HomeSeer's Android-based 'Tabletop Touchscreen' Geared Toward Home Automation

As mobile devices and the Internet of Things grow in acceptance and popularity, the likelihood of fringe products being developed that leverage aspects of one or both of those industries increases. The fact that Android is becoming more prevalent in IoT is a significant indication of this.

Sure, there are already some strange consumer M2M offerings — like connected fridges and washing machines, for example — but here’s a truly odd one: A tabletop tablet.

Developed by HomeSeer, a provider of home control systems, this device is officially described as a “tabletop touchscreen,” but HomeSeer also goes on to say that it is “like a tablet” but free standing. So yeah, it’s a tablet.

Dubbed the WFTT07, this immobile mobile device actually does have some interesting benefits over your average Android tablet. For starters, its base not only allows the device to sit upright on any flat surface, it offers ample room for speakers, granting it sound quality above and beyond flatter offerings.

Of course, though, the WFTT07 isn’t exactly meant to go toe-to-toe with the iPad; it’s meant specifically for managing home automation. As such, it automatically boots into the HomeSeer HSTouch home automation app, granting quick, dedicated access to connected devices in the user’s home. In particular, the device is compatible with industry standards and products from leasing Z-Wave manufacturers such as Cooper, Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, Yale, GE, Honeywell, Leviton, Linear, Everspring, Evolve, Fibaro, FortrezZ, Aeon Labs, RCS, and more.

Its primary function aside, though, the WFTT07 does offer the same functionality as any post-Ice Cream Sandwich Android device, meaning it has full access to the Google Play store. On the hardware side, it’s also pretty similar to any low-cost Android tablet with an ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 512MB of RAM and a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution.