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Whoa CES! Power Outage Plunges Show into Darkness

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A News Story and a Metaphor

CTA's marketing message for CESCTA’s marketing message for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year was “Whoa!” While this is a reference to surprising innovations, it now appears that the biggest Whoa! to emerge from CES was a power blackout that hit the Central and South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon. Social media was buzzing and many show attendees posted images of the darkened halls with some of the biggest booths – Samsung, Panasonic – quite literally in the dark.

There really is nothing sadder-looking than a technology tradeshow…without power. Considering the coverage we’ve seen about CES in the general media this year, that blackout could be a metaphor about the declining power the show holds over the market these days.

See more on a darkened CES, the industry’s biggest tradeshow… [Read more…] about Whoa CES! Power Outage Plunges Show into Darkness

Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView

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Photo of new ClearView ClioSometimes making no impression is the way to make the biggest impression of all! Massachusetts-based ClearView® Audio (www.clearviewaudio.com/) launched an innovative transparent music system at CES 2014 and is enjoying a great response from dealers, domestic and international. Called Clio, this first product stands just over 9 inches tall, streams over Bluetooth, and has an MSRP of $349. [Read more…] about Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView

CES 2014 – The Year of the…? (Insert Your Favorite Gadget Here)

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Photo of CEA/CES logoWhen I was little, I came home from school one day, excited to tell my mother about all my new friends. One-by-one, I named each of them, calling each one “my best friend.” When I finished, I’ll never forget what she said. “If they’re ALL your best friend, then you don’t have a BEST friend.”

The Consumer Electronics industry over the last few years and continuing into this year – has fallen into a troubling state of highly fragmented technology trends. It is in this environment – the absence of any clearly defined, overall technology trend – Gary Shapiro and the CEA try to field their annual technology exposition known as the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

So what was the big tech innovation at CES?…Well, it’s complicated… [Read more…] about CES 2014 – The Year of the…? (Insert Your Favorite Gadget Here)

Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years

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Photo of Gibson CES Promo

Gibson Brands took advantage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to make a bit of a show of their own to celebrate 120 years in business. The company, which serves up 23 different brands of musical instruments, professional audio products and, more recently, consumer electronics products, chose a unique way to mark the occasion by going “Back to the Future.”

See more on how Gibson chose to celebrate their 120-year anniversary… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years

Amazing! Sony CEO Admits Company Failings – Says ‘Wow’ is Future

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Photo of Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai
Kazuo Hirai, Sony CEO

Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai gave a relatively compelling keynote presentation that was in stark contrast to their rather dry Mike Fasulo and unemotional press conference. Not only was Hirai dynamic and at times, emotional even – he competently and capably articulated a new and strong vision for the company based on the Japanese word “kando” and the English word “wow.”

See the surprising twist in the Sony CEO’s presentation…including a moment that NO other Sony CEO would ever dare to try…admitting past product failures… [Read more…] about Amazing! Sony CEO Admits Company Failings – Says ‘Wow’ is Future

High End Amongst the High Rollers – Pass Labs Launches All-New X.8 Amplifiers at CES

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200_PASSlogosmwebPass Laboratories, Inc., the company founded by renowned amplifier designer Nelson Pass, is out amongst the high rollers of Las Vegas with a new line of high quality amplifiers called the X.8 (Point 8) Series Amplifiers. With a design philosophy described as “music first,” Pass Labs says these amps were seven years in the making and are just now being launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in the Venetian Tower, Room 34-209.

See more details on these spectacular amplifiers from Pass Labs… [Read more…] about High End Amongst the High Rollers – Pass Labs Launches All-New X.8 Amplifiers at CES

GoldenEar Continues Line Expansion, Launches New Triton One Flagship Speaker at CES

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GoldenEar logoGoldenEar Technology is one of specialty audio’s success stories, launching only a few short years ago, in late 2010. Many industry insiders told us at that time that the industry had no room for yet another loudspeaker line. And yet, since GoldenEar launched, we’ve heard nothing but accolades from industry reviewers…and more importantly, dealers. We’ve also watched their dealer network, and their product line-up, continue to grow.

Now GoldenEar’s Sandy Gross has launched a new flagship model called the Triton One… [Read more…] about GoldenEar Continues Line Expansion, Launches New Triton One Flagship Speaker at CES

At CES: Samsung Shifts Emphasis from Smart TVs to Smart Home

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Photo of Samsung's Curved TV UnveilingSamsung’s press day conference was the most unusual we’ve seen with everything from a product that caused an audible gasp of amazement from the crowd…to one of their celebrity presenters running from the stage in mid-presentation. But we believe we detected a subtle but significant shift with their TV business being less prominent and more in balance with the company’s other products such as their appliance, computer, and mobile businesses.

See more on our initial impressions of Samsung below… [Read more…] about At CES: Samsung Shifts Emphasis from Smart TVs to Smart Home

CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises

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Photo of CEA/CES logoPress Day at CES is – to put it mildly – a bit of a grind. A seemingly never-ending series of scheduled press presentations that are scheduled one hour apart so the press can run from one supposedly 45-minute (of course they all run long) event to the next. The hallways often look more like a mosh pit as reporters, bloggers, and editors push, shove, and elbow their way to the next presentation hoping to get a seat close enough that the presenters don’t look like ants.

It’s easy to become jaded, as one sits through slickly produced, Hollywood-style presentation after another. Rarely, do we get surprised.

But this time…we got a couple of surprises… [Read more…] about CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises

New Details of Drama Emerge in Continuing Sharp & Samsung Soap Opera

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Photo of model at Samsung boothA story that has stunned many in Japan, the partnership between two former arch-rivals Sharp Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., continues to churn out surprising new details of the backroom drama worthy of the most melodramatic soap opera. As the Japanese press digs up more of these stories, it is clear that Sharp – as desperate as it had become – was nervous, measured, and a little tentative in approaching the new pact.

See some of the surprising behind-the-scenes drama that is emerging from this unusual partnership… [Read more…] about New Details of Drama Emerge in Continuing Sharp & Samsung Soap Opera