Consumer Electronics Daily News

Samsung Intros World's Fastest DVD Burner

Samsung Electronics Ltd., is now shipping the world’s fastest DVD burner with 16X dual layer recording and LightScribe technology -- the Super-WriteMaster SH-S203N. The SH-S203N is a 20X Serial ATA (SATA) DVD burner offering 16X dual layer recording, and support for all CD/DVD discs including DVD-RAM. The SH-S203N can back up 8.4GB of data or video to a disc. The industry recording standard is 10 to 12X and Samsung’s new SH-S203N dual layer recording speed offers a 30 to 40 percent improvement recording time for dual layer drives.

“Samsung strives to enhance the consumer experience by offering the latest technologies and innovations in one affordable package,” states Richard Aguilera, Western Regional Sales Manager, Samsung Storage Division. “Samsung’s new SH-S203N is an all-in-one powerhouse that provides not only the fastest recording speeds on the market, but also built-in labeling technology that saves time and expense over the life of the drive.”

For more information about Samsung's storage products, visit www.samsung.com.

New HD Radios Debut at SEMA

Eight prominent receiver manufacturers will demonstrate a wide range of HD Radio mobile products at this year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, as the momentum of the HD Radio rollout kicks into high gear before the 2007 holiday shopping season.

“Manufacturers, retailers and consumers look to SEMA each year for the latest trends and hottest products in the aftermarket,” says Robert Struble, President and CEO, iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of HD Radio technology. “The expanded presence of HD Radio products at this year’s event demonstrates the evolution of HD Radio technology into a must-have for the car.”

HD Radio receivers for the car and home are available from many brands, including AAMP of America/Peripheral, Accurian (by RadioShack), Alpine, Audio Design Associates, Audiovox, Cambridge SoundWorks, DaySequerra, Denon, DICE Electronics, Directed Electronics, Dual, ECLIPSE by Fujitsu Ten, Integra, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Marantz, Metra, Niles Audio, Onkyo, Polk Audio, Radiosophy, Rotel, Sangean, Sony, Visteon and Yamaha with many more under development. 

To see a full list of all HD Radio products, visit www.hdradio.com/hdradio_buyers_guide.php.

Security Dealers Bring Fresh Competition to Integration Market

Security dealers are moving in large numbers to offer a variety of systems, including digital health and entertainment solutions, according to a new report from Parks Associates and EH Publishing. The two firms recently completed a study of security dealers, Home Systems Integration Channel Monitor 3Q07: Security Systems Integrators/Installers, and will present a summary of findings at a joint briefing at EHX Fall 2007 in Long Beach, Calif., November 8.

"The home systems integration channel continues to grow in both number and types of participating firms," says Bill Ablondi, Director, Channel Research, Parks Associates. "Security dealers routinely install structured wiring, audio, home theater and control systems, and are expanding their offerings into lighting controls and digital health, with nearly 30 percent offering home health monitoring systems."

Topics at the upcoming EHX briefing will include brand awareness and business characteristics among security dealers, channel revenues,and an update on the residential building market, including trends in new construction, remodeling and retrofit.

For more information on home systems research or the EHX Fall 2007 briefing, contact Parks Associates at 972-490-1113 or www.parksassociates.com.

Apple Reportedly Cutting Circuit City, Boosting Best Buy Presence

Apple Insider is reporting that the Cupertino-based company is poised to scrap it's efforts to build-up "mini-store" locations inside Circuit City, and at the same time expand its presence inside Best Buy stores nationwide.

Apple currently has about 230 mini-store locations inside Best Buy's across the country. The company is reportedly seeking to expand that number to 270 before the end of 2007. The Best Buy stores carry a variety of Apple products including new Macs, iPods, software and other accessories.

For more information, click here.

Gateway Unveils Two New HD Displays

Gateway, Inc., took the wraps off two new HD displays featuring advanced technology to enhance the viewing experience for entertainment and productivity applications, as well as universal connectivity to PCs and today's most popular consumer electronics devices.

The new Gateway 24-inch High Definition Widescreen LCD (FHD2400) and the 22-inch High Definition Widescreen LCD (HD2200) deliver cutting-edge features including soft touch controls, ultra bright glare panels with fast response times, high definition resolutions and DCDi by Faroudja enhanced video processing. Each display offers universal connections to content and video sources via multiple analog and digital video inputs, making them just as easy to use with consumer electronics as with a PC.

Both Gateway displays feature an all-new premium industrial design and boast a high-gloss polished bezel and brushed aluminum accent bar for elegant styling. For added functionality, the Gateway displays have an EzTouch bezel, which features back-lit buttons that remain effectively invisible until needed. The touch-sensitive controls provide access to on-screen menus for tuning the brightness, contrast and other features of the displays.

"Following the successful launch earlier this month of our industry-leading 30-inch Extreme HD display, the Gateway 24-inch and 22-inch offerings round out our new line of displays with cutting-edge technology across the board," says John Schindler, Gateway's Director of Consumer Product Marketing. "The 24-inch and 22-inch displays deliver advanced technology and features that meet a wide variety of consumer viewing needs for the latest PC, gaming and entertainment applications."

For more information, visit www.gateway.com.

ICE Partners with Auto Intelligence

In Car Experts Inc. (ICE) has created a strategic marketing alliance with Auto Intelligence.

Continuing its goal of providing valuable retailer services and products, In Car Experts (ICE) has partnered with Auto Intelligence to offer its members, "the best product and information available in the Bluetooth installation market," the association said in a statement today. The move makes Auto Intelligence an ICE Preferred Vendor, giving members access to special services and offers on the the company's high-quality BlueConnect Bluetooth hands-free product line

"Auto Intelligence clearly saw that the ICE Retailer represented expertise in the install bay and that expertise translated into consumers getting quality product by the best installers in the country," says ICE Director of Vendor Relations David Schwartz . "Auto Intelligence offers the consumer products that allow them to have hands-free cell phone operation in their car from an installed device that seamlessly integrates into the vehicle's interior. The BlueConnect products are considered best of class in the category. A number of ICE Accessory Committee Members have tested the product and found the BlueConnect product to be exceptional in every way."

For more information, visit www.incarexperts.com.

Sandisk Sues 25 Manufacturers to Enforce Memory System Patents

SanDisk Corporation filed three massive patent infringement actions against 25 companies that manufacture, sell and import USB flash drives, CompactFlash cards, multimedia cards, MP3/media players and other removable flash storage products today in a move that could has massive repercussions for the industry.

The company, which filed in the United States District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and in the United States International Trade Commission ("ITC"), alleges that variety of SanDisk system-level patents are routinely being violated by competitors and seeks an injunction against the sale of thousands of consumer devices that fall under that purview.

"These actions demonstrate SanDisk's long-term commitment to enforcing its patents, both to protect our investment in research and development by obtaining a fair return on that investment, and out of fairness to third-parties that participate in our patent licensing program," says E. Earle Thompson, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at SanDisk. "Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program for card and system technology. Otherwise, we will aggressively pursue these actions, seeking a prompt judicial resolution awarding damages, obtaining injunctive relief and banning importation of infringing product."

SanDisk has named the following companies in the suit: ACP-EP Memory, A-Data, Apacer, Behavior Computer (d/b/a Emprex), Buffalo, Chipsbank, Corsair Memory, Dane-Elec, Edge, Imation/Memorex, Interactive Media (d/b/a Kanguru), Kaser, Kingston, LG Electronics, Phison Electronics, PNY, PQI, Silicon Motion, Skymedi, Transcend, TSR (d/b/a T.One), USBest, Verbatim, Welldone Company and Zotek/Zodata (d/b/a Huke)

SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is one of the world's largest suppliers of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the United States. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com.

CEA: Global CE Industry Revenues Exceed $600 Billion

Essential information for building businesses and refining global strategies is revealed in a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association, which sheds light on consumer attitudes around the world regarding brands, product information sources and retail channels. CEA also released global consumer electronics sales in aggregate and by major product categories, groundbreaking new data collected in conjunction with GfK, a Germany-based global research firm.

The report, International CE Ownership and Market Potential, focuses on nine countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and the United States and provides a country-by-country analysis of CE ownership, usage and intent to buy. The survey also studies media consumption and expenditures, shopping processes and the psychographic and cultural differences that influence consumers' purchasing behaviors around the world.

The study also finds that global CE industry revenues will exceed $600 billion in 2007. This year, global sales of mobile phones through retail channels are expected to reach almost one billion units. Sales of televisions are expected to reach nearly 200 million units and more than 100 million computers will be sold.

"Mobile phones, televisions and personal computers currently account for more than half of global CE revenue," says Tim Herbert, Senior Director of Market Research, CEA. "But as other countries continue to adopt newer products, the global CE product mix will shift to include digital imaging and portable entertainment."

International CE Ownership and Market Potential was designed and formulated by CEA Market Research. The global consumer electronics revenue figure was calculated in collaboration with GfK. The complete report is available free to CEA member companies. Non-members may purchase the study at www.ebrain.org.

Western Digital to Open HDD Design Center in Colorado

Western Digital has selected a site and signed a multi-year lease for its planned hard drive design center in Longmont, Colo. The company expects the design center to be operational by December 1.   

The second-largest hard drive manufacturer worldwide, WD is growing quickly. The company has seen its revenue jump about 20 percent per year for the past five years, doubling annual revenue from $2.7 billion to $5.5 billion between fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2007.

"Our growth and diversification these past few years is a result of continued, substantial investment in people, technology and equipment," says John Coyne, President and CEO for WD. "The Longmont design center is an important part of that investment and expansion strategy."

Establishing the new design center is one move the company is making to facilitate continued growth by expanding its engineering capability. A significant hard drive engineering talent pool is in Longmont, built from a long history of industry companies locating design arms there.

For more information, visit www.westerndigital.com.

CEA Elects 2008 Board Leadership

The Consumer Electronics Association announced leadership positions elected to the association's Executive Board today, including a second term for Chairman Pat Lavelle, President and CEO of Audiovox, and Vice Chairman Gary Yacoubian, President and COO, MyerEmco Audio Video.

“CEA is fortunate to have such an impressive roster of dynamic, engaged volunteers serving the industry through representation on the Executive Board and Board of Industry Leaders,” says Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA. “Their leadership, wisdom and dedication assist us in our mission of advancing the industry on a daily basis.”

CEA’s Board of Industry Leaders represents the organization’s 2,200 corporate members. The group meets throughout the year to review the state of the industry and help shape strategic goals for CEA. Members of the board are elected by CEA members. The Executive Board, which is elected by the Board of Industry Leaders, determines CEA policies, manages the association’s affairs and defines qualifications for membership.

Loyd Ivey, founder and CEO of Mitek Corp., will remain as the immediate Past Chairman of the Executive Board. New Executive Board members include Stewart Muller, President, Philips Consumer Electronics North America; Michael Mohr, President, Celluphone Inc.; Steve Caldero, Senior Vice President and COO, Ken Crane’s Home Entertainment; Henry Chiarelli, President, DBL Distributing and Ilana Diamond, CEO, Sima Products. Returning Executive Board members include Phillip Schoonover, President and CEO, Circuit City; Noel Lee, “head monster,” Monster Cable; Jay McLellan, President and CEO, Home Automation Inc. and Grant Russell, President, Kleen Concepts. Peter Lesser, President, X-10 USA Inc., remains CEA’s Industry Executive Advisor.

For more information, click here.