I have recently come across announcements for two new remotes that sound interesting, but I don‘t find anyplace to buy them.
The first, the neeo, appears to be a new contender to take over the spot Logitech abandoned with its high-end Harmony. It seems to be available in the US, but not yet in Europe.
The second is from UEI, the makers of OneForAll remotes. It is apparently trying to horn in on Amazon‘s Alexa business. I find it particularly interesting because I have long wished for a voice-controlled remote, but Alexa is persona non grata in our household, and I would welcome an option from a hardware seller (instead of a data broker). However, the Butler was announced two years ago and I don‘t find any indication that it is for sale anywhere.
Does anyone have experience with either of these?
New Universal Remote Controls: Neeo and Nevo Butler?
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Neeo has been around a while. It started out as a kick-starter project a few years ago. When I finally came out, the creators promptly sold it to an expensive pro remote company (Control 4), putting it far out of reach of us JP1ers and even Harmony users since it requires thousands in custom integrator fees to set up and install. So Nee-o is a big No-go as far as I'm concerned.
This is the first I've heard of the Nevo Butler, but here's the official website:
https://www.uei.com/nevo-butler-for-home-automation
I don't see anything of interest as a JP1 user. Looks like yet another Alexa and Google Home competitor to me. I already have Alexa and do my home automation through it. So seems like too little too late in an already saturated market.
This is the first I've heard of the Nevo Butler, but here's the official website:
https://www.uei.com/nevo-butler-for-home-automation
I don't see anything of interest as a JP1 user. Looks like yet another Alexa and Google Home competitor to me. I already have Alexa and do my home automation through it. So seems like too little too late in an already saturated market.
Thanks for the quick response!
The price of the Neeo remote alone is already eye-watering. If you need to hire a professional installer to set it up, that is indeed a no-go, not just because of the cost, but because I don't want to have to call someone in every time there is a change in our gadget collection or in our needs. Since Panasonic promotes Control4, I blithely assumed that they had user-configurable products.
As for Alexa and Google Home, I am already donating enough personal information to these enterprises. I would welcome an alternative with offline voice recognition software. I once looked at Mycroft, but I have been away from development for too long and am too lazy to "roll my own" (e.g. with a Raspberry Pi), so I was hoping to get a finished product like the Butler.
The Butler seems to have more than one "official website". For example, UEI seems to be partnering with QuickSet Cloud.
I couldn't find anyone selling it, and neither of these pages is linked to an online shop. Is it actually for sale anywhere?
P.S. I hadn't looked up Mycroft in a while and was pleased to discover that they are now developing HW, and have made SW available for some more common platforms. Unfortunately the Android version requires that core SW be installed on a local server, so I will probably start by trying it out on a Linux machine. Meanwhile, I have reserved a few of the Mark II smart speakers.
The price of the Neeo remote alone is already eye-watering. If you need to hire a professional installer to set it up, that is indeed a no-go, not just because of the cost, but because I don't want to have to call someone in every time there is a change in our gadget collection or in our needs. Since Panasonic promotes Control4, I blithely assumed that they had user-configurable products.
As for Alexa and Google Home, I am already donating enough personal information to these enterprises. I would welcome an alternative with offline voice recognition software. I once looked at Mycroft, but I have been away from development for too long and am too lazy to "roll my own" (e.g. with a Raspberry Pi), so I was hoping to get a finished product like the Butler.
The Butler seems to have more than one "official website". For example, UEI seems to be partnering with QuickSet Cloud.
I couldn't find anyone selling it, and neither of these pages is linked to an online shop. Is it actually for sale anywhere?
P.S. I hadn't looked up Mycroft in a while and was pleased to discover that they are now developing HW, and have made SW available for some more common platforms. Unfortunately the Android version requires that core SW be installed on a local server, so I will probably start by trying it out on a Linux machine. Meanwhile, I have reserved a few of the Mark II smart speakers.
Meanwhile, I have written to UEI about the Nevo Butler. They responded that they have no intention of markeitng it to end users. Instead they are selling it to. service providers like Vodafone, who are evidently marketing it as part of a service package. That leaves only Mycroft, if I don‘t want Amazon and Google knowing even more about me than they already do ;-{
Mycroft is still looking for investors. I don‘t see their chances as optimitically as they do, but am still considering putting some money on the line.
Mycroft is still looking for investors. I don‘t see their chances as optimitically as they do, but am still considering putting some money on the line.