In yet another sign of an industry in transition, Chinese manufacturer Tong Fang Global – better known by the Seiki brand of A/V products it manufactures – has turned the typical industry model for introducing the latest and greatest technology on its ear. In the same show where Sharp rolls out a 70-inch 4K Ultra HDTV for $8,000, Seiki rolls out a 39-inch 4K Ultra HDTV for $700. How do they do it? Read on…
Manufacturers
Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week
As we walked the halls of CE Week, we kept running into old friends and well-known industry personalities. We met both at once when we ran into Eric Bodley of PPC/Perfect Path who was at the show to support various partners of the company. PPC was recently purchased by cable giant Belden, Inc. and we’ve been anxiously awaiting more details on how this consolidation would be implemented.
Bodley wasn’t in a position to comment on that quite yet, but we took advantage of the meeting to ask him about a couple of other recent issues.
See Bodley’s comments on competition heating up & the Belden/PPC connection… [Read more…] about Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week
Core Brands Kicks Off KORUS at CE Week
One of the more interesting developments we saw at CE Week was the launch of a new series of products from Nortek, Inc. in the Core Brands, LLC booth called Korus. Korus is a line of wireless speakers designed to work with content streamed from you favorite smartphone/tablet/PC. Another line of wireless speakers is not particularly newsworthy. But Korus has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that IS unique…
See more on KORUS…including what really separates it from other streaming products… [Read more…] about Core Brands Kicks Off KORUS at CE Week
Sharp Says: This is Our Sharpest Set Yet
The next phase of the TV wars has begun in earnest now in the wake of Sharp’s (and Toshiba’s) CE Week Day 1 roll-out of 4K Ultra HD television. In a presentation full of bluster and gusto, Sharp threw down the gauntlet with its 70-inch, top of the line Aquos UHDTV selling for a cool $8,000.
Learn more about this flagship set below – and see what Sharp’s VP told us about which retailers will participate in the rapidly approaching roll-out for this new technology.
Is Sharp’s 4K sharp enough?… [Read more…] about Sharp Says: This is Our Sharpest Set Yet
Sharp Adds Smarts to Its Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Sharp Corp. announced today that it will release a new updated model of its Cocorobo home cleaning robot with a very important added feature: smarts. Sharp has added the ability for this new model to adjust the amount of suction on an as-needed basis – dramatically improving battery performance for longer operation on a single charge.
See more about this smarter robot – a category that some think is “the next big thing” in electronics… [Read more…] about Sharp Adds Smarts to Its Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Gibson Guitar Announces Name Change
Gibson Guitar announced on Tuesday that – in a bid to better reflect its growing family of products outside of the guitar category – it will be changing its corporate name from Gibson Guitar Corp. to Gibson Brands. While the move looks logical, there will likely be many who will bemoan the fact that the new name loses its ability to honor the company’s stringed-instrument heritage and still-important namesake product.
See more on why the company says this is the right move… [Read more…] about Gibson Guitar Announces Name Change
Core Brands Completes Downsizing of National Sales Force
BREAKING NEWS
Strata-gee.com heard this week from multiple sources that Core Brands had completed the analysis phase of its sales force consolidation, and was now executing the termination of the losing reps – and the reassigning of brands to the winning reps. Core Brands, a division of Nortek, Inc., had announced the downsizing process in a conference call with their entire sale representative network on April 19th – laying out a process for which the desired result was to create a smaller network of fewer authorized sales representative companies presenting most, if not all, of the company’s ten brands.
But there is some question as to how successful the process was, given continuing multi-rep territories… [Read more…] about Core Brands Completes Downsizing of National Sales Force
Let’s Collaborate! 3M Launches 60-Point Multi-Touch Display
3M Touch Systems, Inc. announced today a new 46-inch 3M Multi-Touch Display C4667PW – a high-performance multi-touch display with the ability to track up to 60 simultaneous touch points. Designed with multi-user environments in mind, 3M says the C4667PW is optimal for collaborative environments where two or more people need to work both independently and as a group.
See more on this remarkable product which just might have huge market potential… [Read more…] about Let’s Collaborate! 3M Launches 60-Point Multi-Touch Display
Unusual Japan Story: 4 Panasonic Directors Given ¥1.9 Billion to Leave
In a move common in the U.S., but unusual in Japan, the Japan Times reported today that Panasonic Corp. paid ¥1.855 ($18.7 million) to four directors to leave the company in Fiscal 2012. The company broke the news of what is known in the U.S. as a golden parachute in materials circulated along with invitations sent to the shareholders meeting coming up later in the month.
See more on this generous payout from a struggling company… [Read more…] about Unusual Japan Story: 4 Panasonic Directors Given ¥1.9 Billion to Leave
MSR Acoustics Launches New Acoustic Tuning Products at T.H.E. Show
MSR Acoustics announced this week that it will launch a new series of acoustic treatment products at The Home Entertainment (T.H.E.) Show taking place starting tomorrow through Sunday in Newport Beach, CA. These new products are a sly way of adding real resonance deadening panels to your listening room, but hiding their real function behind attractive art pieces to eliminate any resistance to typically ugly sound treatment products.
