LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Cirrent announced ZipKey, a new Wi-Fi capability that allows consumer electronics to automatically and securely connect to the Internet, right out of the box. Cirrent also announced that Comcast is supporting ZipKey for their Xfinity Internet subscribers. In addition, four consumer products manufacturers, including D-Link, Emberlight, LockState and smanos, will ZipKey-enable their products starting this year, and Bose demonstrated a ZipKey-enabled SoundTouch Wi-Fi speaker.

In looking at a quarter million customer reviews of connected products, Argus Insights found that 40% of the negative reviews were due to connectivity and setup problems. Security is also a top concern. Cirrent solves both of these issues by allowing products to connect automatically to ZipKey hotspots, which today cover more than 67 million homes. Cirrent's ZipKey technology allows product companies to seamlessly connect products to Wi-Fi automatically, reliably, predictably, and securely in a way that is incredibly easy even for mainstream consumers.

"Connected products can enable amazing new product experiences – just look at what's happened with the proliferation of smart TVs," said Rob Conant, Cirrent's CEO. "Unfortunately, many connected products are just too difficult for mainstream customers to use. With ZipKey, product brands can now provide secure Wi-Fi connectivity that is easy enough for everyone to use, reduces costs, and requires very little development time."

Cirrent's ZipKey technology transforms the out-of-box experience for consumers and opens up the market for manufacturers. Connected products can be ZipKey-enabled with just a firmware update – there is no hardware change necessary. With the firmware and SDK downloadable from Cirrent's website, product companies can quickly and easily add this new capability, and bring ease of use and security benefits to their customers. For this reason, consumer electronics companies across the smart home, home entertainment, home security and Internet of Things (IoT) markets are rapidly adopting ZipKey.

For connected product manufacturers, ZipKey:

• Transforms the out-of-box experience – Seamless Wi-Fi onboarding facilitates ease-of-use, customer satisfaction, and growth in adoption
• Ensures security and reliability over the product lifecycle – Addresses key concerns that impact brand perception, usage, and future sales
• Provides access to a high-impact ecosystem – A growing number of consumers can benefit from ZipKey-enabled connections, and carriers continue to roll out new capabilities
• Increases sales – Target the mainstream market, not just early adopters
• Reduces support costs & returns – Eliminate Wi-Fi connectivity issues, which are the #1 issue for support costs and returns

For Internet service providers, ZipKey:

• Enhances the customer experience – Smart home and IoT devices just work, right out of the box, and benefit from continuous connectivity
• Enables new products and services – Automatic, secure connectivity enables a whole range of new offerings, from communications to home security
• Reduces customer churn – No more Wi-Fi connection issues and frustrated users
• Lowers support costs – Fewer customer service calls and optimized services

Also today, Cirrent's CEO Rob Conant will join a panel titled "IoT and Smart Home: Seamless Interoperability" at the CONNECTIONS™ Summit at the Venetian Hotel, Level 4, Marcello 4405.

About Cirrent
Cirrent, a provider of automatic, secure Wi-Fi connections for consumer electronics, makes it easy for manufacturers to transform the out-of-box experience through ZipKey and the support of the broader Cirrent ecosystem. Through partnerships with large Internet service providers such as Comcast Cable, Cirrent has established a network of ZipKey hotspots that now cover more than 67 million homes. For more information, or to experience a demo, please visit www.cirrent.com.

SOURCE Cirrent