TWICE News

• Sirius To Add Programs For iPhone App
  
  By Amy Gilroy, May 7, 2009
  New York — Sirius XM reiterated plans to launch a Sirius iPhone application in the next two months and said it will offer expanded programming for the service.
  
• April Retail Sales Mixed; Conn’s Up 2.6%
  
  Alan Wolf, May 7, 2009
  Beaumont, Tex.  — Conn’s said net sales rose 2.6 percent to $200.1 million for the three months ended April 30, buoyed by the opening of seven new stores since February.
  
• B&O Bows 103" Motorized Plasma TV
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 6, 2009
  
  New York — Design-centric A/V products manufacturer Bang & Olufsen (B&O) began taking orders in the U.S. for the first time Wednesday on its 103-inch BeoVision 4 plasma display system.
  
• Polk Multiroom Speakers Voiced For Listening Habits
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, May 6, 2009
  Baltimore — Polk plans May shipment of a new series of high-efficiency custom-installed speakers voiced to deliver full-range sound at modest listening levels.
  
• Blacknote Expanding Lineup, Adds Digital Media Players
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, May 6, 2009
  New York — Akamai Audio of Florence, Italy, is complementing its Goldenote brand of analog-based audio components with a growing selection of digital-oriented Blacknote components.
  
• WiGig Alliance Forms To Create New In-Room Wireless Standard
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, May 6, 2009
  San Jose, Calif. — Seventeen consumer electronic, PC and semiconductor companies have formed the Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance to develop a 60GHz-band in-room wireless technology.
  
• Garmin Reports Revenue Declines
  
  By Amy Gilroy, May 6, 2009
  Cayman Islands — Garmin reported a revenue slide of 34 percent for its first quarter, marking its worst quarter since becoming a public company in 2000.
  
• ADI Expo Series Moves To N.C. On May 21
  
  By TWICE Staff, May 6, 2009
  Melville, N.Y. — The ADI Expo Series moves to Charlotte, N.C., May 21, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Charlotte Marriott Executive Park at 5700 West Park Drive.
  
• Amazon To Launch $489 Kindle With Larger Screen
  
  By Amy Gilroy, May 6, 2009
  New York — Amazon announced a summer launch for the new $489 Kindle DX e-book reader featuring a larger 9.7-inch screen.
  
• Panasonic’s Lumix GH1 Goes On Sale In June
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 6, 2009
  Secaucus, N.J. — Panasonic said Wednesday that its recently introduced Lumix DMC-GH1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera will be available in June at a $1,500 suggested retail.
  
• Planar Reports $2.7M Q2 Loss
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 6, 2009
  Beaverton, Ore. — Runco parent Planar Systems reported a lower-than-anticipated $2.7 million loss for its fiscal second quarter, ended March 27, 2009, on sales of $36.5 million in the period.
  
• Patrican Joins Wrapsol
  
  By TWICE Staff, May 6, 2009
  Weymouth, Mass. — Don Patrican has joined Wrapsol as business development executive VP.
  
• NPD: Q1 BD Player Sales Rose 72%
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 6, 2009
  Port Washington, N.Y. — First-quarter U.S. sales of stand-alone Blu-ray Disc (BD) players increased 72 percent over the same period in 2008, according to the March update of The NPD Group's retail tracking report.
  
• Software Update Expands VuNow Feature Package
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 6, 2009
  Mountain View, Calif. — Verismo Networks released Tuesday its VuNow 3.0 software update that brings a bundle of new features and content sources to the company’s VuNow Internet TV Platform that lets people watch free Internet videos on their TV.
  
• EQD Unveils 23.6” Auria LCD Monitor Pair
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 5, 2009
  Mission Viejo, Calif. — Video-display startup EQD introduced a pair of 23.6-inch LCD monitors to its Auria assortment of HD monitors and TVs on Tuesday.
  
• Capitol Sales Adds To Training Lineup
  
  By TWICE Staff, May 5, 2009
  Eagan, Minn. — Capitol Sales has added sessions to four of its upcoming Capitol Sales Learning Institute — Regional Outreach program events.
  
• D&H Broadens CE Mix For Summer Season
  
  By Steve Smith, May 5, 2009
  Harrisburg, Pa. — D&H Distributing had added 35 vendors in several emerging technologies to its summer lineup, including LED HDTVs, PC data recovery, GSM-enabled netbooks and consumer VoIP, among other categories.
  
• Toshiba America To Plant Trees
  
  By TWICE Staff, May 5, 2009
  Irvine, Calif. — Toshiba America employees will plant 80,000 trees in the San Bernardino National Forest on May 9.
  
• Epson Launches Imageway Program For VAR Channel Partners
  
  By Greg Tarr, May 5, 2009
  Long Beach, Calif. — Epson America introduced its ImageWay SM Partner Program on Tuesday.
  
• Atlantic In-Room Speakers Get Makeover
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, May 5, 2009
  Norwood, Mass. — Atlantic Technology plans late-May shipments of three new home-theater speaker series, four new powered subwoofers and a previously announced front-height speaker as part of what it called the most extensive redesign of its in-room speaker lineup in more than five years.