Abode is a new home security product that is currently on Kickstarter. The company was created by a former ADT executive along with an executive from Salesforce.com. Abode is a self-install home alarm system complete with remote arming capabilities and home automation. The company says that Abode will come with an upfront fee and then a monthly monitoring charge. It will not, however, have an annual contract.
The Abode system is a nice looking unit, where the central panel was designed to be displayed out in the open. It is stylishly designed, very appropriate for a product that originated in Silicon Valley. The unit seems to provide a good level of protection, however, without any actual clients in the field, the product is quite untested.
One issue I can see with the Abode system is that the peripherals are clunky. They were designed with a style over substance philosophy. With other smaller door contacts and window contacts available that do a superior job in providing outstanding protection, I don't understand why the designers opted for such a large contract. With such an emphasis on cutting-edge style, such large contacts look like something from the 90's.
I'm unsure what the future holds for Abode. With such competition in the self-install home alarm space, they will have to find a way to distinguish themselves from the Simplisafe's and Protect America's of the world. Whether they do this with value or with enhanced services, time will tell. As of April 7th, they have raised half or their Kickstarter goal of $100,000. We'll see if there's enough interest going forward to bring Abode to market. However, from the limited information I've been able to gather on the product, it seems as if it's a good start to a home security system. They might be on to something. We shall see.
