Edit 10/08/2014: I am withdrawing any sort of moral support for this project and specifically Aron Czigler and Kristina Odegova for the lack of communication to backers.
I phoned Kristina (+7 926 086 9425 and k.odegova@mybells.net as found on Syracuse) on 14/07/2014 to discuss the way forward and she advised that MyBells are still waiting to obtain patents before releasing the product as they fear that other companies will poach their idea. She also let me know at that time that an update would be forthcoming “next week” but that has come and gone. She also mentioned a “MyBells Easy” product but I think this will be a watered down product bearing little resemblance to what was floated on Indiegogo and a poor attempt to pay off backers if it ever sees the light of day.
Feel free to leave your comments below.
Edit: I ended up backing this project on Indiegogo and electing for the Early Bird Family Premium package. I’ve also had some brief discourse over e-mail with Aron Czigler who is the CEO and Founder of MyBells about the product.
I was having a browse of Indiegogo and came across something that look a bit interesting in the form of a doorbell.
Doorbell? Interesting?
Doorbells can be rather bland devices and usual consist of nothing more than a button on the outside of the house and the bell on the inside of the house. Press the button and a sound is generated.
Big whoop.
Of course, you can get more sophisticated systems with video and intercom capabilities but these can be rather expensive and can often require wires to be run for both power and connectivity usually when the house is built. Putting in a system after the fact can be expensive and time consuming.
Well, MyBells can simplify things for a reasonable cost (at least the prices seem reasonable to me).
You will still need to run power to each component (i.e. doorbell, speakers, video intercoms and the hub) but they can be linked by wires, RF or Wi-Fi. You’ve also got the option of standard or waterproof speakers if you want to have a speaker in a bathroom or outside. You can link up to ten speakers to the system so if you’ve got a large house then you should be able to hear the doorbell wherever your are.
Speaking of being able the hear the doorbell, sometimes it might not be loud enough to hear if you’re cooking up a storm in the kitchen or you have music turned up. Otherwise, you might not want it to be too loud if you are sleeping. The speakers can detect the noise level in the room and adjust its volume to suit to ensure that it can be heard at an appropriate volume.
The real kicker for me is the smartphone and tablet connectivity across iOS, Android and Windows Phone. If someone rings the doorbell you can see who is there right on your device and talk to them, even if you’re not at home! You’ll need one of the premium packages to get this functionality though but could be handy if you need to pop out to the shops urgently despite expecting an important delivery. Otherwise, if it looks like your house might be about to be burgled then you can remotely activate a siren mode which could help deter any further trespassing.
There’s a bit more to the system though – it would be a shame to just have speakers around the house just for the sole use of the doorbell. So, you can play music to any or all speakers from the smartphone, tablet and computer apps. This could be a great two in one solution if you’ve not got music speakers around the house. Don’t worry though, if someone rings the doorbell your music will pause so that the doorbell can be heard clearly.
I guess the question for me is whether or not I will back it. We don’t have a doorbell at the moment and while we don’t get many people knocking on the door when we are at home we do like the idea of knowing is there. I’d rather avoid the door to door salespeople altogether without them gasbagging for ages. Plus, receiving notifications when people call by when we are not home is a handy feature particularly if we can talk to them and provide instructions such as leaving packages at the door rather than rebooking delivery.
I’ll let you know what happens either way but this is an interesting system that can be setup yourself. Check it out over here at Indiegogo.
2 comments
MyBells is a scam. We are still waiting for our perk on Indiegogo. No updates.
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I posted on the MyBells project on Indiegogo but I phoned Kristina and she said that they would post next week (which is now this week as I spoke to her last week). Apparently, Aron is on holiday and as he is the brains behind the project it seems things come to a grinding halt.
The primary concern at the moment is a lack of patents and the fear that other companies will just copy MyBells. Is that a reasonable fear? Perhaps but some communication would be great particularly if MyBells don’t want to be barred from future projects on Indiegogo.
There was also mention of something called “MyBells Easy”. I didn’t mention this before as I didn’t want to steal their thunder (however little there seems to be at the moment) but it sounded like a cut down offering that backers would be getting for free. Not sure if this was going to be instead of what was originally selected and pledged for or something to fill the gap until patents were sorted out.