Strategy in TECH...
Well-known industry personality Eli Harary, formerly with D&M’s Boston Acoustics division (which he left in June 2011), announced today that he is forming a new company called AudioXperts. AudioXperts will offer a “collection of unique designer/consumer-friendly high performance audio solutions.” Harary, the new company’s President, has assembled a team of…presumably…audio experts, to assist him in this endeavor.
One of the more interesting stops we made during our rounds at last month’s 2012 CEA Line Show was to see a new company with a brand new product not yet on the market…but coming soon. That company, Engage Audio Design, has announced and shown a simplified total home theater package called Unity Home Theater. If the actual shipping product adheres closely to the prototype shown at the show – they just may have a real winner on their hands!
[Read more…] about If You Want Real Unity – You’ve Got to Get Engage[d]
New industry player, 3vNet – formerly known as Colorado vNet – announced today that it has selected a Director of Sales. According to the company, Matt Curtin is the company’s new Director of U.S. Sales, effective immediately, and will take over directing the sales activities of the company’s independent sales representatives. [Read more…] about Continuing to Ramp-Up, 3vNet Announces Its Pick for Director of U.S. Sales
At last month’s 2012 CEA Line Show in New York City, tucked amongst the many manufacturer’s press conferences was a variety of panels discussing what the CEA purported to be today’s top issues. One such panel, the Next Gen TV panel, talked about…as you might imagine…emerging TV technologies like OLED, 4K resolution, and Internet-enabled TVs. Many in our business would suggest that this is old news. But things got more interesting when the panel strayed from technology topics and veered into a variety of industry issues, such as TV makers technology roll-out strategies, the politics of 4K, and Apple entering the TV business. [Read more…] about CEA Line Show Next Gen TV Panel Talks Tech, Specialty Retail, and Apple iTV
Years ago, the step-up component audio world was dominated by the big three: Yamaha, Onkyo, and Denon. Having joined Onkyo in 1985, I got to participate in what some people called the “meat of the market.” These brands hit the optimal “sweet spot” of volume and profitability and literally could be the difference between life-and-death for dealers.
And we knew it. Those were heady times, and often we let our egos run wild – turning our noses up at mass market brands such as Sony, Kenwood, and Pioneer. Well, I’m older and wiser now – the big three aren’t what they used to be – and I recognize smart and savvy moves when I see them…and Pioneer is impressing me. [Read more…] about Is Pioneer Another Name for Innovator?
At the CEA LineShow last week, Monster put on a press conference that, as usual, was quite a show. And the first surprise was that the event was kicked off by a new Monster – recently appointed Global VP of Marketing and Web Tracy Benson. Benson, a former Senior Director at Best Buy, wasted no time launching into the presentation by reminding reporters that Monster Beats “proved them wrong” when many said consumers would not pay more for a better, more richer listening experience. [Read more…] about Monster Announces New Monster, New Partnerships, and Mini-Fashion Show
Only weeks after reporting of the triumphant return of Oscar Ciornei to Russound, a company for which he was once COO earlier in his career, news comes to us that the parties have agreed to part company. A swift and surprising development – the company says the reason for the mutually agreed-upon separation was an emerging conflict with an existing client. However, we have received reports that suggest other issues may have also been a factor.
Colorado vNet, the high-tech control and home automation company that has had an up-and-down roller-coaster existence – dying twice, only to be reborn twice – and eventually given-up on and sold off…hopes that the old adage, “third time’s the charm” is true. CEO Mike Anderson announced today that he is re-launching the company with a new brand – now 3vNet – and a new attitude, telling us that this is not a makeover, but in fact a whole new company with new facilities, new engineering, and a new higher level of tech support the likes of which dealers haven’t seen in years.
[Read more…] about Third Time’s the Charm? Colorado vNet – Now 3vNet – Certainly Hopes So
The Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD blog are reporting that unnamed sources at Apple have indicated that the company plans to pull the plug on its Ping social networking service, perhaps as early as this fall. Ping, a sort of Facebook for music was incorporated into their iTunes software back in 2010 and launched by famed company chairman Steve Jobs to great fanfare.
EH Publishing announced today that it is launching a new trade event next year that they call CE Exchange. The CE Exchange event will be held over a three-day period from May 6-to-May 8, 2013 at the MGM Grand Hotel in the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Targeted primarily to appeal to custom integrators in the northeast, the promoter says this is a new kind of event – not a typical trade show…but not a conference either.
