Strategy in TECH...
Ube, a start-up company that combines the processing power of your mobile device with the capability of cloud-based software to create a new level of affordability in home automation products for the rest of us, has successfully completed a funding project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. As a result, the company’s first product, a Wi-Fi-enabled smart dimmer, is fully funded and will be built and shipped in just a matter of a few months.
Start-up Ube, the new company founded by former CEDIA CEO Utz Baldwin and partners, offers an all-new mobile device-optimized, cloud-based home control technology bringing new power – and new simplicity – to the masses. This new technology could be a highly disruptive game changer with a re-conceived business model that just might gut the heart of the highly lucrative residential systems installer market. Or not…
Today, Ube [pronounced YOU-bee] announced their first major step forward in the wake of their stunning technology show win at last fall’s DEMO 2012 in which the company received the People’s Choice Award earning them $1 million in media from the show’s promoter. Ube has begun a campaign on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo to raise funds so that the company can manufacturer their first 10,000 Wi-Fi smart dimmers. The company also announced a BETA test program open to residential A/V electronics installers and integrators.
strata-GEE.com’s survey on the 2012 CEDIA Expo has wrapped up and we want to thank everyone for their participation. And participation this year was up over 90% as compared to last year – which was off 20% as compared to the 2010 survey. We have no explanation as to why so many more people took part in the survey this year – however, we received more support from various industry members spreading the word on Twitter and other social media networks than in year’s past, which may have been a factor. A special thanks to those who helped spread the word!
Residential Systems Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Glowacki, probably one of the smartest, classiest guys in the industry, revealed on his blog earlier this week that he has been elected to CEDIA’s “Fellows” Program. A honor only bestowed upon a handful of industry executives every year, Glowacki displayed honest surprise at his selection. And, in noting that the honor apparently comes with lifetime CEDIA membership – turned wistful in an emotional blog post about the current state of the industry in So Many Departures in So Little Time. [Read more…] about Residential Systems Editor Glowacki Named to CEDIA Fellows Program; Blogs Wistfully about Industry Turmoil
<April 18, 2012> The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced on Tuesday that it has launched an App for the iOS, Android, and Blackberry platforms available now. The group says the App brings a variety of key information together – all conveniently available on your favorite mobile device. [Read more…] about CEDIA? Oh Yeah, There’s an App for That!
<December 28, 2011> The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) held its annual Membership Meeting through a webinar on Tuesday with a total of 76 attendees including CEDIA members, press, and others. The meeting, conducted by CEDIA Board of Directors Chairman Randy Stearns, was remarkable both in terms of what was presented…and what wasn’t. [Read more…] about CEDIA Membership Meeting was Remarkable for What Was Said… and for What Wasn’t
<December 15, 2011> At the September CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis, the trade association’s CEO, Utz 
Baldwin, held a press event in which he announced that the organization was in the final stages of completing a detailed research report on the custom installation market served by its members. Baldwin, who is no longer with the organization, promised a fourth quarter release – and they just made it as they announced today selected data from the report which, interestingly, will not be available for sale in 2011. [Read more…] about At Long Last CEDIA Releases Findings from New Research on CI Market
<December 7, 2011> Last Monday, CEDIA, the predominant trade association for the custom integration market, announced that its Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer Utz Baldwin “have agreed on Mr. Baldwin’s departure from CEDIA…” The prepared statement from the group gave no reason for the change but assured members that the Board of Directors “will continue to provide strategic leadership for the organization…”
