TWICE News

• Weisner Succeeds Kelly At Nationwide
  
  Alan Wolf, February 22, 2011
    Las Vegas - Nationwide Marketing Group co-founder Ed Kelly formally stepped down as president of the independent dealer organization at its PrimeTime! conclave here this week.
  
• iHome Teams With New Balance For Headphones
  
  By Lisa Johnston, February 18, 2011
    Rahway, N.J. - In another audio/athletic partnership, iHome announced it has expanded its line of New Balance headphones.
  
• Meridian Posts Gains On Smaller Dealer Base
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 18, 2011
    New York - Meridian America significantly scaled back its dealer base and product selection beginning in 2009 yet posted a 12 percent sales gain in 2010, CEO Peter Wellikoff told TWICE.
  
• Denon Prepares Retrofit Upgrades
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 18, 2011
  Mahwah, N.J. - Denon will upgrade a pair of its 4-year-old flagship audio components adding full 3D HDMI passthrough,the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 and Audyssey DSX technologies, and Dolby Pro Logic IIz.
  
• Boxee To Add Blinkx Video Browser
  
  By Greg Tarr, February 18, 2011
  San Francisco - The new Blinkx app will soon be appearing on Boxee's App Library, offering access to more than 35 million hours of video content on the web directly from a television.
  
• Fred Towns To Head Synnex CE Divisions
  
  TWICE Staff, February 18, 2011
  Carson, Calif. - Fred Towns has been named president of Synnex's two CE divisions, New Age Electronics and Jack of All Games, as of March 1.
  
• Roku Launches 1 Million Unit Contest
  
  By Greg Tarr, February 18, 2011
  Saratoga, Calif. - In celebration of passing the 1 million unit sales mark late last year, Roku announced its 1 Million Fans Giveaway.
  
• Chevrolet Adding Bluetooth Stereo, Pandora
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 18, 2011
    New York - Chevrolet unveiled plans for a Chevy MyLink infotainment system that will incorporate head-unit control of Pandora and StitcherSmart Radio apps on smartphones.
  
• John, Courtney Force To Appear At BrandSource Summit
  
  TWICE Staff, February 18, 2011
    Orlando, Fla. - Pro race car drivers John and Courtney Force will be on hand at BrandSource and its ProSource A/V specialty division Spring Summit, here, next week.
  
• Comcast To Launch 24-Hour 'Xfinity 3D' Channel
  
  By Todd Spangler, February 18, 2011
  New York - Looking to keep pace with DirecTV in the still-nascent 3DTV arena, Comcast on Feb. 20 will launch Xfinity 3D, a 24-hour channel that will feature concerts, sporting events, more than a dozen movies and original programming.
  
• Plasma TVs Blitz Super Bowl Week
  
  By Greg Tarr, February 18, 2011
  Port Washington, N.Y. - With apologies to the Green Bay Packers, big-screen plasma TVs were the big winners of this year's Super Bowl, according The NPD Group's breakdown of TV sales.
  
• AT&T Finalizes Atrix 4G Availability
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 17, 2011
    Dallas - AT&T finalized the in-store availability date of Motorola's Atrix 4G, its first smartphone with 2x1 GHz dual-core processor.
  
• Sony Launches Music-Streaming Service In U.S.
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 17, 2011
  Foster City, Calif. - Sony will turn on its subscription-based music-streaming service today at 3 p.m. PST in the U.S.
  
• Lightsquared Signs Up U.S. Retailers, Carriers
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 17, 2011
  Reston, Va. - Lightsquared, which plans to wholesale a wireless 4G voice and data service, has signed contracts with several companies that will sell the service under their own brands.
  
• IHS: Smartphones To Hurt Handheld Game Players
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 17, 2011
  Englewood, Colo. - The opportunity for dedicated handheld gaming devices such as Sony's planned NGP is shrinking because of the rise of game-playing smartphones and other handheld devices, IHS Screen Digest concludes.
  
• SED To Exhibit At Nationwide Show
  
  TWICE Staff, February 17, 2011
  Las Vegas - CE and IT distributor SED International Holdings will be exhibiting at the Nationwide Marketing Group's PrimeTime! convention and buy fair next week at The Venetian.
  
• hhgregg Eyeing 20 Stores In Chicago
  
  By Alan Wolf, February 17, 2011
  Indianapolis - hhgregg plans to open up the Chicago market this fall with as many as 20 stores.
  
• Deadline Approaches For Sigma Contest
  
  By Greg Tarr, February 17, 2011
  Ronkonkoma, N.Y. - Camera accessories manufacturer Sigma is offering high school seniors with an eye for image composition the chance to compete in a photo contest and win a scholarship for $5,000 cash and $1,000 in Sigma products.
  
• Mitsubishi Promotes Two Execs
  
  Greg Tarr, February 16, 2011
  Irvine, Calif. - Mitsubishi Digital Electric America said Wednesday that it has promoted James Chan to its professional visual systems division marketing VP, and Brandon Tarnow to brand manager.
  
• Best Buy Launches Price-Comparison Shopping App
  
  TWICE Staff, February 16, 2011
  Berkeley, Calif. - Best Buy has released a comparison shopping app on the iPhone and Android platforms that allows customers to research products by photographing them.