In a move that has been highly anticipated or, depending on your point of view, highly dreaded, Moody’s Investors Service cut its credit rating on Sony Corp. by one notch, dropping it below investment grade – taking it to “junk” status, in industry parlance. The downgrade was made on Monday and it is significant in that it symbolizes the continuing struggles of the company as it to tries to improve its fortunes – so far with mixed results.
Sony
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
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
Strata-gee’s Editor Appears in Latest Edition of AV Week Webcast
Not having learned their lesson last time, AV Nation once again invited me to participate in the latest edition of their AV Week webcast to discuss the hot A/V topics of the day. Also appearing in this week’s episode of AV Week was Sam Malik of ASK Proxima and Kevin Iselli of Crestron Electronics. And, of course, AV Week is hosted by the incomparable Tim Albright, founder of AV Nation.
What topics did the guests on AV Week ponder? See more below… [Read more…] about Strata-gee’s Editor Appears in Latest Edition of AV Week Webcast
HTSA Announces Their Top Vendors for 2013
The Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) on Tuesday announced their top vendor awards for 2013. These awards were handed out at their Fall 2013 dealer conference held last week and included a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
See who earned top honors from the national dealer group below… [Read more…] about HTSA Announces Their Top Vendors for 2013
Panasonic Pulls the Plug on Plasma
BREAKING NEWS
Multiple news outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Nikkei reported today that sources at Panasonic are saying the company will exit the plasma TV business by the end of this fiscal year, which ends in March 2014. The news, while not totally surprising, means that there will be no plants anywhere in Japan producing plasma sets, and is likely the beginning of the end for the technology as LCD continues to take a greater share of even larger screen sizes.
See more on this surprising news out of Osaka, Japan… [Read more…] about Panasonic Pulls the Plug on Plasma
CEDIA EXPO 2013 Overview and Attendance
CEDIA’s Expo in 2013 returned to Denver, CO, a favorite location for many attendees and exhibitors – a point to which we can attest as so many said so in Strata-gee’s CEDIA Survey over the last few years. So was Denver the panacea needed to get everyone back into a positive state of mind? Was the show everything everyone hoped it would be?
See our thoughts below on EXPO 2013… [Read more…] about CEDIA EXPO 2013 Overview and Attendance
Ex-Niles Audio President Frank Sterns Appointed VP of Custom Installation at Sony
BREAKING NEWS
We have learned today that former President of Niles Audio, Frank Sterns, is now the Vice President of Custom Installation at Sony Corp. This new appointment, effective this week, marks a significant change for Sterns who has been consulting to a variety of primarily smaller custom integration brands for the last two years.
See more on Sterns appointment at Sony… [Read more…] about Ex-Niles Audio President Frank Sterns Appointed VP of Custom Installation at Sony
Top Advertiser Trends in Q1 2013
As marketers, we are always watching who’s doing what in advertising. Below is a list of the top advertisers in the first quarter of 2013. There are many familiar names here…familiar largely because, as aggressive marketers, they are regularly investing in marketing and therefore regularly appearing on this list.
Did TECH make the list of top advertisers? See here… [Read more…] about Top Advertiser Trends in Q1 2013
Increasing Skepticism by Market of Tech Industry Advances
Several years ago, while driving home from my job at a leading industry electronics manufacturer, I was – as usual – listening to my favorite New York Metro-area network news radio station. Since the commute took an hour or more (depending on New Jersey traffic), I got to listen to a lot of news. Sometimes, I was only half listening, as traffic concerns – or boredom – draws my attention away from the news.
But I snapped to rapt attention that day when I heard one of the show’s co-anchors promote an upcoming segment (“after the break”) on the latest technology news. Little did I realize that I was about to have my sensibilities shocked – not by the news – but by the anchors’ reaction to their own story.
