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Happy 100th Birthday, Consumer Technology Business

Celebrating the 100th birthday of the consumer technology industry with the story behind how and why our business came to be and of those responsible for creating it, in five parts:

Part 1: The Wireless Age

Part 2: A National Priority

Part 3: A Pittsburgh Radio Sensation

Part 4: The Birth of a Business

Part 5: “When The Public Is Ready For Mass Demand”

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How the Consumer Technology Industry Was Born

What we now call the consumer technology industry was born November 30, 1920, when the first consumer electronics product, the two-piece RA-DA, the first commercially produced radio designed for the mass market, rolled off the Westinghouse assembly line in East Pittsburgh. After a two-year period of hectic technological, business and legislative/regulatory developments following the end of World War I, the Westinghouse RA-DA and the entire radio industry emerged, becoming the dominant consumer technology product for three decades. On the centennial of our industry, let’s take a look at the events of 1919-1920 that cleared the way for the future.

Part 1: The Day Radio Died

Part 2: How the Consumer Technology Industry Was Almost Never Born

Part 3: How President Wilson Shaped the Airways

Part 4: Happy 100th Birthday To The Consumer Technology Industry

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SmartTechCheck Podcast TikTok and Congress, Elon Musk and YouTube, and SXSW highlights

This week’s SmartTechCheck podcast hosted by Mark Vena with Rob Pegoraro and John Quain where we discuss the recent Congressional vote on TikTok, Elon Musk’s video streaming initiative to challenge YouTube, and insights on Hollywood and AI observed at SXSW.

Watch this podcast here at YouTube.

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SmartTechCheck Podcast MWC, Qualcomm FastConnect 7900, Apple kills car project, SCOTUS

The always entertaining SmartTechCheck podcast hosted by Mark Vena with Rob Pegoraro and John Quain featuring deep dives on Apple’s cancellation of its car project, SCOTUS on social media laws, Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7900, and other notable MWC24 announcements.

Watch this podcast here at YouTube.

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Circana Predicts 1% Consumer Tech Spending Dip In H1

Fears of a recession have faded if not totally disappeared, but several other economic pressures, along with post-pandemic replacement cycle lags, will dampen consumer tech spending by 1% YoY through the spring, according to Paul Gagnon, VP and consumer technology industry advisor for Circana, formerly IRI + The NPD Group.

Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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The 6 Best Smart Home Hubs of 2024

There are dozens of smart devices—light bulbslocks, displays, doorbells, security systems, indoor/outdoor cameras, thermostats, appliances, plugs, blinds and shades—that are all vying for a place in your 21st century home.

Read the rest of this roundup here at Popular Mechanics’ sister site Best Products.

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Leia Brings Glassesless 3D To Windows, Android Gaming, Chat, Film

Glassless 3D is not coming – it’s here.

Leia, a 2014 spinoff from HP, has brought – and will be bringing more – eyewear-free 3D to a number of Windows laptops and Android devices from Acer, Asus, Dell, ZTE, and likely others.

Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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Orka Two OTC Hearing Aids Reviewed: Excellent Sound, Poor Battery Life

Man, I so wanted to love the Orka Two RIC (receiver in canal) style hearing aids. Their hearing correction yields natural, clear, and loud results. You get better-than-expected Bluetooth for music streaming and hands-free conversation. Like the in-ear Eargo models and the Zepp Clarity Pixie, the Orka Two price includes product-life audiologist consultations. And, Orka’s three-year warranty is the longest in the business.

Read the rest of this review here at Techlicious.com.

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Olive Union Max Review: A Mixed Bag in OTC Hearing Aids

You’re forgiven if, after seeing the photo of the Olive Union Max ($398, currently discounted to $199) accompanying this review, you rhetorically ask: “That’s a hearing aid?” When I first received my Olive Max review sample, that was pretty much my reaction. Hearing aids are literally meant to be heard and not seen, but the Olive Union Max are as physically obvious as Post Malone’s face tattoos, as a sports fan’s team colors face makeup, as anything Billy Porter wears. Except the conspicuous Olive Union Max design isn’t exactly as stylish as these other unique fashion choices; to me, the Max give off more of a Princess Leia cinnamon buns vibe, which even Carrie Fisher wasn’t wholly thrilled with.

Read the rest of this review here at Techlicious.com.

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Is 2024 The Year Of AI?

It’s impossible to avoid dire warnings about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), from the explosion of manipulated images, video, and audio leading to an exponential rise in misinformation, to job losses in writing fields such as the Hollywood writers’ strike, the recent Sport Illustrated AI-generated story kerfuffle, and increasing reports of AI authorship/plagiarism, all the way to dystopic “Terminator” forecasts of a machine-ruled world.

Read the rest of this story here at TWICE.com.

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2024 State Of The Industry: Guarded Optimism

Market roadblocks and negative economic conditions from 2023 linger, but retailers, vendors, and analysts all are hopeful for more positive results in the new year.

Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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CES 2024: AI Pioneers Insist That It Is ‘Here To Stay’

Left to Right: Rajeev Chand, Fei-Fei Li, Andrew Ng (image credit: Mark Reinertson)

People’s opinions of AI vary widely from the possibility of creating a utopian machine-assisted world or precipitate a dystopic machine-dominated future á la SkyNet from the Terminator movie series, with millions of possibilities and potential in between. But two AI pioneers made one thing clear at the “Great Minds, Bold Visions: What’s Next for AI” conference session moderated by Rajeev Chand, partner and head of research at Wing Venture Capital: AI is here to stay and will only become what humans make of it.

Read the rest of this story here at TWICE.com.

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