From <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4699862" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4699862</a> (also at the front page right now):<p>> <i>We funded the Lockitron guys back in the summer of '09—that's them at their YC interview. A year after YC, they were still figuring out their idea. They lived with the Wepay guys and one day the Wepays had a party for their investors. By that point the Lockitrons were working on a product to lock your door with an iPhone. They were able to impress one of the investors with their prototype, and he asked to have 40 installed in some startup offices he owned. The founders were psyched, but the commercial locks they needed to use cost $500 a pop. They didn't have $20,000 to fulfill an order that big. So they went around to the local locksmiths and scrapyards, buying broken locks for about $10 each. They fixed them themselves and were able to deliver on that order.</i>
It really pays to check how ones company name sounds in different languages. Because in some cases connotations could be not even funny :( For example in russian, lockitron sounds very similar to 'lohotron' which translates as con game, scam etc.
This is bananas!<p>Please, someone who has reserved one ..<p>WHY do you need to open your deadbolt from anywhere other than your front door?<p>Do you often find yourself down the street / at work / in an overseas hotel with the need to open the deadbolt?<p>Don't you want to see who's there?<p>Don't you have a second lock built into the knob?<p>It's an interesting idea to control a mechanical object (lock) with an internet connection, but a deadbolt?
@Lockitron, I recall the original story going: "We decided to host our own "Kickstarter" because investors did not seem interested and Kickstarter changed their policies."<p>I am curious, have you found that investors have changed their tune due to your successes so far?
Playing devil's advocate here, but what is the hype surrounding this lock?<p>I bought two 'aesthetic enough' keypad code locks from Home Depot and it' been serving me well since. It doesn't require my phone or launching an app from my phone (think bags of groceries in both hands and you forgot to preunlock), doesn't require Wi-Fi, and I can program temporary codes for Airbnb, etc. within seconds. The only draw back is lacking the option to increase 30 second autolock interval.<p>Add a keypad, make it as rugged as existing locks, place it in the Home Depot lock aisle beside the other 'uncool' locks and you have a disruptive winner.
As somebody whose enjoyed a keyless lock in a condo in Hawaii fairly recently I have few things to say.<p>* Keyless locks are great<p>* Depending on a phone is a very limiting requirement.<p>From my experience, it was a huge relief not to have to carry any valuables(such as a smartphone or keys) to the beach, because the door had a 4-digit-code lock device.
If i had to carry a phone around with me, i would rather carry a set of keys.<p>Furthermore, if youre planning to use it for AirBnB and youre expecting that your tenants will have cell service, youre excluding international travellers who have just arrived in your town and may not have cell coverage with their international phones.<p>What I would like is a code-based lock that would allow me to reset the code remotely, to add multiple levels of codes, time-limited codes, etc. I would pay lockitron prices for it.
I wonder how strong the actuator is on the device. I know that most deadbolts don't line up all that great with the hole in the frame and require a lot of force to actually open and close. I'm sure the actuator is limited in how much force it can generate.
How the device fits over the lock handle reminds me of another device I made to unlock a door. I had to get into a room to reset a router, however the lock was a deadbolt, and I didn't know how to pick it. Using a (heavily bent) coat hanger, I squeezed it through a crack in the top of the door, lowered it with twine until it grasped the lock handle, and then turned the device with some more twine (from under the door) and I was in.<p>Locks that open when the door handle (not a knob) is turned can also be opened relatively easily with coathangers from under the door. Make sure to consider all aspects when making secure systems!
I've been minimizing the stuff I carry in my pocket for a while now (for every day work).<p>The wallet was the first to go. Then I stopped carrying IDs (I use public transport). Now I'm down to my keys, my phone, a credit card, and a metro pass. The day when all I need is my phone is getting closer!
Interesting, but this seems similar to the Z-Wave[1]/Schlage Internet-controlled remote entry systems. I'm not sure what the additional value add is beyond an iPhone app.<p>Am I missing something?<p>[1] <a href="http://www.z-wave.com/modules/ZwaveStart/" rel="nofollow">http://www.z-wave.com/modules/ZwaveStart/</a>
This is all really great, but my ISP and router situation is not at 100% uptime and about once a week I need to reset them both. I wouldn't be able to rely on this completely :/