Tech Trends

AKM Fire Update 3: Yet Another Step Towards Recovery, Co. Launches New Flagship Chip

May 25, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), part of the Asahi Kasei Corporation, and one of the world’s most significant providers of integrated circuits, particularly digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), launched a new flagship stereo DAC at the IPS/High End 2022 Show last week in Munich, Germany. It is yet another notable milestone in the company’s long journey to recovery after the horrific impact of the signal event of the pandemic supply chain disaster in 2020 – a massive factory fire that destroyed a key production fab, first reported in our industry by Strata-gee.

But…can the company recover quickly enough to make a difference?

See more on this impressive new AKM DAC

[Read more…]

Savant Powers Up Their Smart Energy Solutions, Putting Them Years Ahead of Others

May 5, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

‘Energy is the Next Big Frontier in Terms of Smart’

Savant offered industry media a presentation revealing their vision of the deep integration of energy sources (and uses) into a fully-fledged, well-thought-out, total smart home system. To drive the industry towards this future, Savant’s vision is expansive, intelligent, and in my mind, pretty exciting. It starts with a foundation of power and how to make it smarter.

Below, you’ll find some of the key highlights of Savant’s plans for smart energy.

More on Savant’s smart energy solutions

[Read more…]

AudioControl Upgrades to GaN ICs in New 70-Volt, Dual-Mode CM Amps

May 5, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

AudioControl, a specialty electronics manufacturer of innovative residential, commercial, and mobile audio products, revealed today that it has upgraded the semiconductor technology resident in its recently introduced 70-volt, dual-mode CM line of amplifiers. This upgrade, to Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, offers many performance improvements over traditional silicon-based ICs and is said to take the performance of this category to a whole new level.

See more on the Audiocontrol GaN-based 70-volt amps

[Read more…]

Crestron Research Center is Renamed in Honor of Founder George Feldstein

May 3, 2022 by Ted 1 Comment

Crestron dedication of the George Feldstein Technology Center

In the summer of 2019, just months before the onset of COVID-19, Crestron Electronics, Inc. (Crestron) invited me to tour several of their facilities, including the lab at the heart of almost everything they do…the Research Center. It was beyond impressive, and I’ve been in some really impressive labs in my career. At the time, I said it was “like Disneyland for geeks.” That includes geeks like me!

Now, in honor of the company’s founder, Crestron has renamed the facility the George Feldstein Technology Center. This is a fitting tribute to the man who spent his days there constantly tinkering with new products, product concepts, and technology.

See more on this Crestron announcement

[Read more…]

Tech’s Newest Power Couple: Sony and Honda

March 18, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

Sony and Honda CEOs announce joint venture

So Sony has just pulled a major donut – finally coming full circle. Sony Group’s CEO stood alongside Honda Motor’s CEO as the two companies announced that they were forming a joint venture with automotive manufacturing powerhouse Honda agreeing to partner with the sensor and mobile entertainment electronics king Sony to actually manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) – or what we’ve known up to this point as the Sony Vision-S vehicles. At last, our trip down the long and winding (and confusing) road has arrived at a final destination.

And with this announcement, we now have tech’s newest power couple…

See more on the Sony & Honda joint venture

[Read more…]

Crestron Launches Tunable LED Light Fixtures & Innovates an Advance in HCL

February 21, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

Crestron Electronics, one of the industry’s leading control and automation system manufacturers, announced today that they are making a major push into the lighting segment – especially within the realm of what is generally known as human-centric lighting (HCL). Their new line of LED Light Fixtures not only contemporizes their lighting offerings to today’s standards – but I believe that they take the lead with an exciting and futuristic new capability known as Solar Sync™.

See this major launch of new LED Light Fixtures from Crestron

[Read more…]

CTA Says These are the Top Tech Trends; Do You Agree with Their Picks?

January 6, 2022 by Ted Leave a Comment

Steve Koenig, VP of Research for the CTA at CES 2022

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…”

See what the CTA says are the top Tech trends at CES

[Read more…]

Today in Malaysia, Intel CEO Warns Chip Shortage Will Last to 2023

December 16, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger at press conference in Malaysia with government official

Speaking at a press conference in Malaysia today, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the global chip shortage will last until 2023. Gelsinger pointed to the fact that demand keeps expanding, even as the industry struggles to bring more production online to fill the demand.

See more on how Intel sees supply chain issues continuing

[Read more…]

Hundreds of Integrators Descend on Boston for the Crestron Next Road Trip

November 21, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

Attendees Got a Full Show, Training & a Preview of Future Technology

Last week, Crestron Electronics, a leading provider of control and automation solutions, wrapped up their two-day regional show, the Crestron Next Road Trip, at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston. The well-attended two-day event saw hundreds of integrators descend on Boston to participate in an event that included whole sections of their displays from the CEDIA Expo and InfoComm trade show booths and offered full-day educational courses for both their residential and commercial dealers.

Learn more about the successful Crestron Next Road Trip

[Read more…]

New Vanco Introduction Powers Up Your Assortment, Client Satisfaction & Profits

October 26, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

I recently became aware of the fact that Vanco, the Chicago-based manufacturer of a broad range of mostly accessory products had decided to become a master distributor for a product category that we all need, we all use, and yet to which we pay little attention. It is in this reality, Vanco’s President Mark Corbin tells me, that there lies a tremendous opportunity to better serve our customers and to add meaningful profit to our financials.

See this Vanco solution…

[Read more…]

Tech Trends