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Consumer Reports Picks Top Ten Electronics of 2012; Their Choices May Surprise You

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Consumer Reports LogoConsumer Reports, that venerable organization known for torture testing products, ranking their results, and offering advice to consumers on how to pick the right product for them, announced on Thursday their picks for the Top Ten Electronics products for 2012. The list of their picks will appear in the December issue which is its Annual Electronics Issue.

The company said it tested over 600 products for their December issue, but “only ten standout products made the short list for performance and innovation.”

What electronics did they pick? See more below… [Read more…] about Consumer Reports Picks Top Ten Electronics of 2012; Their Choices May Surprise You

Consumer Confidence Rises Again; Now at 4-Year High

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Photo of consumer shoppingLooking for more “green shoots” of economic recovery? The Conference Board released the latest data from their Consumer Confidence Index showing another monthly increase (it increased in September as well) in the overall level of confidence that consumers have in the economy. The Index’s reading for October was 72.2, a significant uptick from September’s level of 68.4, which was up over August.

Still not sure this is a positive indicator? See more below… [Read more…] about Consumer Confidence Rises Again; Now at 4-Year High

Can Sharp Survive? Company’s Performance ‘Raises Serious Doubts About [Our Ability] to Continue’

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Photo of Sharp booth at CESLast week, we reported on a rumor out of Japan that Sharp Corp. was about to report a dismal interim net loss that was much worse than anticipated. This Wednesday, Sharp confirmed those rumors announcing an interim (Apr-Sept) operating loss of ¥168.9 billion ($2.1 billion). This result was after a ¥84.4 billion ($1.1 billion) charge for costs associated with restructuring their struggling business.

But what really has the industry and investors talking is that the company affirmed that it is likely to show a “huge” net loss for the entire fiscal year of ¥450 billion ($5.6 billion), almost double a previous estimate of ¥250 billion. It is also well above analysts’ estimate of a ¥296 billion loss according to a survey of 17 analysts  by Bloomberg. [Read more…] about Can Sharp Survive? Company’s Performance ‘Raises Serious Doubts About [Our Ability] to Continue’

Hurricane Sandy Slams the East Coast…
and strata-GEE.com

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Star Ledger photo from Union Beach, NJ
Union Beach, NJ
Star-Ledger

The appearance of Hurricane Sandy was no surprise – her arrival had been predicted for days. And most area residents took the weather service’s warnings about the storm seriously, as witnessed by the empty grocery store shelves and long gas station lines the weekend before she hit the nation’s largest tri-state metropolitan area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

But she hit hard, harder than any storm before and the death toll, which increases daily, is a testament to the intensity and destructiveness of Mother Nature. Most of the damage took place after dark with the greatest intensity of wind gusts and driving rain hitting strata-GEE.com’s central New Jersey locale between 8:00PM-Midnight.

Hear more about this “SuperStorm’s” impact on the region… [Read more…] about Hurricane Sandy Slams the East Coast…
and strata-GEE.com

Best Buy Warns Profits Will Be ‘Significantly Below’ Last Year, Cuts Senior Managers

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BREAKING NEWS…

Best Buy LogoAfter the close of the market today, Best Buy warned Wall Street that its third quarter earnings and same-store sales will be significantly below the same quarter last year. The company also announced that head of U.S. business Mike Vitelli, and other executives, will leave the company at the end of this fiscal year in early February.

But the warning to Wall Street went even further… [Read more…] about Best Buy Warns Profits Will Be ‘Significantly Below’ Last Year, Cuts Senior Managers

Sharp Shocker: Company Will Report Interim Net Loss Almost Double Their Forecast

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Photo of Sharp 70-inch flat-panel TVThe Nikkei reported today that it has learned from unnamed sources that Sharp Corp. is about to report a surprising interim net loss of ¥400 billion (just over $5 billion). Covering the period of their April-through-September fiscal (interim) semester, this loss is 90% worse – almost double – their most recent estimate of a ¥210 billion loss…and an full ten times worse than last years interim loss of ¥39.8 billion.

How did Sharp management get their forecast so wrong?… [Read more…] about Sharp Shocker: Company Will Report Interim Net Loss Almost Double Their Forecast

Azione Unlimited Buying Group Adds New Vendors; Releases Details on Upcoming Meeting

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Azione logoAzione Unlimited announced today that it has added two new vendors to its “intentionally short list of vendor members.” The new vendors are Assurity Design Group and Triad.

The organization also released additional details on its upcoming fall conference.

See more on this announcement and the group’s upcoming meeting… [Read more…] about Azione Unlimited Buying Group Adds New Vendors; Releases Details on Upcoming Meeting

Alpine Parent Alps Electric Reinvents the Car-to-Human Control Interface

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Graphic of Alps logoIn a new video published to the Internet on Wednesday by Diginfo TV, Alps Electric – parent company of Alpine Electronics – demonstrates a prototype of future automotive control technology that redefines the human interface with the car of the future. Shown earlier this year at a show in Japan, this is the first time the concept was demonstrated to the rest of the world thanks to this video.

See this futuristic interface which includes gestures, predictive configuration, and haptic technology… [Read more…] about Alpine Parent Alps Electric Reinvents the Car-to-Human Control Interface

How One New York Integrator Moves Customers from Low Price to High Value

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JD Systems logoOur good friends over at JD Systems – a New York-based integrator that does both commercial and residential installations – put up an excellent post on their blog on a very sensitive topic. No, not sex…not drugs…it was on PRICE! The blog discussed the results of the J.D. Power and Associates survey we reported on earlier that sought to determine the factors that motivated consumers to purchase an HDTV. [BTW, many thanks for the mention J.D.!]

How to move customers from PRICE to VALUE? See how JD Systems handles it…

[Read more…] about How One New York Integrator Moves Customers from Low Price to High Value

In Search of Beats Replacement, Monster Turns to…Tumi?

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Photo of Tumi x Monster HeadphonesThe best briefcase I have ever owned – it has literally been around the world with me – is my Tumi leather soft-side, expandable briefcase. I still own it and whenever I go anywhere for a business meeting…it goes with me. So it caught my attention today scanning the news wire services when I saw a press release that Monster (formerly Monster Cable) was partnering with Tumi to launch a new headphone – called the Tumi x Monster – based on their existing Inspirations model.

Not exactly an intuitive choice…Monster has their reasons for partnering with the luxury travel brand… [Read more…] about In Search of Beats Replacement, Monster Turns to…Tumi?