I think that the only thing Carrier has missed the boat on here is that they used a proprietary protocol rather than a Standard protocol, such as BACnet or LonTalk. The fact is, many residential systems are used with commercial systems, as in office areas in factories, so any new commercial system that is installed with a proprietary protocol is about as short-lived as equipment that uses R-22 as a refrigerant.
Of course, the top Carrier system uses R-410A (which they have dubbed Puron) as a refrigerant, and their system uses a 2-speed compressor and a variable-speed fan motor for quiet operation and top efficiency. The interesting thing about the compressor they are using on this system is that it is Bristol's dual-capacity unit, which pumps with two pistons when it is running in one direction, but with just one piston when the motor direction is reversed. Three years ago, when I first wrote about this compressor, I didn't think it would be a successful competitor, because it requires a sophisticated digital system and two contactors to make it run, so I thought it would be more expensive than similar compressors from other manufacturers. However, the person I spoke to from Carrier told me that they are very satisfied with its cost, its operation, and its reliability.