Portal announced today that it has secured a deal with Origin Acoustics which will allow dealers to select and purchase Origin products through its unique, brand-agnostic, proposal and purchasing web portal for integrators. The deal includes not only Origin products, but iRoom brand models as well. And Portal says it will be offering “exclusive access to the award winning Valet Amplifier system.”
Manufacturers
Samsung’s Graphene Ball Battery Breakthrough
Fully Recharge Batteries in Just 12 Minutes
Korean media is touting a major breakthrough in battery technology from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) called graphene ball. Said to dramatically improve both charging capacity and charging speed, the breakthrough could have a real impact on consumers who have come to rely on their battery driven mobile devices. And there are implications as well for electric automobiles and other applications.
See more on the Samsung graphene ball… [Read more…] about Samsung’s Graphene Ball Battery Breakthrough
Gibson Stuns the Music World, Shuts Down Cakewalk
Acquired in 2013, Cakewalk was Killed for Philips, Gibson Says
In what many in the industry are suggesting is yet another indicator of struggles at Gibson Brands, the company announced a little over a week ago that it would wind down operations at Cakewalk Inc., a popular music creation software company it owns. Music industry-centric websites around the internet exploded with largely critical coverage of the move, and comments on Cakewalk’s website are decidedly negative – both sad and angry – as customers seek to process the shocking news.
See more on yet another move by struggling Gibson…
[Read more…] about Gibson Stuns the Music World, Shuts Down Cakewalk
Toshiba: Beginning to Slip From View
Company Pulls Monster LED Display from Times Square
Struggling Toshiba Corp. has made what is undoubtedly a difficult decision and a big blow to their corporate ego – they will abandon their giant LED display overseeing Times Square. The huge lighted billboard was a prominent showing of the Toshiba logo all year-round, but especially during the dropping of the ball on New Years Eve, when it served as the countdown shown on network TVs as cameras broadcast the ball drop around the world. The Toshiba logo has literally lit up Times Square for ten years, having been first erected there in December 2007.
See more on Toshiba’s decision to vacate Times Square… [Read more…] about Toshiba: Beginning to Slip From View
Klipsch Gets It On…On-Wall, That Is
Klipsch announced today it has launched an entirely new line of on-wall speakers, designed to augment on-wall flat panel TV installations with richer, more dynamic audio. This new series of products, called the Reference Premiere Designer On-Wall speakers take up minimal space, while delivering maximum sound.
See more on Klipsch Reference Premiere Designer On-Wall speakers… [Read more…] about Klipsch Gets It On…On-Wall, That Is
Quirky Shinola Launches New Headphone Line, Made in Detroit
Quirky Shinola, the scrappy Detroit, MI-based manufacturer of an eclectic collection of disconnected product lines, including watches, bicycles, leather goods, jewelry and, now, audio, has introduced a line of headphones, including over-ear, on-ear, and in-ear models. The company, which is owned by Bedrock Manufacturing Company, LLC, is as much an experiment in bringing manufacturing back to bankrupt Detroit, as it is a power brand.
See more on this new headphone line from Shinola… [Read more…] about Quirky Shinola Launches New Headphone Line, Made in Detroit
Gibson Brands: Putting Its Assets On the Line
Sells Warehouse & Property for $6 Million
Gibson Brands, Inc. has reached an agreement to sell its property on a half-acre in the North Gulch area of Nashville, TN to a private equity group for $6.38 million, according to a report by the Tennessean. The property includes an unused Gibson warehouse. The purchase was by Somera Road Inc., who worked in partnership with Tricera Capital, a Miami, FL private equity company.
See more on this Gibson Brands deal, which may not be done yet…
[Read more…] about Gibson Brands: Putting Its Assets On the Line
Elan Reveals Opening of First Training Center in Dallas
Elan revealed Wednesday that it has opened a training facility in Dallas, TX as of January of this year. The company says the facility is operating at 95% capacity and has already trained more than 200 dealers from around the United States.
See more on this new initiative from Elan… [Read more…] about Elan Reveals Opening of First Training Center in Dallas
Nearly 60% of Prime Users Say No to Amazon Key
Consumer’s Front Door an Impenetrable Barrier to Online Delivery People
Gifted visionaries like Jeff Bezos can image amazing products and convenient services. For example, like designing the world’s easiest online shopping site…and, dreaming of having consumers purchase goods online to be delivered IN their home. Today, in 37 cities across the United States, Amazon is launching its new delivery service where deliveries are placed past your temporarily unlocked front door and placed into your home…thanks to a special $250 door lock and cloud camera packaged solution that can be temporarily opened for the delivery person, called Amazon Key.
See what Amazon Prime subscribers think of Key in a survey by Recode… [Read more…] about Nearly 60% of Prime Users Say No to Amazon Key
Lawyer Warns: Alexa is ‘Betraying You’
Smart Devices Put 1st Amendment Rights at Risk, Lawyer Says
Stahl Criminal Defense Lawyers
As we perused the newswire services Monday, one release, from a New Jersey criminal defense law firm, caught our eye. Titled, “Are Your Smart Devices Betraying You?” the release was written more like a poison warning label than a news release. Your smart device, Westfield, NJ-based Stahl Criminal Defense Lawyers said, are “always on and potentially recording or transmitting.”
