I have one of these, and love it. It's so much nicer than the plasticky remotes that come with anything else, and the system support out of the box is great. Sam is very responsive on the forums too.
I have written a raspberry pi server component[1] that can be extended to support any smart device (if you've got an API for it).
You can, if you wish, use the device completely without any supplied software, it operates via bluetooth only so does not phone home. If you want to class up your own hacked together/secure smart home setup, this is a great device.