Time and again, CE Pros tell us they want more stories about running a home-technology integration company, generating recurring revenue, keeping up with HDMI, and quashing big-box retailers and their mass-market security and home-automation systems.
Apparently, the pros are doing their due diligence, lapping up everything CE Pro publishes about Amazon Echo, Google, Nest, Z-Wave, IoT, video doorbells and, oh yeah, some custom-oriented news from time to time. We expected voice control and Control4 (Nasdaq: CTRL) to nab the top spots, but Z-Wave was an unexpectedly hot topic this year.
So was Joe Whitaker, who landed in the Top 6 with two of his 2017 endeavors (#2 and #6). Soon, he'll be up there for a not-very-good take on #3. Here are the most-clicked CEPro.com stories of 2017.
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Amazon’s Decision on ZigBee vs. Z-Wave Makes No Sense (Not sure why Z-Wave stories were so popular in 2017)
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Cheap Echo Dot Meets Premium Multiroom Audio: The Genius of Origin Acoustics’ Valet Amp
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New Sonos API Disrupts Home Automation Integration, But Lays Solid Foundation
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Control4 Finally Integrates Directly with Ring Video Doorbell … Sort Of (Doorbell integration was a sore spot, and highlight, in 2017)
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Logitech to Sell New $400 Harmony Pro Remote Only Through Pro Installers, not DIY (the June 2016 story that keeps on giving)
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Smart-Home Dealer Drops Amazon Echo on Doorsteps, Gets Control4 Business
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Hands On: Onkyo TX-RZ810 A/V Receiver Is Reliable, Affordable Choice (CE Pros kept on clicking this Nov. 2016 review)
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ADT Reveals 2017 Plans, Protection 1 Integration, Connected Home Opportunities
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What Can You Do If an Employee ‘Steals’ from You? (Three years after the story was written, employers still want to know ….)
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DoorBird May be Best DIY/Pro Doorbell Camera for Home Automation Integration (Posted in April 2016, doorbell integration is still a hot topic)
NEXT: Top 2017 Mergers & Acquisitions in Security, IoT, Consumer Electronics, A/V
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Z-Wave’s New ‘SmartStart’ Dramatically Simplifies Home Automation Installs (More Z-Wave … why?)
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Inside the Vivint Smart Home Stores at Best Buy: A Huge Paradigm Shift
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Leedarson’s Arrival Sensor: The Most Interesting Little Z-Wave Device at ISE 2017 (and still more Z-Wave)
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Sonos Doesn’t Hate Home-Automation Channel; They Just Don’t Communicate Well
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Control4 Works with Google Home, Google Assistant for IoT Voice Control via IFTTT
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CES 2017: Chromecast Built-In Comes to Sony, JBL, Pioneer, Onkyo, More
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Goodbye, Zonoff: IoT Provider Sunk by Alarm.com, Icontrol, Honeywell, ADT
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New HDMI 2.1 Specification Transmits 48Gbps to Handle 8K60Hz with HDR, 4K120Hz
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Now This is Disruptive: I Just Set Up a Free Smart Home Consultation with Amazon
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Control4 Adds If/Then Engine to Home Automation, Lets End Users Tweak System
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How Dish is Winning by Cannibalizing Itself: AirTV, Dish-on-a-Stick, Native Alexa Voice
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Exclusive: URC Total Control 2.0 is Complete Overhaul of Flagship Home Automation System
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Time to Ditch 120V AC? How a Low-Voltage, DC-Powered Home Might Work (Still getting clicks from Nov. 2015, Grayson Evans' piece on the DC-powered home is still … hitting home … but the industry has seen little progress.)
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Judge Halts New ‘Ring Protect’ Smart Home Security System in ADT Lawsuit
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Leviton Launches Mass-Market Home-Automation Platform, Starting with Wi-Fi Lighting
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Honeywell Sues to Block Icontrol, Alarm.com Merger on Antitrust Grounds
Smart Home Technologies at CES 2018
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