One of Steve Jobs’s lasting impacts on our society is the maxim that, for whatever task or challenge we face, there’s an app for that. Now, we can add garage door openers to that list. Craftsman now has two new garage door openers that use their AssureLink gateway to allow homeowners to either monitor or operate their garage door from anywhere they can get an Internent connection.
Think about it: Headed out of town on vacation, but you can’t remember if you put the door down? Pull out your smartphone and the AssureLink app will tell you the status of the door and, if it’s still up, you can close the door right from your phone. Or if you are expecting a delivery, but can’t get away from work, have the driver call you and you can open and close the garage door from your laptop at work.
Setup seems pretty simple. After installing the garage door opener and connecting the AssureLink gateway to your home network via an ethernet cable. You need to create an account and the first year of service is free, with subsequent monitoring costing $19.99 a year. You can access AssureLink by downloading the app for your Android or iPhone or through the Craftsman mobile Web site or regular site. The opener is available in either chain or belt drive and pricing begins at $289.99.
