog that I received today, you can't get to the above product page browsing through the Smarthome website, though you can search on the product number. Smarthome is accepting pre-orders. Some people are doing a beta test:
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=7472
There's been quite a bit of speculation (most of it quite accurate in hindsight) about the device in the past ten months on other home automation boards. The only big revelation now that the specs are known is that it won't work with the SignaLinc RFs, even though I seem to recall Smarthome has been selling the SignaLinc RFs for well over a year with the promise that they would act as a receiver for forthcoming RF devices. Instead, the RemoteLincs require a separate RF receiver, the Access Point (2443):
http://www.smarthome.com/2443.html
This is pretty infuriating. I suspect Smarthome knows that we'll be disappointed so it seems they're offering a SignaLinc RF trade-in program to quell the inevitable angry mob:
http://www.smarthome.com/accesspointupgrade.html
This has a few problems:
- They've structured the trade-up program so that you must purchase two Access Points, then send in two of your SignaLinc RFs, then they'll send you a free RemoteLinc. This will probably generate a lot of confusion since people have been salivating for the RemoteLinc for months and will likely order those first. But the proper sequence is to order the Access Points *FIRST*, then return your SignaLinc RFs, at which point you will receive the RemoteLinc.
- With the upgrade program you get *REFURBISHED* Access Points, not new ones. Why would they ship you refurbished Access Points when they haven't even shipped yet? Are they anticipating a high failure rate? Do they have a warehouse full of refurbished Access Points from a problematic testing period?
- The requirement for Access Points to essentially replace the SignaLinc RFs indicates they must've had problems w/ the SignaLincs. This doesn't bode well for the RF part of Insteon, at least in the near future. It's taken SmartLabs two years to release the first RF Insteon controller.
And as for the RemoteLinc itself, I guess we'll have to wait and see how it works. When its form factor was first disclosed on CocoonTech, the response was almost universal derision from the picky Cocooners. They thought it was hideously ugly and ungainly. Most people want a small, handheld remote you can carry on your keychain. The RemoteLinc is being pitched as a tabletop remote since it is too big to carry in your pocket. The existence of "All On" and "All Off" buttons has also been derided as useless in the age of Insteon Group commands. The "Dim" and "Bright" buttons are also redundant since you can achieve the same function simply by holding down the On or Off button of each channel. Most of us want a compact keychain-like FOB or a something like the old X10 PalmPads.
For these reasons, I'll probably wait until a more compact remote control is released or at least until the RemoteLinc has been out for six months and users have pounded on it.
Matt -- will Indigo support the new Access Points and RemoteLincs when they ship? I suspect you may be bound by nondisclosure if you've been in the RemoteLinc RF testing program. But have you heard any news of other smaller, more practical remotes in the product pipeline?
-Sugi-