How the iPad Will Redefine Home Automation
By Tom LeBlanc
Dealers that continue to rely strictly on hardware margins will “be extinct.”

Since Apple unveiled its iPad, custom electronics professionals have had questions.

Will the 9.7-inch screen tablet impact home automation? Will it benefit Savant, an Apple Proprietary Solutions Provider, which already leverages Apple’s popularity with its Rosie control app?

Savant’s responses: yes and yes.



“When we look back on this two years from now, we’re going to say this was a watershed event, not just for Savant but for the industry in general,” says Savant president Jim Carroll.

“The days of making margins on expensive touchpanels are winding down,” according to Carroll. He says consumers will see the iPad as having “the same or similar touch hardware” to other control offerings.

"This is a fundamentally different business model that we all have to adapt to," Carroll says. "I think Savant is in position No. 1 in terms of how we can apply it, how we can use it and how it fits into our total solution relative to the legacy guys.”

Forget Hardware
Carroll draws parallels to how computer and video products have been commoditized. “We sell a lot of hardware. We sell it to support our software — but it’s really about the software features and capabilities,” he says.

Carroll predicts the iPad, which will range between $499 and $829, will become the relatively inexpensive hardware platform for home control software.

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