Inside Control4’s iPad App
The company's Glen Mella on what it means for Control4 users and dealers
April 4, 2010 By Nancy Klosek
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That bullishness is not just for what it does for current Control4 system owners but for what it can do to make Control4 customers out of that large, untapped market out there, said president and COO Glen Mella.
“Because of the adoption of iPod Touches, iPhones and what we believe will be rapid adoption of iPads, large numbers of users and potential users out there are getting exposed to a really cool interface into a home automation system,” he said. “We sell touchscreens and remotes, but last year, when we launched our iPhone app, large numbers of users were beginning to say that these mobile devices were really cool ways to control the different systems in my home.”
Mella said the biggest difference between his company’s iPad app and its iPhone/iPod Touch app is “obviously, more real estate to work with.” Then there’s the more elegant navigation experience made possible by all that extra screen space. “When you’re on our Now Playing screen, a user can, on the same screen, navigate lights or temperature. On the iPhone, you can do both but you have to switch screens back and forth and view each one at time to access those subsystems,” he added. The app will work in both portrait and landscape mode and does not require a significantly larger data download, he said.
While Mella said he does not believe that the iPad introduction signals the impending demise of the expensive touchscreen, he commented that “it certainly raises the bar” for touchscreen manufacturers plotting their future design strategies.
“For the last decade, home automation has still been the domain of a very small niche market – high-end, wealthy residential clients. Control4 is on a home automation mission for the broad market – meaning lots of new and existing homes at more consumer price-points. That’s totally consistent with our go-to-market strategy. So we welcome these new interfaces. And this isn’t the last we’ll see.”
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