Episode 39 - Kēvo Smartlocks with Phil Dumas of UniKey

We opened the show this week giving our thoughts on the very sad news of Crestron founder George Feldstein's passing. George was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. Through his work he did volumes to push the systems integration industry forward. Without his passion and diligent efforts it is hard to say what our industry would look like today. We want to extend our deepest condolences to his family.We also covered recent news that both Walmart and Target will be rolling out smart home displays in time for the holidays this year. By our count this brings the list of big box retailers dabbling in the smart home up to 6 (Lowes, Home Depot, Staples, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target). We give our thoughts on what this means not only for the market at large, but also for home technology professionals. In a similar vein we cover the recent unveiling of Verizon's new router, which features a built-in Z-Wave radio. Clearly managed service providers are also keenly interested in the smart home. Tune in to get our take.For our guest this week we are joined by UniKey founder Phil Dumas. UniKey is the technology behind the Kēvo smartlock, which is produced in conjunction with Kwikset. Phil has a long history in, and a clear passion for access control. The backstory behind his company and the product very interesting. In fact, Phil is our second guest to have previously been featured on ABC's hit show The Shark Tank (Jamie Siminoff from Ring was the first). While Kēvo is undeniably a well thought out product which more than stands on its own, Phil feels it's only the beginning for what UniKey is capable of. Check out our conversation to learn more.As always we thank you for listening. If you enjoy the show, please take a moment to tell a friend and to leave us a review on iTunes or on Stitcher. We greatly appreciate any feedback you might want to offer as well, which you can do on our feedback page.Show NotesCrestron Founder George Feldstein Passes AwayWALMART rolling out Home Automation fixturesTarget also testing Home AutomationVerizon FiOS Router has ZwaveMike Wolf chats with Zonoff's Mike HarrisUniKeyUniKey Hospitality SolutionKēvo Smart LockWhy Doesn't Kēvo use Geo-fencing?Kēvo Android Beta Program