Although I won't be using them entirely as I planned, I've installed one in the car and will be experimenting with the others. Since these are new, I thought I'd do a review.
What is a flic?
A flic is a self-contained Bluetooth button that can be connected to both Android and IOS devices to perform tasks when pressed. The free flic software has direct integration with a number of apps and can be used with both IFTT and Tasker (Android only) to control nearly any action that you care to automate. Each flic can recognize three different activation types (Click, Double-Click, and Hold). You can program these separately, so each button can essentially do three things.
Flics are the brainchild of a Swedish company, Shortcut Labs, who used Indiegogo to crowd fund the startup. They reached their initial funding goal in only 30 hours and ended up with over $900,000 in pledges; 801% of their original goal.
Packaging
The flics arrived in an attractive box that has a thank you message to Indiegogo backers on the bottom. The Flics themselves are nestled in custom foam cutouts inside the box. There are two layers of these, and each one can hold three flics, so each box can contain six buttons. The foam rests on a cardboard stand which has some space underneath where the optional clips are stored.
There was also an insert directing you to the website (https://flic.io/), and a large round sticker that you can use to show your support.
All in all, the packaging provides a nice presentation and holds the contents securely and safely.
Hardware
Each flic is slightly larger than a U.S. quarter and just over a quarter-inch thick. The body is covered with a textured, velvety rubber embossed with the cursive version of the name from the logo.
The back is hard plastic that comes covered with thin transparent shield. Removing that exposes the reusable adhesive that you use to stick the flic to a non-porous surface. If the adhesive loses its stickiness, you can just clean it with water and it will regain its holding power. I had originally intended to mount a couple of these to the back of the steering wheel in my car, but I don't think the adhesive would be up to that task; it holds the button just fine on the console, however.
The unit is entirely self-contained and powered by a button cell battery that the company claims will last up to five years. They also claim that the battery is common item and can be easily replaced, although there are no instructions that tell you what to get or how to change it.
Flics come in black, white, green, yellow, turquoise, but I choose all black ones for my application.
The button is light, but it has very nice tactile experience and a satisfying physical "click" when pressed.
There's also a small clip that you can attach to your flic so that you can clip the button to clothing. The company suggests you might want to do this for personal safety or to provide a way of faking a phone call to get out of a bad Tinder date.
Software
The free flic app is available in both the Apple and Google app stores and is required for operation. It is used for pairing the button to your device, assigning actions, and changing settings. You do need a free flic account to use the software.
The flic app is also where you start and stop the flic service. This service must be running in order to use a flic on your device. By default, it runs as a foreground service that starts when your device does and puts up a persistent notification. You can use it as a background service as well, but then it is subject to be killed by memory management. There doesn't seem to be any appreciable battery drain from this service when it isn't being used, so there's really no need to ever turn it off, but you can if you'd really like to.
Once you've set up a flic (See Operation, below) you can access the individual functions. There are 46 built-in app integrations and most of them give you several options to choose from. You have free rein to set things up as you wish. That is, one button can control up to three different apps: a single-click might turn on your Phillips Hue lights, while a double-click might send a text message, and a hold command could start a Skype call.
More sophisticated options such as IFTT and "Send Intent" allow for even greater control. (And, of course, there's Tasker, integration, which means you can do anything you want. Tasker is covered separately, below.)
I won't cover all the settings, but there is one that I particularly like. By default, a flic will play pleasant sounding chimes through your device to indicate that it has been pressed. Each action type has a different chime associated with it, so you know right away if your press has been registered. For my Digital Dash project, this is ideal and I've left it enabled, but you can turn it off if you wish.
Finally, the app also has a help section that explains most functions, but it also has context sensitive help that walks you through most operations.
This is a nice, simple piece of software that gets the job done. It has a clean and open look that make it easy to navigate and use.
Operation
Here are the basic steps to using a flic.
Pairing
Pairing is a simple operation. Just open the flic app and press the button once. The app generates a key and links the button to your device. Once that is done, the process is automatic from then on. Flic appears to use Bluetooth Near to detect the button and activate it. You don't need to turn it on, wake it up, or do anything else; it's just there when you need it. Once it's in range, it's active. Once the button is paired, you can go ahead and rename it and configure it.
Configuring
Open the app and touch the button entry on the screen. It will then take you to another screen where you can add actions for each type of button press. Just tap the plus sign to get a list of programs. Click one of those and the system will guide you through the steps to get everything set up. If you already have an action, there is a standard "three dot" menu that allows you to Remove, Edit, or Execute the action.
Use with Tasker
When I first opened the flic app and began scrolling through the list of possible integrations, I was a bit concerned because I didn't see Tasker anywhere on the list. I was afraid it didn't make the initial release cut and that I'd need to wait before I could use it.
However, on a hunch, I went into Tasker itself, created an Event profile, and chose the Plugin category. Sure enough, there was flic. Installing the app also installed the Tasker plugin.
Using it is very simple. Once you chosen flic as the Event handler, you just click the standard Tasker plugin configuration icon and you are taken to a screen where you choose the flic you are programming and which of the three activation types you are trying to capture. Once you've done that, you link the profile to the task you want to execute. In other words, it's just like every other Tasker plugin you've ever used. Note that the plugin gives you a few more options, such as triggering on either the up or down portion of a press and executing a task based on the button connecting or disconnecting.
It only took me a few minutes to program the flic to act as a Next Track button for both Pandora and PowerAmp. In the next day or two I'll be programming its other functions to provide additional music control and I'm confident that it will work as expected.
Notes and Observations
Here are a few random things about using the flic.
You can have up to eight (8) flics connected to a single device.
A flic can only be paired to one device at a time. If you want to use it with a new mobile, you need to disconnect it from the old one first and move it to the new one by opening the flic app on the new device and pressing and holding the button for at least seven seconds. The app will connect to the flic servers and download the button's key. Since all this is stored in your flic account, it will also download the configuration for the button, so your programmed actions come over as well.
Response time is excellent. When my Digital Dash project is in full swing, it really works the tablet; running turn-by-turn navigation, regularly querying web servers via Bluetooth tethering, running Torque (which is also writing it's own log file), sending and receiving AutoRemote messages, handling interactive screen overlays, playing music, and more. Despite all that, there was never any lag between pressing the the flic and hearing the confirmation chime. This is a very fast implementation.
There is a "Providers" screen under settings where you can disable apps or services that you don't use or configure the ones you do.
Conclusions
I like these little buttons a lot. There were some delays in getting them out, but I'm glad the company chose to delay and release a product that they were happy with rather than putting out something that wasn't quite finished. I feel that they delivered exactly what they promised and I have no regrets about backing them.
As of the time of this review, flics are not yet shipping to the general public. However you can pre-order them on their website (https://flic.io/) with an estimated time delivery of about eight weeks.
If you need or want a simple physical control for a project, flics are a good choice.
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