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Belkin is going green, no build quality compromises attached
Ditching single-use plastic and using recycled plastic where necessary
As creators of pioneering technological change, big tech companies have the responsibility of minimizing their ecological footprint as well. Apple has a deadline for transitioning from Lightning connectors to USB-C, and giants like Google have already ditched single-use plastics from their packaging to a great extent. At the ongoing CES 2023 tech show in Las Vegas, Belkin announced its plan to go further, transitioning from virgin plastic products to more eco-friendly options.
Belkin's latest Wemo WiFi smart plug is now available for $25
But you're better off buying three for just $50
When it comes to setting up a smart home infrastructure, there's a bunch of brands to chose from. If you have a tendency to trust major ones more than unknown manufacturers, you'd be happy to know Belkin's Wemo WiFi smart plug, which was announced at CES earlier this year, is now available for sale.
If there's one thing that is guaranteed to be at any CES show, it's smart speakers (and TVs). The latest speaker to be announced is the Soundform Elite by Belkin, a Google Assistant-powered smart speaker and wireless charger in a single unit.
Google was among the first companies to embrace wireless charging in the days of plastic flagship phones, but it ditched the feature when metal became trendy. Now that the Pixel 3 and 3XL are glass, wireless charging is in again. Google even unveiled its own fancy wireless charger alongside the 2018 Pixels. However, those phones only fast charge wirelessly with Google's custom technology. Google sought to cool tempers over the Pixel Stand's $80 price tag by pointing out that other companies would license its custom fast charging standard. Belkin was the first, and still only, company to do so.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) event is going on right now, and that means that lots of education-focused Chromebook-related items are being released. We just posted about STAEDTLER's new Noris stylus for Chromebooks yesterday, and today, Belkin has unveiled two USB-C keyboards intended for use with Chrome OS tablets.
For years, Taiwan-based Foxconn has been best-known for manufacturing Apple products, but it also builds countless other consumer electronics. Today, one of the company's subsidiaries (Foxconn Interconnect Technology) announced it is purchasing US-based Belkin for $866 million in cash. Belkin owns a number of major brands, including Linksys and Wemo.
With a couple of months of use behind me, my feelings about the Belkin WeMo switches are just as conflicted now as they were when I unpacked these. On paper, the idea of a switch that you can plug anything in to make it smart is fantastic. In reality, I struggled to find many, if any honestly, devices I wanted to use the WeMo with. But that's not even the meat of my issue with WeMo's switches. Their connectivity has been iffy at best, the app is laughably old, and integration with other smart home devices is hit and miss, mostly because of the aforementioned connectivity issues.But to be correct, your mileage will vary. Some users report no issues whatsoever with many WeMo switches in their home's setup, while others like me struggle with just one or two. It's this inconsistency in the experience that makes it hard to recommend Belkin's solution.As it stands now, I find it tough to justify using the WeMo switches with anything after I take down the Christmas trees at home and work. As I have mentioned earlier, making the tree smart is one of the best uses of switches with Google Home and it's easy to put up with the issues for a few weeks when you can just say, "It's Christmas time!" and have your tree magically light up... when my Home sees it as available that is. But beyond that, the frustrations have been enough that I'll probably pack the WeMo up until next Christmas.
Belkin is one of the most established mobile tech accessory companies out there, but that doesn't mean it's not privy to making mistakes. About seven months back, charger wizards Nathan K and Benson Leung, along with XDA forums member mtucker, discovered a fault with Belkin's $44.99 F7U004 27W USB-PD car charger. Unfortunately, it's taken until now for Belkin to release a revised model, and the process to get one seems rather interesting.
Belkin makes a series of gadgets intended to make your home smarter. Think WiFi-connected light switches and outlets that let you toggle anything you plug in. Now these products work with Nest.Connecting WeMo devices to a Nest Thermostat makes controlling all these products even simpler. Rather than tapping a few buttons on your phone, Nest will adjust things automatically as you enter and leave the house. Dim the lights, turn on the fan, and get that smooth jazz playing.The exchange goes both ways. You can also manage basic functions on your thermostat using version 1.15 of the WeMo app.Products that now work with Nest include the WeMo Switch, WeMo Light Switch, WeMo Insight Switch, and the WeMo Maker.
Belkin's WeMo switches take generic aspects of a home and make them smarter. If you're interested in giving parts of your house an IQ boost, several of the company's products are currently going for 20 to 25% off as part of Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Day. The devices come in two primary form factors. There are switches intended for power outlets, and there's a wall-mounted option for controlling the lights. Either way, you're looking at tools that provide the ability to remotely control various parts of the home using an Android device.The Belkin WeMo light switch has been reduced from $49.99 to $39.99. A power outlet switch has been reduced to the same price, though there's an upgraded version going for $47.99 (down from $59.99). The switch and motion sensor bundle has been temporarily dropped down from $79.99 to $59.99.
If you've been looking for an easy way to get into the home automation craze, Belkin has a series of plug-and-play accessories that will let you control lights and other electronics without any major home modifications. The WeMo series is relatively cheap and controllable with your phone or tablet via the Android app. Amazon's daily deal portal Gold Box has select WeMo accessories and switches on sale for today only.
Back in mid-February, Belkin released and early beta build of its WeMo for Android app. It was very light on features at the time (and only available for the Galaxy S III), but has been receiving updates ever since to get it up to snuff with the experience Belkin was looking for.