Uses of smart outlets?
Well, for me it is starting (I have three iDevice outlets arriving via UPS today, coincidentally) with getting a handle on power usage. Ever heard of Kill-a-watt? Great device. You plug it in and plug your device into it, then can get either instantaneous power consumption on the device or overall (since you plugged it in) consumption. They're about $16-20 on Amazon (depends on when you get them). They're great.
BUT, you have to do a lot of work to do anything with the data it gives, specifically giving a graph of when power is used etc (important when tied to a device like an ailing fridge or an air conditioner). And, of course, you have to cozy up to where the plug is to get any reading at all off it.
So, I'm replacing the Kill-a-Watt P3 with an iDevice Switch plug ($24 straight from iDevice if you can wait for their slow mailing, or $30 with Prime shipping). With that, I'll get the same data as the KaW, but also be able to get instantaneous readings and graphs of power use over time built in for me. So, a solid upgrade for $6. Plus, when not in use as a fancy power meter, it provides good control and peace of mind (did the space heater get turned off when we went to bed?)
My second use for this is in our bedroom for lights. The way the switched lights are in our bedroom there is an overhead halogen light/fan kit (ugly light, super-high-power-use, and expensive bulbs; we decided to not replace the bulb when it burned out six months back), and also an "outlet switch" which hits a random outlet across the room. However, if you use the outlet switch you turn the bedside lamp on, come to bed, and have to turn it off on the lamp itself. The next night when you come in, the outlet switch doesn't do anything because the lamp is manually turned off. So, we don't use that "feature" either (essentially, we put a plug-stopper in that switched outlet so we don't accidentally plug something in there and wonder why it isn't working, and live with one fewer outlets in the room). With the iDevice, we can get a wireless wall switch that controls the iDevice plug (Instant Switch they call it) to control the iDevice outlet from the entry way (so that light can be turned on when coming in the room), but also can control the same plug at the light (button on the side of the outlet) or using Siri or Homekit or the app to turn it off at night. Because they are both controlling the same physical switch no matter how the light is turned off it can be turned on again from the other end.
Yeah, it's about the same functionality as a three-way (or four-way) switch, but we don't have to run four-wire power cables through the walls to get it to the outlet we want it and with the wall switches where we want them. And, of course, we could trigger it with a motion sensor or other trigger instead of the iDevices Instant Switch (the Instant Switch sounds nice because it goes direct to the outlet via Bluetooth LE instead of firing a HomeKit trigger that HomeKit responds to by switching the light on/off).
But, yes, more complex things like TVs and stereos really can't use a switchable outlet. They mostly need to (or "want to") be plugged in even when "off", and don't necessarily react to the plug getting power by doing what you want them to do. Simple devices like lights and fans and heaters are really the types of use cases where a switchable plug makes sense, and if you're going to have a switchable plug, freeing yourself from a clumsy physical timer interface tethered to the plug is a no-brainer.
That said, I always always buy Homekit IoT only. HomeKit has a much higher security standard than other hubs. It isn't infallible (no security is), but that combined with putting my IoT devices on their own isolated network alleviates the most pressing security concerns.
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I think he was asking for the link to a 3-outlet power strip with 3 USB ports for less, not a link to the ConnectSense product.
