Blacksumac's previously pre-orderable Piper all-in-one home security system is now widely available for sale in the United States. by Megan Wollerton January 21, 2014 12:53 PM PST (Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET) We were quite taken with Blacksumac's $239 Piper home security system during our recent review. It was one of the very first DIY products of its kind to grace Indiegogo and actually become a living, breathing pre-orderable product. As of today, Piper is available for general purchase in the United States -- that's an impressive turnaround for a crowd-funded project. (Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET) Piper is similar to the $199 Canary security system. In fact, Canary's Indiegogo campaign started about a month before Piper's and earned a whopping $1,961,862 compared to Piper's $309,119 (both had a $100,000 goal). Still, Piper has managed to get out in front of the whole all-in-one security game and present a completed product far ahead of Canary (whose pre-ordered units aren't expected to ship until July 2014). (Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET) We aren't just impressed with Piper's turnaround, though. It's also an intriguing product that offers nearly identical video quality to the $199 Dropcam Pro, and motion and sound sensors like $199 iSmartAlarm, $199 Oplink Security TripleShield, $229 Viper Home, and $229 SimpliSafe -- except everything is consolidated into a single hub. In addition, it can act as a Z-Wave hub to tackle your home automation needs. Canary. (Credit: Canary) So, head to the Piper website to learn more. One unit costs $239, you can get a 3-pack for $649, and you can get a Piper with various Z-Wave accessories for anywhere from $359 to $849. Piper's free iOS app is available for download now too, with the Android version expected to come out in mid-February. And, if you like the idea of an all-in-one DIY system, but aren't sold on Piper, we should have a full Canary review for you soon. Read the full CNET Review Piper The bottom line: Don't expect Piper's slight build to mean that it's short on performance. This $239 all-in-one security system offers a great value for smaller homes and budding DIYers. Read Full Review
Blacksumac's previously pre-orderable Piper all-in-one home security system is now widely available for sale in the United States.
We were quite taken with Blacksumac's $239 Piper home security system during our recent review. It was one of the very first DIY products of its kind to grace Indiegogo and actually become a living, breathing pre-orderable product. As of today, Piper is available for general purchase in the United States -- that's an impressive turnaround for a crowd-funded project.
Piper is similar to the $199 Canary security system. In fact, Canary's Indiegogo campaign started about a month before Piper's and earned a whopping $1,961,862 compared to Piper's $309,119 (both had a $100,000 goal). Still, Piper has managed to get out in front of the whole all-in-one security game and present a completed product far ahead of Canary (whose pre-ordered units aren't expected to ship until July 2014).
We aren't just impressed with Piper's turnaround, though. It's also an intriguing product that offers nearly identical video quality to the $199 Dropcam Pro, and motion and sound sensors like $199 iSmartAlarm, $199 Oplink Security TripleShield, $229 Viper Home, and $229 SimpliSafe -- except everything is consolidated into a single hub. In addition, it can act as a Z-Wave hub to tackle your home automation needs.
Canary.
(Credit: Canary)
So, head to the Piper website to learn more. One unit costs $239, you can get a 3-pack for $649, and you can get a Piper with various Z-Wave accessories for anywhere from $359 to $849. Piper's free iOS app is available for download now too, with the Android version expected to come out in mid-February. And, if you like the idea of an all-in-one DIY system, but aren't sold on Piper, we should have a full Canary review for you soon.
Piper
The bottom line: Don't expect Piper's slight build to mean that it's short on performance. This $239 all-in-one security system offers a great value for smaller homes and budding DIYers. Read Full Review
