The Skydog home network solution Kickstarter project we covered back in April, created by Xerox PARC spin-out company PowerCloud Systems, is shipping today to its over 1,000 backers on schedule, proving that not every Kickstarter project will be delayed and ultimately disappointing. In case you missed it the first time around, Skydog is a control freak’s dream device when it comes to home Wi-Fi networks.
Skydog allows parents to see exactly where their kids are browsing, and to limit and block access to specific sites, or even cut down net time altogether. It’s the same sort of service enterprises can and often do choose to run on their corporate networks, especially in data-sensitive environments. PowerCloud Systems has experience building those kinds of solutions, and saw an opportunity to bring the same level of control to the consumer sphere, via a combination of easy-to-setup hardware, and an easy to use cloud-based dashboard.
After delivering on its pre-orders, Skydog is looking to offer up its devices for general retail availability starting in October. People can pre-order from their official site now, with packages starting at $149 for a package that includes a dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi router, as well as the mobile app and a 3-year subscription to Skydog’s cloud service, which allows access to home network control and reports from anywhere via the web.
A recent Kickstarter project, the Circle, aims to accomplish much the same thing as Skydog, but with an accessory that works with your existing router and without the subscription model. It’s very promising, but Skydog has shipped in time with their projections and has a proven record of being able to build this kind of solution, as well as satisfied beta testers, while Circle has very pleasing mobile app screens. Of the two, if you’re looking for way to clamp down on out-of-control Internet usage at home, Skydog and its October retail availability seems the surer bet.