Savant Discontinuing Dedicated Touchpanels
By Jason Knott
CEO Bob Madonna says legacy touchpanels can't compete with the iPad.

Calling the thirst for the Apple iPad a "feeding frenzy," Savant is discontinuing several of its dedicated touchpanel lines.

The company will phase out its 5-, 7-, 9- and 12-inch touchpanel lines, replacing them all with the iPad. Savant will continue to make its 18- and 24-inch panels, which are primarily for commercial applications. CEO Bob Madonna cited the 3 million iPads Apple sold in 80 days, comparing that to the estimated 1 million touchpanels the entire custom industry has sold in more than 40 years.

"I don't believe the legacy touchpanels of the past will compete [with the iPad] … even our own," said Madonna. "That's why the iPad will replace many of our own touchpanels. iPad is not only revolutionary, it's technically superior and accepted by end users, which is critically important. Is the interface less expensive? Yes. But it will create enormous market demand."

"This industry could potentially grow by orders of magnitude. It's a huge opportunity and we need to do it together," Madonna added.

Madonna made the announcement at Savant's fourth annual dealer conference in New York City, where more than 240 integrators were in attendance, the highest attendance the company has ever had, according to president Jim Carroll.

Savant has spent four years developing a dealer base around its Rosie Apple-based whole-house control system. Savant thinks the demand for iPads has put Savant in a strong position in terms of technology and mindshare.

Click here to continue.