Vantage has made the Equinox 4 keypad available for pre-order, with shipping scheduled for November 19, 2012.
“In all my years with Vantage, I have never seen an introduction generate as much excitement as the Equinox line,” said Andrew Wale, Vantage Controls’ vice president of marketing. “Since we took un-veiled Equinox 4 at CEDIA, our dealers have been relentless in their demand for this product. Ultimately we decided that it was only fair to allow them to cue up, so to speak, by offering an opportunity to pre-order the Equinox 4 so it will be ready for their clients as soon as it arrives in 5 weeks.”
Equinox 4 is a single-gang LCD keypad that combines the advantages of a full-sized touchscreen and the simplicity of a multi-gang keypad, the company says, presenting users with a minimalist on-wall presence, and a single layer user interface that provides quick and intuitive control of lighting scenarios, interior climate, and audio systems. Equinox 4 also gives users and integrators their first taste of Vantage’s new User Experience Platform, an overarching initiative that will result in a unified signature physical and graphical aesthetic that remains consistent across all control devices in a Vantage system.
Equinox 4 is designed to be the simplest, most straightforward path to accessing lighting control, comfort, and local zone audio. Given its “always on” design, the keypad senses presence, and wakes up with a simple gesture. With two tactile buttons, it’s easy to update as the user’s needs and preferences change. Its Vantage station bus connection also ensures full compatibility with the existing InFusion station bus-based systems, as well as Vantage’s new Enhanced InFusion Lighting Solution.
The introduction of additional Equinox interfaces—the Equinox 7-UX, a larger in-wall touchscreen by the end of 2012, and the Equinox 4-UX in Q2 2013—as well as iOS and Android apps—will allow integrators to design more advanced UIs that go beyond the single-layer experience of Equinox 4, while maintaining the same simplicity, intuitiveness, and consistent look and feel across all platforms.
Vantage Controls’ Energy Widget for the Equinox platform, for example, will allow users to dig deep into energy usage around the home, monitoring electrical, gas, and water usage in either textual or graphical form, all while navigating only one additional layer, and with the same swipe, press, drag, and press-and-hold gestures.
In addition to the obvious ease-of-use benefits for end-users, the Vantage User Experience Platform will also provide dealers with a simplified programming and integration experience, reducing the time, expense, and headaches of designing complex control solutions.
Equinox 4 shipping is scheduled for November 19, 2012 with a domestic VRP of $500. Additional Equinox models will be formally announced in Q4 ’12.
