Wedbush Securities upgraded Best Buy to “neutral” from “underperform,” in a research note to investors Wednesday, saying the retailer has “consistently defied our expectations,” by settling on "the right formula for long-term growth.” Analyst Michael Pachter applauded Best Buy for achieving “difficult financial targets” year after year. Pachter still has concerns about competition from Amazon but said it's poised to deliver on its promises in coming years. The analyst adjusted FY 2020 estimates for revenue of $42.6 billion from $41.9 billion and for 2020 earnings per share to $5.46 from $5.30, reflecting better comparable sales than previously estimated. Best Buy has “thrived despite heavy competition from Amazon,” and the battle will continue, but Best Buy “has firmly established itself as ‘the last man standing’ in consumer electronics retail,” Pachter said, attributing its ability to maintain share “in the face of heavy odds" to a focus on customer service.
Baker Bellfield, a U.K. solutions provider for the rail industry, launched a wireless charging system for smartphones using Qi-based Aircharge technology, said the companies Wednesday. On-train wireless charging will debut on refurbished and reconfigured South Western Railway first-class cars as a complimentary service. The chargers work with more than 130 Qi-certified smartphones, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models, said the companies. The inductive wireless charging units are the first to be manufactured specifically for the railroad industry and meet required industry standards, they said. The Baker Bellfield chargers can be surface or sub-surface-mounted into tables, seat-back tables, window panels, grab rails and side ceiling panels and are expected to be designed into other rail vehicles in the future.
Best Buy's smartphone and PC category slipped a percentage point in share of overall sales mix during Q3 ended Oct. 28, it reported Tuesday. Despite closing 287 Best Buy Mobile stores in the past year, CEO Hubert Joly said, Best Buy is investing significantly in the mobile segment -- including sales associates -- to streamline the buying process along with carriers as part of its Mobile 2020 initiative. Calling that “complex,” Joly said the company has “menu boards” to help consumers compare promotions and plans from AT&T Wireless, Sprint and Verizon. Having all three carriers is an advantage against other third-party retailers, said Joly, acknowledging carriers’ and Apple’s competitive strength in stores. This quarter, it's adding stores to do Apple screen repair as a service differentiator to meet the trend of longer phone ownership, said Mike Mohan, chief operating officer, Best Buy U.S.
Screen-based devices -- ranging from TVs to smartphones -- will be some of the hottest electronics deals this week, with a heavy focus on cellular, according to Black Friday circulars. Carrier deals on iPhones include $200 off the iPhone X on Sprint with activation and a 24-month contract; Verizon is offering $100 off the X generation phones on an upgrade or $300 off a wide range of iPhones and smartphones from Samsung, Google Pixel, LG, HTC and Motorola with a trade-in, 24-month financing and a new line. Walmart’s opening circular page features a generic smartphone display with the retailer’s app, underscoring Walmart’s emphasis this year on mobile shopping. Target's Black Friday preview advertises a $300 gift card with purchase and activation of a Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+.
Infrared-based wireless charging company Wi-Charge announced a kit for a wired Amazon Echo Dot or Google Home Mini smart speaker. The kit “transforms” the miniature smart speakers into “completely wire-free devices” that don’t have to be tethered to a power cord, said the company Friday. Included are a wireless charger and wireless power receiver modules; data sheets and reference design schematics; direct access to Wi-Charge engineers for help and best-practice sharing; assistance with obtaining required safety certifications; and no-cost upgrades with the option of replacing modules with future hardware versions, said the company.
The 175 million people who pay for streaming music today will rise to 300 million, amid more listening on the go, said Sonos CEO Patrick Spence Thursday, reporting quarterly results. Sonos has a three-year road map including “several products that take us outside the home,” he said. The company's core products haven’t been affected by tariffs, though a few accessories felt minimal impact, the chief said. “We definitely do not believe that tariffs are a sound long-term economic policy.” The company is considering doing “something on the price front, if we had to,” he said. Revenue grew 27 percent to $273 million in the period ended Sept. 29 from the year-ago quarter. Net loss narrowed to $1.8 million from $15 million. The stock closed up 9 percent Friday at $15.44.
Riva Audio began selling its voice-enabled Concert smart speaker exclusively through Amazon, said the company Thursday. The $199 speaker has a tap-to-talk feature, allowing users to control the speaker by voice from the Riva Voice app, it said, and its three mics can detect and respond to voice commands from 25 feet away while the speaker is at a high volume. It’s compatible with Alexa Skills, allows users to call and send messages to contacts using Alexa Calling and can work as an intercom using the Alexa Drop In feature, it said. The speaker’s open architecture and memory allow future Alexa updates such as multiroom music for whole-home audio, Riva said. The Concert has analog 3.5 mm inputs for legacy music sources; provides wireless streaming over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirPlay; offers USB charging; and supports media servers, local content and Digital Living Network Alliance devices, said the company. The tabletop counterpart, called Stadium, is due later this year.
Dolby began selling from its website its $599 Bluetooth headphones designed to improve the streaming video experience. Called Dolby Dimension, they are designed to let viewers control how much of their surroundings they hear from “transparency” to “shutting out the world,” it said. In a Wednesday news release, CEO Kevin Yeaman said the headphones are designed to eliminate “volume rodeos,” where consumers have to turn volume up and down so they don’t disturb others or turn on subtitles to hear soft dialogue. Features include LifeMix, which controls the amount of outside sound heard; cinematic sound, designed to provide an immersive experience; and one-touch switching, which toggles among Bluetooth sources. The Dolby Dimension app, for iOS and Android platforms, lets users adjust LifeMix, virtualization and head tracking and to manage paired devices. The headphones come with a power base for charging. The Dolby site says beamforming mics provide clarity for calls, and users can choose to take calls or activate Siri or Google Assistant. A chat agent said users press and hold the headphones’ control plate for a few seconds when connected to a Siri- or Google Assistant-enabled mobile device for an experience that’s like using the mic on a smartphone or tablet. A video promoting the headphones didn’t demo the voice feature. Dolby is offering a 30-day in-home trial of Dimension and will refund the original price paid -- and pay for return shipping -- if a customer isn’t satisfied. The company didn't respond to questions.
The foldable phone, a design Samsung previewed last week (see 1811070058), could disrupt the stagnating smartphone industry, or be a “solution looking for a problem,” wrote IHS' Wayne Lam in a Monday research note: Samsung needs developers to help launch the category with a “killer application” that motivates consumers to switch. Larger screens, longer aspect ratios and shrinking bezels made smartphones better, but as designs converge, "subsequent design innovations also begin to stagnate,” Lam said. The foldable design is the “logical next step” for more immersive experiences, he said: Google’s backing is important. Though consumers show a willingness to pay higher smartphone prices, don't "assume that the price elasticity of smartphones can be stretched into price ranges that overlap with tablets, mobile PCs and other products,” he said. China’s Royole last month unveiled the first-ever foldable-screen smartphone, IHS said.
Up next for HDMI 2.1 specifications is gaming, with set-top boxes and others to come later, its New York media event was told Thursday. A Microsoft upgrade for Xbox One X is enabling some features, said HDMI Licensing Administrator President Rob Tobias. The 48 Gbps high-bandwidth fixed-rate link signaling technology, a replacement for transition-minimized differential signaling, is under development, he said, and “toward the end of the pipeline.” HDMI 2.1 semiconductor and IP core technologies have been announced by AMD, LG, Lattice Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and others. The chips are “enablers” for TVs, PCs and set-tops to bring next-generation technologies to market, said Tobias. For 2019, he said “brand-name” HDMI 2.1 SoCs supporting set-tops, streaming media sticks and other products are expected to be announced.