Whew...


Okay, we've announced it, and we're showing it at EHX. I can talk about it now! (Though I'm sure there are SOME questions I can't answer.)

First and foremost... like all products, this one is designed to fill a need. It's not intended to be all things to all installers. For this product, we wanted to be the first to bring to market a keypad with retrofit installations as the first priority. After all, retrofit business is about 90% of the market, especially in a down economy.

That's why the Volume and Mute button positions come empty. You can pop in volume/mute, seek/shuffle, or blank buttons. That way, if the house is already fitted with wired volume controls, you don't have to work out a whole new solution. Just add a KP-900 next to the volume knob, and install the seek and shuffle buttons in place of the keypad volume controls.

Further, the KP-900 is clearly modelled on the MX-900 architecture. The MX-900 is hands-down the fastest Complete Control remote to program, and one of the most widely adopted. We wanted to make sure that installers could step right into programming the KP-900 with near zero learning curve.

I hope everyone enjoys the product. Of course, we'll all have hopes and ideas for a even-better next step, but trust me, once you use the remote on a wall, pop it out and take it to the couch, and get a feel for it in your hands, I think most URC installers are going to immediately see the opportunity for add-on business for new installs as well as return business from previous installs. I currently have three of them in my home, and the more I get used to the KP-900, the more I want one in every room of the house. (Even my six-year-old twins love the thing!)

Best regards,
Dale