Strategy in TECH...
Thiel Audio unexpectedly announced late today that it would show and demonstrate a new product – a powered subwoofer – at next month’s CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada. This new subwoofer, called the SmartSub™ 1.12, is the first new product introduced by Thiel in a year and appears to contain several new technologies for the company including Wi-Fi integration, app control, advanced signal processing and more.
Emotiva Audio Corporation is one of those ideas whose core elements initially seemed incongruous – high-end products…sold on the Internet? When we learned of their launch 12-years ago, we predicted doom and damnation. After all, high-end audio, we posited, was as much about the experience -the audition – as it is about the product. Founder Dan Laufman proved us wrong. This week, Laufman caught our attention again when we recently received information about an impressive roster of new models to be launched at CES.
Several reports have emerged saying that Apple, Inc. has told suppliers that it is committed to upgrading the displays on its popular iPhone from the current LCD-based touchscreen to an OLED display, starting in 2018. This decision has industry-wide ramifications and has suppliers scrambling to increase the capacity of their OLED factories. There are also competitive ramifications from this decision that is bound to rattle competitors.
Control4 Corporation announced today that it will begin offering Denon products to Control4 dealers through a web portal at which products from both brands can be purchased. The move is a first for both brands, as far as we’re aware, and represents a potential expansion of Denon’s distribution channel.
Turn It On (TiO), a division of Anuva Automation that makes wireless multi-room home automation and entertainment systems, announced today that it has released a major software suite update called TiO 3.0. The main reason for this update is to incorporate the major system capabilities expansion announced last month at CEDIA Expo 2015.
At last month’s CEDIA Expo, we had the opportunity to meet Wilfried Van Baelen, the rather energetic, almost evangelistic, inventor of Auro-3D immersive surround sound technology. Van Baelen was quick to take credit for the concept of using speakers in the “z-axis” (height) to create a totally immersive surround experience. And he scoffed at the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X versions which miss the mark in several important ways, he tells us.
At last month’s CEDIA Expo, Core Brands announced that it has retained Vision Werks Consulting to help it establish a brand protection program. According to Core Brands release, Vision Werks will primarily be involved in issues revolving around unauthorized online resellers.
AudioControl’s booth was consistently busy with lots of integrator traffic at last month’s CEDIA 2015 Expo. Much of this traffic was due to the fact that the company was showing several recently announced new models for the first time.
One of the neatest solutions we saw at the 2015 CEDIA Expo was Artison’s clever new product called the Nano Backpack WP (WiSA™ Powered). Don’t let its diminutive size fool you – the Backpack solves a huge problem – how to add exciting theater surround sound without resorting to bulky, and (to consumers), ugly electronic components.
GoldenEar Technology, a high-end speaker manufacturer founded by renown speaker designer Sandy Gross, always seem to find ways to surprise us. The scrappy start-up did it again at the 2015 CEDIA Expo with their invisible, or “stealth,” Atmos theater demonstration…but not necessarily for the reason they thought!
