Strategy in TECH...
Last week, I noted the top posts on Strata-gee based on page views – quite simply, those articles that attracted the most eyeballs. We could have called that post – the Readers Choice Awards…as these were the stories that…collectively…so many of you read.
Now, I’d like to share with you those stories that I think are significant or important stories – or themes, really – even if they were not the most read. So this version I’m calling the Editor’s Choice for Top 2018 Stories.
A smart speaker that argues like family…virtual assistant devices that understand your mood at any moment you wish to speak with and use them – budding futurists are predicting these 2019 consumer technology trends and more as part of a new report from Ericsson’s ConsumerLab consumer research division. The new report, logically titled the 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2019 is based on the insights and predictions of 5, 097 global advanced internet users in metro markets that demographically represent nearly 34 million early technology adopters.
New research put out by the National Association of Realtors looks at the impact of technology on the real estate market. In particular, the study, called Real Estate in a Digital Age, contemplated how technology has impacted the buying process – and how different generations of buyers use technology when looking for a home.
The Chinese government has targeted artificial intelligence (AI) as a technology they want to dominate globally. They are pouring billions of dollars annually into AI development and directing universities to focus on the technology in all of their fundamental research.
Now, in the first public demonstration of their progress in AI technology, the state-run Xinhua News Agency has introduced and demonstrated a pair of virtual news anchors or avatars based on two known Chinese flesh-and-blood reporters.
SnapAV, a leading provider of custom integration brands and products, announced today that it has acquired Volutone, a respected California-based distributor with seven locations throughout California and Nevada. The move expands SnapAV’s local touch points in a key market, a strategy that first emerged with their earlier acquisition of another large regional distributor in March of this year, Chicago’s Allnet Distributing.
Emerald Expositions’ stock nose-dived 19% in early afternoon trading last Thursday as the company released its third quarter fiscal results and announced that David Loechner has resigned as the company’s President and CEO. Current CFO Philip Evans takes over as Interim President and CEO.
As more research continues to emerge on consumer utilization of voice-controlled devices, it becomes clear that there are still impediments to end-users utilizing their voice-control capabilities regularly, according to research by Social Lens. A separate study by Nielsen reaffirms what Strata-gee has previously reported, that people use smart speakers more for listening to music, than for any other task…including voice-control of their home automation solutions.
As we reported last week, the world learned that the private equity group that owns AVAD has made another deal, acquiring Houston, TX-based WAVE Electronics, another major custom integration distribution company. After an initial ripple of excitement over the deal, most of us went back to our daily lives – looking at this deal as nothing more than just another private equity acquisition. But there may be more here than meets the eye…
Like past years at Expo, CEDIA presented a summary of their findings from the recently completed Size and Scope survey at Expo 2018. This year, however, the presentation was made by Grant Farnsworth of The Farnsworth Group, an Indianapolis-based market statistics consultant who did an excellent job in conveying a lot of detailed and important data to show attendees.
Sonos announced a new product today called Amp. Amp is essentially everything Sonos offers for wireless powered speakers…for a normal wired passive speaker system. This opens the door to allow the integration of a wide range of third-party speakers into the Sonos ecosphere. But Sonos views Amp as much more than that – as the heart and start of integrating Sonos into a sophisticated smart home installation.
