Blogs

By: Lisa Johnston | May 20, 2013

Crowd-Funding Spotlight: Bluetooth Edition

Judging by the number of pitch emails I’ve received since International CES, Bluetooth “leashes” are exploding in popularity. Here are some recent additions to the ambitious crowd-funding crew:

MotionsTek has thrown its hat in the ring, hoping consumers will donate to Indiegogo to help get its TagIt tracking device off the ground. The TagIt, which costs $40 on Indiegogo

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By: Alan Wolf | May 09, 2013

Best Buy Proxy Recaps Tumultuous Year

Proxy statements have been sent to Best Buy shareholders, who, among other pieces of business, are being asked to vote in a new slate of directors, including Dick Schulze’s nominees Brad Anderson and Al Lenzmeier.

The board has endorsed the former senior officers as part of its rapprochement with Schulze, and they are expected to retain their two-month-old directors’ seats.

What’s more interesting though is chairman Hatim Tyabji’s letter to shareholders

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By: Steve Smith | May 07, 2013

Never Underestimate Independent Retailers

I read a blog online the other day about Best Buy’s turnaround in recent months, but halfway through, its author began to go down the road of gloom and doom.
I didn’t keep the link so pardon me if I don’t give the proper credit (or blame) to the author, but one line in the piece went something like this: “If Best Buy’s revival doesn’t succeed, consumer electronics will no longer have a national retail presence.”
I also recently heard

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By: Alan Wolf | May 03, 2013

Keith Can’t Get No Satisfaction From iPod

Apple won’t be asking Keith Richards for a product endorsement any time soon.

Rock-and-roll’s riff-master general doesn’t own an iPod, and told the Associated Press he prefers vinyl and even cassettes to its compressed digital sound.

“It has … a much better sound than digital,” he said of the analog formats.

The 69-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist

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By: Doug Olenick | April 30, 2013

IHS Tallies Potential Korean War Fallout

The Boston terror attacks may have pulled the news media’s attention away from the shenanigans of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, but IHS iSuppli has taken a look into what a war on the Korean peninsula would mean for the CE world.

In a word: bad.

IHS noted that about 66 percent of the world’s NAND flash and 70 percent of the tablet display manufacturing takes place in South Korea. So any outbreak of hostilities would essentially result in the immediate halt of

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By: Joseph Palenchar | April 29, 2013

Ghosts Of Dead Formats, Brands Arise

The life of the CE industry flashed before my eyes last week as I roamed through the back roads of the Appalachian Mountains in search of antiques.  

The ghosts of dead formats and dead brands appeared before me in high-ceiling turn-of-the-century homes, old barns, and dark, decrepit cinder-block buildings that must have once been home to thriving commercial enterprises.

The tabletop radios bore the brands of Motorola, Admiral, and Atwater Kent. An Edison wax-cylinder

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By: Greg Tarr | April 25, 2013

Reports Hint At Amazon STB, Next Gen. Xbox

Apple may still not be ready to launch its long-anticipated and speculated-on iTV, but that’s apparently not stopping a couple of other industry giants from moving forward with ambitious online video streaming entertainment devices.

Speculative reports surfaced Wednesday that Microsoft may be preparing to launch its next-generation Xbox console at a special press event in Redmond, Wa

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By: Steve Smith | April 23, 2013

Marcia Grand: One Of A Kind

As you probably know by now, Marcia Grand, publisher/ VP of TWICE who has been here since the beginning, is retiring as of April 30.

I never thought I would read the words “retiring” and “Marcia” in the same sentence. If you have ever met Marcia, you know she is one of a kind. She never likes to look back, only ahead, but I think this is one of those times you have to reflect upon a life in publishing and in the consumer electronics business.

My first

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By: Doug Olenick | April 23, 2013

The Netatmo Weather Station/Watchdog

I am a bit of a weather geek. So when the folks at Netatmo offered to let me check out their latest Urban Weather Station, I took them up on the opportunity to try it and in the process I discovered an entirely new use for the device.

Have you ever needed a screwdriver to tighten up a door handle, but the darn tool was located way down in the basement. However, there was a butter knife sitting right there on the counter so you use that instead?

Sure doing the job is not as easy

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By: Steve Smith | April 22, 2013

Diversity Becomes An Industry Theme

Diversity seems to be the theme in many industry developments in the past couple of weeks, as illustrated in this issue of TWICE.

Retail is more diverse than ever, and suppliers are being more visible than ever on the store level. Samsung has new departments with Best Buy.

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Lisa Johnston

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