THX and Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA) combined their training programs to create new classes and certifications for sound room and home theater acoustics, the companies said Friday. The first acoustic calibration and design class will be Wednesday-Sunday at Boulder Station in Las Vegas. The three-level class includes a one-day adviser level program for base knowledge, two-day integrator level program for professional-level certification and a two-day advanced-level program for high-level certification, the companies said.

Dads and grads shopping season was the focus of Pepcom’s DigitalFocus Thursday in New York, where manufacturers showed a wide range of gadgets, from charging accessories to 4K Ultra HD TVs. Price is the key differentiator of the Activeon-made RCA 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Android TV, currently in production and slated for June release, a company spokesman told us. The $699 55-inch model is part of a line that also includes the 50-inch XLD50G65RQ ($499) and a 65-incher for $999, the spokesman said. The lineup will sell through Walmart and regional distributors including h.h. gregg and BrandsMart, he said. Users can search for programs by voice using the Android app on a smartphone, access content on Google Play and share content from Android, iOS, Windows and Chromebook devices via Google Cast, he said. Kube Systems showed Kube Clock, a multidevice alarm clock/charger with a Qi wireless charging pad on the top, and wired micro USB and Apple Lightning charging ports. Up to six devices can charge simultaneously. The compact charger clock, the size of two Roku or Apple TV boxes stacked, launched as a product for the hospitality market where it’s in “thousands” of hotel rooms, Vice President-Product Development Dave Weinstein told us. When hotel guests wrote to the company to find out where they could buy one, Kube decided to develop a consumer version, Weinstein said. Kube Clock began shipping three weeks ago from the company’s e-commerce site and will be available from other e-commerce retailers in 60 days, Weinstein said. Prices are $179 for the Qi model and $149 for the wired charging-only model, he said. Additional consumer products are on the road map but Weinstein wouldn’t elaborate. On the possibility of other wireless charging formats, Weinstein said Kube is part of both the Wireless Power Consortium and the AirFuel Alliance, but the installed base of WPC’s Qi format dictated initial product development plans. Kube will monitor development of other wireless charging standards for future products, he said. Twelve South showed the TimePorter, a $49 glass-case-size travel accessory for the Apple Watch with a slot in the lid for the Watch’s disc-shaped charger. Users can drape the watch across the outside of the case, using the charger's magnet to hold it in place, while the case can be angled to create a stand, a spokesman said.

NAB will increase security at next week's NAB Show, it said in a news release Friday. NAB is “increasing security and law enforcement personnel around the exterior perimeter of the Las Vegas Convention Center and will establish designated building entry and exit points” for the April 16-21 event, though the release said ”there are no known threats to the convention.” An NAB spokesman said the extra security is appropriate “in light of recent incidences, both domestic and global.” The association had said it was considering extra security after the March 22 attacks on Brussels (see 1603220043). The convention security will work “in close consultation” with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Las Vegas Convention Center, the release said. The extra security measures announced for the NAB seem less sweeping than those at January CES, which imposed bag restrictions, stadium-style bag searches and the use of metal detectors and pat-downs at the show's various entrances after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks (see 1512180053).

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a reminder notice Wednesday that new International Civil Aviation Organization restrictions on the air transport of lithium-ion batteries recently took effect. As of April 1, lithium-ion cells and batteries are prohibited as cargo aboard passenger aircraft (except for batteries contained in personal electronic devices). Also beginning April 1, lithium-ion cells may be shipped only at a state of charge of no more than 30 percent of rated capacity on cargo aircraft, and lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries may be offered for transportation only under current provisions for small cells and batteries at one package per consignment or overpack, said PHMSA.

The Global Market Development Center (GMDC), a trade association for health, beauty and wellness retailers, will recommend the ZigBee 3.0 standard and its retail components as part of a liaison agreement between GMDC and the ZigBee Alliance, said the groups Thursday. GMDC members can leverage ZigBee 3.0 in their supply chains and across systems controlling the in-store experience to cut costs and improve product quality, tracking, marketing and merchandising, said GMDC CEO Patrick Spear. ZigBee 3.0 also will give retailers new ways to increase customer loyalty by implementing personal shopping assistants and gateways, intelligent shopping carts, asset tracking systems and energy management solutions, merchandising and marketing systems and pharmacy services on one network, said the trade groups. Also via ZigBee 3.0, retailers can gather information about customer shopping behavior, track inventory and monitor temperature and humidity from the warehouse to stores, they said. The ZigBee 3.0 standard includes device definitions specific to retail service applications along with definitions for sensor and actuator applications that allow retailers to build integrated custom solutions using standard components, they said.

The European Commission should reject the trans-Atlantic data transfer proposal since it doesn't adequately protect people's fundamental privacy and data protection rights, urged Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, (TACD), a forum of 78 U.S. and EU consumer organizations, Thursday. In a resolution, the group said "Privacy Shield does not provide the necessary basis for a decision that the U.S. offers effective and meaningful data protection." The lack of an overarching U.S. data protection law means privacy of its own consumers "creates a barrier to any serious consideration on adequacy," said TACD, which counts the Center for Digital Democracy, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse among 26 U.S. members. The proposed Privacy Shield agreed to in February is expected to be legally challenged once the EC approves it (see 1602290003). The national data protection authorities and EU member states will comment on the proposal (see 1602100026) before it can be adopted (see 1604050065). In its resolution, TACD recommended that the EU delay proposal's adoption until the U.S. guarantees data protection that's essentially equivalent to the level in Europe, publish a detailed legal review of Privacy Shield, enforce current rules to stop unlawful information transfers to the U.S, and approve the proposed General Data Protection Regulation without delay (see 1512160001). TACD also urged the U.S. to approve a comprehensive privacy and data protection framework, support strong encryption, end mass surveillance, give rulemaking authority to the FTC to adopt privacy and data marketing and collection safeguards and update the 1974 Privacy Act of 1974. TACD also wants authorities on both sides to hold an annual and open privacy summit to improve the level of data protection.

MoffettNathanson Friday downgraded its outlook on the wireless sector to neutral, AT&T from neutral to sell and Verizon from buy to neutral. “Telecom stocks have enjoyed an almost pitch-perfect backdrop over the past six months, with a strong dollar, falling interest rates, and falling risk appetites,” the firm said in a note to investors. “Perhaps more surprisingly, the Telecoms have continued to perform well even as the market has rebounded from its February trough as risk appetites expanded, tracking lower expectations for further rate hikes. Both AT&T and Verizon have very substantially outperformed.” The bad news is that device sales are slowing and average revenue per user reported by the carriers “remain challenged,” the firm said. MoffettNathanson was the most bearish on AT&T. "Real growth metrics are much weaker than they appear on the surface,” it said. “As we enter the back half of this year, AT&T will begin to anniversary their new segment reporting, and the weak organic growth rates of underlying businesses will be much more apparent. Recent commentary about the company's ‘success’ in creating a quad play bundle with DirecTV only underscores our concern.”

The Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) established partnerships with six new vendors: Atlona, Deezer, D-Tools, Master & Dynamic, Savant and Sennheiser. The new vendor partnerships will give HTSA members “a world-class toolbox of premium-quality tools to help upgrade their clients up to higher performance solutions,” Executive Director Jon Robbins said. The companies bring solutions in AV signal distribution, Hi-Res music streaming, system design software, home automation and headphones. HTSA also added three dealer members: In-Focus Systems, St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Paragon Systems Integration, Aspen, Colorado; and HD Media Systems, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, Missouri. HTSA is holding its 20th anniversary spring conference in Puerto Rico next month.

The FCC library invited manufacturers and vendors to participate in its annual open house April 12 as part of National Library Week, said an agency public notice Tuesday with contact info for interested parties. "Of particular interest are smart phones, eBook readers, tablets, technology kiosks and library-specific applications solutions." The event, a partnership with the FCC Technology Experience Center, showcases how local, state, federal and academic libraries use digital technology "to provide 24/7 cyberspace access" to many devices, it said.

In wake of Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels and the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, NAB is “adding guard dogs in Las Vegas in strategic locations and monitoring the situation locally, nationally and internationally” for enhanced security at the NAB Show, Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president-communications, emailed us Tuesday. The event opens April 16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center for a six-day run. “We are in contact with Las Vegas authorities to determine what additional safety precautions might be taken,” said Wharton. “Nothing to report on that just yet.” The Paris attacks prompted CES to impose stringent security measures at the January show, including bag restrictions, stadium-style bag searches, the use of metal detectors and pat-downs (see 1512180053).