08.12.2008 — Vantage/Legrand is launching at CEDIA 2008 a series of touchscreens that give new purpose to the company's InFusion home-control system – winner of the CEDIA 2007 Manufacturer's Excellence Award.

The new TPT650 and TPT1040 (6.5- and 10.4-inch, respectively) build on Vantage's original TPT550 by adding Internet functionality IP communications.

While the TP550 is just another interface on the Vantage network, the TP650 and TP1040 not only connect to the Vantage bus, but also to the Internet. (Clarification: the touchscreens communicate with Vantage's InFusion control system, which connects to the Internet; the touchscreens themselves do not have browser functionality nor direct access to the Web.)

The touchscreens, therefore, can natively control lights, audio, video and other subsystems that are part of the InFusion ecosystem, and also integrate with IP-oriented systems.

"This is a more capable device," says Vantage's Tim O'Laughlin. "The 550 is limited to what it can do over the station bus."

On the other hand, the new network-connected touchscreens enjoy two-way communications over the IP network to enable access to metadata and Internet services. The units connect to InFusion via the Vantage Ethernet Bus, enabling support for InFusion Media Center components, including music, photos, and the entire array of home controls.

The touchscreens are built on Linux, "using the same technology and processors used in the InFusion controller," says O'Laughlin. "We used much of what we learned from that."

He explains that the TPT650 and TPT1040 are Vantage's first in-walls that have the "horsepower to deal with large amounts of data." The processing power, enabled by an Intel X-Scale processor, also enables the screen to deliver more vivid graphics.

Facelift for TPT1210 Touchscreen

In addition to the new in-wall touchscreens, Vantage is rolling out the TPT1210-1 mobile controller, an upgraded version of the TPT1210.

The new product features "a little different style as far as the look and feel," says O'Laughlin.

More significantly, though, it has "more horsepower, more RAM and better battery life," he says. "All those things added up to make a better product all the way around, with room to grow."

The WiFi-enabled TPT1210-1 offers full control of a Vantage system and the functionality of a full-featured Web tablet, enabling users to surf the Web or perform other Internet-related tasks.

A new in-wall dock and pedestal dock accompany the TPT1210-1.


TPT1210-1 wireless touchscreen and dock

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