Big tech. Tiny remote. Compustar's new T13 remote start-equipped security system is simple and smart.
The modern car alarm is far more than a simple siren and door lock. The most technology-intensive product in the 12-volt universe, alarms have evolved into the working definition of security and convenience.
What was once potentially an all-day affair (for even the most experienced installers), has evolved into a far simpler process. An unobtrusive T-harness and brain module became all that was necessary, programmed via a USB port before the installation. Despite nary a single wire being cut, a feature-filled alarm system can be professionally installed in a matter of an hour or two.
Wanna add remote start to a car with stickshift? No problem. Want to use an app? Of course you can. Pop your trunk? Lift the rear gate? Lock the doors? Roll up the windows? We want the latest and greatest, and we want to use it without a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. The most elegant solutions always meld our need for technology with usability the feels effortless.
The Pro T13 is the newest remote start-equipped security system under Compustar’s award-winning banner. For the uninitiated, think of remote start as the ultimate convenience, especially in extreme temperatures. Imagine this: it’s cold. Bone-chillingly cold, and it’s time for you to go to work. You know youre going to have to start the car, let it warm up (it’s probably sub-artcic inside the car at the monemt), all the while chipping away at the ice on the windshield because the defroster will simply take way too long. Sound familiar?
No more. Now you press a button. One button. The car cranks while you’re nice and toasty inside your home, office, etc… By the time you’re ready, so is the car - sans ice and at the temperature you want. You walk up, unlock the car and off you go. No muss. No fuss. No risking frostbite.
The T13 also adds a number of access and convenience features to the remote, including a proximity unlock. Especially convenient if your hands are full, the remote acts like an electronic key without having to press a button. Be within about three feet of the car, and POP – the door unlocks for you. As a security measure, you’ll still need the key to drive the car. The two-way remote is full color, has a three-mile range and is submersible. It is one of the thinnest remotes ever made. The company credits the technical advances in PCB technology as the reason the remote borders on the thinness of a cellular phone. The remote itself is built to last for several years of regular use.
Justin Lee is Compustar’s Marketing Director. “We wanted to give consumers that OEM experience without having to buy a new car. The proximity feature is so prevalent in cars nowadays where you can walk right up to your car and get in, without hunting for your keys.”
While this is a standard feature with the T13, it is not a feature imposed on the user. Despite being a simple three-button remote, it has a robust menu system that allows deep personalization of the remote. All told, there are 50 options the owner may choose from on the remote’s menu system. The customization options are accessible at any time, without the need for an installer.
To sync with the alarm, the app will “talk” to a cellular interface, which comes included. The app, known as “Drone Mobile”is a subscription-based service that starts at $2.99 a month. While all of the options allow remote start, door lock/unlock and two-way communication, the premium options also include things like turn-by-turn tracking, geofencing (an alarm sounds if the vehicle exists a predetermined area) and travel history. Given the cellular nature of Drone Mobile, the app has an effectively unlimited range.
Compustar states in their preview video that more than 90% of the vehicles on the road today are compatible with their alarms. “The T13 will be available at hand-picked Pro dealers,” Lee explained. “We train them personally to ensure they are up to standard. If they have that “Pro” name attached, we know the customer will get the best experience.”
Innovation rarely occurs on a predetermined timeline, but when it does, it can change the definition of what is considered “best.” Time will tell if the T13 gains widespread popularity, but more importantly, the foresight Compustar has employed to make the alarm’s interface simultaneously feature-filled and unintimidating will doubtless vault the alarm into a white-hot limelight. One can one only hope the proverbial “bar” will continue to be raised in years to come. If it does, we all benefit.
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