Avidworx Offers Free Displays to Worthy Dealer

Avidworx Productions Inc. is accepting submissions for its second annual Pay it Forward giveaway to help ‘raise the profile of mobile electronics retailers everywhere, one store at a time.’

The lucky recipient will receive a free Avidworx car electronics retail displays to help store sales and appearance.

Last year’s recipient was Lance Putnam of Audio Center in Richmond, KY who received $16.000 in electronics showcases.

Putnam said, “We have had our new showcases for a couple of months now, and the customer response has been wonderful. People naturally gravitate towards the interactive display …We have seen an increase in remote start/security upgrades on about 20 percent of our tickets to the tune of $150 to $250.”

He adds, “My favorite display is the back-up camera and monitors. This is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our business. Selling back-up cameras with this showcase is like selling Snickers bars at a Weight Watchers convention.”

In exchange for the new product showcases, Putnam agreed to “pay it forward” by contributing a small share of his sales back into the program. After a few years, the Pay It Forward fund will be self-sustaining, Avidworx said.

The winner of this year’s Pay It Forward program will be announced at the conclusion of the Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 11, 2013.

To qualify, a store must “Like” the Avidworx Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AVIDWORX), and write a little about their store(s) and their goals.

Avidworx said, “The value of the prize package will depend on the chosen retailer’s needs, goals, existing product lines and where we feel Avidworx can make the greatest difference.”

“Over the years, as we’ve worked with hundreds of retailers to upgrade and diversity their retail environments, we noticed that a lot of stores were falling behind,” said Avidworx President Marcel Newell. “While the products themselves are more advanced, the retail experience has not kept up. We know from our customers and research that our interactive showcases increase sales, that it pays to diversify, that customers from all walks of life are looking for a clean, interactive and user-friendly experience. We know that a good presentation can counter negative trends like internet comparison shopping, and that people will pay more — and buy more — when a store looks like it’s worth it.”

Source: Avidworx

Clarion Launches Next GATE

Clarion introduced Monday a windshield mounted tablet-like device that can control apps on your iPhone.

Called the Next GATE, it has a 7-inch screen and it acts an in-car (transportable) iPhone controller for key apps including Pandora, TuneIn, Vlingo, INRIX Traffic and Infogation.  More apps will be added in the future.

The device uses the phone’s connection to the Internet but will also have a Cloud connection to a new Clarion service that will permit updates to the device, including adding apps. It’s also Bluetooth enabled for handsfree calling.

“The Next GATE will revolutionize the way people communicate and access information in the vehicle via their iPhone in an intuitive and user-friendly way, keeping their focus on driving,” said Clarion Corp. of America President Paul Lachner.

It will be available June 1 at a suggested $269 at Crutchfield, Amazon and other national retailers to be announced.

Features include a microSD slot, a built-in speaker, suction mount, auxiliary audio output, built in microphone, external microphone and WVGA touch panel.

Among the compatible apps for Next GATE,  TuneIn gives you access to 50,000 live, local and global stations.  Vlingo is a voice recognition app which provides speech to text  for connecting  to email and social media  while behind the wheel.  INRIX is a leading traffic app, Infogration provides turn-by-turn navigation and  Pandora is personalized radio.

Clarion also announced a Cloud service to be offered starting in June that will work with many of Clarion’s future aftermarket navigation and other products. The service links to your smartphone to provide telematics functions including car maintenance and security.

Source: Clarion

Larry Frederick Leaves Elettromedia

Prominent, veteran car audio product developer Larry Frederick has left Elettromedia and is entertaining other possibilities in car electronics.

Frederick is a pioneer in car audio who has developed over 1,000 products in his career.  He holds 2 design patents and his creations have won numerous design and engineering awards.

Frederick was a Technical Director for 5 years at Elettromedia, which sells Hertz and other high end audio brands.  He was the lead product developer for Phoenix Gold in its heyday in the ‘90s and he created the noted ‘Voice of the Highway’ line at Altec Lansing.  He has also held posts at Alpine, Proton, Coustic, Concept and MTX.

Frederick says he looks forward to developing new “products, cultures, and companies that want to hit the independent car audio market.” Frederick may be reached at lafrederick49@gmail.com.

Source: CEoutlook

First Car Audio NFC Device?

A new  gadget plugs into your car stereo and lets you stream music over Near Field Communications (NFC)– a wireless service similar to Bluetooth that is more secure, but has shorter range.

The matchbox-sized Blackberry device plugs into the car radio’s auxiliary jack.  It works with any phone or tablet with NFC, not just Blackberry phones.  And you just tap your phone against the  device to pair it.   Your phone becomes a remote control over the music to change tracks, volume, or pause.

Don’t have an NFC phone?  The $50 device called the BlackBerry Music Gateway, also offers Bluetooth audio streaming if you pair your phone or tablet. And it works with a home stereo too.

We’re not expecting car stereo makers to rush to replace Bluetooth with NFC.   While NFC provides a secure connection, its range is only about 4 inches.

Kenwood’s Rick Noetzli noted, “Right now there just doesn’t seem to be any practical use for NFC, you’d be hard pressed to find a reason you’d need it,” in the case of car audio.

But there may be other uses for NFC on the OEM side, he said.   The car might recognize your key and then adjust seats and other controls to your personal settings.  Harman recently showed such system in a concept vehicle. It also automatically updated your Facebook, Twitter and email when you entered the car for use via Aha’s cloud connected radio app.

The technology might also have a place in car security.  Directed stated, “We are very interested in the direction that Near Field Communications technology is heading, that is the future. While we are closely watching  and keeping up with NFC and many other mobile technologies — we have no products that use Near Field Communications in car aftermarket security at this time.”

The new BlackBerry Gateway (not to be confused with an older version without NFC) is available for pre-order and should be available in June.

Source:  SlashGear, CEoutlook

Photo via SlashGear

MERA Offers Revenew Webinar Next Week

If you want to get noticed on the  web, and  add more traffic to your Facebook page, MERA, the Mobile Electronics Retailers Association, invites you to a ½ hour webinar on May 10^th at noon Pacific/ 3pm Eastern.

Click here to register.

Revenew does most of the work of creating a social network campaign for you. It offers the ability to:

1. BUILD your database with list management and Facebook programs
2. STAY top of mind with ready-to-go e-newsletters and e-flyers
3. FILL the pipeline with co-branded lead generating campaigns
4. EXPAND your reach with referral and relationship marketing

The more suppliers and dealers join the program, the broader and more effective the marketing becomes. Over 200 MERA members have already joined. MERA members receive $100 on their Revenew account to get started! Just go to revenewonline.net to sign up for your free account today!

Vance Pflanz, owner of Pflanz Electronics.offered a testimonial: “We have already seen a significant boost in sales directly attributable to the Revenew program and can even measure success with Revenew’s precise tracking programs. “

For more information about this program, dealers should contact MERA’s Marketing Specialist at Revenew, Brian Calhoun | 847-359-9250 x35 | bcalhoun@revenew.com

Suppliers should contact Kara Holder | 847.359.9250 x32 | kholder@revenew.com | www.revenewonline.com

Kenwood announced a program with Revenew this week.

Kenwood Teams with Revenew, Garmin

Kenwood’s latest promotion with Garmin has a new twist as the car stereo supplier is now also working with Revenew Systems,  to help retailers promote on the web.

With Garmin, Kenwood is offering a mail-in rebate on 3 in-dash navigation DNX receivers through July 31. (Garmin and Kenwood have worked together for 10 years to bring Garmin navigation to Kenwood receivers).  With Revenew Systems, dealers can set up an account, and upload their logo and then blast ads on the Kenwood Garmin promotion on key sites on the web.

Revenew offers a pay-as-you-go plan so a retailer might pay $175 for a Kenwood/Garmin rebate banner ad co-branded with the dealer’s logo and information.  For that sum, the ad would automatically appear on 60 different web sites where car audio enthusiasts gather.  That cost would generate about 20,000 impressions, with very little work for the retailer.

Revenew has already done the research on car audio forums and the ideal sites to place 12 volt advertising, it said.

Revenew stores the art materials for Kenwood so that dealers may easily access and it and participate in promotions.  Dealers may also buy ads for Facebook, or set up email blasts, post cards and other promotions.

“Through education and incentive, we intend to give our dealers the opportunity to step customers up from a bare bones in-dash model, or portable GPS unit, or even a smartphone application into a full featured premium navigation/entertainment system,” said Kenwood’s Dave Hoag.   “Our partnerships with Garmin and Revenew Systems are a combination unique to the mobile electronics industry and we encourage authorized Kenwood retailers to activate these tools to maximize their customer conversion and sales volume.”

Revenew claims strong industry participation by home theater suppliers including Sony and Samsung and retailers.  It’s goal is to now broaden into mobile electronics.

Kenwood’s mail-in rebate program with Garmin offers the following rebates:

Model              Sugg. Retail Price       Consumer Rebate

DNX9990HD         $1,800.00                      $100.00

DNX7190HD         $1,200.00                      $100.00

DNX6990HD         $1,500.00                      $100.00

Source: Kenwood and Revenew 

 

TomTom Adds Free Roadside Assistance

TomTom announced it will offer free roadside assistance along with its “Start” portable navigation devices (PNDs), and it will extend the offer to its VIA and GO LIVE products in the coming months.

The service provides a basic level of roadside support, including the “quick and reliable dispatches of responsible and professional service providers with a simple phone call from anywhere in the U.S,” said the company.

Users also receive:

• Emergency police, fire or medical dispatch.
• Repair facility referral – Helps traveling motorists in need of repairs find a nearby repair center.
• Latitude/longitude vehicle location identification – automatically pinpoints motorists’ location from their TomTom device, to help road service professionals expedite service.
• Cross Country Perks – A discount savings program offering special deals and shopping convenience through a host of well-recognized merchants across the country.
• An offer to receive 20 percent off the first tow (up to $25, online registration required).

The  program joins TomTom’s paid Roadside Assistance program with additional  services offered through Cross Country Motor Club with access to more than 30,000 towing and road service professionals around the clock.

The free basic roadside option is good for 4 years or until TomTom’s provider no longer offers TomTom Roadside Assistance.

Source: TomTom

 

 

Pioneer Study Finds High In-Car App Use

Almost 80 percent of smartphone owners use apps in the car, according to a recent study by Harris Interactive on behalf of Pioneer.

The top 3 most used apps are maps and navigation (56 percent), music (31 percent) and social networking (24 percent).

Pioneer also announced  Wednesday that its Android kit for the AppRadio2 is now available. The $119 cable kit lets the AppRadio2 work with 15 models of Android phones, in addition to working with the iPhone.

The AppRadio 2 ($499)  is an in-dash control station, much like a speaker dock for a smartphone, only for the car.  It can control select apps, and music from both Android phones and the iPhone, while displaying song information and art and app info on a 7-inch capacitive touch screen.

Garmin Ships 100 Millionth Unit; PND Update

Garmin announced it has now shipped 100 million units to date in auto, fitness, sports, marine and aviation products since the company’s inception in 1989.

Garmin also reported that for the first 3 months of the year, sales of PNDs (portable navigation devices) showed a narrower decline than expected in the U.S. and the European market also performed better than expected.  Average selling prices for PNDs also remained flat with last year and are forecast to hold firm for the remainder of the year.

As a result,  Garmin saw an increase in sales in its automotive division of 6 percent to $280 million for Q1 ending in March compared to a year ago, it said Wednesday.

The gains in automotive are not expected to continue, however.  Garmin predicts the total PND global market wi;ll shrink by 10 percent this year.  The company also said it has a 66 percent market share in PNDs in the U.S., up from about 63 percent earlier.

In terms of the company’s recent entry into the full auto infotainment OEM market (not just OEM GPS, as in the past), Garmin said, “Suzuki is just the beginning as it relates to broader market opportunities,” according to COO Cliff Pemble.

In other categories, Garmin said outdoor product sales increased 16 percent to $77 million in Q1 compared to a year ago.  Fitness product sales rose by 26 percent to $71 million, marine sales grew by 9 percent to $56 million and aviation sales grew 5 percent to $73 million.

As far as its overall sales, Garmin reported revenues for Q1 increased by 10 percent to $557 million compared to last year. Net income was $496,000, compared to a loss of $17.6 million in the quarter a year ago.

Source: Garmin

Sirius XM Planning Pandora-Like Service

Sirius XM is planning a personalized version of its satellite radio service to compete with the likes of Pandora.

CEO Mel Karmazin said Tuesday, “Late this year, we plan to debut a SiriusXM version of personalized music online, allowing subscribers to tailor their favorite SiriusXM music channels to their tastes.” He said that the personalized music service would be commercial free and would be offered at no extra charge to those who already have an Internet Listening option on their plans.

Karmazin added during a conference call with analysts, “Free and freemium competitors online will have a tough time matching the commercial-free aspect of SiriusXM branded music combined with the unique sports and talk content we offer.”

Billboard magazine concluded, “Make no mistake, Sirius XM is targeting the likes of Pandora and Spotify.”

Source:  Billboard Magazine, Sirius XM via Seeking Alpha

Harman Hires Ihrke Formerly of Alpine

Harman strengthened its car aftermarket management team, hiring Glenn Ihrke, a 25-year veteran of Alpine Electronics as Harman’s Senior Sales Manager for the Mobile Aftermarket—a newly created post.

Ihrke is responsible for car audio aftermarket sales for the Americas and reports directly to Dave Rogers, VP and GM of Harman’s Lifestyle Division. His official start date was April 23.

Ihrke had been VP of Sales when left Alpine in early 2010.  His new post marks his return to the automotive aftermarket.  He may be reached at Glenn.Ihrke@harman.com.

OnStar Drops Mirror Price to $99

OnStar will drop the price of its FMV retail mirror to $99 including installation this spring to help boost sales.

The steep price cut for the retail mirror, formerly at $299 (without installation), follows tepid sales of the mirror, which has sold short of 30,000 units since last summer.

Under the new program, OnStar will offer the $99 price tag from May 6 through June 16 for the Dads and Grads/Mother’s Day season.  Retailers say the price will then rise slightly to $149 with installation for the remainder of June.

The mirror continues to carry the same service fees to consumers for roadside and emergency services plus handsfree calling starting at $199/year, said OnStar.

Retailers will receive several stipends and free merchandise to help offset the cost of the program, sources said.

These include a $25 stipend for every mirror sold.  And during the $99 promotion, retailers will also get an extra $65 “bounty” for each mirror activated. Plus retailers will be offered free mirrors to offset higher prices on older inventory.

OnStar noted that the mirror responded well to a price promotion held over the Christmas holidays when the price dropped to $199.

OnStar also reported demographic data on the typical FMV (For My Vehicle) aftermarket mirror user.

The mirror is most often used by those who own a Toyota (almost 16%) followed by Ford (over 12%),  Chevrolet and Honda each at about 12%.

31 percent of Ford vehicle owners who installed FMV already had Ford Sync available.

OnStar compares the full cost of the mirror to a cup of coffee.  Even with the premium service that includes turn-by-turn directions (at $299 a year), plus the $99 mirror, the cost of ownership would amount to $1.09 per day, less than a cup of coffee.

Source: OnStar

JVC’s 12V Video with Halestorm Has New Focus

JVC Mobile’s fifth “Turn Me On” campaign is a bit different this year.  The girls in the car are gone and instead, the company is showing a longer “Rocumentary-style” viral video showing hard rock band Halestrom on a road tour.

The video also shows off JVC’s in-dash AV/ navigation receivers using apps like  MotionX GPS and iHeartRadio  from a smartphone.

You can view the video here.

JVC’s “Turn Me On” campaigns for car audio launched in 2008 and have won 40 million combined views amounting to over 2 billion brand impressions.

This year’s video will have a 3-episode format. The video above is Chapter 1, which released Tuesday.  Each video will show JVC’s in-car AV/navigation receivers with a popular iPhone app.

The company is also launching a  Facebook contest to celebrate JVC Mobile’s 30^th Anniversary in the USA and the launch of the new video.

Source: JVC Mobile Entertainment

Scosche Plans Expansion in Car Audio

Scosche Industries has hired former Alpine product developer Jason Kemmerer, as it plans to expand its car audio lineup, it announced.

Kemmerer, who was Product Planning Division Manager at Alpine, and “the driving force behind products such as PDX, Type-R and Imprint over the past 14 years,” will be responsible for “expanding the current line of automotive products” and “the direction of new product development” at Scosche.

“We want to revolutionize car audio again…not commoditize it! Bringing in Jason Kemmerer will allow us to expand our product line up in an innovative way.  His ideas will be heard and acted on,” said Kas Alves, Scosche Exec VP.

In his new role of Director of Product Management-Automotive, Kemerrer will also oversee technical support teams and work closely with marketing and sales teams.

“With his expertise, Scosche looks forward to reinventing the integration between the consumer aftermarket and original equipment that exists in the vehicle,” said Roger Alves president, Scosche Industries.  “I am personally excited about working closely with Jason to reshape our future.”

Scosche Industries is parent to brands including Scosche, REALM, EFX, BlueFusion and Accumat.

Source: Scosche Industries

Directed Ships Quick Install XpressStart for GM, Chrysler

Directed is shipping new kits that work with GM and Chrysler cars to reduce installation time for adding remote start or remote-start-from-a-phone.

Directed’s XpressKit  offers a smart interface that uses the car’s existing technology to bypass the need for a remote start module.  The kits now shave an hour off installation time for remote start as they come bundled with the proper wiring harness plus a SmartStart module (for smartphone control over remote start).

In the past, users needed both a remote start module and an interface kit if they wanted to add remote start to a vehicle.  But increasingly, newer cars are shipping with basic technology for the feature already built-in (sometimes it’s activated and sometimes the car is only remote start-capable).

“Now the interface does it all by harnessing the car’s technology.  That’s the future of our industry,” said Jim Jardin, Directed VP Marketing.

The kits can also add SmartStart GPS (vehicle tracking) to a factory remote start system, or they can add unlimited range and smartphone control.

The kits permit use of your factory key transmitter to control the system.  And the kits are firmware updatable.

They work with GM and Chrysler cars model years 2008 and later and include 3 Chrysler and 2 GM models.

The kits began shipping on Friday starting at $299 street price.

Specifically, they are designed to work with RSR (remote start ready) or RXT (range extender ready) vehicles.

Source: Directed

Hybrid Audio Adds Top Ultra High End Midrange

Hybrid Audio Technologies is shipping the company’s first midrange driver to use a dome tweeter.

Hybrid Audio makes six levels of speaker components; from the budget-friendly Stage I Mirus series, to the ultra high-end Stage V Legatia and Stage VI Legatia models.  It’s latest speaker is a Stage VI model.

“We felt there was a demand for a Hybrid Audio dome midrange, and after receiving feedback on our various social media sites supporting the endeavor, we decided to go into production,” said Scott Buwalda, company founder and lead speaker engineer. Until now, the company has produced cone midrange and midbass speakers.

The Legatia L3 Pro is a competition grade speaker with a sealed-back design, requiring no additional airspace, allowing for many installation options, “excellent frequency response, low inductance, and excellent sensitivity,” said the company. It has a fully machined aluminum body, fine fabric diaphragm, and a tuned polypropylene chamber with heavy-gauge spring-loaded terminals, and will be offered in natural machined silver and black anodized colors.

Power handling with proper filtering is 175 watts maximum.

Suggested retail price is is $599.99/set.

Source: Hybrid Audio Technologies

Harman Brands Coming to More Cars

Harman said it continues to gain market share in OEM car audio and infotainment.  And its Harman Kardon and JBL names will be more widely available in new car high end audio systems.

Harman also said Monday, it is benefiting from its deals with luxury car makers.

“The luxury car segment we serve has been highly resilient and has outpaced the overall automotive market, and we continue to gain market share,” said CEO  Dinesh C. Paliwal.

For branded audio systems, the Harman Kardon name will appear in BMW X3, 5, 6 and 7 series luxury vehicles in a new deal with the auto maker.  Harman also extended its premium audio relationship with Daimler for Harman Kardon branded systems on Mercedes M, GLK, A, B, SLK, and SL class vehicles.

In new Chinese and Indian cars, the JBL brand will appear in various vehicles.

At the Geneva Motor Show, Harman also announced new deals to bring the JBL name to the Ferrari F12 and the Peugeot 208 and it announced a Harman Kardon branded system for the MINI Roadster R59 and for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

Harman also announced it received its largest order for OEM  infotainment—at $2 billion–from an automaker.

It also received over $500 million in infotainment orders from Chinese and Indian automakers, its largest to date from those countries.

Its infotainment division, which includes OEM audio, reported a 15 percent jump in sales Monday for the recent quarter ended March 31.

In company-wide results for the quarter, Harman increased both income and sales.  Net income rose to $173 million, up from $37 million a year ago.  Net sales increased 16 percent to about $1.1 billion, up from $948 million.

The Future of Teen Tracking

AT&T wants to play a leading role in “smart car solutions” in the future and so it has launched a research project that could be the future of teen tracking.  The technology might also be used to tell if an elderly driver is no longer driving safely.

The company has created a device that plugs into the car’s on-board computer to monitor a teen’s driving in real time AND that works with his cellphone so the parent can remotely disable the phone if the kid is texting while driving.

The device transmits info such as car speed, accelerating, steering and braking, as well as GPS coordinates.  Then the phone, through an app, sends out information on its usage.

AT&T then uses cloud processing to analyze the two data streams and add data such as posted speed limits.

Parents can then be alerted as to where their teen is, if he’s wearing a seat belt, if he braked abruptly and if he was texting while any of that happened.

Then the parent can selectively turn on and off phone features.

The system can reveal one’s term driving habits and may also be used for insurance tracking—if a driver agrees to use the technology, he might receive a discount on insurance rates.

In the case of teen tracking,  the device may be unplugged from the engine compartment, but the system would know it had been disabled, and the parent would get an alert.

AT&T said it might open up the system to developers to create additional services such as roadside assistance, theft management and car maintenance.

The project came out of AT&T’s innovation center in Israel as a result of a “fast pitch” presentation by Traffilog, which tracks fleets.

“We decided to repurpose Traffilog’s enterprise fleet management software, mesh it up with the AT&T Network and create a real time smart car policy solution allowing parents to control and understand teen driving habits,” said AT&T’s web page.

At this point, the system is still a research project without a commercial launch date.

Source: Technology Review, AT&T

Photo via Technology Review

New OnStar Exec Is From Dell

General Motors has appointed a new OnStar leader–Mary Chan, formerly of Dell.

Chan’s new title at GM is VP of Global Connected Consumer, which is a new post.  She will oversee Onstar’s business operations and GM’s recently formed global infotainment business unit.

GM said, “With her background in the consumer electronics/enterprise solutions business and experience in the global wireless networks space, she will be key in driving the set up and execution of GM’s strategic global infotainment plans and OnStar’s global expansion. She will also drive stronger integration across all in-vehicle connectivity services and solutions.”

Chan was formerly  Senior VP and GM of enterprise mobility solutions and services at Dell, a post she held since 2009.

Source: Detroit News http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120427/AUTO0103/204270405#ixzz1tWt2HLSm

JVC Kenwood Posts Profit

JVC Kenwood reported its first annual profit since the company formed in October 2008 by merging JVC and Kenwood.

JVC Kenwood posted a net income of about $6 billion yen, or about $72 million for the fiscal year ended March 31.

Sales however were lower by about 10 percent falling to 320,868 million yen.  OEM car audio sales were up for the company as were car audio sales in Japan.  But overall, car electronics sales worldwide dropped slightly.

Car electronics represented 33.4 percent of JVC Kenwood sales compared to 30.8 percent a year earlier.  Net sales for car electronics for the recent fiscal year were 107,281 yen, compared to 108,449 yen a year ago.

For the coming year, JVC Kenwood said car electronics is a key area of focus.  Both sales and profits are expected to increase this year due to an expected increase in car electronics and land mobile radio sales.  Net sales are projected to reach 340 billion yen.

Source: JVC Kenwood, The Stratecon Group

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