Overheard at LG’s 84-in 4K Launch Party
Frank Lloyd Wright Meets Klingon Empire in High-Tech Home
CCTV Security Reaches the Cloud
Florida 'White House' Features Fully Integrated System
Print
Email
Comments (2)
Share
Should Integrators Create Their Own iPhone Apps?
eLifespaces created iPhone apps for own home control, home theater layout and energy monitoring -- they don’t make a lot of money but they pay off in other ways.
eLifespaces, a Charleston, S.C.-based integration company, has developed three Apple iPhone apps -- a home control app, a home theater space calculator and an energy monitoring app.
A free version and a $170 expanded version of its eController is available in Apple’s App Store; the Home Theater Assistant (HTA) costs 99 cents; and the eNergy is in the final stages of development.
In general, eLifespaces is an Apple-friendly integration company. On its Website, the company touts itself as Apple Product Professionals and Apple iPhone Developers. In his CE Pro of the Week interview, president Fred Fabian says eLifespaces’ integration of Apple products sets it apart from the competition.
Fabian says he realizes many integrators fear Apple’s iPad will redefine home automation standards and kill hardware profits.
“Why fight it?” he says. “Customers are already introduced to the interface. We can sell them the eController, which works well in the do-it-yourself world.”
Even though eController is a good fit for do-it-yourselfers, Fabian is quick to add eLifespaces is a custom integrator and doesn't target the DIY crowd. “The folks that engage us aren’t price-conscious. Our customers are looking for a specific custom solution.”
As such, he names Crestron and Vantage as home automation solutions that eLifespaces provides. So why bother developing apps?
It’s not because the apps make money for eLifespaces, Fabian says. “They break even after you calculate the cost that goes into developing it.” However, he adds, developing apps is worth it.
“If we’re really custom design and installation specialists then we should be that. People that are order-takers are just order-takers.
"There will be a time when somebody in our industry captures something that provides incredible value for us all. Well, we’re out there looking for it with everybody else — whatever that magic is, everyday we look.”
What other integrators out there have developed apps? Let us know in the comment area below.
eLifespaces, on its eController app:
eController app, available in Apple’s App Store
eLifespaces, on its Home Theater Assistant app:
Home Theater Assistant app, available in Apple’s App Store
eLifespaces, on its eNergy app:
eNergy app, still in development
A free version and a $170 expanded version of its eController is available in Apple’s App Store; the Home Theater Assistant (HTA) costs 99 cents; and the eNergy is in the final stages of development.
In general, eLifespaces is an Apple-friendly integration company. On its Website, the company touts itself as Apple Product Professionals and Apple iPhone Developers. In his CE Pro of the Week interview, president Fred Fabian says eLifespaces’ integration of Apple products sets it apart from the competition.
Fabian says he realizes many integrators fear Apple’s iPad will redefine home automation standards and kill hardware profits.
“Why fight it?” he says. “Customers are already introduced to the interface. We can sell them the eController, which works well in the do-it-yourself world.”
Where's the Benefit?
Even though eController is a good fit for do-it-yourselfers, Fabian is quick to add eLifespaces is a custom integrator and doesn't target the DIY crowd. “The folks that engage us aren’t price-conscious. Our customers are looking for a specific custom solution.”
As such, he names Crestron and Vantage as home automation solutions that eLifespaces provides. So why bother developing apps?
It’s not because the apps make money for eLifespaces, Fabian says. “They break even after you calculate the cost that goes into developing it.” However, he adds, developing apps is worth it.
“If we’re really custom design and installation specialists then we should be that. People that are order-takers are just order-takers.
"There will be a time when somebody in our industry captures something that provides incredible value for us all. Well, we’re out there looking for it with everybody else — whatever that magic is, everyday we look.”
What other integrators out there have developed apps? Let us know in the comment area below.
eLifespaces, on its eController app:
The most versatile control app on the iTunes App store. This App was designed with the Professional Systems Integrator in mind. Works with most IP based control systems such as Crestron, AMX, Global Caché and Vantage just to name a few.
eController app, available in Apple’s App Store
eLifespaces, on its Home Theater Assistant app:
The perfect app for making those buying decisions regarding television size. By knowing what theater screen size is optimal for your room, you can make a well informed high-definition display size selection. HTA Lite is recommended for installing practitioners when quick on-site calculations are needed.
Home Theater Assistant app, available in Apple’s App Store
eLifespaces, on its eNergy app:
Currently in development, eNergy, provides a homeowner or business facility manager the ability to monitor and manage their energy consumption via an iPad, iPhones or computer (Apple or PC). These devices will act as your personal remote monitoring tool. Sending codes over a secured WiFi connection in your home or office, eNergy receives consumption data directly, allowing the user to monitor and, if required, modify energy consumption behavior.
eNergy app, still in development
Subscribe to the CE Pro Newsletter
Article Topics
Blogs · Home Automation and Control · Home Automation · Home Theater · Ipad · Apple · Installation · Iphone · Iphone Apps ·About the Author
Tom has been covering consumer electronics for six years. Before that, he wrote for the sports department of the Boston Herald. Migrating to magazines, he was a staff editor for a golf publication and an outdoor sports publication. Now, as senior writer/technology editor of CE Pro magazine since 2003, he dabbles in all departments and offers expertise in marketing. Follow him on Twitter @leblanctom.
2 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Good article. We just finished development for an app called NextRoom. The iPod/iPhone app is for the medical practice industry for managing physicians, nurses, and patients. We’ve actually put it into practice this week for beta testing and will be hopefully ready for the App store in a few weeks.
We started with an idea that would require extensive Crestron programming, then moved to the possibility of working with Control4. What we finally ended up with was a product that is completely scalable, requires almost no training to use, and doctors can pretty much customize the system themselves. Plus, they get to use a device that’s enjoyable, stable, and inexpensive.
Page 1 of 1 comment pages
I think the major issue at this point some of us have with developing apps, is that you have to do it with visibility to Apple. The only way to use their SDK is to make your IP available to the rest of the Apple app community.
It is a very open source environment really.
I think that is why most apps are fairly simplistic. Many of them are easy to create, especially when leveraging other code that already exists in the community.
I think dealers with programming expertise can benefit from the “buzz” creating Apple apps generates, but probably will not see tons of profitability.
I know in our commercial space, we sometimes shy away from Apple apps themselves, as the customer has concerns about the proprietary nature of their business being in an app open to the Apple community.
So in most cases, creating an XML based web application that can live on premise in a password protected server is a better solution. These applications are more universal, as they can be operated from any web enabled device. They may not take advantage of all the gestures available in a true Apple app and you have to be creative in code writing to get the proper push/pull of data from the server for updated status of the system, but all in all it can be a more viable solution in most cases.