Strategy in TECH...
Big changes are coming to Sharp, Corp. in the wake of their acquisition by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co – better known as Foxconn. News out of Japan notes that the deal between Sharp and Foxconn officially closes at the end of this month. According to both parties, the acquisition is proceeding smoothly and is fully expected to close on time.
Samsung announced late Wednesday that it has acquired Joyent, a relatively new start-up company that offers cloud computing services, according to a report by Recode. The specifics of the deal were not disclosed, but Joyent management has said it will be joining the Samsung management team.
Control4 Corporation announced Wednesday that they are rolling out an interesting new augmentation to their overall training efforts – short e-learning modules called Smart Skills. Smart Skills are short videos made available to certified Control4 dealers that offer focused training on one specific topic.
Control4 Corporation announced yesterday that it has appointed Bryce Judd as its new Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Judd assumes the role vacated by Jim Arnold who is said to be retiring after serving in the same position since 2007. The company says that Arnold will stay on through the end of the year on an “advisory basis.”
The Department of Justice (D.O.J.) has notified Nortek, Inc. that it has closed its investigation into a corporate bribery scandal involving the company’s operations in China and will take no further actions, according to a report by Reuters. Nortek, parent company of Core Brands – a holding company of several custom integration brands – had revealed the existence an internal investigation into the matter by the company to investors several quarters ago. At the same time, Nortek reported the matter to the authorities, noting that they would fully cooperate with any government investigation.
Nortek “will not be charged because the U.S. [company] had turned themselves in,” Reuters noted. Nortek stock was up 5.19% in late afternoon trading on the news.
LG Electronics announced this week that it has devised a plan to dramatically pick up the rate of sale of OLED TVs. In fact, the company says they’ll triple the unit sales of sets based on the technology to more than 900,000 units in 2016 – a goal they’ve already begun to deliver on.
By now you’ve likely heard that sales of vinyl records are growing to meaningful levels. We recently reported in March that while sales of all physical media are down, vinyl sales grew 32.2% to over $416 million dollars last year. While this is small compared to historical highs, it is part of a trend that has been developing – vinyl sales have grown each of the last ten years in a row.
Now specialty manufacturer Bryston announces their entry into the analog turntable field – the source necessary to play all that vinyl – with the all-new BLP-1. Bryston, more known for their electronics, looks to have done their homework on this impressive new model.
In yet another sign of Japan’s struggle with the flat panel TV business, Panasonic Corp. will stop all LCD panel production at its last such factory. Reports out of Japan say the company has determined that competition from Korea and China will forever preclude it from earning a profit in the panel production business. Many in Japan suggest that this news represents the end of an era of Japanese dominance in the TV business.
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.
