ADT Buys Brinks

What??? Did I just read that right? ADT bought Brinks? Well, yes, practically speaking. ADT is owned by Tyco. Tyco recently purchased Broadview, which is Brinks' new name. Additionally, according their website, Tyco owns seven companies that make security equipment. Are you noticing a trend?

Tyco was already dominant in the home security market through ADT. Brinks is number of two of the "big guys," so we're not looking at much competition anymore. Ok, great...why do I care?

I care because I don't think the "big guys'" model is a good one. Giving you a "free" system or charging you little down may seem good on the face of it. After all, who wants to invest all that money upfront? Well, if you read the fine print and count out the monthly payments, you'll soon realize you're paying for your system...over and over.

I suppose maybe there's an upshot to all of this. Since ADT, via Tyco, just swallowed its own competition, homeowners may look elsewhere to see what options are available to them. In that case, they may begin to realize that the "great security deal" they got wasn't so great after all. And thats a good thing...if you like saving money, that is!

SafeMart's CEO

For those of you interested, here is a link to the LinkedIn page of SafeMart's CEO.

Home Security and CES 2010

Hey folks,

Just got back from CES 2010. As always, there were about ten million things worth seeing. However, my brain started shutting down after a while, so I didn't get through everything. But, what I did get through was interesting and I thought I'd share it with you. Ok, well actually I'm just going to share one thing with you, but it will comprise most of the cool stuff I saw: home integration.

In the past we've had home automation and home security. And, certain systems (the ElkGuard is the best example) allow for integration between the two. Other systems are, at best, clunky when it comes to custom home integration. But, that seems to be changing. Control4, DLink and a few others all showcased their complete home integration systems...and man, were they sweet!

So, just wrap your head around complete control, with remote access. On business in Switzerland and want to look in on your security cameras? No problem. While your'e at it, you might as well check on the thermostat, dim some lights and shut off the music you left on in the living room. And its all seamless. As the Guiness guys would say: Brilliant!

There were a few other things that I'll let you know about as we go forward. They should really make things interesting.

Until next time...

Home Security in 2010

Well folks, we're back now from a long hiatus. We've been working on a ton of great stuff over at SafeMart, from new monitoring options to better more advanced system packages. I wanted to highlight just a few products/services to keep your eye out for in 2010. (Note: some of these have been around for years, but are worth taking another look at). So, in no particular order:

1. Freeze Alarms: Ok, thats pretty boring sounding. Plus, they've been around forever. True, but most of us haven't seen a winter this cold in a long time. If you don't have a freeze alarm and you don't want to spend thousands of dollars when a pipe busts, you should get one. Available http://www.safemart.com/Freeze-Alarms/Basic-Feeze-Alarm-wVoice-Alarm-FA-B-CCA.htm for $65.

2. The DSC Alexor: This is a fairly new system. It was released with a lot of hype but sort of died out after that. I would say this: If you are in the market for a versatile home security system, that is super-fast, and can handle some decent upgrades, the Alexor may be for you. Check it out here http://www.safemart.com/Wireless-Home-Security/DSC-Alexor-2-Way-Wireless-Alarm-Kit-KIT495-1CP01.htm. Starts at $299

3. New Releases in Home Alarm Monitoring: I'm not going to get into this much, even though its the most exciting thing coming down the pipe, since its not fully live yet. Just check back at this link from time to time if you have a Honeywell system. We'll be offering you great products at an incredibly low price. Stop by and see us. And if you simply want central station alarm monitoring, click the above link. Its available at wholesale pricing.