Viper launches first smartphone app to monitor both car and home

VISTA, Calif.—Viper, a longtime leader in car security, is now helping customers secure their homes as well, launching an affordable, DIY home security monitoring system controlled from a smartphone.

Viper Home, a self-installed monitoring system, is available exclusively from Best Buy. The company says it will be integrated with the Viper SmartStart car security app through the ViperConnect security app, “creating the world's first all-in-one home and car security monitoring solution for the smartphone.”

While the product currently is self-monitored, James Turner, VP of product planning for Viper, said a professional monitoring option is planned for the future. “It's actually in our road map to make that as an offering later on,” Turner told Security Systems News.

Viper, a brand of Directed Electronics, which is based here, has 30 years of experience in car security and its products allow car owners to do such things as remotely start and track their cars as well as protect them, Turner said. “The vision from the company was to … remove the [car] keys from your life,” he said.

Then, he said, because “the two things you interact with the most are your home and your car,” the company decided to expand into the home. Turner said the thinking was that “if you could take the home parts of it and embed that in the app as well and control both of those things from the phone, you're getting to where you remove [all] the keys from your life.”

A Viper Home starter kit costs $229.99 and includes a central hub, an indoor motion detector and a magnetic door and window sensor, according to a Nov. 4 company news release announcing the launch.

Viper Home can be customized with additional optional accessories such as indoor cameras and motion detectors, sirens, remote control key fobs and a Z-Wave bridge, according to the release. Premium services cost $9.99 per month, Turner said.

The system can host up to 64 devices and sends real-time notifications of security problems to the user's Smartphone, according to the release.

George De Marco, a managing partner with DECO Ventures, a technology consulting company based in Irvine, Calif. that worked with the company behind the technology on the Viper product, said he uses the product. “It really gives you more control and connectivity … between the car and the home,” he said.

“I use it all the time when I now enter my car. I'm not using my keys, I'm using the Viper app to open my door, to start my car and to open up the trunk. And then, when I'm coming home, I can also use that same app to see the status of my house or when I'm out, I can go to that same app … and view the status of my home. I have teenagers so I have to look in the house every once in a while,” De Marco said. “So the app works really, really well.”

To allow consumers can explore the app before purchasing Viper Home, ViperConnect currently is available on iTunes and Google Play.