A group of fourteen consumer electronics sales representative companies have banded together to offer Pacific Northwest dealers a huge Consumer Electronics EXPO next month on two dates: April 8 in Seattle, WA; and April 10 in Portland, OR. The reps decided to reprise this Expo after staging an initial version last year in June…which they pointed to as being quite successful.
Shows & Events
Aim High Audio Announces Southeast Dealer Show & Florida Expansion
Aim High Audio Sales and Distribution announced that they will hold a major dealer event for custom integrators throughout the Southeast in Atlanta, GA called The 2nd Annual Big Show. This Big Show is scheduled to take place March 25 & 26 at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest in Atlanta and will present displays from the company’s significant line of brands, as well as special speakers and presentations.
The company also announced that it has expanded its coverage in Florida with two industry veterans joining the organization.
See more about the Big Show & Aim High Audio’s Florida expansion… [Read more…] about Aim High Audio Announces Southeast Dealer Show & Florida Expansion
Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView
Sometimes making no impression is the way to make the biggest impression of all! Massachusetts-based ClearView® Audio (www.clearviewaudio.com/) launched an innovative transparent music system at CES 2014 and is enjoying a great response from dealers, domestic and international. Called Clio, this first product stands just over 9 inches tall, streams over Bluetooth, and has an MSRP of $349. [Read more…] about Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView
CES 2014 – The Year of the…? (Insert Your Favorite Gadget Here)
When I was little, I came home from school one day, excited to tell my mother about all my new friends. One-by-one, I named each of them, calling each one “my best friend.” When I finished, I’ll never forget what she said. “If they’re ALL your best friend, then you don’t have a BEST friend.”
The Consumer Electronics industry over the last few years and continuing into this year – has fallen into a troubling state of highly fragmented technology trends. It is in this environment – the absence of any clearly defined, overall technology trend – Gary Shapiro and the CEA try to field their annual technology exposition known as the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
So what was the big tech innovation at CES?…Well, it’s complicated… [Read more…] about CES 2014 – The Year of the…? (Insert Your Favorite Gadget Here)
Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years
Gibson Brands took advantage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to make a bit of a show of their own to celebrate 120 years in business. The company, which serves up 23 different brands of musical instruments, professional audio products and, more recently, consumer electronics products, chose a unique way to mark the occasion by going “Back to the Future.”
See more on how Gibson chose to celebrate their 120-year anniversary… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years
Amazing! Sony CEO Admits Company Failings – Says ‘Wow’ is Future
Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai gave a relatively compelling keynote presentation that was in stark contrast to their rather dry Mike Fasulo and unemotional press conference. Not only was Hirai dynamic and at times, emotional even – he competently and capably articulated a new and strong vision for the company based on the Japanese word “kando” and the English word “wow.”
See the surprising twist in the Sony CEO’s presentation…including a moment that NO other Sony CEO would ever dare to try…admitting past product failures… [Read more…] about Amazing! Sony CEO Admits Company Failings – Says ‘Wow’ is Future
HiFiMan Lauches Two New Digital Music Players at CES
HiFiMan is an independent manufacturer of a variety of largely high-performance audio products. We first met the company two years ago at CES, and were amused and impressed with company founder Dr. Fang Bian. Bian is an enthusiastic lover of high quality music and created some superior digital media players and headphones to better reproduce it. Serious, but sincere, Bian’s company has launched two new interesting digital music players – one offering “reference” level performance…and the other a more affordable option for the music lover on a budget.
See more on these interesting new products from a digital audiophile company… [Read more…] about HiFiMan Lauches Two New Digital Music Players at CES
GoldenEar Continues Line Expansion, Launches New Triton One Flagship Speaker at CES
GoldenEar Technology is one of specialty audio’s success stories, launching only a few short years ago, in late 2010. Many industry insiders told us at that time that the industry had no room for yet another loudspeaker line. And yet, since GoldenEar launched, we’ve heard nothing but accolades from industry reviewers…and more importantly, dealers. We’ve also watched their dealer network, and their product line-up, continue to grow.
Now GoldenEar’s Sandy Gross has launched a new flagship model called the Triton One… [Read more…] about GoldenEar Continues Line Expansion, Launches New Triton One Flagship Speaker at CES
At CES: Samsung Shifts Emphasis from Smart TVs to Smart Home
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.
See more on our initial impressions of Samsung below… [Read more…] about At CES: Samsung Shifts Emphasis from Smart TVs to Smart Home
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.
