Strategy in TECH...
Sony Electronics Corp. and Whitledge Designs have partnered to promote Hi-Res Audio – for the car – through Whitledge’s demonstration vehicle known as the “Magic Bus.” The partners say the venture “is designed to bring studio-quality Hi-Res Audio to music enthusiasts everywhere.’
TiO, the wireless home automation solution that is a division of Anuva Automation, announced this week that it is launching “Pro Mode” for Apple iOS iPad devices. The company says that an updated Pro Mode is now available for both Android and Apple platforms.
The ink was barely dry on their $3.5 billion dollar acquisition of troubled Japanese giant Sharp Corp., when Foxconn’s CEO Terry Gou was forced to admit that overall orders for goods produced by the Taiwanese OEM manufacturer are dropping. Gou was essentially pressed to make the admission by China’s Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday.
Legrand announced this week that it is launching a cash rebate program for installers on 17 recently launched Nuvo speaker products. This sales incentive program is being offered both to dealers who buy Nuvo direct, and those who purchase Nuvo products through distributors.
Nortek, Inc. (Nortek) released their results for the 2016 fiscal first quarter and generally showed broad improvement,with sales gains and profit improvements in most of their segments. But not in the Custom and Commercial Air segment which had a sales decline; and especially not in their AVC segment, which saw continued sales declines and generated a loss from operations.
Universal Remote Control, Inc. (URC) announced on Tuesday that its West Coast Sales Manager Marguerita Kiser has passed away after a brief illness. The company noted in a brief but solemn statement that it is in mourning.
From the High End show now taking place in Munich, Germany, Bluesound and NAD, two specialty audio lines leading the charge into high-res and high quality audio, made several interesting announcements about their efforts. Both brands are marketed here in the U.S. by Lenbrook America.
Several announcements emerged this week from the Samsung Developer Conference being held in San Francisco – an event that has largely represented the launch of the first wave of Samsung’s assault on the Internet of Things (IoT) market. One announcement that caught our eye is the news that Samsung and Legrand have partnered on a new Thread-enabled lighting switch.
Former Lutron executive Rick Schuett has joined Echelon Corporation as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, the company announced on Wednesday. Echelon describes themselves as a “control networking company for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).”
Sharp Corp., the embattled Japanese manufacturer best known for LCD flat-panel televisions and soon to be division of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., (a Taiwanese company better known as Foxconn) is said to be strongly considering cutting another 1,000 jobs at the company as a result of continuing poor performance. This would be the third round of significant employment cuts in the last four years.
