Initial setup was simple, I did it from my laptop, but found out that it was probably even simpler to use the app.. once I worked out which one to install.
A quick note to the developers... Xiaomi will always come up first in searches as they have much bigger market presence and better SEO. It might be better to admit defeat and choose a unique name (no matter who registered what first). Also, using the "pipe" line to separate Mi and Home - Mi|Home probably isn't going to help make SEO easier, especially as you don't use it in the play store.
Anyway, once I was all connected, it was a simple task to go round all the new sockets holding down the power button to link them to the Gateway and thus to the account.
I created a group called "Lounge lights" and could power them on and off.
Performance is acceptable, with an average 2.5 period between the lights responding to my request. I have 5 lights wired up, and they all switch at a slightly different time, so it looks like the commands are sent out serially. Hmm, I wonder if there is a way to schedule the order and delay of the lights switching, there is potential for some funky lighting effects.
In the next article, I will give my thoughts on the App and IFTTT integration.