Samsung’s press day conference was the most unusual we’ve seen with everything from a product that caused an audible gasp of amazement from the crowd…to one of their celebrity presenters running from the stage in mid-presentation. But we believe we detected a subtle but significant shift with their TV business being less prominent and more in balance with the company’s other products such as their appliance, computer, and mobile businesses.
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Panasonic Gives the Back Seat to Consumers, at the Consumer Electronics Show
One of the bigger surprises on Press Day (the day before the show opens) at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the Panasonic press conference. We were quite surprised when Panasonic opened their press conference at the consumer electronics show, talking at length about their non-consumer businesses.
Their official tag line at the event…Panasonic A Better Life. A Better World…seemed very generic and not particularly entertainment linked. But the more interesting tag phrase that we heard several times throughout the presentation was – Panasonic is more than a TV company…seemed to suggest that the company was distancing itself from its consumer TV business. Or at least, re-prioritizing their business segments as they spent the first several minutes of their presentation talking government, security, and commercial applications for Panasonic technology.
See more from this surprising Panasonic presentation… [Read more…] about Panasonic Gives the Back Seat to Consumers, at the Consumer Electronics Show
CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises
Press Day at CES is – to put it mildly – a bit of a grind. A seemingly never-ending series of scheduled press presentations that are scheduled one hour apart so the press can run from one supposedly 45-minute (of course they all run long) event to the next. The hallways often look more like a mosh pit as reporters, bloggers, and editors push, shove, and elbow their way to the next presentation hoping to get a seat close enough that the presenters don’t look like ants.
It’s easy to become jaded, as one sits through slickly produced, Hollywood-style presentation after another. Rarely, do we get surprised.
But this time…we got a couple of surprises… [Read more…] about CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises
Readers’ Choice – The Top Strata-gee.com Stories of 2013 as Picked by Readers
2013 ends today and it is fun to look back on the top stories of the last year. Many times, this yields surprises as stories from early in the year are easy to forget. In this post, we are revealing the top Strata-gee.com stories from 2013 based on which stories generated the most page views…therefore, those stories that you – the reader – found most interesting.
See Strata-gee.com’s Readers’ Choice for top stories of 2013 below – Do you remember these?… [Read more…] about Readers’ Choice – The Top Strata-gee.com Stories of 2013 as Picked by Readers
Major OLED Production Problems Force Panasonic & Sony to Refocus on 4K
In a report that appeared in the Nikkei on Christmas Day, it appears that Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. have dissolved a joint OLED production initiative and will instead seek new methods individually. As a result, both companies will back-burner OLED and redouble their efforts on building their 4K UHDTV businesses.
This decision – along with poor sales of OLED sets from Samsung & others, calls it’s future into question… [Read more…] about Major OLED Production Problems Force Panasonic & Sony to Refocus on 4K
Startling Jump in November Housing Starts; Are Happy Days Here Again?
Newly released data from the Commerce Department shows that housing starts took what many are characterizing as a startling jump in November – rising 23% overall above the October rate and almost 30% above the November 2012 rate. Analysts are struggling to explain the gains other than to say these numbers show a durable housing recovery – welcome news considering the fact that the housing construction industry is a key driver of the overall economy.
The news is good…but is it a real recovery, or just an outlier?… [Read more…] about Startling Jump in November Housing Starts; Are Happy Days Here Again?
Toshiba Tries to Turnaround Its Troubled TV Division
Toshiba Corp. has launched an aggressive strategy aimed at turning around its troubled, money-losing television manufacturing business. We wrote last week about their decision to close a manufacturing plant in China in a bid to restructure their production base – one part of a larger TV turnaround strategy. Now word comes of additional aggressive moves by the company attempting to return their once vaunted TV business to profitability.
Toshiba plans to cut factories, jobs, and even countries as it tries for a turnaround… [Read more…] about Toshiba Tries to Turnaround Its Troubled TV Division
Not Just Another Pretty Face – CEDIA’s New Website Means Business
Senior Director of PR & Marketing
On Monday, CEDIA launched an all-new website that represents a dramatic leap forward from their previous offering and provides a much more accessible way for members and other “customers” (more on this later) to learn, communicate, and manage their relationship with the trade group. A complete overhaul, CEDIA’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Marketing Jamie Riley told us in a phone interview that this website has been under intensive development for two years.
See CEDIA’s new website – a major overhaul for members…AND for the association… [Read more…] about Not Just Another Pretty Face – CEDIA’s New Website Means Business
Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Outerwall, Inc. (f/k/a Coinstar), owner of Redbox – the national video rental kiosk powerhouse – made several surprising announcements on Tuesday that suggest the company is dealing with some serious business issues. First, the company announced that Redbox division president, Anne Saunders, has left the company. And second, the company said that it would make significant cuts to its staff…and to other projects.
How significant did Outerwall say the staff and project cuts would be? See more below… [Read more…] about Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Smart! Spotify Streamed to Your Smartphone is Now Free; Now Offers Led Zeppelin
Spotify, the popular music sharing app, announced today that it will offer streamed music to smartphones for free (ad-supported), starting today. Spotify has long offered this capability on desktop computers for free (again supported by advertising), but had required a paid subscription (ad free) for mobile devices. Now…everything changes.
The company also announced that it has exclusively licensed the rights to stream music from rock icons Led Zeppelin…also starting today.
