CES Announces Best of Innovation Honorees for CES 2017

As it happens every year, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and producer of CES, announced the Best of Innovation Honorees for CES 2017. The annual CES Innovation Awards honors outstanding product design and engineering across 28 product categories. The announcement came from the annual CES Unveiled New York industry event. Among the winners are audio products from ReSound, Crazybaby, OSSIC, SVS and Paradigm Electronics.

GN Audio – the owner of Jabra – announced that it has acquired VXi Corp., the headset manufacturer of both the VXi and BlueParrott brands. Jabra is a brand of the global GN Group and market leader in its segment of audio solutions. The GN Group is made up of GN Hearing with the flagship hearing aid brand ReSound and GN Audio with the flagship brand Jabra, and now also includes the VXi and BlueParrott brands.

Danish hearing loss specialists, ReSound introduced the latest model of its award-winning ReSound LiNX2 Smart Hearing family: the world’s only mini behind-the-ear (BTE) model to feature Made for iPhone, featuring telecoil capabilities. ReSound LiNX2 is the world’s first internet-connected hearing aid, connecting to the Internet to locate misplaced hearing aids and is now available with even more options for users.

True wireless earbuds or hearables seem to be the focus for most of the audio brands in the consumer electronics industry. Given the technology convergence with audiology and communication solutions in this area, we shouldn’t be surprised to see announcements from company leaders in those segments as well. Now, at IFA 2016, Jabra launched its first true wireless earbuds under its new Elite franchise with the promise of superior sound, strong battery life, and advanced personalized fitness analysis.

Christopher J. Struck, Founder, CEO, and Chief Scientist of CJS Labs, has been appointed Standards Director of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) effective 22 May 2015. As Standards Director, Struck will serve as Chair of the ASA Committee on Standards and is responsible for providing leadership and guidance for the Society’s program supporting the development of acoustical standards.

And we’re off! Apple started shipping its Apple Watch device to a few lucky million who pre-ordered online. Many of those first-owners are in fact developers who needed to actually have a Watch to test their application ideas. Surprisingly, Apple reached 3,500 available Apple Watch apps on day 1. As expected, some are music and audio oriented.

Audiology specialist ReSound introduced its new ReSound LiNX2 Made for iPhone hearing aids, setting a new benchmark in Smart Hearing solutions. The new solution combines direct streaming from iOS devices, direct control and personalization with the Resound Smart App and new Spatial Sense processing technology with enormous social benefits.