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Does the Sound Pop’s Sound Really Pop? Or Is That Sound Just Their Bubble Bursting?

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Photo of Sound Pop
Sound Pop on my desk.

When I first learned about AudioSource’s new Sound Pop – a small, relatively inexpensive (around $40 street price) Bluetooth speaker – I assumed it was just like all of those thousands of other Bluetooth speakers introduced over the last couple of years. You know: convenient, portable, maybe a cutesy design and…sounds like crap. Later, I got a press release and saw some specs. They look promising but, still, I remained…shall we say…skeptical.

Then, at CE Week last month, I met AudioSource’s CEO Tom O’Mara. He gave me “the pitch” and – perhaps sensing my skepticism – beseeched me to “Just listen to it” as he handed me a little box not much larger than a Rubik’s Cube.

See what happened when I “Just listen[ed] to it”… [Read more…] about Does the Sound Pop’s Sound Really Pop? Or Is That Sound Just Their Bubble Bursting?

AudioSource: Keeping the Foundation, But Building a Whole New Business

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AudioSource LogoThe theme for CEWeek this year – as far as we’re concerned – was “CHANGE.” There were very few “traditional” products shown or updated – and a plethora of new products and categories, such as wireless systems, mobile devices, innovative [predominantly mobile] accessories, new app concepts, and more. And one interview we conducted – with AudioSource CEO Tom O’Mara – seems to embody that sense of change, as he seeks to – while keeping the company’s foundation – build a whole new (and changed) company.

See the dramatic changes at AudioSource as their smallest product has the biggest impact… [Read more…] about AudioSource: Keeping the Foundation, But Building a Whole New Business

Seiki Shakes Up Industry, Offers Inexpensive 4K Ultra HDTV; ‘Not Helpful’ Says Major Competitor

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Photo of Seiki signIn yet another sign of an industry in transition, Chinese manufacturer Tong Fang Global – better known by the Seiki brand of A/V products it manufactures – has turned the typical industry model for introducing the latest and greatest technology on its ear. In the same show where Sharp rolls out a 70-inch 4K Ultra HDTV for $8,000, Seiki rolls out a 39-inch 4K Ultra HDTV for $700. How do they do it? Read on…

See more on this disruptive play from relative newcomer Seiki… [Read more…] about Seiki Shakes Up Industry, Offers Inexpensive 4K Ultra HDTV; ‘Not Helpful’ Says Major Competitor

Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week

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CE Week logoAs we walked the halls of CE Week, we kept running into old friends and well-known industry personalities. We met both at once when we ran into Eric Bodley of  PPC/Perfect Path who was at the show to support various partners of the company. PPC was recently purchased by cable giant Belden, Inc. and we’ve been anxiously awaiting more details on how this consolidation would be implemented.

Bodley wasn’t in a position to comment on that quite yet, but we took advantage of the meeting to ask him about a couple of other recent issues.

See Bodley’s comments on competition heating up & the Belden/PPC connection… [Read more…] about Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week

Core Brands Kicks Off KORUS at CE Week

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SKAA logoOne of the more interesting developments we saw at CE Week was the launch of a new series of products from Nortek, Inc. in the Core Brands, LLC booth called Korus. Korus is a line of wireless speakers designed to work with content streamed from you favorite smartphone/tablet/PC. Another line of wireless speakers is not particularly newsworthy. But Korus has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that IS unique…

See more on KORUS…including what really separates it from other streaming products… [Read more…] about Core Brands Kicks Off KORUS at CE Week

Praying at CEA’s Church of Data Dominion

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Photo of Research Summit startCE Week kicked off last week with a Research Summit where the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) market research experts presented the latest market data, along with their assessment of its meaning – and their prognostications for the future. In past years, this was a presentation that was included as part of the Line Show – now it has been split off as a separate day-long event including not only raw data, but various discussion panels as well.

And the data did not disappoint… [Read more…] about Praying at CEA’s Church of Data Dominion

New Survey Verifies Your Suspicion: Retailers Stop Buying from Brands that Sell Direct

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Cover of Retailer Survey ResultsResults from a new survey released today verify what you may already know – or at least suspected – retailers will either stop or dramatically cut back on purchases from brands that choose to compete with them by selling directly to consumers on the Internet. And a lot of retailers feel this way…71% said they would stop or reduce spending with brands that chose to do so.

See more about this survey, including other interesting retailer insights… [Read more…] about New Survey Verifies Your Suspicion: Retailers Stop Buying from Brands that Sell Direct

Gibson and Onkyo Go Wireless

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WiSA logoThe Wireless Speaker and Audio Association (WiSA) announced on Tuesday that it has signed up several new members and a couple caught our eye – Gibson Guitar Corp. (now Gibson Brands) and Onkyo Corporation. Also joining the organization are loudspeaker manufacturer Dali and Australian distributor Amber Technology who markets a line of speakers called Accent Digital.

Who is the WiSA and why would Onkyo and Gibson join? See more below… [Read more…] about Gibson and Onkyo Go Wireless

Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

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Photo of baby in bathtub.As a marketing strategist, I am often asked to help clients come up with promotional ideas. Consumer electronics can be a very promotion-driven business, so this is a common task for tech marketers. There are no “hard and fast” rules and often I will brainstorm with the client, his/her team, or outside contractors I often work with.

But no matter what kind of idea we come up with, I try very hard to avoid something that is a bit of a common practice in the technology business – promotions that “throw the baby out with the bathwater!”

What does this mean? See an example of how marketers throw the baby out with the bathwater… [Read more…] about Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater