The Schlage pushbutton lock has become a common sight in the residential lock armada, but with the spread of smartphones comes a new breed of lock, that speaks to the network and is controllable remotely.

The firs tof these I saw recently is the August Lock, recently written about in Wired Magazine. It is the first that uses the Bluetooth-LE spectrum, and has some interesting advantages. Worth a look, certainly.

Another new entrant is launching with a crowdfunded effort, suprisingly, and is an aftermarket fit-over style lock attachment. The Lockitron speaks wifi (a little scary) and gives worldwide access to the locking situation.

Of course, with of these just expans the attack surface of the lock, right? There will always be a pickable manual lock, and now there is a second way in that has just as many avelues for attack. That said, the benefits may outweigh the risks, especially for low security residential situations.