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Exclusive: Crestron iPanel Brings Hard Buttons to iPad
If only the iPad had hard buttons, it could be a great home controller. Crestron delivers with the 13-button iPanel, which snaps over the iPad and communicates via the multipin connector.
Thirteen buttons on the iPanel mimic the performance of Crestron’s dedicated WiFi touchpanels such as the TPS-6X. A multipin connector is built into the case for power and communications.
Multitasking and hard buttons. When it comes to using the iPad as a home controller, those are the two big missing pieces.
Now Crestron is tackling the issue of hard buttons with the new iPanel, which snaps over the face of an iPad like a clam shell.
A total of 13 buttons grace the left and right sides of the iPanel:
As for details about the iPanel, we don’t have many.
[continues]
We know that power and communications occur through the the iPad’s multipin connector. The buttons tap into the iPad’s WiFi capabilities, communicating with a Crestron controller just like the TPS-6X or any other WiFi-enabled Crestron touchpanel.
But the screen does not have to be docked for the hard buttons to work. That’s because the case itself contains a multipin connector. When you dock the unit, you’re basically stacking connectors.
Now for the biggest questions about the iPanel.
Can you engrave the buttons? “We need to finalize, but we should be able to.”
Can the hard buttons be used for instant access to the Crestron app? “We’re still working through the Apple OS. More details soon.”
And the question we forgot to ask: How on earth did Crestron trademark the term iPanel?
We hear that Crestron is targeting a price point of less than $500, including the dock. We’ve also heard that the next generation of the dock will offer streaming media, although it’s unclear what that means.
Check it out at CEDIA Expo 2010.
In a gift-giving or joking mood? Wrap one of these puppies in an iArm prank gift box. Hilarious. Simply hilarious.
Now Crestron is tackling the issue of hard buttons with the new iPanel, which snaps over the face of an iPad like a clam shell.
A total of 13 buttons grace the left and right sides of the iPanel:
- VOLUME UP/DOWN
- MUTE
- LIGHTS
- HOME
- GUIDE
- INFO
- EXIT
- LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN, SELECT
As for details about the iPanel, we don’t have many.
[continues]
We know that power and communications occur through the the iPad’s multipin connector. The buttons tap into the iPad’s WiFi capabilities, communicating with a Crestron controller just like the TPS-6X or any other WiFi-enabled Crestron touchpanel.
But the screen does not have to be docked for the hard buttons to work. That’s because the case itself contains a multipin connector. When you dock the unit, you’re basically stacking connectors.
Now for the biggest questions about the iPanel.
Can you engrave the buttons? “We need to finalize, but we should be able to.”
Can the hard buttons be used for instant access to the Crestron app? “We’re still working through the Apple OS. More details soon.”
And the question we forgot to ask: How on earth did Crestron trademark the term iPanel?
We hear that Crestron is targeting a price point of less than $500, including the dock. We’ve also heard that the next generation of the dock will offer streaming media, although it’s unclear what that means.
Check it out at CEDIA Expo 2010.
In a gift-giving or joking mood? Wrap one of these puppies in an iArm prank gift box. Hilarious. Simply hilarious.
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Article Topics
News · Product News · Home Automation and Control · Control Systems · Events · CEDIA · Cedia · Ipad · Crestron · Cedia 2010 · Ipanel ·About the Author
Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.
I saw it at CEDIA in a glass box. I think it was made out of clay.