All items in category Blogs
Follow the Leader, Leader, Leader... Spatial Audio? What Will They Come Up With Next?
by Joao Martins

Follow the Leader, Leader, Leader... Spatial Audio? What Will They Come Up With Next?

As it was announced during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference back in June 2020, among all the spectacular updates to all the company's operating systems (iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14), Apple discussed a new firmware update that would add spatial audio support for the company's AirPods Pro. Well, a few days ago, Apple did release the promised firmware update and suddenly, the spatial audio support in the AirPods Pro was a reality. And what an update! As everyone realized soon enough, the results are simply spectacular and very noticeable while watching movies with good soundtracks.
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Actively Smart True Wireless Earbuds: How to Augment Your Hearing
by Joao Martins

Actively Smart True Wireless Earbuds: How to Augment Your Hearing

IFA 2020, in Berlin, Germany, was "the first major global fair for consumer and home electronics" to physically take place since the pandemic. This limited push to promote a trade show again, lead some major consumer electronics companies and brands to converge their announcements in the week from September 1-5, with showcases streamed to the world live from the Berlin exhibition grounds. Some announcements were relevant to the audio industry and included the Qualcomm press conference, which used the opportunity to launch its latest Adaptive ANC platform, an important step towards smart true wireless earbuds.
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New Digital Behaviors: A New Calendar for the Audio Industry
by Joao Martins

New Digital Behaviors: A New Calendar for the Audio Industry

With the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic effects, in the same way as many retailers' business and entire distribution models have been disrupted, consumer behavior changes are also affecting the manufacturers' calendars in general. The industry is no longer depending on massive industry events that in the past have determined important product launch and promotion cycles.
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The Intelligent Microphone: The Next Generation of MEMS Microphone Technology
by Mike Klasco

The Intelligent Microphone: The Next Generation of MEMS Microphone Technology

At the end of July 2020, audioXpress ran a product release on Vesper's VM3011 intelligent digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphone. Its claim to fame is a power saving architecture that enables battery standby life that otherwise would be unattainable without the "smarts." There are another half-dozen developers working on integrating all sorts of capabilities within the MEMS mic package. This article, originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter, discusses those developments.
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Sonos Settles Another Patent Infringement Case and Agrees on Multi-Year Licensing Deal with Lenbrook
by Joao Martins

Sonos Settles Another Patent Infringement Case and Agrees on Multi-Year Licensing Deal with Lenbrook

Sonos and Lenbrook Industries reached a settlement in Sonos’ patent infringement lawsuit against Lenbrook regarding the Bluesound wireless audio systems. Undisclosed terms include a multi-year licensing deal associated with all BluOS enabled solutions worldwide. This announcement comes after a patent infringement deal was also settled with Sound United regarding the Denon HEOS solutions. Sonos continues to fight in court against Google to protect its wireless audio patents.
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CTA Confirms CES 2021 Will Be A Digital-Only Virtual Experience
by Joao Martins

CTA Confirms CES 2021 Will Be A Digital-Only Virtual Experience

To much concern all across the global technology industries, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced CES 2021 – January 6-9, 2021 – will be an all-digital experience. Meaning, there will be no CES 2021. There will just be more webinars and online "things," which no show promoter has found out until now what they are, who they are for, and how much are they worth. Certainly not for a strong B2B show like CES. Anyway, given the global pandemic situation, it was all predictable.
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Intel Announces Thunderbolt 4 Specification: Technology Changes Fast, Reality Moves Slower
by Joao Martins

Intel Announces Thunderbolt 4 Specification: Technology Changes Fast, Reality Moves Slower

Intel revealed new details about Thunderbolt 4, the next generation of its universal cable connectivity solution. delivering increased minimum performance requirements, expanded capabilities, and USB4 specification compliance. This means that even though USB4 remains the good-enough universal solution for all consumer devices, Intel intends to ensure Thunderbolt will remain on its own path to offer the most powerful and reliable alternative for power users - professional users, corporate and media applications. And that enables Intel to sell hardware, while keeping control of at least the certification processes.
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Speech Quality in Conferencing Scenarios: Understanding All Optimization Requirements
by Hans W. Gierlich

Speech Quality in Conferencing Scenarios: Understanding All Optimization Requirements

While on the one hand, we experience the benefit of having communication possibilities anytime and anywhere and use all types of communication platforms allowing us to interact in virtual conferences without being present physically - we also experience significant variations in communication quality, especially when being involved in virtual meetings. The question is: What is communication quality and which factors distinguish good communication quality from poor communication quality?
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Voice Commands on The Edge: How Syntiant Is Solving the Power Problem
by David Lindberg

Voice Commands on The Edge: How Syntiant Is Solving the Power Problem

Alexa! OK Google! Hey Siri! Did we get your attention? If we were to have read that aloud most of us would have our favorite robot voice asking us what we want. Whether it is Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or another assistant, voice commands are the logical next step in user interfaces (UI). The uptake in the market has been extremely good for these devices. However, deployment has exposed some major issues with this technology. In this article I'm going to discuss the Syntiant NDP 10x processor and how it solves the aforementioned challenges.
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Online Events Business: What's the Alternative to a Trade Show?
by Joao Martins

Online Events Business: What's the Alternative to a Trade Show?

Event and trade show promoters still have a business - and it has nothing to do with media, content, or education. They are not supposed to try and do what companies should do themselves, much less become a sort of "closed-circuit broadcaster," social media booster, or podcast promoter. Talking to a closed circuit is exactly the reason why companies need a trade show: to break the loop. That is also the reason why companies need media - to amplify their messages and reach new buyers and markets.
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