Wireless multi-room automation system maker Turn It On (TiO), a division of Anuva Automation, announced this week that it will be sponsoring a fun competition at next month’s CEDIA Expo called the Ninja Time Trials. The Ninja Time Trials offer an opportunity for Expo attendees to compete against the clock and each other, with each day’s winner awarded a full TiO home automation system with a retail value of $5,000.
Manufacturers
Sharp to Ship 8K ‘Super Hi-Vision’ Sets by End of October
Sharp Corp. announced this week that it will begin to ship 8K ultra high-definition flat panel TVs and monitors by the end of October. Initially, sales are targeted at certain industrial and commercial markets – with the company saying the very first shipments are headed for broadcast stations and movie studios. This is the first step in commercializing the technology that the company has been working on for years now.
See more on the company’s 8K ambitions… [Read more…] about Sharp to Ship 8K ‘Super Hi-Vision’ Sets by End of October
Rosewater Installs Energy Hub in Integrator Showroom
UPDATE – See correction below story
Rosewater Energy Group announced this week that it completed the first installation of their residential energy hub in the showroom of South Florida integrator Boca Theater and Automation in Boca Raton, Florida. The installation was completed at the end of August and it features the latest version of Rosewater’s hub with nano-carbon battery technology.
See more about Rosewater’s hub and this new installation… [Read more…] about Rosewater Installs Energy Hub in Integrator Showroom
B&W Re-engineers A Classic, Launches All-New 800 Series Diamond Line
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced Wednesday that it has completely re-engineered their top-of-the-line 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker line, a favorite of many discerning audiophiles. Changing your flagship product is an incredibly daunting (and risky) task – how do you improve on perfection? – but it’s all in a day’s work for a company that, since 1966, has been in a “Quest for Perfection.”
See more on this dramatic new line of finely engineered loudspeakers… [Read more…] about B&W Re-engineers A Classic, Launches All-New 800 Series Diamond Line
Try as It Might, Toshiba Can’t Seem to Turn the Page
On Monday, Toshiba released their twice-delayed final financial data for the last fiscal year (ended March 2015) in what it undoubtedly hoped would be the first step to turning the page from a scandal-racked year. But forces out of their control conspire to keep them in the hot seat – with a regulatory agency threatening large fines and a major shareholder demanding the company sue its former executives.
It looks like Toshiba’s troubles will continue… [Read more…] about Try as It Might, Toshiba Can’t Seem to Turn the Page
Apple’s Big Event is Mostly Meh, With Some Evolutionary Goodies
Apple, Inc. held their regularly scheduled September event today to announce new products – this time to introduce: a minor new Watch update, a more significant new bigger iPad they call the iPad Pro, a new Apple TV with a revamped user interface, and finally the new interim smartphone update – the iPhone 6s & 6s Plus. Using lots of exciting & cool music, dramatic video segments, and massive colorful images on a huge screen – presenters worked hard to milk applause from the Apple friendly crowd. But for us, most of these “innovations” were “meh” – more evolutionary than revolutionary.
See our brief on the Apple update… [Read more…] about Apple’s Big Event is Mostly Meh, With Some Evolutionary Goodies
Toshiba Stuns Markets Again, New Whistleblowers Claim More Wrongdoing
10 New Investigations into Allegations of Improprieties, Including at U.S. Subsidiary
Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for the aging Japanese industrial giant, Toshiba Corp. again stunned the financial community in Japan – forced to postpone their already delayed financial reports which were expected at the end of August. The company said it was forced to delay the report in the face of ten whistleblowers who have come forward alleging more company misdeeds. The company has launched ten new investigations, including one at a U.S. subsidiary.
See more on this shocking development from the already damaged company… [Read more…] about Toshiba Stuns Markets Again, New Whistleblowers Claim More Wrongdoing
Investment Advisor on Potential Nortek Acquisition: ‘Nortek is a Bit of a Train Wreck’
After the Wall Street Journal revealed late last month that United Technologies Corp. (UTC) was in talks to potentially acquire Nortek, Inc., we questioned why UTC would even want to acquire Nortek. Within days of our post, investment advisory firm The Motley Fool (TMF) also raised the issue in a post last week about this not-quite-so-obvious marriage. Well, maybe it’s more like a dalliance than a marriage…at least at this point.
We found the Motley Fool’s analysis interesting – both in their clear-eyed assessment of Nortek and why the acquisition may in fact make sense for United Technologies.
See more on this Motley Fool discussion of the potential UTC-Nortek deal… [Read more…] about Investment Advisor on Potential Nortek Acquisition: ‘Nortek is a Bit of a Train Wreck’
Bluesound: Talkin’ ‘Bout Our Generation
New Brand Hits Key Milestone – Launches ‘Generation 2’ Products
This week in New York City, executives from Lenbrook America and Bluesound conducted a media presentation informing them of a major update to the Bluesound brand, which is distributed in the U.S. by Lenbrook America along with NAD and PSB. It is the first major line update since the brand was first launched in 2013. With this update, called “Generation 2,” the Bluesound brand appears to have gained solid momentum – or at least enough traction for the company to justify a significant investment in further product development.
See more of what we learned, including both product and business updates… [Read more…] about Bluesound: Talkin’ ‘Bout Our Generation
Toshiba Struggles to Get Past Troubles
Toshiba Corp. has been subjected to almost daily press stories and analyses in the Japanese media on their continued struggles in the wake of a huge accounting scandal at the formerly blue-chip powerhouse company. The scandal was likely large in terms of financial losses, but even larger in terms of decimating the reputation of the company and its management. To turn the situation around, the company must start to build a new reputation for reliability. It isn’t going to be easy…
