Strategy in TECH...
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) introduced on Tuesday the launch of a new model called the Amp Multi, its first such launch in more than a year. Targeted for the professional integrator channel, Amp Multi is, as the name suggests, a multi-channel streaming amplifier that appears to be designed to encourage integrators to incorporate more Sonos products in larger, more sophisticated residential installations.
But will integrators go along with this scheme?
The industry is all abuzz ever since this past Tuesday, when Sony Corporation announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TCL “for strategic partnership in home entertainment field.” The announcement goes on to describe, in really sketchy terms with virtually no details, an idyllic or almost utopian vision of how this “partnership” would operate.
But it’s all code. The media has scrambled to spread the news of what they know…which is virtually nothing. Let me help you decode the important meaning of this announcement.
On Wednesday, a new company, RLS Creative Services, announced that it was relaunching Connected Design, a business-to-business, trade media property previously owned and ultimately shut down by former publisher CT Labs’ owner, Messe Berlin (owners of the IFA, an international technology show in Germany). In a formal announcement, the new owner pledged a “renewed commitment to serving the design-forward build environment.”
Crestron Electronics announced this week the launch of an all-new 80 Series Touch Screen line, its most advanced touch screen design ever. What specifically has changed in this series as compared to previous versions? According to a company source, only one thing has changed: everything!
On Wednesday, the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced the roster of new members joining the Global Board of Directors after a “slate” vote by members recently. The trade association also announced a historic first – for the first time in its history, a woman has been selected as Chairperson of the organization.
Marantz, part of Sound United, which itself is now part of Harman International Industries, which itself is part of Samsung, announced two new models in what it calls its “reference quality” home theater component series. The all-new AV 30 and AMP 30 are serious, pro-grade audio components that elegantly blend dramatic industrial design with flexible feature sets – with a high-performance-first product design philosophy.
Products like these really warm the heart of this old audio guy!
Big news this morning out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota as AVPro Global Holdings, LLC, one of the fastest growing companies in the custom integration industry, announces it has named current Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Matt Murray as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Company founder and current CEO Jeff Murray will become the Chairman of the Board in a move that the company says was a long-planned generational leadership transition.
What happens when a team of engineers with Authentic Insights (AI) craft a powerful artificial intelligence (AI)-based system to benefit integrators with a new, heretofore nonexistent but incredibly impactful tool? Tech Sage is what happens. Tech Sage, a new, powerful support solution for integrators, has been launched by AVPro Global, and this is one of the best uses for AI I’ve seen so far.
London-based audio company Cambridge Audio announced this week that it has selected Fidelity Imports as its exclusive distribution partner for the United States territory. This is a move that Cambridge says marks a “strategic milestone” and suggests will serve to scale up its operations here in the States.
I have to say that the team at Premium Audio Company (PAC), part of the VOXX division of Gentex Corp., does a nice job of paying homage to the long, 80-year history of technical innovation and market success of its Onkyo brand, while at the same time, launching innovative new models to propel the brand into a space-age future. While conventional wisdom might suggest otherwise, you could say that they prove that they can walk and chew gum at the same time.
