Strategy in TECH...
Russound, a top specialty manufacturer of smart home and connected audio solutions for integrators, announced on Tuesday that the ever-popular Pandora streaming service is now included in the company’s top streaming products. Both the Russound MBX-PRE stereo preamplifier and the MBX-AMP stereo amplifier now have the Pandora streaming service included natively in the device.
JOLED, a Japanese manufacturer of OLED-based panels and products that was formed by the merger of the OLED divisions of both Panasonic and Sony, filed for bankruptcy protection in the Tokyo District Court on Monday. According to the filing, the company reported that it has debts totaling ¥33.7 billion ($257 million).
Firenze, Italy-based high-end audio manufacturer Gold Note announced this week that it has selected Fidelity Imports as its exclusive U.S. importer and distributor. According to Gold Note’s announcement, the appointment will take effect starting April 1, 2023.
WiSA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: WISA) released its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full-year results and it was not a pretty picture – leading the company’s auditors to issue a “going concern” warning, questioning its ability to continue. A developer and licensor of spatial, wireless sound technology used in a variety of brands, WiSA largely blamed an overall slackening consumer demand causing a glut of existing CE product inventory as the main source of its problems.
Snap One Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SNPO) released their fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full-year results after the close of the market on Tuesday and held a conference call for investment analysts shortly afterward with more details. The company produced a prodigious amount of data that they suggest shows success in the face of adversity, and forecast a decline in their performance in fiscal 2023.
They also said the industry slowed down in 2022 and will continue to be slow for the first three quarters of 2023.
Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO) announced on Tuesday that it has launched two new smart speakers that implement spatial audio for a more immersive listening experience. The company says these new models are the next-generation of smart speakers, utilizing Dolby Atmos technology to launch “…a whole new chapter in sound and design innovation.” They also call them “revolutionary” and “bold” and the “best experience for out loud spatial listening.”
Sony is looking to make a major investment to fuel even greater growth in its semiconductor business – a hot category right now around the globe. This means they need to hire engineers, dozens of engineers. But one of the consequences of so many companies chasing the semiconductor category is that competition has really been turbocharged for everything…especially engineers.
Now the company thinks it has found the perfect incentive to lock up the best engineers – something that is not nearly as prevalent in Japan as in the U.S.
RoseWater Energy Group said today that it is participating in multiple Energy Day education seminars being held by local sales representatives around the country. These events are being held in February and March and provide dealers with an informative half-day education session on the importance of power as the foundation for any home automation or smart home solution.
Russound released a statement today from CEO Charlie Porritt who summed up their experience at the recent ISE 2023 event in Barcelona. According to Porritt, the show was “one of the most productive, well-run, and enjoyable trade events to date.” It doesn’t get much better than that…
After years of driving the economy, Big Tech has suddenly hit a rough road. By now you’ve likely heard about layoffs in tech…lots and lots of layoffs. According to Layoffs.fyi, as of this writing, more than 104,000 tech jobs have been lost in just the first six weeks of 2023. But what is behind the struggles of these Big Tech players?
