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Just having the Outlook calendar integrated into Alexa "is a huge step forward," noted Bill Ablondi, director of smart home strategies at Strategy Analytics "I tried to get Google Assistant to work with my Outlook calendar but was unsuccessful," he told TechNewsWorld....

Orbi's system "is similar to using a network extender, but Netgear has improved on this approach with a dedicated band for communication with the satellite devices," explained Bill Ablondi, a research director at Strategy Analytics An Orbi WiFi system consisting of one router ...

Zenbo "falls into the category of expensive party conversation piece," commented Bill Ablondi, a research director at Strategy Analytics "Can it go downstairs? If not, that's a real limitation for many households. I think a stationary device with far-field voice recognition ma...

Although Apple and Google loom large, Logitech has "a really good chance," said Bill Ablondi, a director at Strategy Analytics, because the market is still new, and Logitech has distributions as well as intellectual property -- "all the IR codes for billions of different entertainment devices."

The recent lull in smart meter deployments and smart grid projects has come to an end with an announcement from the Obama administration last month. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced over US$3 billion in funding for smart grid projects, which will be matched by private-sector funding to push the total amount of investment in smart grid project over $8 billion...

The current recession and the steep decline in the construction and sales of new homes are forcing dealers and installers to reevaluate their current product offerings. Average 2008 revenues were down almost 11 percent from 2007, and dealers are actively looking for new avenues to expand their business and make up for the shortfall in 2009 ...

Sales and revenues for the home systems channel will decline in 2009, just as they did in 2008. Many projects will be postponed or canceled this year. There will a decline in revenues of over 5 percent from 2008 to 2009. That's the bad news. ...

The U.S. still has relatively low-cost electricity compared to other countries, but consistent rate increases and an aging, inefficient electrical distribution system are prompting demands to update the country's utility grids. ...

Few homes now have sophisticated lighting systems. "About 6 percent of residences have an intelligent lighting system," Bill Ablondi, director of home systems research at Parks Associates, told TechNewsWorld To help spur additional awareness, vendors -- including AHA Design, C...

What is a high-end entertainment system? That question can be answered in a variety of ways. For some people, "high-end" means systems bought at a specialty retailer, e.g., Bang & Olufsen, Tweeter or Ultimate Electronics. For others, price determines a high-end entertainment system -- US$5,000, $10,000, or more for a TV with a 5.1 surround-sound system. On the other hand, audiophiles think of a critical listening room equipped with Krell components and B&W loudspeakers when asked about high-end entertainment. For our report, we settled on the following: Home theaters and audio systems that are typically installed professionally as opposed to purchased at retail or online and set up by users...

It is no secret that few homes in the U.S. or, for that matter, anywhere in the world have electronic control systems ...

With all indicators of new home construction being so bearish these days (and unlikely to improve significantly anytime soon), there's been a great deal of speculation that remodeling market opportunities are emerging as a better market play for custom installing dealers/installers -- at least in the short- and medium-term -- than new construction. We'd agree with that "common-sensical" assessment of relative market opportunities, but don't yet have any objective and definitive evidence that documents the fact...

A number of firms have recently launched remote home monitoring services. Are they able to do so because of widespread broadband adoption or consumer demand? ...