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I’m still watching Pulse emerge as a technology platform, so that ADT can finally migrate into today’s technology, and Pulse has certainly been a hot topic on the search engines. Now that the product is more widely available and is actually being installed and used, there are also more reviews coming in. One review site I found looks fairly objective - and you have to be careful with some review sites. As one might expect with any set of opinions, they are mixed. The site I particularly like specializes in “app” reviews for web phones, so I did some digging there for recent posts on Pulse. You may be interested in the results, and can check them out yourself. Here’s one recent entry on the Pulse product:
The app still needs some work. The idea of the system is great, I really like being able to check things from my iPhone when away. But with the most recent update, anytime i click on an individual station to check activity on that station the app crashes. It happens every single time and it happens on every station i tried in the app. I can arm and disarm the system from my phone which i guess is the most critical part. But hopefully it will get fixed soon...
As is true with most of these sites, you do have to wade through some “pumping” by company sales reps, and focus on the detailed pros and cons offered by what appear to be real users. It’s usually not hard to tell the difference, and specificity matters.
App needs to be re-worked. The internet, even from the iphone, works fine to lock and unlock the alarm. The app is spotty. Also, with the redesign, the iphone telephone key pad would be nice. Finally, in order for the pulse to work, ADT needs your personal security code or the alarm can't be set using the pulse system. The customer is left to depend on ADT employee honesty. I agree with the reviewer who said that the high rating come from employees. The app and service does not work most of the time.
This was a new site for me, so I also took the time to check out reviews of Alarm.com’s app that works on the iPhone. Droid and Blackberry. The overallAlarm.com rating, I’m happy to report, was much more positive than for Pulse. Here is a telling review from July of 2009, long before ADT’s Pulse was announced:
Just got rid of ADT because they laughed when I suggested you should be able to control your system from an iPhone - silly me for not knowing about Alarm.com sooner. Just installed my own system in under an hour, activated and was able to control it via my iPhone soon after. Great app -it just works as expected.
And lastly, here is a great review that we wish we could have written – but we didn’t:
Such dinosaurs as ADT and Brinks have nothing on Alarm.com / Frontpoint Security. This iPhone app just proves it. From my phone I can disarm or arm or check every status of my home sensors. Just try and see what's going on at home with your ADT or Brinks alarm. It's simply not possible. I couldn't be happier with Alarm.com and Frontpoint Security.
I could share more rave reviews on Alarm.com and FrontPoint, but that last one speaks volumes. Now that ADT is trying to catch up with advanced features, the comparison between alarm companies and products should be based on the following:
ADT Pulse Reviews – Is the Cost of ADT Pulse Worth It?
By:
Peter M. Rogers
|January 19, 2011
I’m still watching Pulse emerge as a technology platform, so that ADT can finally migrate into today’s technology, and Pulse has certainly been a hot topic on the search engines. Now that the product is more widely available and is actually being installed and used, there are also more reviews coming in. One review site I found looks fairly objective - and you have to be careful with some review sites. As one might expect with any set of opinions, they are mixed. The site I particularly like specializes in “app” reviews for web phones, so I did some digging there for recent posts on Pulse. You may be interested in the results, and can check them out yourself. Here’s one recent entry on the Pulse product:
The app still needs some work. The idea of the system is great, I really like being able to check things from my iPhone when away. But with the most recent update, anytime i click on an individual station to check activity on that station the app crashes. It happens every single time and it happens on every station i tried in the app. I can arm and disarm the system from my phone which i guess is the most critical part. But hopefully it will get fixed soon...
As is true with most of these sites, you do have to wade through some “pumping” by company sales reps, and focus on the detailed pros and cons offered by what appear to be real users. It’s usually not hard to tell the difference, and specificity matters.
App needs to be re-worked. The internet, even from the iphone, works fine to lock and unlock the alarm. The app is spotty. Also, with the redesign, the iphone telephone key pad would be nice. Finally, in order for the pulse to work, ADT needs your personal security code or the alarm can't be set using the pulse system. The customer is left to depend on ADT employee honesty. I agree with the reviewer who said that the high rating come from employees. The app and service does not work most of the time.
This was a new site for me, so I also took the time to check out reviews of Alarm.com’s app that works on the iPhone. Droid and Blackberry. The overallAlarm.com rating, I’m happy to report, was much more positive than for Pulse. Here is a telling review from July of 2009, long before ADT’s Pulse was announced:
Just got rid of ADT because they laughed when I suggested you should be able to control your system from an iPhone - silly me for not knowing about Alarm.com sooner. Just installed my own system in under an hour, activated and was able to control it via my iPhone soon after. Great app -it just works as expected.
And lastly, here is a great review that we wish we could have written – but we didn’t:
Such dinosaurs as ADT and Brinks have nothing on Alarm.com / Frontpoint Security. This iPhone app just proves it. From my phone I can disarm or arm or check every status of my home sensors. Just try and see what's going on at home with your ADT or Brinks alarm. It's simply not possible. I couldn't be happier with Alarm.com and Frontpoint Security.
I could share more rave reviews on Alarm.com and FrontPoint, but that last one speaks volumes. Now that ADT is trying to catch up with advanced features, the comparison between alarm companies and products should be based on the following:
- What can the system do – and how well does it work?
- How much does it cost (equipment and monthly service fee)?
- How well does the company support it?
- Important: does the system offer “Crash & Smash” protection?