RedEye (Universal Remote System for iPhone & iPod touch): Now Most Popular Remote Control Fan Page on Facebook

ThinkFlood, maker of the RedEye personal remote control for iPhone and iPod touch, announced that two months after launching its Facebook fan page, RedEye is already the most popular remote control page on Facebook.

With over 2,000 fans and counting, RedEye's popularity towers over all other remote control-related Facebook fan pages including Bobby, Unify4Life, Control4, Crestron, Logitech Harmony One, Marantz, OneForAll Xsight, Philips Pronto, and Universal Remote Control.

RedEye fans receive product updates like this recent video demo of RedEye accelerometer gestures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=506PyY-iK1I, and the latest remote control and home automation news from the MoreControl Blog (http://morecontrol.com/).

For more information, click here.

CONNECTIONS SUMMIT Speakers Announced

The CONNECTIONS SUMMIT will be held January 7, 2010, in Room S225 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The one-day event features commentary, insight, and debate on successful market strategies and deployment for “digital living” products and services.

Bill Ablondi, Dir., Home Systems Research, Parks Associates
Timo Bauer, SVP & GM Americas, NewBay Software
Joly Benoit, Dir., Connected Home Applications, Thomson
Tom Carroux, Director, Sales & Market Development, Irdeto
Susan Cashen, VP, Control4 Energy Systems
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Brian Chamberlin, Manager, Interactive Projects, NDS
Jayant Dasari, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
Chris Deutschen, Sr. Mgr, Innovation & Bus. Development, Direct Energy
Jaime Fink, CTO, 2Wire
Hope Fulgham, CEO/CMO, Piazza Advertising
Ted May, VP, Strategy & Business Affairs, Synacor
David Sandford, VP, Marketing & Product Management, TiVo
Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
Simon Tidnam, VP, Sales & Marketing, Hdlogix
Harry Wang, Dir., Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates
Heather Way, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
Paul Woidke, SVP and GM, Advanced Advertising, OpenTV

More info at:
http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connections/summit/2010/agenda/agenda.html

Smart Grid, Home Monitoring, and Wireless Home Controls

Key Focus of CONNECTIONS™ Conference --

Parks Associates announced the speakers for the Home Controls and Energy Management track at CONNECTIONS™, which includes an opening keynote from Austin Energy’s CIO. Multiple sessions at CONNECTIONS™ will feature executives from energy-focused companies discussing new innovations in home monitoring and controls, Smart Grid initiatives, and wireless home controls.

Andres E. Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present the Keynote “Building the Smart Grid” on Thursday, June 4. Mr. Carvallo will discuss Austin Energy’s efforts to build its Smart Grid, which will be live by August 2009. This initiative encompasses 440 square miles, 500,000 devices, 100 terabytes of data, one million consumers, and 43,000 businesses.

The panel “New Applications and Services in Home Monitoring & Controls,” June 3 at 1:30 p.m., analyzes consumer demand and revenue opportunities for home systems. Speakers include:

Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Jim Hunter, CTO & Chief Architect, 4Home
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl

Mr. Ablondi will present findings from Parks Associates’ new research project Residential Energy Management: Opportunities for Digital Systems and Services on June 4, 8:30 a.m., followed by “Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home,” which features panelists leading Smart Grid initiatives in the public and private sectors:

Sanket Amberkar, Marketing Manager, Network Systems Solutions, Cisco
Christopher Deutschen, Senior Manager, Product & Business Development, Direct Energy
Dr. Kenneth Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy

“Wireless Home Controls: New Roles and Functionality,” June 4 at 11:15 a.m., examines the trends, market opportunities, and design challenges in embedding wireless capabilities into traditional products. Speakers include:

Michelle Leyden Li, GM, Home Control Business Unit, Zilog
Ken Lowe, VP, Strategic Marketing, Sigma Designs
Mostafa Reza, Product Line Manager, IP Video Solutions Group, Motorola
Parag Sheth, VP, Corporate Marketing, Hillcrest Labs
Eric Smith, CTO, Control4

For the full press release, click here.

Control4 Announces New Line of Home Energy Manager Products at Distributech

Control4 Corporation, a leader in affordable IP-based control and entertainment systems, announced a new line of Home Energy Manager products that will use the Control4® Operating System to provide a platform for consumers to connect their home to the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) being developed by the major utility companies worldwide.

Control4 is among the first companies to announce a complete solution for the home area network. The Control4® platform will provide programmable thermostat control, load disconnect measurement and control, and allow consumers the flexibility to add lighting control, pool/spa control, sprinkler control, and other features to their control system.

The Control4® Home Energy Manager will provide the utility industry with a practical, reliable and affordable platform for the home. Control4 is among the first companies to offer all of the critical pieces of technology for the home environment including a Home Area Network, an In-Home Display and a Smart Thermostat. The Control4® platform will let utility companies offer customers an intuitive interface that integrates usage analytics with software and hardware solutions for the home and that complements the utility’s load management software. Homeowners enjoy real-time information retrieval regarding their energy usage, greater energy savings and more control over their energy consumption.

The Control4® platform is based on standard technologies such as ZigBee, Wi-Fi and Ethernet to facilitate interoperability and integration between the Control4 platform and leading consumer electronic systems in the home, including temperature control, smart lighting, security, home theater, audio and video applications.

For additional information about Control4, visit http://www.control4.com/ .

CONNECTIONS Sponsor, Control4 Selected by Home Theater Specialists of America to Offer Sophisticated Home Control Solutions

Control4 is the platform for today’s digital life. The company makes everyday life easier by providing one-touch control of electronic systems for both new and existing homes and hotels. By allowing leading consumer electronics products and home systems to easily work together, Control4 provides effortless entertainment, comfort, convenience and peace of mind to owners everywhere.

Control4's affordable and easy-to-use software and hardware products enable home theater and television control, multi-room music, temperature control, security integration and smart lighting, through a range of on-site and over-the-web remote control technology. The company delivers both wired and wireless solutions that can be installed in existing properties as well as new construction.

Control4, the leader in IP-based home control and entertainment systems, announced a strategic relationship with Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), a national association of home theater experts with 62 members and aggregate annual sales volumes exceeding $500 million. Control4’s complete line of home automation products is now available to all HTSA’s members.

HTSA offers its members not only a combined buying power but also a whole directory of professionals available to provide advice on sales, product selection, installation techniques and marketing programs including demand and lead generation. HTSA’s Suite of Services gives members options to choose from when it comes to television commercials, store signs, truck graphics and expert advertising consultation. This unique access provides members with helpful resources that are tailored for individual stores.

Control4’s platform replaces on average four remotes in the home. In addition to the popular home theater control, the company offers convenient and sophisticated home control integration solutions including: multi-room music, lighting, temperature control, security integration and more.

Visit www.control4.com for more information.

Success Stories in the Connected Home

Summary information from Day 2: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA

Are we there yet? We've been talking about the connected home for more than two decades. It's evident from our research that there are few connected homes, but the landscape is changing. Widespread use broadband Internet access, familiarity with digital technologies, and technology market movers looking for the NEXT "next big thing" all add up to a market on the move. This panel will discuss what's working, why, and when the market will catch up with the technology.

Ken Fairbanks, VP Sales & Business Development, SmartLabs, Inc.
Doug Hartman, VP Global Sales, Corinex Communications Corp.
Kumu Puri, Global Managing Director, Consumer Electronics, Accenture
Robert Rodenbucher, Business Development Director, AwoX
Eric Smith, Chief Technical Officer, Control4
Moderator: Bill Ablondi, Director, Channel Research, Parks Associates

Specific Questions to Address:

• Which vendors have been successful in building sales of connected systems?
• Which manufacturers are the market movers that can spur adoption of control systems to the next level — GE, Honeywell, Cooper Electric, SquareD (Schneider), Leviton, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft?
• Have multiroom, distributed entertainment systems stimulated adoption of other control and management systems?
• What surprises have occurred as new solutions have made their way to market? What applications for the original solution were not considered?
• Where was success in the last 12 months, and where will new opportunities be in the next year?
• Most people are unaware of current capabilities of low-cost control systems. What are the most effective ways to build awareness?
• Luxury homes typically have a wide array of control and management systems installed. What lessons, if any, have been learned in the high-end market that translate into broader markets?
• Will higher energy costs drive adoption of home management systems?

This session began with a review of Accenture's research to understand what factors drive high performance in business. Three building blocks were discussed: 1) Market Focus and Position – deciding where and how to compete, 2) Distinctive Capabilities – doing business in a way that creates value, and 3) Performance Anatomy – developing a "winning mindset.” Ken Fairbanks explained how SmartLabs is organized into three groups to focus on product development, online sales, and technology licensing. Each group has a clear mission, yet all three work together synergistically. Eric Smith pointed to the seasoned executives in Control4 that have guided it to become one of the most popular control suites among electronic systems contractors.

The discussion moved to the importance of reliable technology as a key to success in these early stages of the connected home market. Doug Hartman pointed out how Best Buy chose its power line technology for the ConnectLife.Home package introduced at 2007 CES. Robert Rodenbucher explained that his company's modular architecture and internationalized user interface are the keys to its success in developing software and electronic products for license to consumer electronics manufacturers.