Monster Cable’s Kicks Off CES

By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 1/9/2007

Las Vegas — Monster Cable’s Head Monster, Noel Lee, kicked off International CES, here, Monday morning with a press conference on the show floor where he addressed the crowd from atop his Segway. He began by saying that the HDMI format provided his company with great opportunity to produce complimentary cables. Lee pointed out that many had predicted the demise of the cable market just a few years ago as wireless technology began to penetrate the market but he said “today cables are stronger than ever because of [the] new formats and content available.”

Lee noted that the latest formats provide opportunity for innovation in both video and audio because with HDMI “audio is as important as video.”

Lee briefly introduced a spate of products from a variety of categories that Monster is bringing to market over the next couple of months. Some of the highlights include the 3 Plug Outlets To Go, a new iteration of last year’s Outlet to Go. It is set to hit retail in March and has a suggested retail of $14.95.

Other product introductions included Monster’s FlatScreen TV Perfect View 450 Power mount which incorporates a power strip into the mount. A series of thin flat-screen cables will also be released; they are intended to be used with the new mount as their thin shape will fit into its cable management channels.

Lee also said that the company will do a hard launch of its entire M-Series line of cables which will be available in a variety of configurations. According to Lee, the line had only “soft launched” in the past. He said that the upcoming launch would include new connectors, new cables and new packaging.

Monster is also planning to release its Power Centers to distributors on a limited basis. The centers feature built-in IR controls.

Lee also announced the debut of Monster’s IlluminEssence line of whole-home lighting products which. The line is said to allow consumers to install and program the system themselves at a lower cost than most consumers would have likely had available to them through traditional custom install avenues.

Finally, Monster also announced strategic partnerships with Exceptional Innovations for its Life/Ware product, a partnership with Home Automation and a second alliance with Lagotek for home automation product.