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While BMW is bringing remote control to your car, Motorola and Verizon are working to bring it to your home. Verizon launched its Home Monitoring and Control service today which runs on Motorola Mobility's recently acquired 4Home technology. This is the final form of what the company demonstrated last year — it uses both Z-Wave and Wi-Fi for communications and does all the normal home automation tricks. The system lets you view camera feeds, lock doors, control lights, and manage your thermostat remotely through a PC or smartphone. You can also track your energy usage and get automatic event notifications so you know when the kids get home. The service is available now for $9.99 per month, but it requires Verizon broadband service, a home network, and one of the hardware kits starting at $69.99.
Home automation has been around for years now with names like Control4, HAI, Insteon, Z-Wave, and Zigbee; maybe you're familiar with these, but chances are most people aren't. Motorola and Verizon are household names that can present a package the Joneses are more likely to adopt. And it could get a third pillar of recognition since Google will automatically get 4Home when it swallows Motorola Mobility. Come to think of it, it isn't surprising that Android @ Home doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
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