Only six months to go and word has emerged that the Consumer Technology Association – the trade group behind the annual Consumer Electronics show – has proactively taken steps to avoid repeating the mistakes that caused them to endure a plethora of embarrassing headlines last year. The controversy, a self-inflicted wound, surrounded the Association’s awarding – then rescinding – of a CES 2019 Innovation Award…and retroactive cancellation of booth space for that company. The news dominated the early headlines during the January 2019 event…mostly because the matter involved sex.
Industry Trends
Against Stunning Backdrop, CE Week Comes to Town
CE Week, a production of the folks from CT Labs (publishers of Dealerscope, Technology Integrator, Connected Design), launched their latest iteration of of the event last week again at the Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan. The gods were smiling on the promoters…granting them stunningly beautiful weather that was brightly sunshiny, with deep blue skies, and insanely comfortable temps in the mid-70s. What a dramatic contrast from the normal mid-June heat, humidity, and rain that is much more typical.
The weather was dramatic, but was CE Week?
[Read more…] about Against Stunning Backdrop, CE Week Comes to TownAudioControl CEO on Fox Biz Network Says Tariffs are Trouble
Alex Camara, CEO of Seattle-based specialty electronics manufacturer AudioControl, was featured Friday on a segment on the Fox Business Network (FBN) talking the real impact of tariffs on American manufacturers. In the wake of the move by the Trump administration pushing a dramatically increased 25% tariff on a wide range of Chinese goods, Camara explained to FBN anchor Liz Claman the true impact these tariffs have on his business…and ultimately the American consumer.
See Camara explain how tariffs are trouble…
[Read more…] about AudioControl CEO on Fox Biz Network Says Tariffs are TroubleSnapAV Snaps Up Control4 in Deal Valued at $680M
The world exploded this morning with the news that SnapAV and Control4 are merging their operations in a transaction that no one saw coming. Although publicized as a merger, actually SnapAV is acquiring Control4, agreeing to pay $23.91/share in a deal that is worth a total of about $680 million.
See how SnapAV’s acquisition of Control4 is reshaping the industry…
[Read more…] about SnapAV Snaps Up Control4 in Deal Valued at $680MControl4 Issues Advisory on ‘Works With Nest’ Shutdown
Control4 has issued an advisory this week to reassure integrators and their clients that the company will support the ‘Works With Google Assistant’ program and is working on new Nest drivers consistent with Google’s Certification standards to avoid issues related to the recently announced shutting down of the ‘Works With Nest’ program.
See how Control4 is springing into action…
[Read more…] about Control4 Issues Advisory on ‘Works With Nest’ ShutdownThe Ticket is $3,000 to See a Cinema at This Most Exclusive Theater
Are you a one percenter who loves movies, but doesn’t love sharing a theater experience of dirty seats and sticky floors with the unwashed masses? Then Red Carpet Home Cinema is for you! You can see first-run, genuine (non-bootleg) blockbuster Hollywood movies in the comfort of your very own plush home theater for the positively pedestrian sum of a mere $3,000! And you can absolutely see them on the same date & time they are in commercial theaters! Hurrah!
See more on Red Carpet Home Cinema…
[Read more…] about The Ticket is $3,000 to See a Cinema at This Most Exclusive TheaterTech Hit Hard in Latest Reputation Index Survey
Privacy Backlash Hits Google, Amazon & Facebook; What About LG, Samsung, Sony?
In a new survey by Reputation Institute on corporate reputation, known as the 2019 RepTrak 100, we see wild swings in tech brands’ reputation with consumer privacy concerns finally appearing to take a major toll. With an overall all-category average reputation rating increase of +0.8 points, technology as a segment saw its collective reputation drop by 1 full point on the scale.
But the news wasn’t all bad – movie king Netflix, Inc. jumped 23 spots to come in at #1 for the first time in their history.
Read on to see how your favorite tech brand fared…
[Read more…] about Tech Hit Hard in Latest Reputation Index SurveyFirst Time Ever: Asia Files Majority of Global Patents
Huawei Files the Most Individual Patents
Global competition continues to heat up and nowhere is that more obvious than a recent analysis from the World Intellectual Property Organization noting that in 2018 – for the first time in human history – the region of Asia filed the majority of all international patent applications. This new reality suggests that Asia is “rapidly increasing their presence in global innovation,” the report says.
And which company in particular was tops in the world for innovation? WIPO says it was Huawei Technologies, who filed the most patents from a single company in the world.
See more on change in global innovation…
[Read more…] about First Time Ever: Asia Files Majority of Global PatentsHave You Heard – The Next Big Tech Hub is Canada, Eh?
American companies are increasingly moving tech jobs to Canada, where easier immigration policies make it much easier to hire foreign tech workers than it is here in the U.S. where the Administration has taken steps to make it more difficult. That mean these companies are expanding their operations in Canada…especially in their tech divisions…turning certain Canadian cities into the next great tech hubs in North America.
See more on Canada’s growing tech impact…
[Read more…] about Have You Heard – The Next Big Tech Hub is Canada, Eh?Shocking Results for Tech in New Brand Reputation Poll
A newly created poll by Axios and The Harris Poll reveals what Americans think of the reputation of the top 100 most visible companies in the U.S. Tech, as you might imagine, was well represented here, and this poll bared a difficult truth for many tech companies…their reputation is crashing.