BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Please read THIS General CES 2006 Update Disclaimer FIRST:
I visited Smarthome's booth and first spoke with Rajeev Kapur, Vice President of "Smartlabs". As you know Smarthome has a new parent company called Smartlabs. Rajeev assured me that Smarthome hasn't gone away; they just realigned certain segments of the company so they can provide licensing and selling technologies, product development, product deployment, and business services all under one company. Thus Smartlabs provides an all encompassing business model, which will be its strength for the future!
Everyone at Smartlabs was very enthusiastic about the company's future and direction.
I then visited with John Lockyer (SmarthomeJohn to us Cocooners) and he showed me the Icon line of Insteon products.
Since there are many posts here on CocoonTech about this Icon line I concentrated more on what the future holds for Insteon products.
John said the roadmap has inline modules, plugin modules, toggle links, socket rockets, rf remote controls, keypad lincs, and touchpads all on the distant horizon.
They also want to focus on improving their Insteon software beyond a simple "timer only" capability into a more robust conditional application program.
Smartlabs is also spending a lot of money supporting other developers. They want to make sure their partners never run into a brick wall supporting their Insteon product line.
This was my first on-hand experience with an Icon switch so I wanted to "test drive" it. I liked the feel and looks of the switch. The Icon series has one green LED instead of the multiple white LEDs of the Switchlinc line. Eliminating the eight white LED's helped reduce the overall product cost (the Icons are now retailing at $20 per switch).
The green LED goes ON when the light is OFF.
Insteon lamp module, relay module switch, light dimmer switch, and appliance module are all due out early this year.
All Insteon switches require a neutral in the electrical switch box.
In the future there may be an RF type of switch that doesn't require a neutral wire (they are sensitive to older retrofit homes that don't have neutrals).
Insteon has also partnered with other companies that provide blind control, house exhaust fan control, and smoke detection (including carbon monoxide detection) with Insteon technologies (screen shots below).
RF thermostats and wireless controllers are also on the horizon.
Insteon Icon Plug In Dimmer:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Icon In-Wall Dimmer Switch:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Blinds:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon House Exhaust Fans:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
I was also given a demonstration of the Indigo Home Automation Software control for the Mac operating system. I was impressed by the ease of setup in its displays and menu systems.
Indigo Mac Control Software Screenshot:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Indigo Mac Control Software Screenshot:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
You can obtain more information on Insteon simply by searching for it here on CocoonTech or by going to the Insteon site or Smarthome's site.
I visited Smarthome's booth and first spoke with Rajeev Kapur, Vice President of "Smartlabs". As you know Smarthome has a new parent company called Smartlabs. Rajeev assured me that Smarthome hasn't gone away; they just realigned certain segments of the company so they can provide licensing and selling technologies, product development, product deployment, and business services all under one company. Thus Smartlabs provides an all encompassing business model, which will be its strength for the future!
Everyone at Smartlabs was very enthusiastic about the company's future and direction.
I then visited with John Lockyer (SmarthomeJohn to us Cocooners) and he showed me the Icon line of Insteon products.
Since there are many posts here on CocoonTech about this Icon line I concentrated more on what the future holds for Insteon products.
John said the roadmap has inline modules, plugin modules, toggle links, socket rockets, rf remote controls, keypad lincs, and touchpads all on the distant horizon.
They also want to focus on improving their Insteon software beyond a simple "timer only" capability into a more robust conditional application program.
Smartlabs is also spending a lot of money supporting other developers. They want to make sure their partners never run into a brick wall supporting their Insteon product line.
This was my first on-hand experience with an Icon switch so I wanted to "test drive" it. I liked the feel and looks of the switch. The Icon series has one green LED instead of the multiple white LEDs of the Switchlinc line. Eliminating the eight white LED's helped reduce the overall product cost (the Icons are now retailing at $20 per switch).
The green LED goes ON when the light is OFF.
Insteon lamp module, relay module switch, light dimmer switch, and appliance module are all due out early this year.
All Insteon switches require a neutral in the electrical switch box.
In the future there may be an RF type of switch that doesn't require a neutral wire (they are sensitive to older retrofit homes that don't have neutrals).
Insteon has also partnered with other companies that provide blind control, house exhaust fan control, and smoke detection (including carbon monoxide detection) with Insteon technologies (screen shots below).
RF thermostats and wireless controllers are also on the horizon.
Insteon Icon Plug In Dimmer:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Icon In-Wall Dimmer Switch:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Blinds:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon House Exhaust Fans:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Insteon Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
I was also given a demonstration of the Indigo Home Automation Software control for the Mac operating system. I was impressed by the ease of setup in its displays and menu systems.
Indigo Mac Control Software Screenshot:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
Indigo Mac Control Software Screenshot:
(Click on Picture for Full Sized Image)
You can obtain more information on Insteon simply by searching for it here on CocoonTech or by going to the Insteon site or Smarthome's site.
