Flic Smart Button
There are Flics that are designed just for one task such as controlling WiFi enabled smart light bulbs, Flics for finding your phone, sharing your location and more. And, there are Flics that can be programmed for any combination of those same tasks.
While it isn’t a perfect solution right now, it’s an interesting and accessible way to have a bit of fun with your connected apps and devices, and one that will only get better with time.
Flic is a small, soft-touch silicon button – no wider than a 10p coin that has a satisfying click to it when you press it. It stands no more than half an inch tall, and is available in black, white or turquoise.
The Flic comes with a coin-cell battery, which should last up to 18 months. To replace it, simply stick the Flic down and give it a twist to remove the back panel.
Flic comes in different colours, each with a soft rubbery touch and a nice tactile feel.
Similarly, the single click does need a very short hold to register the app will make a sound to let you know when it has but hold it down too long and you’ll trigger the click and hold action instead. More than once I blasted music through my bedroom’s Sonos speaker at midnight instead of setting my alarm much to the delight of my sleeping husband.
This is something we managed to get the hang of during testing, but it wasn’t meant to be with the double-click. In fact, it failed so often we ended up leaving it blank, setting a Flic Task for that command instead. This proved far more reliable; it’s just a shame its handy iOS Notification Centre functionality was so hit and miss.
You can keep Flic in your pocket or clip it to your jacket thanks to the adapter included in the package. For many users that's how they will want to use this device. For home automation applications however, Flic will be better installed on a wall or on a table.
Good to know, Flic is also water and dust resistant and should work both indoor and outdoor. I did not find any IP rating to backup that claim but the rugged design seem to indeed suggest a decent protection level.
To configure and use your buttons, you need to download the Flic app which is available both on the Apple iOS and Android app stores. Pairing your buttons to your phone via Bluetooth is straightforward and should only be done once.
Flic wireless smart buttons are easy to setup and fun to program. As long as you don’t mind the price as they are a little expensive, and you understand that the iOS or Android device with the Flic app has to be within range of the Flic buttons for them to work, I find the Flic buttons to be a great alternative to using my phone to control my IoT devices.
Tap on Screen Button to Perform The Desired Task
Flic wireless smart buttons are small quarter-sized clickable buttons that pair with your mobile device using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and can be programmed to perform certain tasks based on one click, a double click, and a click and hold.
There are Flics that are designed just for one task such as controlling WiFi enabled smart light bulbs, Flics for finding your phone, sharing your location and more. And, there are Flics that can be programmed for any combination of those same tasks.
It started life on Indiegogo in 2014, smashing its $80,000 target to raise almost $1 million in two months. Two and a half years on, the Flic is now really getting into its stride, with availability worldwide and a partner list that continues to grow.
Flic Smart Button Design
Flic is a small, soft-touch silicon button – no wider than a 10p coin that has a satisfying click to it when you press it. It stands no more than half an inch tall, and is available in black, white or turquoise.
On the rear is a removable, reusable sticky pad, with which you can fix your Flic to just about anything. There’s enough stick in the pad to enable movement of it several times, but for those who are super-indecisive about placement, you can peel off the pad and wash it to renew its stickiness. Note that there’s also a clip included in the box for attaching your Flic to clothes or bags.
The Flic comes with a coin-cell battery, which should last up to 18 months. To replace it, simply stick the Flic down and give it a twist to remove the back panel.
Flic Smart Button Hardware
This cute little rubber push button packs a built in coin battery that will last up to 5 years. That's quite a long time for a battery powered device and that's because it uses the frugal Bluetooth Low Energy technology (BLE). It also allows a simple and almost universal connection to smartphones and tablets.
Flic Smart Button Performance
Flic works well with both single click and click and hold commands, but we often struggled to get double-clicks to register. It was rather hit and miss; often a double-click would trigger the single-click command instead. Depending on what that is, you could find that very frustrating indeed.
Similarly, the single click does need a very short hold to register the app will make a sound to let you know when it has but hold it down too long and you’ll trigger the click and hold action instead. More than once I blasted music through my bedroom’s Sonos speaker at midnight instead of setting my alarm much to the delight of my sleeping husband.
Flic Smart Button Instlallation/Setup/Getting Started
To make things easier, a double sided tape on the back is preinstalled and strong enough to hold the lightweight button in most situations. Shortcut Labs claims it is also reusable, meaning the button will stick second or third time again, and if dust covered the sticky area you can simply wash it. My 18 months old tested this feature particularly well, as he removed the button on several occasions but I was so far always able to stick it back.
Conclusion
Comments
Post a Comment
LEAVE A COMMMENT