Key Player

Oh for the future! When every home will have a retina scanner — you’ll unlock your front door just by looking at it, and never again endure the quiet indignity of the Hide-a-Key Rock. As if that thing fools anybody.

But until that blessed day, get yourself a Lockitron — a phone app + deadbolt unit that lets you unlock your doors from anywhere, just now available for pre-order.

Lockitron is ingeniously sleek, wirelessly syncs with pretty much any phone, smart or not, and is a cinch to install: simply loosen the lock on the back of your door, screw in a backplate, then reinsert the lock and secure the hand-sized Lockitron shell over it (note: it works best with through-hole deadbolts on wooden doors, as well as buzzers).

Then simply sync up to your phone to the Wi-fi enabled device, and suddenly you can control your door from anywhere. Thus providing:

• A door that unlocks when it senses your approach

• The ability to give temporary access to guests and workers simply by adding their e-mail or phone number to the app

• Alerts when someone knocks on or enters through the door

The Lockitron, shipping in early 2013, is currently available for a limited-time $149 pre-order. So, double bonus: it’ll make your wallet a bit lighter.