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Control4 Launches Amazon Alexa Skill for Voice-Enabled Whole-Home Automation

The smart home made easy with Control4 and a single voice command, “Alexa, turn off the house.”

Dallas, TX – September 14 ,2016 6:00 PM ET – Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL), a leading global provider of smart home solutions, today announces integration with Amazon Alexa, the popular voice service that powers Amazon Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices, including Echo Dot, Amazon Tap and Amazon Fire TV. The new Control4® Smart Home Skill provides homeowners with the convenience of whole-home automation through simple and intuitive voice commands that can activate smart home scenes and control individual devices.
 
Smart Home Scenes Initiate Personalized Experiences
Control4 personalizes a smart home by coordinating connected devices throughout the house into pre-set scenes to set the mood, create ambiance, and provide convenience. For example, using the Control4 skill for Alexa, a “Cooking” scene can raise the lights in the kitchen, lower the shades, and turn on the TV to a preset food channel – all with a single voice command. Additionally, a verbal “Alexa, turn off the house” command can shut down the house by turning off all of the lights, lowering the thermostat, locking the doors, and arming the security system.
 
“Controlling smart home devices using voice is one of the most popular features of Alexa, which is why we’re especially pleased to be working with Control4,” said Charlie Kindel, Director, Amazon Alexa Smart Home. “The vast breadth of devices Control4 supports, brings new capability and an enhanced user experience to the Alexa-enabled household.”
 
Whole-Home Automation Meets Voice Control
Control4 is the one of the first home automation companies to combine smart home scenes with the convenience of the Alexa far-field voice recognition, coordinating connected devices throughout the home. With support for over 9,900 popular lighting, audio, video, security, and comfort products, Control4 provides automation to the entire home.  Providing homeowners with the flexibility and level of control they desire, devices can also be controlled individually with simple commands to turn a single light on or off, dim lights to create the right mood, or even adjust the temperature from bed.
 
"On average, our customers have over 40 connected devices in their homes that are orchestrated by Control4 and now, voice interaction with Amazon Alexa offers another convenient way to control all of them,” said Martin Plaehn, Control4 CEO. “This integration combines Control4’s automation power and extensive support for connected devices with the intuitive voice control from Amazon Alexa, reinforcing our shared vision to make life in a connected home ever-more personalized, comfortable, and hassle-free.”
 
Control4 is the only home automation company that makes it easy for every member of the family to intuitively control everything in the entire home either by remote control, touch screen, mobile device, a keypad, and now, voice.
 
Getting Started is Easy for Control4 Homeowners
Connecting an Alexa-enabled device within a Control4 home is simple and straightforward. A homeowner simply enables the Control4 Smart Home Skill inside the Alexa app, connects with Control4, discovers devices and scenes, and their home is ready for voice control.
 
The Control4 Smart Home Skill is available now for the entire Alexa family: Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, and Amazon Fire TV.
 
This new Alexa skill is included with a Control4 4Sight subscription ($99 US yearly), and requires an Alexa-enabled device to use it. 4Sight enables homeowners to connect to Control4 cloud-based services, including remotely accessing and controlling their home on an iOS and Android mobile device from anywhere, receiving alerts from their smart home, and using the new Control4 Smart Home Skill for Amazon Alexa devices.
 
For more information visit www.control4.com. Read more about the Control4 Smart Home Skill on the Control4 blog.

About Control4
Control4 [NASDAQ: CTRL] is a global provider of automation and networking systems for homes and businesses, offering personalized control of lighting, music, video, comfort, security, communications, and more into a unified smart home system that enhances the daily lives of its consumers. Control4 unlocks the potential of connected devices, making networks more robust, entertainment systems easier to use, homes more comfortable and energy efficient, and families more secure. Today, every home and business needs automation horsepower and a high-performance network to manage the increasing number of connected devices. The Control4 platform interoperates with more than 9,900 third-party consumer electronics products, ensuring an ever-expanding ecosystem of devices will work together. Control4 is now available in 91 countries. Leveraging a distribution channel that includes over 3,900 custom integrators, retailers, and distributors authorized to sell the full-line of Control4 products, with over 1,100 additional dealers and distributors that are authorized to sell our Pakedge branded networking solutions only, Control4 is delivering intelligent solutions for consumers, major consumer electronics companies, hotels, and businesses around the world. 
 
Control4 Press Contact
Kimberly Lancaster, Caster Communications
[email protected]
401-792-7080
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 Copyright ©2016, Control4 Corporation. All rights reserved. Control4, the Control4 logo, and Pakedge are registered trademarks or trademarks of Control4 Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other names and brands may be claimed as the property of their respective owners. All specifications subject to change without notice.
Source: Control4