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Charlie Kindel

Amazon Alexa and Devices Division On Pace to Lose $10B; Div. in Crisis Mode

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Photo from Amazon Keynote
Charlie Kindel, then with Amazon, pitches Alexa and tells integrators that Amazon wants to work with them at CEDIA Expo 2016

This has to rank up there with one of the most spectacular product failures in tech history. According to leaked documents acquired by Insider, Amazon’s “Worldwide Digital” unit – the unit that includes Echo smart speakers, Alexa voice technology, and Prime Video streaming – lost over $3 billion in just the first quarter of this year. It is on pace to lose $10 billion for the year and the company has announced its largest layoffs ever – cutting more than 10,000 jobs…many targeted to hit this division specifically…as Amazon reorients their business strategy.

See the latest news on the failing Amazon Alexa business

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SnapAV Launches New Remote Monitoring Platform Integrating the Best of OvrC, BakPak¹ & Ihiji

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SnapAV announced today that it has engineered an all-new version of their popular OvrC remote monitoring and management system (RMM). This new version, launched in the wake of their acquisition of Control4 last year with its competitive Pakedge networking, as well as BakPak and Ihiji remote monitoring solutions, is said to combine the best of all of these systems.

SnapAV says OvrC is their ‘platform of the future.’ See more…

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New, Larger SnapAV: The One-Stop Shop of Smart Home

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Strata-gee Interviews SnapAV’s John Heyman & Charlie Kindel

The industry is still adjusting to the new normal of SnapAV combining with Control4…even as it continues to gobble up more local distributors and talk about their e-commerce prowess. It can get a little confusing. Is SnapAV a manufacturer? An e-commerce play? A local distributor? Or are they attempting to be all of the above?

I spoke with SnapAV’s John Heyman and Charlie Kindel to try and help our readers sort this all out. It’s certainly a new world out there…but just what planet are we on?

See what I learned from these top SnapAV execs…

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Control4 Announces Appointment of Charlie Kindel, ex-Amazon

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BREAKING NEWS

Former Head of Amazon Smart Home Org. to be
SVP of Products & Services for Control4

Kindel close upControl4 Corp. announced today that it has appointed Charlie Kindel, an ex-Amazon executive in charge of their Alexa project, to fulfill the role of Control4 Senior Vice President of Products & Services. Kindel is replacing Eric Anderson, who announced his retirement recently after holding the same role since 2012.

See more on Kindel joining Control4…

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Voice Control: Time to Jump In…or Wait?

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In Wake of CEDIA, Industry Debates How Hot Voice Control Is

Scene showing Alexa voice controlOne of the keynote presentations at CEDIA 2016, was from Amazon – the monster online retailer. Amazon executive Charlie Kindel introduced the custom integration attendees to the Amazon Echo, Tap, and Dot…essentially Internet appliances that all feature their Alexa voice control technology. Then, late in the presentation, Kindel announced the company has developed a way for Alexa to interface with home systems – and even forged integration partnerships with Lutron, Crestron, Control4 and others.

And just like that, CEDIA 2016 became the voice control show… [Read more…] about Voice Control: Time to Jump In…or Wait?