Strategy in TECH...
It is not unusual for a hot new product to launch with huge demand, only to see unit sales taper down to more sustainable levels after the initial launch demand is fulfilled. Surely, Apple, Inc. was expecting just this type of behavior after the launch of their long-awaited Apple Watch wearable. However, new data from Slice Intelligence shows that sales of the Apple Watch have plummeted by 90% – an amount well beyond Apple’s typical experience.
As we mentioned in our CE Week overview, the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) held a panel discussion on the current status of the high-resolution audio market (Hi-Res Audio) much like they did last year. It was conducted in much the same way, with essentially the same panel (minus any supporting hardware manufacturers) and, with a couple of exceptions, covered pretty much the same ground.
New York City in June sees temperatures rise in response to the onset of summer and also, hopefully, in response to the launch of the hottest new technologies being shown at CE Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building exposition spaces in Manhattan. We awaited this year’s edition with great anticipation as it occurs in the wake of a major change in the show’s backers – and is the follow-up to the surprisingly meaningful show last year.
Tidal Music Service has, for the second time in only a matter of months, dismissed its CEO. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Tidal has dismissed interim chief executive Peter Tonstad who held the position for only about three months. In a statement, they thanked Tonstad for his service.
Denon announced two new A/V receivers (AVRs) on Wednesday, both sporting Dolby’s latest Atmos surround sound technology and, hedging their bets, ready for DTS:X with a free firmware update later this year. These new AVRs are moderately priced and, as is the rule these days, absolutely packed with features.
How dogged are we in pursuing stories for Strata-gee.com readers? Dogged enough to travel to Florida…in June! Yes, we traveled earlier this month to Melbourne, FL to visit Anuva Automation, parent company of home automation upstart Turn It On (TiO). There has apparently been a lot going on at TiO lately with a flurry of recent press releases and we wanted to see for ourselves, just exactly what the company has been up to in the still early stages of its launch.
Be sure to see the cover story in the June issue of Residential Systems magazine titled Beyond the Referral – Tools & Techniques to Power Up Your Marketing Strategy by Strata-gee’s own Ted Green. This article introduces readers to the top tools of marketing to market your tech company today.
HiFiMan, an independent manufacturer of high-end headphones, portable music players, and associated accessories, announced on Wednesday a new top-of-the-line, full-sized headphone – the HE1000. Featuring the company’s preferred planar magnetic technology and a breakthrough diaphragm design, these headphones are for serious music listening, or as the company puts it, “intended for reference use in home or studio.”
Hitachi America, Ltd. announced on Tuesday that it has entered the wireless speaker business with three self-contained wireless speaker systems using Qualcomm’s AllPlay technology. According to Hitachi, their new hardware/software “smart media” platform makes it simple for consumers to stream any local or cloud-based media from any type of device via Wi-Fi.
