New smart microwave from GE Appliances offered at $125 with free Amazon Echo Dot – just scan the box for automatic cooking, or ‘add 30 seconds’ with voice controls. And the GE guy in charge? Last name: Stover.
Julie Jacobson
Julie Jacobson is founding editor of CE Pro, the leading media brand for the home-technology channel. She has covered the smart-home industry since 1994, long before there was much of an Internet, let alone an Internet of things. Currently she studies, speaks, writes and rabble-rouses in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V, wellness-related technology, biophilic design, and the business of home technology. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a recipient of the annual CTA TechHome Leadership Award, and a CEDIA Fellows honoree. A washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player, Julie currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and sometimes St. Paul, Minn. Follow on Twitter: @juliejacobson
Julie Jacobson's Latest Posts
Fibaro Home Automation Acquired for $73M by European Controls Co.
Nice Group acquires Fibaro (Fibar Group S.A.), popular maker of Z-Wave sensors and smart-home hubs, shortly after acquiring Abode, a DIY security and home-automation company with professionally monitored alarm systems.
New SnapAV MoIP is ‘Perfect Video over IP System’ – Beta Tester
SnapAV is late to the AV-over-IP party, but two beta testers say new MoiP system its the simplest product to install with the most robust features including videowall capabilities, text overlays, video previews, home-automation integration, OvrC remote monitoring and more.
CEDIA Finds: 5 New Business Tools including Leads, Field Service Software, Web Content
CEDIA Expo 2018 includes 5 new exhibitors showing services and software for home-technology businesses — everything from new-construction leads to field-service management software.
One of the Best Integrator Descriptions of ‘Why You Should Prewire’
Tym Smart Homes provides one of the simplest, most persuasive descriptions of why homes should be prewired vs. going all wireless.
Portal Starts Charging ‘Power Users’ who Don’t Buy Stuff
Portal.io didn’t realize how many home-technology integrators would use its free proposal software without placing orders through its online purchasing platform. Now those dealers must pay to play.
Tym: Former Vivint Sales Reps go ‘Digital Door to Door’ with Smart Home Services
For Utah-based Tym Smart Homes & Home Theaters, social media engagement is the digital equivalent of door-to-door sales, according to the former Vivint sales reps.
Sonos Files $100 Million IPO; Plans More Direct-to-Consumer Sales
Sonos IPO filing shows first profit in at least three years … and other highlights from the Nasdaq: SONO S-1 form, like the company’s “commitment to being open” and a strategy to sell more products through its app.
B&O Remains in Custom Channel, Focuses on ‘Right Partners’ with ‘Desire to Scale’
Bang & Olufsen parts ways with most custom-integration dealers in North America, but re-ups with partners who are ‘really engaging with the brand’ to present a more consistent experience across all channels.
Analysis: SnapAV Owner Acquires Majority Stake of DIY Security Giant SimpliSafe
Private Equity firm Hellman & Friedman acquires controlling stake in DIY security provider SimpliSafe. CE Pro’s Julie Jacobson reviews synergies with H&F portfolio companies SnapAV, Verisure (Securitas Direct) and HUB International insurance.
Savant Launches Cloud Platforms for Home-Automation Config, Management, Service
New Savant Central Management and Savant Studio let dealers ditch the computer for programming and manage all their home-automation projects and clients in one cloud-based portal.
Tech Support Superfecta: OneVision adds SnapAV OvrC to Remote Managed Services
OneVision becomes the only smart-home tech-support provider to work with four major managed services platforms in the custom installation channel.
