European Custom Installer

System Integration for the Connected Home

Home Automation

Google Ends Works With Nest

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Google drops something of a bombshell at the 2019 I/O conference-- the search giant is phasing out the Works With Nest smart home program in favour of a Works With Google Assistant framework.

Google NestAccording to Google, the move brings tighter privacy regulation, since it will only allow data sharing between a selection of hand-picked partners. However it really the result of a restructuring of Nest, since what was once an standalone entity (if one under the vast Alphabet umbrella) has been folded into the Google hardware division, something established by a rebrand to "Google Nest."

“Nest is a long-established brand,” Google VP Rishi Chandra tells Variety. “We want Google Nest to represent the helpful home.”

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Safera Adds Smarts to the Humble Stove

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Finnish stove guard maker Safera takes to the IFA Global Press Conference 2019 to present what it describes as the "first complete smart cooking sensor"-- the app-connected Safera Sense.

Safera SenseAt first glance the Sense appears to be a fairly simple device. It features a slim, one-button design, and can be easily mounted above a cooktop, wall or under the cooker hood. However Safera says it carries a "powerful" processor able to analyse data from over 20 sensors allowing it to work out stove temperature, air quality, cooker power consumption and even human activity around the stove, and is compatible with both electric and gas stoves.

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RTI Ships KA8, KA11 Touchpanels

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RTI announces the KA8 and K11-- tabletop/wall-mounted touchpanels for intuitive control of electronic systems in both residential and commercial applications customers can set up in either landscape or portrait modes.

RTI touchpanelThe touchpanels combine widescreen LCD displays with integrated capacitive touchscreens and fast touch response and gesture control. The KA11 is the larger option with an 11.6-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution display, while the 8-inch KA8 handles WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution. Both feature an edge-to-edge glass design, and are wall-mountable via standard dual-gang electrical box.

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Homey Arrives in Germany, Switzerland

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Enschede-based Athom announces the Homey system is now available in Germany and Switzerland, complete with a German translation of both app and the "Getting Started" section of the support website.

HomeyFounded by Emile Nijssen and Stefan Witkamp in 2014, Athom created Homey, a product combining all wireless and smart devices into a single system. The small spherical device carries a total of 7 radios for wifi, Bluetooth LE, Z-Wave Plus, NFC, 433MHz, 868MHz and ZigBee connectivity, and also includes an ethernet port.

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IDC: Smart Speakers Break Q4 Record in Europe

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The European smart home market reaches nearly 33 million units in Q4 2018, IDC reports-- an increase of 15% Y-o-Y. Meanwhile full year 2018 shipments are up by 23% over 2017 to 88.8m, the highest volume yet.

IDC smart home 2018

"Last year, fierce competition between Amazon and Google reached a peak over the Black Friday and Christmas periods, with heavy sales promotions from both companies," the analyst says. "Moreover, Amazon launched its first Echo products in Italy and Spain, while Google expanded availability of its home products into 5 new countries in Western Europe. The Echo Dot was the top-selling item on Amazon.com on Black Friday, exceeding all expectations as it became out of stock in several markets. The adoption of smart speakers will continue to expand rapidly, as purchases are no longer driven by curiosity or impulse buying, but by the increasing presence of several speakers in the household."

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Crestron Intros CP4-R Control System

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Crestron says the CP4-R, the first product in the 4-Series, is the ultimate "central brain" of the Crestron Home operating system, featuring x4 the speed of the previous CP3-R and double the RAM.

Crestron CP4-RIt runs on Pyng OS 2, and is built to support Crestron Home OS 3 once it arrives on Q2 2019.

“The CP4-R gives us a powerful, future-proof platform to support continued enhancements to the Crestron Home operating system. It’s exciting times ahead for Crestron residential systems integrators and their clients!” the company adds.

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HomeKit Compatibility for PowerView Motorised Blinds

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Luxaflex PowerViewLuxaflex announces the PowerView Hub 2 is compatible with Apple HomeKit, allowing customers to control the blinds with an iPhone or iPad, as well as the PowerView Pebble remote.

The capability comes through a downloadable update for the PowerView Hub 2. The blinds can be securely controlled using Apple Home app and Siri on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and HomePod. Amazon Alexa and Google Home control are also available.

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