Toshiba Corp. has launched an aggressive strategy aimed at turning around its troubled, money-losing television manufacturing business. We wrote last week about their decision to close a manufacturing plant in China in a bid to restructure their production base – one part of a larger TV turnaround strategy. Now word comes of additional aggressive moves by the company attempting to return their once vaunted TV business to profitability.
Not Just Another Pretty Face – CEDIA’s New Website Means Business
On Monday, CEDIA launched an all-new website that represents a dramatic leap forward from their previous offering and provides a much more accessible way for members and other “customers” (more on this later) to learn, communicate, and manage their relationship with the trade group. A complete overhaul, CEDIA’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Marketing Jamie Riley told us in a phone interview that this website has been under intensive development for two years.
See CEDIA’s new website – a major overhaul for members…AND for the association… [Read more…] about Not Just Another Pretty Face – CEDIA’s New Website Means Business
Thought for the Week – December 16, 2013
Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.
Ralph Charell
Japanese Broadcasters to Test New Truly Interactive TV System
Japan takes its television business very seriously. A while back, we told you that a consortium of manufacturers and broadcasters were testing a new broadcast system based on 8K…no, not 4K…8K resolution that they called Ultra HDTV. I guess they’ll have to come up with a new name for that, now that it’s been used for current 4K systems here in the U.S.
Now word comes out of Japan of another new broadcasting test to start sometime next year – an all-new interactive TV system that goes well beyond what we know as “smart” TVs.
Learn more about this new system Japanese broadcasters and TV manufacturers are testing… [Read more…] about Japanese Broadcasters to Test New Truly Interactive TV System
Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Outerwall, Inc. (f/k/a Coinstar), owner of Redbox – the national video rental kiosk powerhouse – made several surprising announcements on Tuesday that suggest the company is dealing with some serious business issues. First, the company announced that Redbox division president, Anne Saunders, has left the company. And second, the company said that it would make significant cuts to its staff…and to other projects.
How significant did Outerwall say the staff and project cuts would be? See more below… [Read more…] about Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Smart! Spotify Streamed to Your Smartphone is Now Free; Now Offers Led Zeppelin
Spotify, the popular music sharing app, announced today that it will offer streamed music to smartphones for free (ad-supported), starting today. Spotify has long offered this capability on desktop computers for free (again supported by advertising), but had required a paid subscription (ad free) for mobile devices. Now…everything changes.
The company also announced that it has exclusively licensed the rights to stream music from rock icons Led Zeppelin…also starting today.
See more on these dramatic changes, as Spotify moves to increase market share… [Read more…] about Smart! Spotify Streamed to Your Smartphone is Now Free; Now Offers Led Zeppelin
Clare Controls Appoints the New York Marketing Team as Its Metro NY Rep
Clare Controls, a mid-level manufacturer of home automation products, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed the New York Marketing Team as its sales representative for the New York Metropolitan market. The appointment is effective immediately.
See more about Clare Controls and this appointment… [Read more…] about Clare Controls Appoints the New York Marketing Team as Its Metro NY Rep
Toshiba Stops Manufacturing TVs in China
In an announcement earlier this month that could be characterized as counter-intuitive, Toshiba Corp. said it will stop manufacturing LCD televisions at its plant in Dalian, China by the end of December. The company says the move is aimed at helping improve profitability – even though most companies opened plants in China to take advantage of the lower labor costs to help their profitability.
See how Toshiba plans to improve its TV division profits by closing a China factory… [Read more…] about Toshiba Stops Manufacturing TVs in China
Thought for the Week – December 9, 2013
Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time… The wait is simply too long.
Leonard Bernstein
R.I.P. Nelson Mandela – Words of a Great Man
I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.