Strategy in TECH...
Portal.io, an industry-leading cloud-based proposal tool, announced this week that well-known industry veteran Robert (Rob) Keeler has joined their team as Director of Vendor Services. Rob has worked in various roles with several top industry brands, most of which are the leading brands in their respective categories.
I don’t think it’s possible for me to overstate the significance of what just happened last week when, in a final decision from the U.S. International Trade Commission, the full panel affirmed a commission judge’s ruling that Google had in fact infringed on five patents held by Sonos. It is a real-life version of the bible story of David versus Goliath. Make no mistake, this David’s win may change our industry in fundamental ways.
On Monday evening (January 3, 2022), as part of their festivities kicking off the 2022 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Vice President of Research for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Steve Koenig shared what the association believes to be some of the top trends in Tech today. Saying, “…we’ve witnessed an abundance of innovation across this whole season and certainly over the past year…”
So let me start by saying there was a veritable slew of introductions at CES 2022 Media Day, which took place on Tuesday before the show opened. Most of them were incremental advancements of existing product lines. Only a couple of announcements rose above the noise to catch the attention of just about everyone who attended those presentations. One from an industry stalwart…and another from out of left field (almost literally).
Heading to CES 2022? Be sure to check the online version of the show schedule regularly, as Advertising Age (Ad Age) is reporting that CES has apparently removed “a slate of programs,” including several previously scheduled sessions and panels planned for Tuesday. The move is said to be a result of so many companies and executives canceling or otherwise pulling out of the show.
Holy cow! You guys are amazing! You’ve pushed Strata-gee over the finish line with another record year in 2021! A year ago, I wasn’t sure that was going to be possible, but the data are clear – Strata-gee set many new records this year thanks to the incredible support of Strata-gee readers.
In compiling this list of top 10 Strata-gee stories of 2021, I’m reminded that we entered 2021 with the fervent hope that it would be a return to “normal” after a year of dealing with a national pandemic that forced a global recession and – at least initially – massive disruption of business. Then, over the course of 2020, we got past that first impact, adapted our businesses, and almost all survived.
But as 2021 continued down the same basic path, Strata-gee readers developed a voracious appetite for content – driving Strata-gee’s pageview numbers to all-new record highs.
UPDATED 12/30/2021 – Scroll down for update – I reported last week that several major exhibitors, including one major event sponsor whose CEO was scheduled as a keynote presenter, had announced they would be pulling out of CES due to the meteoric rise in COVID infections resulting from the Omicron variant. Now we learn even more major exhibitors have decided to join the increasing line of brands heading for the exits from the industry’s largest tech event of the year.
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced today that they have partnered with Chinese laser projector brand Formovie to create an all-in-one solution that redefines home-theater-in-a-box. The partners are creating a dynamic combination of ultra-short throw high quality laser projector with loudspeakers built-in for a compact total A/V solution.
**SEE BELOW FOR STORY UPDATE** – On Tuesday, several large exhibitors independently announced that they would be pulling out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), scheduled to start the week-after-next in Las Vegas, NV. The reason given for these pull-outs was the rapidly spreading COVID-19 infections due to the emerging hyper-infectious Omicron variant. Major brands, such as Amazon, Meta Platforms (Facebook), T-Mobile and more said the rapidly changing COVID situation caused them to consider the safety of their teams and other attendees of CES 2022 – a major indoor event.
