More and more, people are installing home security systems on their own. For some homeowners it comes down to simple economics.

I dont like being held down to a contract, so the fact that I didnt have to pay somebody monthly meant that I could keep that money in my pocket, explains Damon Whitlow.

Whitlow has been monitoring his home security for a decade.

Two years ago he installed an iSmartAlarm. iSmartAlarm is a wireless home security system that allows him to keep an eye on his home from his phone. For just over $300, Whitlow installed a camera, two door sensors, and a motion detector.

To have a technician come out would cost about $500. For us, it took me 10 minutes and cost me nothing, said Whitlow.

By downloading the iSmartAlarm app to his phone he is able to control the entire system no matter where he is.

The camera is 360 degrees, so it does give me the ability to see anywhere in the room to monitor, Whitlow said while rotating the camera by swiping the screen on his phone.

When the system is armed and a door is opened or the motion sensor is set off, iSmartAlarm sends an alert text message to the Whitlows phone immediately followed by an automated call. Then its up to him to call 911.

Whitlow thinks thats the best feature the system offers.

The fact that if there is an emergency of a situation where I want to hit 'panic', I can just hit the button and it prompts me to call 911 and connects me directly to them," he said.

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Wireless security system saves homeowners money

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that communities around the country need to work to bridge the separation between police and the residents they serve.

Speaking at a breakfast honoring slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., Biden said minority communities and police departments need to build relationships of trust.

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Police investigate gunshots outside VP Biden's Delaware home

Several gunshots were fired from a speeding vehicle outside Vice President Joe Bidens Delaware home Saturday night, the Secret Service said Sunday, adding another security woe for the troubled agency.

Biden and his wife, Jill, were not home and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, authorities said. The Secret Service, local police and the Baltimore division of the FBI were investigating a possible motive Sunday.

The incident occurred about 8:25 p.m. when agents posted outside the Biden home heard gunshots and one saw a vehicle speed away on the public road outside the secure perimeter of the home, Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said in a statement.

Police searched the area for suspects and damage but found neither, according to New Castle County Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jacob Andrews.

Within an hour, however, police detained a man who attempted to pass an officer as he secured an outer perimeter. The man, whose name has not been released, was detained for resisting arrest and questioned, a Secret Service official said.

The man was not charged in relation to the shooting, Andrews said.

Shortly after the incident, New Castle police received a report of shots fired near Hoopes Reservoir, a wooded area about a mile away. It was not immediately clear whether that report was related.

Secret Service agents continued to search the Biden property Sunday to determine whether any shots hit the residence or other structures. The home is just outside Wilmington in the quiet neighborhood of Greenville. It is set back several hundred yards from the street, which has remained publicly accessible since Bidens election in 2008.

The home is not visible from the street, but a carriage house where Biden's late mother once lived sits at the foot of the driveway. The Secret Service uses the carriage house now.

Biden was spending the weekend in his home state, but he and his wife were out for the evening when the incident occurred, officials said. He is scheduled to deliver a speech Monday at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Wilmington. The Bidens were briefed on the incident Saturday night.

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Gunshots fired outside Vice President Joe Biden's Delaware home

Canary All In One Home Security Device With HomeHealth Technology To Monitor Air Quality and More
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SWIPE: Virtual Lock Down - How Technology Is Changing Home Security
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Xiaomi Corp. unveiled a new product called the Smart Home Suite with a group of four components that offer security features as it broadens its range of devices that can be controlled by mobile phone.

The suite includes a human motion sensor, and a pair of door and window sensors that can be used for home security, Xiaomi President Bin Lin said today at the GeekPark Innovation Festival in Beijing. The company will start a consumer test of the product Jan. 26, he said.

In the past, motion sensors were very complicated and large in size, so that if you wanted a system you needed professional installation, Lin told the conference. For this suite, there is not a single nail or wire. These components are all very simple.

Xiaomi in less than five years has grown to become the worlds third-largest smartphone vendor and, at $45 billion, the most-valuable technology startup. Now, Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun is pushing into Web-enabled devices for the home even as it challenges Samsung Electronics Corp. and Apple Inc. (AAPL) at the higher end of the mobile-device market.

The suite also offers a wireless switching device for controlling appliances, and a multifunctional gateway that links the components with other devices by Wi-Fi, allowing control by mobile phone.

The market for Internet-connected appliances will grow to $7.1 trillion by 2020, from $1.9 trillion last year, estimates market researcher International Data Corp.

Xiaomi, which means millet in Chinese, was founded in 2010 to make software for mobile devices running Google Inc.s Android system. The company subsequently released products including a tablet computer, a television set-top box and TVs that connect to the Web.

Other previously announced home products from Xiaomi include an air purifier that sends pollution readings to mobile phones and alerts users when its filter is dirty and a light bulb that can change colors by remote control.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Edmond Lococo in Beijing at elococo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net Subramaniam Sharma, Garry Smith

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Xiaomi Unveils Smart Home Suite With Security Features

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