news
Retail Sales To Rise 4.1% This Year: NRF
Washington – Retail sales are projected to rise 4.1 percent this year, outpacing 2013’s 3.7 percent gains. According to a report released today by...
news
news
Proficient Completes Thin-Bezel Rollout
Petaluma, Calif. – Proficient Audio has begun shipping the final models in its redesigned 31-SKU Protégé series of custom-install speakers, which now feature a...
news
Audio Veteran Bob Gassel, 63, Dies
Toronto – Bob Gassel, VP of engineering and product development for the Paradigm, MartinLogan and Anthem audio brands, passed away at the age of...
news
Ricoh WG-4 Cameras Unveiled
Denver – Ricoh Imaging America introduced Wednesday the new Ricoh-branded WG-4 and WG-20 series of rugged compact cameras and unveiled a new Ricoh modular...
Accessories
Sim2 Reveals 2014 Grand Cinema Offerings
Sunrise, Fla. — Sim2 USA unveiled Wednesday its latest generation of three-chip, DLP-based home cinema projectors. The company said it is adding six Grand...
Audio
Bose Updates SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker
Framingham, Mass. – Bose released its latest portable Bluetooth speaker, the third-generation SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III with longer battery life, higher output and new...
E-Readers
Sony Leaving North American E-Book Business
San Diego – Sony is getting out of the e-book business in North America after announcing last October that it would not offer its...
news
Survey: Smartphone Financing Attract Android, Samsung Owners
Chicago – Consumers who sign up for carriers’ phone-financing programs, particularly those with early trade-in/upgrade options, are financing smartphones with lower resale values, Consumer...
news
Best Buy, Walmart Offer Mobile Incentives
New York – Best Buy and Walmart are offering gift cards and cash to goose sales of tablets and smartphones. In a year-long promotion,...
Financial
Costco’s CE Sales Softened In January
Issaquah, Wash. – Costco said CE comp sales fell by the mid- to high-single digits in January amid gains in other product categories. Results...
news
Sony Selling Vaio Unit, Splitting Off TVs
Tokyo – Early reports that Sony was preparing to sell its Vaio PC business proved to be accurate Thursday, as the electronics giant announced...
news
Sony Posts Profit, Higher Sales In Fiscal Q3
Tokyo – Sony reported net and operating profits and higher sales in its fiscal third quarter, while also announcing plans to make TV operations...
news
ComScore: Apple Gains U.S. Ground In Smartphone Brand, OS Share
Reston, Va. – Apple and Samsung gained share at equal rates among U.S. smartphone users at the end of 2013, but Apple’s share grew...
news
CEA: 73% Of Those Who See An Ultra HD TV Want One
Arlington, Va. – Three-fourths (73 percent) of online U.S. adults who see Ultra HD TV technology in a retail store are interested in owning...
Accessories
Sanus Launches Improved Website
St. Paul, Minn. – Sanus has launched a new website to better educate the market about its audio/video mounts, furnishings and consumer electronics accessories....
Appliances
Viking Plans Connected Range
Greenwood, Miss. — Viking Range is teaming up with iDevices, a developer of app-enabled products, to build wirelessly connected Viking Professional products intended for...
news
RadioShack Planning Store Closings: Report
Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack may be planning to close 11 percent of its store base, according to a published report. The Wall Street...
news
Azione Names Savant Most Profitable Vendor
Chester Springs, Pa. – Azione Unlimited, the buying and educational group for custom retailers and integrators, named Savant Systems its most profitable vendor of...
news
Samsung Teams With Swarovski For Fashion Week
New York — Samsung Electronics will team up Swarovski, the crystal and fashion jewelry brand, to make a splash at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in...
news
Reports: Sony Ready To Sell Off Vaio Business
Tokyo — Sony Corp. is reportedly in talks with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners to sell off its Vaio personal computer division, according to...
news
Sharp Turns Profit, Posts Higher Sales
Tokyo — Sharp Electronics reversed losses and posted higher sales in its nine-month results, ended Dec. 31, 2013. Net sales were up 21 percent;...
news
Toshiba Unveils Canvio Home NAS Products
Irvine, Calif. – Toshiba unveiled Tuesday its Canvio Home Backup & Share network-attached storage (NAS) system, billed as an easy-to-use storage hub for connected...
news
LG Expands Nexus 5 Color Choices
San Francisco – The LG-made Nexus 5 became the first Nexus smartphone available from Google in three colors. Google added a red version of...
news
Sprint Adding PTT To More LTE Smartphones
Overland Park, Kan. – Sprint is making push-to-talk (PTT) service available on many more LTE-equipped phones with the launch of a free PTT app...
news
Distributor News From AVAD, Ingram, Stampede
AVAD, Ingram Micro To Exhibit At 2014 Digital Signage Expo Los Angeles — AVAD will present attendees to its Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2014...
Audio
Esoteric Transport, DAC Step Up Bandwidth
Upper Saddle River, N.J. – A trio of flagship Esoteric stereo components shipping in April include an SACD/CD transport that uses a pair of...
news
Samsung Prices Tablet Quartet
Ridgefield Park, N.J. – Samsung announced pricing and availability of a quartet of new tablets, making three models available at retail on Feb. 13...
news
LG Opens CE Lounge In Westfield Mall
Paramus, N.J. — LG Electronics USA recently opened “the State Room” — a giant-sized man-cave-themed lounge decked out in LG large-screen TVs — in...
Industry
BrandSource Leveraging Apple’s iBeacon Platform
Tustin, Calif. – BrandSource is rolling out a retail-tracking program for dealers based on Apple’s iBeacon technology. The location-based mobile marketing platform uses short-range,...
news
CEA, SquareTrade Pen Extended-Service Report For Retailers
WASHINGTON – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and SquareTrade, the extended-service plan provider, have collaborated on an instructional white paper for retailers seeking a...
news
NPD: Growth Coming In 4K Desktop Monitors
Santa Clara, Calif. — Falling production costs and expected lower average selling prices (ASPs) should help drive growth in 4K Ultra HD desktop monitor...
news
SiriusXM Posts Record Q4 Revenue As Net Income Falls
New York — SiriusXM posted record revenue in its fourth quarter and full fiscal year, but net income fell in the quarter as the...
news
Two Groups Ink Pact To Promote NFC On SD Cards
San Ramon, Calif. –– The SD Association (SDA) and the NFC Forum have signed a formal memorandum of understanding to promote NFC capabilities in...
news
Nadella Named Microsoft CEO
Redmond, Wash. — Longtime Microsoft veteran Satya Nadella was named CEO today by the company’s board of directors, replacing the outgoing Steve Ballmer. Nadella,...
news
Panasonic Reports Higher Sales, Profits
Osaka, Japan – Panasonic reported higher sales and profits in the fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2013. Consolidated group sales in the quarter...
Industry
Best Buy CFO Adds Accounting Duties
Minneapolis – Best Buy chief financial and administrative officer Sharon McCollam has added principal accounting officer to her duties. She assumed the new responsibilities...
Industry
Viking’s KBIS Launch ‘Historic’ In Size
Las Vegas – Viking Range described its more than 50 new product introductions at this week’s Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (KBIS) as the company’s largest...
Distributors
Almo Sets 2014 Expo Slate
Philadelphia – Almo’s 2014 dealer expo schedule features four large regional shows in a recently extended two-day format. “Based on last year’s expo feedback...
news
Paick Gets Sleek With Portable Power
Shenzhen, China — Paick launched a portable battery with a design meant to mimic the smartphone it can charge. The Sleek 6,000-mAh power bank...
news
Knox Back With Sharp
Mahwah, N.J. – Longtime industry product development expert Mark Knox rejoined former employer Sharp Electronics at the start of the year as a product...
news
Sigma To Release Dual MTF Charts
Ronkonkoma, N.Y. — Sigma of America said Monday that it is releasing a Geometrical Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) chart and a Diffraction MTF chart...
news
Super Bowl Ads Register With Connected Viewers
Los Angeles – The Seahawks may have been the big winners on the scoreboard Super Bowl Sunday, but, as is usually the case, the...