Next Time
ZZZZLÀKLÀFD0DUFK
www.wifihifi.ca | April 2014
PM42710013
Try
Improve Your Cellular
Signal with
IN-VEHICLE SOLUTIONS
Sleek™
Extend your mobile coverage and stay in
touch with the Wilson Sleek™ Signal Booster,
a must-have for truckers, sales people,
commuters, and the seasoned traveler.
Works for all major North American networks.
SINGLE USER
SOLUTION
HITFAR CONCEPTS LTD.
ADJUSTABLE
CRADLE
w
www.hitfar.com
fa
facebook.com/hitfar
ttwitter.com/hitfar
yyoutube.com/hitfar1989
IN-BUILDING SOLUTIONS
SignalBoost™ DT
Improve signal in your home or
business with the all-inclusive Wilson
SignalBoost™ DT Signal Booster. Better
connections, improved voice quality and
higher internet speeds are the order of
the day with the SignalBoost™ DT. Works
for all major North American networks.
SUPPORTS
PARTIAL HOUSE
MULTIPLE USER
SOLUTION
CONTENTS | April 2014
PUBLISHER’S NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SHORT BITS
Highlighting some of the latest and coolest gear available, and coming soon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PUBLISHER / EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
John Thomson
Cell: 416-726-3667
jthomson@wifihifi.ca
@john__thomson (that’s 2 underscores)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Christine Persaud
cpersaud@wifihifi.ca
@ChristineTechCA
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
Gordon Brockhouse
gbrockhouse@wifihifi.ca
RETAIL EDITOR
Wally Hucker
whucker@wifihifi.ca
RETAIL BIZ
Special Events: Why You Need to be Holding Them
Special events may require a sizeable investment, but if done right, can generate worthwhile rewards.
By Vawn Himmelsbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
FWD THINKING
Once in a Lifetime
By Gordon Brockhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
STREAMING RADIO
Streaming Music: Flooding the Canadian Market
The future of music is quickly shifting to the cloud, as Internet streaming grows by leaps and bounds.
By Frank Lenk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
MOBILE WORLD
The Smartphone at the Centre of the Connected Life
We explore how the smartphone sits squarely at the centre of the Internet of Things.
By Christine Persaud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
CONTRIBUTORS
Vawn Himmelsbach, Ted Kritsonis,
Frank Lenk
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT
James Campbell
jcampbell@wifihifi.ca
DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EVENTS
Cathy Thomson
cthomson@wifihifi.ca
Melsa Media Inc.
194 Robinson Street
Oakville, Ontario
L6J 1G3
Going Retro: The Evolution of the Mobile Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
DIGITAL IMAGING
Getting Real: Digital Imaging After the Boom
The drop-off in digital camera shipments has been mainly in low-end point-and-shoots, but sales
in other categories seem to be holding up well.
By Gordon Brockhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
FWD THINKING
You’ve Got Mail
By Christine Persaud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
FWD THINKING
What’s Old is New Again
By Ted Kritsonis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
TALKING SHOP
Website: www.wifihifi.ca / www.wifihifi.com
Twitter: twitter.com/wifihifimag
Facebook: facebook.com/wifihifimag
All advertising inquiries:
John Thomson
jthomson@wifihifi.ca
Copyright 2014. WiFi Hifi is a registered brand of Melsa Media Inc. and
is published ten times each year. All rights reserved. The contents of
this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the
written consent of the publisher. The views expressed by advertisers
are not necessarily those held by the publisher.
Publications Mail Agreement Number: PM42710013
Business Number: 81171 8709
4|
www.wifihifi.ca
In this month’s installment, we talk to a handful of retailers that are thinking outside of the box, and have
found creative ways to augment their CE offerings.
By Wally Hucker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4 HIGH-TECH COFFEE SHOPS
We give the scoop on four high-tech coffee shops that are using technology to sweeten the deal.
By Vawn Himmelsbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
BLAST FROM THE PAST
A look at some high-tech products that draw their inspiration from yesterday’s classics.
By Gordon Brockhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
WHAT I WEAR: SUNNY GAWRI
As told to John Thomson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES
October 1987. I was in third year at McMaster University and my buddy Erglis was down for another four-day
weekend. Who knows how many beers we had guzzled, but the idea that we should visit the women’s residence
and see if we could convince one of the new students to let us have a monogrammed blanket was a challenge
that my juvenile brain recognized to have no downside. A blanket was second only to a cheerleader’s Pom-Pom
as a huge campus score. So, we left our other buddy Shork at the “Downstairs John,” our campus bar and a fav
stop for bands like 54*40, Blue Peter and Pursuit of Happiness, and went on our way, hoping to meet new friends.
The walk from the pub to the residence and the fall air was sobering enough that I started to chicken out. Erglis
would have nothing of it and before long, he had found an open window leading to the basement of the dorm.
We may have been inside for about 30 seconds when the alarm went off and a voice from an intercom informed
us that campus police was on their way. YIKES! What happened next is a story of legend; Erglis and I ran across
the quad at full speed, flashing lights from two squad cars trying to corner us at the pass. Next thing I know,
Erglis had climbed a retaining wall to another residence, and did a full Mission Impossible move to a secondfloor balcony. We opened the sliding door, ducked down as the campus police drove in circles. When we turned
around to get our bearings, there was Shork painting the toenails of the gal he had been chatting at the bar!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? High fives all around, a few more beers, introductions to the roommates of Shork’s new
friend, and that was our night. A fortuitous rendezvous accomplished without Facebook or texting or Internet.
What strikes me of my three-decade-old nostalgia, is that the night and all nights back then, were completely
void of technology. We had no cell phones, no way of texting to stay in touch. If one of us was lucky enough
to be leaving the pub with a “new friend,” that was that, we would hear about it over bacon and eggs in the
morning – no Facebook, no geo-location tagging, no Tweeting or Instagramming pictures, and no cell phone
updates. You were on your own, dude. And if you happened to, ah hum, show poor judgment (I’m thinking of
you “DiNero”) whether it was with a wardrobe choice, a hairstyle, or a sleepover friend, there were no pictures
to be posted or circulated – only friendly ribbing from a couple of buds and, with time, an exaggerated story
(which you could always vehemently deny).
When I shared my university escapades with my daughters, they made it clear that they won’t have that rite
of passage to be complete idiots, and have their embarrassment contained to a couple of friends and a good
story. Their antics in comparison would be shared instantaneously with 587 friends, and a reputation can be
killed in a second. How’s that for guaranteeing that this fully connected generation could also become the
reserved generation?
While I can’t imagine my life today without being constantly connected, a big part of me is glad that real time
connectivity didn’t exist when I was kid. The stories are definitely funnier, with room for more exaggeration,
when there isn’t any photographic evidence!
In this issue we have a terrific nostalgic look at great industrial design from
the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and how timeless design still influences our products
today. Great design never gets dated. Neither does a good yarn. We also
share how the “Internet of Things” will guarantee that three decades from
now, when our kids our waxing lyrical, it will sound as quaint as our
unconnected world when we were young.
By the way, I finally did get a blanket. It was a gift.
Enjoy the issue.
John Thomson
jthomson@wifihifi.ca
April 2014
|5
SHORT BITS
The newest products from the business of digital.
By Christine Persaud & Gordon Brockhouse
Bopping With My Beanie: Any Canadian can attest to the importance
Do You See the Ring on My Finger?:
Wearable devices go on your wrist, around your
neck, clip to your shoe, even fit over your eyes.
But have you heard of the Smarty Ring?
Similar to a smart watch, it connects to a
smartphone via Bluetooth, but instead of fitting
around the wrist, it wraps around your finger.
Get alerts like incoming caller information,
messages, and the current time. Just recharge
the stainless steel bling every night to fuel its
24-hour battery life. Far-sighted, skinny-fingered
folks may have to squint to read what’s on the
miniscule display. But for those looking for the
ultimate in super-small, inconspicuous tech,
this one takes the cake. Smartyring.com
of owning a toque for the chilly winters. The Caseco Blu-Toque combines
both a traditional beanie hat with a built-in Bluetooth headset for listening
to tunes, and chatting on the phone using the built-in mic. No wires, or
struggles to get the earbuds under, or the headphones over, your winter
hat. Ready to wash it? Just remove the Bluetooth module, and throw
the hat in the hamper. The Blu-Toque is powered by a Li-ion battery,
and operates for up to six hours of continuous play, and up to 60 hours
of standby. $49.99 Caseco.ca
Cooking Slow ‘n Smart: Imagine arriving home
from work, and dinner is already magically on the table.
It’s almost that simple with one of the latest items in
Belkin’s WeMo-enabled line, the Crock-Pot Smart
Slow Cooker. Made by Jarden Consumer Solutions, the
slow cooker can be controlled by a smartphone. Place
your ingredients in the cooker before you leave in the
morning, then set it to heat up at the desired time, and
receive reminders when the meal is done. Running
late? Adjust settings from anywhere, like lowering the
temperature, or turning the heat off altogether. It works
with both iOS and Android devices. $100 Belkin.com
Maserati Music to Your Ears: Bowers & Wilkins
has an air of sophistication about it that makes a
partnership with luxury brand Maserati music to
one’s ears. The $400 ‘phones pay homage to the
Italian Maserati brand design, made from fine-grain
natural leather in Maserati deep racing blue, complete
with the Maserati Trident emblem on the headband,
and on the quilted leather travel pouch. They come
with a Made For iPhone-approved cable, which allows
for speech and device control, and a standard audio
cable with gold-plated plugs. Bowers-wilkin.com
Ding Dong: Who’s there? The Doorbot lets you
Ribbit, Ribbit!: While the flat-panel TV race is all about mine
is bigger than yours, the portables market is about cramming as
much technology into as small and thin a form factor as possible.
This is exactly the mandate for the iFrogz Tadpole, which ZAGG
pegs as being the “world’s smallest” portable Bluetooth speaker.
Clip it to your keychain, then enjoy up to three hours of music
playback. It’s an interesting concept, but it’s probably more
stocking-stuffer “cool” then practical. Zagg.com
6|
www.wifihifi.ca
see who’s at your front door from your smartphone or
tablet. The unit has a built-in camera, allowing one-way
video and two-way voice communications. You can
ask couriers to leave the shipment, or visitors to come
around to the back. The Doorbot can be powered by
battery, or from standard doorbell wiring, in which case
it rings the bell inside your home, as well as sending an
alert to your smart device. It’s compatible with Lockitron
electronic locks, so you can lock and unlock the door
from the Doorbot app. US$199 Getdoorbot.com
SHORT BITS
Get in the Game: Klipsch’s KG-300 headset lets gamers get immersed in their
favourite virtual mayhem without getting tangled in wires. The wireless headset
features Dolby Digital decoding and Klipsch’s SphereSpace Surround processing
to create a 3D soundfield. To help players survive long campaigns, the KG-300 has
an athletic mesh headband and earpads. Other features include swivel boom mic,
earcup-mounted controls, independent game and chat volume adjustment, and
four selectable EQ presets (Fidelity, Combat, Stealth and Sport). $279 Klipsch.com
Lost and Found: If you can’t find your
phone, wallet or keys when you’re heading
out the door, the TrackR from Phone Halo
can help. You can slip the thin TrackR
device inside your wallet or attach it to
your key ring. If you can’t find your wallet
or keys, the free TrackR app will guide
you to its location by showing distance
and direction. You can also use the app
to make the TrackR device beep. And if
you can’t find your phone, you can use a
paired TrackR device to make the phone
ring, even if it’s in silent mode. If you’ve left
your wallet or keys behind, the TrackR app
will show their location on a map. US$30
Wallettrackr.com
Android, Home Phone: Your eyes do not deceive you: while this is indeed
an Android device, it’s actually a home landline phone, not a wireless device.
iDect’s Smart 6C is designed to look like a 6” Android smartphone/tablet, with
a full Android panel, and the ability to access the Google Play store, and most
other features you’d expect from an Android mobile device. But it does not have
a cellular antenna: it just connects to those functions via Wi-Fi, and permits voice
calls through a landline connection. At $100, if anything can help breathe new life
into the landline market, it’s this clever invention. Binatoneglobal.com
The Third Dimension: The 3Doodler 3D Printing Pen lets you
draw in three dimensions. The pen extrudes heated plastic, which
quickly hardens into the shape created by the artist. Plastic strands are
available in a wide range of colours, singly or in mixed packs. 3Doodler
offers petroleum-based ABS refills for drawing upward from a surface
and creating bendable structures, and plant-based PLA refills for
doodling on windows, metal and other flat surfaces. US$99 plus shipping;
price includes 50 refills. The company expects to have international
distribution in place by the summer. The3Doodler.com
Instant Theatre: LG’s LAB540W SoundPlate lets
you get full-bodied sound with your flat-panel TV. Unlike
most soundbars and sound boxes, the LAB540W has
a built-in Blu-ray player, and comes with a matching
wireless subwoofer. Total rated power is 320 watts. The
3D-capable Blu-ray player gives you access to services like
Netflix. The 4cm-high SoundPlate has built-in Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth, so you can stream music from a mobile device.
Canadian price and ship date TBA. Lg.ca
Ditch the Brick: FINSix Corporation says its 65W
Laptop Adapter is four times smaller and six times
lighter than conventional power adapters. It uses very
high frequency switching technology developed at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Because
the process is more efficient than current technologies,
there’s less energy wastage, and the device is more
reliable than standard voltage converters. There are
also two USB ports for charging smartphones and tablets.
FINsix plans to conduct a crowd-sourcing campaign this
spring, and start shipping this summer. Price is expected
to be around $100. Finsix.com
April 2014
|7
SHORT BITS
Put Another Shrimp on the Barbie: Every man
loves to bar-be-que, but rarely likes to clean the grill.
In comes the Grillbots Automatic Grill Cleaner, a
rechargeable automatic cleaner that you plop onto the
grill, push the button, then relax, beer in hand, while
it does all of the work for you using its replaceable
wire brushes. Want to join your friends on the front
patio? No prob. The Grillbot regulates its own speed
and direction, and you can even set the alarm to go off
when cleaning is done. “Honey, I can’t come back in
right now. I’m cleaning the grill!” $120 Grillbots.com
Speaker in Your Pocket: Bluetooth speakers are all
the rage as perfect partners for the smartphone. And the
Boomphones new Pocket Speaker is even designed to look
just like one. Measuring 22 x 66 x 129 mm (just slightly thicker
than an iPhone 5), two of them can be paired to one source
at a time to act as left and right channels. They come in six
colours for $99 each. Nvu.ca
Cut the Cord: The DVR+ from Channel Master
lets users record over-the-air digital TV. The half-inchhigh box is equipped with two digital tuners, so you
can watch one show while you record another.
You can also pause, skip and rewind live TV.
Connecting the DVR+ to your Internet router gives
you access to an Electronic Program Guide for your
area, making it easier to select shows to watch and
record. The box has 16GB of internal flash storage
to support functions like rewind and pause. For full
PVR functionality, you need to connect an external
hard drive (not included) to a USB jack at the back.
You’ll also need a digital TV antenna to receive signals.
US$250; USB Wi-Fi adapter available for US$40.
Channelmaster.com
The Virtual Lifeguard: The iDevices iSwimband is worn around
a child’s head when swimming (or around the wrist of toddlers), and
connects via Bluetooth to a parent, caregiver, or lifeguard’s smartphone.
If the child is under water for too long, based on his swim level, the
Bluetooth connection will be lost, and an audible alert will be sent to the
phone to let the adult know that there could be a problem. (Of course
the adult should already be close by; never leave a child unattended by
water.) Currently, the bands only work with the iPhone 4S or above, but
Android support is coming soon. Available in Q3/Q4, the package will
come with both the headband and wristband for $125. Iswimband.com
Nanoe, Nanoe: Don’t think personal care
TV Tableau: TV viewers today are in a pickle. We want
to watch when we want, how we want. But we also want
to access the occasional live television. And many of us
don’t want to pay big bucks to have this luxury. A Canadian
company hopes to solve the issue with Tablo TV, a small
PVR that sits between a device like an Apple TV or Roku,
and can record free, over-the-air content for later playback.
You have full PVR functions, like fast forward, rewind, and
pause, but you don’t need to subscribe to a pricey package
just to get the local news, favourite sitcom, or occasional
live event, nor do you need to be home to watch it live.
Two and four-tuner versions are available for $200 and
$260, respectively. Tablotv.com
8|
www.wifihifi.ca
items can be high-tech? Think again. Panasonic’s
new EH-NA65 nanoe (it’s pronounced “nano-E”)
hair dryer employs new technology that the
company says can take moisture from your
hair and the air, and use it to help strengthen
and protect your luscious locks from damage.
It comes with a trio of attachments for faster
drying, adding volume without frizz, and styling.
Want some impressive specs? How about 1,875
watts, two speeds, and three temperatures?
Now take that blow dryer and pop it into your
virtual holster like nobody’s business. $180
Panasonic.ca
Connect with AVAD
SHORT BITS
Scan ‘n Share on Facebook: It could be mighty embarrassing for legions of folks that wish to
put the lid on those old bad perm pics. But Epson is hoping to make it easy to get those memories
online with its new Perfection V550 Photo scanner, which can scan photos, film, slides,
negatives, and documents, then, using the software, automatically upload
the images to Facebook, Picasa, or other popular cloud services.
There are also photo restoration features for boosting colour,
and removing dust, scratches, tears, and creases. Enlargements
up to 17 x 22” can also be created. $200 Epson.ca
The Power of Two: Marantz’s PM8005
stereo amplifier and SA8005 SACD player/DAC
are updates of the company’s highly regarded
PM8004 and SA8004 models. Besides playing CDs
and SACDs, the SA8005 can function as a digitalto-analog converter for streaming music from
computers and other sources. It can handle PCM
tracks with resolution as high as 192kHz/24 bits, as
well as Direct Stream Digital (DSD) content at 2.8
and 5.6MHz. There’s also a front-panel USB input
for an i-device. Rated at 2x70 watts (20Hz-20kHz,
0.02% THD, 8Ω), the matching PM8005 amplifier
has high-current output transistors and a robust
power supply built around a high-current toroidal
transformer, allowing it to handle challenging
loudspeaker loads. $1,399 for each component.
Ca.marantz.com
Track Your Life: Among the many new wearable devices hitting the
market in time for spring is the LifeTrak R415 Activity Tracker, which can
measure heart rate and EKG; and is waterproof up to 30 metres. It operates
using a coin cell battery, lasting for up to a year before it needs replacing,
and works with iOS and Android devices. There’s an open API, and it can
work with a number of fitness applications. In addition to standard fitness
information, the unit can also show smartphone notifications, and your
different stages of sleep, plus it has auto sleep detection. Availability is
set for March at $130. Lifetrackusa.com
Hey Laundry, Are You Done Yet?: LG is taking
the idea of “smart” appliances to a whole new level with
its HomeChat system that allows you to communicate
with your appliances and AV equipment using text
messages. Yes, that’s right. Send the washing machine
an SMS asking for the status of the load, and it’ll reply
with something like “almost done the cycle. See you in
five minutes.” Too bad it can’t fold and put away the
clothes for you, too. Drats. Lg.ca
See in the Dark: The SmartCharge LED light bulb will keep glowing when the power goes out. It has the same base type
as a standard light bulb, so will fit into regular overhead fixtures and table lamps. Inside the SmartCharge bulb is a five-watt
LED plus a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can power the light for four hours when there’s no power. The SmartCharge
bulb can be turned on and off from a regular light switch; no extra wiring or special control box is needed. SmartCharge
received US$91,804 from a Kickstarter campaign, and will begin shipments in April. US$35 Smartchargelight.com
Finger-Locking Good: Move over, iPhone 5s. You’re not the only smartphone that can be unlocked via a biometric
fingerprint reader. Diamond Fortress Technologies (DFT) has launched the ICE Unlock app for Android devices that will unlock
the phone using the camera and the image of the owner’s fingerprint. The company says ICE works on more than 500 million
Android devices, and the unlocking process takes less than a second once setup. A pin code is used in case of emergency (like,
gulp, a Band-aid over your thumb!) Free Diamondfortress.com
10 |
www.wifihifi.ca
SHORT BITS
No Au Natural: Ladies, ever do your makeup using a
traditional makeup mirror, then find that you look completely
different once out in the natural sunlight? The Simple Human
Sensor Mirror not only tries to combat this by illuminating
with light that the company says more accurately reflects actual
sunlight, but it also lights up as soon as it senses your face close
up. There’s no unnatural bluish tinge; just all you, as you’ll look
once you head out on the town. $200 Simplehuman.ca
Back to the Future of Gaming: Using
Double Duty: The Rydis H68 Pro Smart Hybrid Robot
from Moneual combines vacuuming and damp-mopping
functions. Its Smart Vision Mapping technology determines
the best path for cleaning, and its 42 sensors prevent collisions
with walls and furniture. You can program the H68 to vacuum
carpets and damp-mop bare floors in a single pass, or have it
perform those tasks separately. A large mop pad covers half
of the bottom surface, and the water tank is the largest in the
industry, according to Moneual. The unit is slim enough to
clean underneath beds and sofas. Moneualusa.com
Logitech’s PowerShell ($99), turn your mobile
phone into a Nintendo DS-like gaming device with
an analog D-pad, shoulder triggers, and button
cluster. Compatible with the iPhone 5 and iPod
Touch, it comes complete with built-in controller
support for compatible games, and a 1,500 mAh
battery to extend the life of the phone for lengthy
gaming sessions. Logitech.ca
The Comforts of Home: Honeywell’s RTH9590 Wi-Fi
thermostat has voice recognition, so you can adjust the
temperature just by talking to it. With built-in Wi-Fi, homeowners
can adjust settings from a smart device using a free app. It also
learns about the environment where it’s being used. If you want
the temperature at 22°C when you get up at 7 a.m., and it takes
20 minutes to heat your house from the nighttime setting of 15°,
the thermostat will learn that it has to fire up the furnace at 6:40
a.m. It also checks AccuWeather for current conditions, so if your
town is in the midst of a deep freeze, it will start the furnace even
earlier. It’ll do the same for air conditioning if you’re in the midst
of a heat wave, so the house is comfortably cool when you get
home from work. US$300 Wifithermostat.com/voice
Clear View: Forget Google Glass! Innovega iOptik has managed to not
only develop physical glasses that let you view all kinds of media while still
being able to clearly see what’s around you, but even a set of contact lenses
that does the same. The lenses use modern fabrication methods, and are worn
just like any other pair of contact lenses, either with or without the Innovega
eyewear technology. The company claims that the “benefit of simultaneously
offering vision correction is particularly important to Asian consumer segments
where the prevalence of nearsightedness is near twice that of their non-Asian
counterparts.” Welcome to the future. Innovega-inc.com
Excuse Me, Can You Hold My Bitcoins?:
Bitcoins are virtual currency, not a physical product.
Which makes Canadian company Bionym’s new
Nymi smart wristband wallet for them all the
more interesting. The wearable device uses ECG,
analyzing the wearer’s heartbeat to log the waves
as a sort of fingerprint for identification purposes.
Then, you and only you can access your Bitcoin
data through the band. The wristband works with
an app for iOS, Android, Mac, and PC, and can sync
with various fitness apps, too. It charges via USB,
lasts for up to a week, is water-resistant, and comes
in black, white, and orange. Be careful, though.
Once you kick the bucket, your Bitcoins might have
to be buried along with you. $79 for the first 25,000
to pre-order, then $99. Getnymi.com
April 2014
| 11
WORK, PLAY AND
W
EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
E
D9 SERIES
D
+
HOME
+
OFFICE + BOARDROOM
+
BAR + RESTAURANT
+
+
4500 LUMENS
1080P (1920 X 1080)
+
3000:1 CONTRAST
+
2 HDMI INPUTS
EXPERIENCE THE CLARITY
OF 3D HOME THEATRE
BRING THE MOVIES
HOME
MEETING THE DEMANDS
OF MULTIMEDIA & VIDEO
INTENSELY BRIGHT &
FEATURE - RICH
D11 SERIES
D5 SERIES
D6 SERIES
D8 SERIES
+
HOME THEATRE
+
PIXELWORKS™ PROCESSOR
+
BOARDROOM
+
DIVERSE LARGE VENUES
+
FULL HD 3D
+
35,000:1
+
LARGE VENUE
+
VIDEO STACK + EDGE BLEND
+
10,000:1
+
+
MISSION CRITICAL APPS
+
MOTORIZED LENS SHIFT
+
+
+
8000 LUMENS
+
MANUAL LENS SHIFT
+
6000 LUMENS
WXGA (1600 X 1200)
+
+
2500 LUMENS
1080P (1920 X 1080)
1800 LUMENS
UP TO 1080P (1920 X 1080)
+
+
NATIVE 2:35:1 CAPABILITY
+
3 HDMI INPUTS
+
DUAL- LAMP TECHNOLOGY
+
NATIVE WUXGA (1920 X 1200)
DUAL- LAMP TECHNOLOGY
+
2 HDMI INPUTS
+
3 CHANGEABLE LENS OPTIONS
+
6 CHANGEABLE LENS OPTIONS
+
6 CHANGEABLE LENS OPTIONS
W. www.staub.ca
A. 160 - 11791 Hammersmith Way, Richmond BC, V7A 5C6
P. (888) 470.2211 | F. (888) 844.7316 | E. orders@staub.ca
Not a Staub dealer? Becoming a customer is quick and easy.
Call us at (888) 470.2211 or visit www.staub.ca/support.
Need something sooner than
later? We’ve got you covered!
Orders placed by 5:00pm
ship same-day. Quick delivery
means you can stock less and
order when you need it. Leave
the warehousing to us and
focus on your core business.
More: www.staub.ca/terms.
Purchased something that
you wish you hadn’t? No
problem! All products can
be returned within 60 days
of purchase for a full credit.
More: www.staub.ca/terms.
CONTROL FROM ANYWHERE
LIGHT
CONTROL
SHADE
CONTROL
APPLIANCE
CONTROL
TEMPERATURE
CONTROL
2014 BLAST CANADIAN TRAINING TOUR
RADIORA 2 LEVEL 1 TRAINING | HOSTED BY STAUB ELECTRONICS
Join us for these powerful and informative two-day training events that will introduce you to the Lutron RadioRA 2 line of home control products and Sivoia QS Triathlon shade control. Learn all about RadioRA 2 system architecture and Clear Connect® RF Technology, RadioRA 2 products, software, the Lutron advantage and simple selling techniques. Plus, you will also leave qualiˉed on the sales,
speciˉcation, measurement, ordering and installation of the Sivoia QS Triathlon line of shading solutions.
March 27-28
April 7-8
April 10-11
Markham, ON
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
April 14-15
April 24-25
April 24-25
Vancouver, BC
Montreal, QC
Regina, SK
Space is limited. Register now at www.staub.ca/training to reserve your spot! Can’t attend the training? Create an
account or log in to your existing account at www.lutron.com/lcionline to complete the self-paced, online training
modules (more details available at www.staub.ca/training).
Have a technical question
or need help with system
design? We’re here to help!
Call one of our experts toll free
at 888.470.2211 and let us
assist with your next project.
Make shipping charges a thing
of the past! We offer some
of the lowest prepaid freight
levels in the business. Stock
less, order more frequently and
improve your inventory turns
and cash ˊow. Learn about
out prepaid shipping policy
at: www.staub.ca/shipping.
We make business easier
with Staub.ca. Build orders in
the evening, on the weekend
or over the course of a few
days. View our latest pricing,
stock availability and your
entire order history, including
previously purchased items to
help with easy reordering. Click.
Order. Ship with Staub.ca.
SPECIAL EVENTS: WHY YOU
NEED TO BE HOLDING THEM
While some special events are of the wine-and-cheese kind,
others, like Car Audio Gone Wild, are about offering special
deals on products for a limited period of time, and bringing
in the crowds.
BY VAWN HIMMELSBACH
SPECIAL EVENTS HELP BRING CUSTOMERS BACK INTO YOUR STORE and provide opportunities to
introduce loyal customers to new products. But they cost money, use resources, and can take a tremendous
amount of time. Is the return worth it? And how do you make them successful?
To get the ball rolling, the first step is to decide who should be involved. For some retailers, that means
hiring a third-party company to handle details like entertainment, catering, and printed materials. But many find
it more cost-effective to do the work in-house, or to outsource only a part of the event that is fully outside of
one’s wheelhouse, like catering.
In some cases, manufacturers are invited to participate in retailer events, depending on the type of event.
If you’re introducing a new product from a vendor, for example, it makes sense to have a rep from that vendor
attend the event. If it’s more of a “party” to build relationships with loyal customers, some retailers feel it’s best
not to have reps at the event, or at least not do a hard sell while they’re there.
The end goal of holding an event is to eventually generate sales, and some events even serve that specific
purpose, where products are offered at special prices for a specified duration of time. The now-defunct Calgary
retailer Soundsaround was iconic for years for its annual Big 4 Sale that was known to generate major sales,
not to mention publicity, for the company. But there are other benefits to holding events. They help to build
relationships with loyal customers and bring in new ones (often through referrals from the aforementioned),
and can generate goodwill and develop stronger partnerships with suppliers.
14 |
www.wifihifi.ca
The Story
Holding special events can cost a lot of
money and take a lot of time, but they
can be worthwhile investments.
Retailer events don’t have to be big and
flashy; often times the smaller, niche events
yield the greatest rewards.
Events aren’t just about sales; they’re
about relationship-building with both loyal
customers and key vendors, encouraging
referral business, and branding.
Be creative, and offer value beyond just
a product pitch to keep your name on
customers’ minds, and get them talking
to friends and family.
RETAIL BIZ
Hi-Fi Centre in Vancouver, BC used
to hold major wine-and-cheese soirées
to entertain key clients, but has since
moved to smaller, more niche events
that have proven beneficial.
“[The reason] dealers absolutely must do [events]
is [that] the traffic into all of our stores has reduced
over the years,” says Igor Kivritsky, General Manager
with Hi-Fi Centre in Vancouver, BC. “If we sit around
and twiddle our thumbs, it’s not going to bring
more customers in here. Just having a sale isn’t good
enough anymore.”
In the CE business, sales of inexpensive products
almost don’t exist, he adds.
“Our sales of premium high-end products are
through the roof. When you show people that yes,
you downloaded this library from iTunes, look at how
good we can make it sound, we need to show people
what’s possible.”
great is they often bring their friends…we get a lot of
new customers that way.”
Smaller events are easier to put on and cost a
lot less, he adds. “If one of them drops $20 grand,
it’s a success. We’re not concerned about the size. It
just means more questions get answered, and the
presenter can take more time, so we’re not upset if
the turnout is smaller. We extend the invitation and
see what happens.”
The small events are not as flashy, he allows,
but what the presenter will discuss is “well-rehearsed
and planned and that’s why consistently when
we have these events, they’re always full. [Those
attending are] going to learn something.”
GOING SMALL
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT SELLING ANYMORE
Hi-Fi Centre has shifted away from doing a “full-on
block party” with 400 to 500 people once every two
years, to doing smaller wine-and-cheese events
several times a year.
“They were huge and ridiculously expensive and
all our manufacturers would come out,” Kivritsky
explains. “It was quite a production. They weren’t
sales events, more just a big, fat party where people
got to see some cool stuff. Manufacturers would bring
their really expensive stuff or new products.”
But at the end of the day, the return-oninvestment was “medium,” he admits, so the
company decided to shift to smaller events that
are much more focused on one or two brands,
typically with a few reps from the featured brand
in attendance.
These events typically take place on a Saturday
afternoon (to allow for multiple sessions), with 30
to 90 customers. Invitations are sent out to select
customers in the retailer’s database.
“We have the usual suspects that come to our
events,” says Kivritsky. “Guys that are real enthusiasts,
regardless of what product is being shown. What’s
For many retailers these days, events are more
important than a regular sale.
“We do events because we think that
unfortunately, the retail environment has changed,”
says Andrea Connolly, Manager with Natural Sound
in Kitchener, ON. “There aren’t so many customers
walking through the door so eagerly. We need to give
them a reason to talk to us.
“It’s not just about selling a TV,” she adds. “You
can buy a TV at your grocery store nowadays. It’s
definitely relationship-building.”
Natural Sound’s movie events, when the retailer
rents out a movie theatre and invites 200 to 300
customers, have been a huge success. Connolly says
customers come into the store and ask when they’re
going to do it again. The cost (about $20 a person) for
the value is worth it, she adds.
“For us, it’s being different. We need to be
unique, we need a reason for people to talk about us.
And it gives our staff something to talk about with
customers too.”
Customers are so inundated with advertising
these days that holding events gives salespeople a
chance to talk in a roundabout way about products,
rather than doing a hard sell.
For Hi-Fi Centre’s previously-held bigger events,
Kivritsky says people did indeed remember them,
but they “cost an arm and leg to do. The catering bills
were in the tens of thousands. The invitations, just to
get them out to our last event, were $6,000.”
Hi-Fi Centre also stopped serving alcohol at those
big events. “The amount of alcohol we went through,
holy cow. We’re planning some changes to the store
and we’ll have another big party [this year.] But the
smaller events, they’re so easy to put on, they require
almost no effort, (just) coordinate a little bit with
the manufacturer, invite your customers, have some
cookies from Costco and a thermos of coffee from
Starbucks, and the benefits can be crazy.”
“ [The reason] dealers absolutely must
do [events] is [that] the traffic into
all of our stores has reduced over the
years. If we sit around and twiddle
our thumbs, it’s not going to bring
more customers in here. Just having
a sale isn’t good enough anymore.”
Igor Kivritsky
General Manager, Hi-Fi Centre,
Vancouver, BC
A BIG SPLASH
That doesn’t mean big, splashy events don’t exist
anymore, and can’t be beneficial in their own right.
The Car Audio Gone Wild event in Edmonton, AB
celebrated its 10th anniversary last May and is still
going strong.
Certified Radio teams up with The Tire
Warehouse so customers can buy stereos along with
rims and tires just in time for summer. “We wanted
to have [a partner] that complements the industry of
vehicles,” says Darryl Dahl, Sales & Marketing Manager
with Certified Radio.
When they first started running the events, they
rented out the Edmonton Expo Centre. Being a large
venue, this allowed for displaying every demo car
desired, and typically saw lineups of 400 people or so.
But the overhead was huge.
“It was so expensive to rent that place with the
margins we’re making,” says Dahl. So the event was
moved to the retailer’s west-end location, and a tent
April 2014
| 15
RETAIL BIZ
“ We have a full light show; it looks like a night club. It’s loud and crazy,
but it makes people walk in and say, ‘this is cool, I want to be here.’ ”
Darryl Dahl
Sales & Marketing Manager, Certified Radio
was rented to expand the square footage into the
parking lot.
Is the cost of a tent worth it? “Last year, the line
went out and around the tent,” Dahl enthuses. “If it
snows or rains, no one is going to stand in a lineup.
The cost to get the tent is nothing compared to no
one coming.”
Customers enter through the tent, where The
Tire Warehouse is set up, then head through the shop
door. Inside, the walls are curtained off, with banners
hanging everywhere. Each vendor has its own section,
including companies like JL Audio, Focal, Pioneer and
Bassworx, to name a few.
The event also features a 22,000-watt sound
system, with four to six guest DJs, usually friends, who
offer to volunteer their time, and often get a special
deal if they want to buy something.
“We have a full light show; it looks like a night
club,” says Dahl. “It’s loud and crazy, but it makes
people walk in and say, ‘this is cool, I want to be here.’”
There are also “runners” who aren’t salespeople,
but usually relatives and friends who are hired just
for the event, to walk with customers and carry the
items they want to buy on a wheeler cart. They’ll even
help them take the gear out to their cars once the
purchases have been made.
It’s a “customer service thing,” says Dahl.
Customers can also book an appointment for an
installation right from the store.
About 120 staff members work the event
(including runners), with about 40 manufacturer reps
from as far away as Ontario.
And what draws customers to the event? Prices
that are close to cost, offered for just a 20-hour period.
Then, once the products are gone, they’re gone.
“We get special discounts from vendors to be
able to put on the event,” Dahl explains. “It’s a really
awesome bonding event for our vendors. It’s built
into their business plan; they know in May, they’re
going to have a bump in sales.”
As a result, the reps also volunteer their time. And,
as Dahl says, “we couldn’t do it without them. They give
us great deals, some give us free giveaways, they come
help us set up. They’ll help with the whole event.”
WORKING WITH SUPPLIERS
It’s clear that working with suppliers to get special
rates is an important part of throwing an event,
whether or not reps are present for the actual to-do.
When Stereo Plus & Design opened a new
location in the Ottawa, ON area last October, for
example, the retailer got deals on certain products
from suppliers.
“The owners do a good job of contacting each
manufacturer; a Samsung, a Sony; and they try to get
an exclusive deal for that sale,” says Jason Hunter,
Assistant Manager/Custom Specialist, with Stereo
Plus & Design.
During the grand opening event, SP&D had such
a good response from customers that the retailer
Perhaps the most obvious reason
for a store event is a grand opening
or re-opening, such as with Stereo
Plus & Design’s St-Hubert store, which
opened last summer. The retailer
welcomed 150 guests for the party,
entertaining local media, designers,
architects, and vendor reps.
The soirée was followed up by a
10-day opening sale, promoted
through 170,000 flyers.
16 |
www.wifihifi.ca
extended the sale, and had to order more sale items.
“We wanted to grow a new customer base on
the west end, but the sale still applied to our other
store, so our long-term customers reaped the
benefits,” says Hunter.
The company also holds VIP events, at least two
a year, when clientele are invited to attend a special
after-hours evening that includes catered food, drinks
and prizes.
“It’s allowing us to partake in the community
and connect with them one-on-one,” says Hunter.
“[With] a bigger store, you don’t have that personal
relationship with the salesperson you talk to. You go
there, buy it, then you leave. We do care about the
consumer. We want to see them happy.”
Typically, about 50 to 60 customers are invited
(the team sends out the invitations themselves),
and all staff members are on board for the event.
Occasionally, reps are invited to participate, like if the
launch is surrounding a new product.
“ It’s not just about selling a TV.
You can buy a TV at your grocery
store nowadays. It’s definitely
relationship-building.”
Andrea Connolly
Manager, Natural Sound,
Kitchener, ON
But Hunter says it’s not always appropriate to have
reps there. “If you do have representation from the
manufacturer, it doesn’t feel as personal,” he opines.
Prizes are usually offered at SP&D events, such
as a TV or stereo system. The majority of the time,
however, those prizes come at a loss to the store. “It’s
not like Samsung gives us a free TV,” Hunter says. “It’s
just something we do as a business. If we give a TV
away, that comes at a loss to us.” But, he adds, the
events are typically for repeat customers, so they’re
about rewarding those customers for their loyalty.
THE SOFTER SELL
While invited customers don’t have to spend a certain
amount of money with the retailer, SP&D is also not
likely to invite someone to a special event who came
in once and bought a pair of inexpensive headphones.
RETAIL BIZ
Use your connections: at the
annual Car Audio Gone Wild event,
organizers set up a 22,000-watt
sound system, and have a handful
of DJs, often family or friends, who
volunteer their time to provide the
entertainment.
The events are more about relationship-building;
“coming in to have a few laughs, have a couple of
drinks,” explains Hunter.
And several retailers are finding they’re having
success with “soft-sell” events that build long-term
relationships.
Hi-Fi Centre has just started running a new
event that’s less about selling product and more
about relationship-building, and Kivritsky says he’s
“absolutely shocked” at the response.
One of its suppliers, Linn, launched Linn Lounge,
a music-focused event. Hi-Fi Centre held the first Linn
Lounge in North America last November, following
similar successful events in Europe.
The event wasn’t about selling a new system, nor
about discussing all of the equipment’s specifications;
it was about listening to The Beatles. “Of course, you’ll
listen to it on a Linn system,” says Kivritsky. Linn
Lounge includes an hour-long scripted presentation.
Linn managed the first event, but going forward,
Hi-Fi Centre will manage upcoming events.
“What we’ve started doing for the first time is
being organized in how the event is registered. Now
we’ve actually started supplying tickets. The tickets
are free, but if you want to come, you have to have a
ticket, (and) you have to register to get a ticket.”
The inaugural event sold out in 48 hours, so Hi-Fi
Centre added another showing.
“What this music event is showing is that people
are interested in hearing regular music on a really
cool system,” Kivritsky says. “It’s fun, it’s like going
to the movies.
“If you make it more music-focused than productfocused, you’re reaching a wider audience. They’ll be
told things about the equipment, but it won’t be this
speaker has these specifications.”
Hi-Fi Centre expects to do Linn Lounge events
about once a quarter. “We’ll intersperse those with
other events in between,” says Kivritsky.
“When we do show product, we go up-market.
But it’s done in a very non-threatening way, in a very
inclusive way, regardless of your budget or your needs.”
Another example is back to Natural Sound,
which held a turntable event last year with specialists
who would balance customers’ turntables for free. A
record company also came into the store to sell vinyl.
The event was highly targeted, and brought in a new
demographic of customers.
“It’s frustrating how often we do an event and
people say, ‘I’ve never heard of you guys.’ We’ve been
in business 35 years!” says Connolly. “I think [these
events are] definitely good for bringing in new people.”
THINK LOCAL
In 2010, Natural Sound hosted its first “movie night,”
where locals could pay $20 to come and enjoy a screening of
The Expendables at a movie theatre that the Kitchener, ON-based
retailer rented out for the night.
Natural Sound does four to six events per year, and
most of them are targeted to a combination of new
customers and loyal customers. Each staff member
receives a certain number of tickets to special events
for their best clients. Those clients aren’t necessarily
the ones who spend the most money; it might be a
client who brings in a lot of word-of-mouth business.
Different retailers advertise differently,
depending on the event. But targeting local
customers seems to be a priority.
When Stereo Plus & Design held its grand
opening in October, for example, the retailer ran
an ad in the local paper 10 days prior to the event.
“We tried to touch base with the local community as
opposed to widespread,” says Hunter.
For Car Audio Gone Wild, the ads include a QR
code that links to the flyer via smartphone, allowing
customers to flip through the virtual pages on their
mobile devices while they’re at the event.
“I’ll do advertising on the radio and social media,
and giveaways on the Website and our Facebook page,
which links to Twitter,” says Dahl. There are giveaways
from manufacturers during the week leading up the
event. Each day, they give away two prizes, one from
Certified Radio and one from The Tire Warehouse.
During a special presentation event for LG’s 84” Ultra HD TV at
Brentview Electronics in Toronto, ON last June, the retailer managed
to sell two of the $20,000 displays, and accepted a pre-order for a
65” model.
“It builds the followers up,” says Dahl. But, he
adds, it’s important to target local customers. “If you
don’t have an online store, having Likes from people
in China doesn’t matter.”
Regardless of how it’s done, holding special events
is now more important than ever, Connolly stresses.
“Traffic coming through the door is getting
slower, so we need to do different things,” she says.
Natural Sound plans to hold another movie event in
March. One of her goals is to eventually hold a concert.
Kivritsky puts it bluntly, but also succinctly:
“If you’re not holding events, you’re an idiot. Give
your head a shake and start doing it. It’s the smartest
thing you’ll do.”
April 2014
| 17
FWD
THINKING
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
BY GORDON BROCKHOUSE
I GOT TO CROSS A MAJOR ITEM OFF MY
BUCKET LIST IN EARLY FEBRUARY, WHEN I
ATTENDED A SOLO CONCERT AT CARNEGIE
HALL IN NEW YORK BY LEGENDARY JAZZ
PIANIST KEITH JARRETT. IN THE FOLLOWING
WEEKS, THE CONCERT MADE ME CONSIDER
HOW PROFOUNDLY SOUND RECORDINGS HAVE
CHANGED THE WAY WE EXPERIENCE MUSIC.
My wife and I saw Jarrett perform a couple of
years ago, but that was with the trio: Jarrett, drummer
Jack DeJohnette, and bassist Gary Peacock playing
jazz standards.
Jarrett’s solo concerts are far less frequent,
and often in faraway places like Rio de Janeiro and
Tokyo. So when we learned that a solo concert was
scheduled for Carnegie Hall, my wife and I abandoned
our plans for a last-minute southern getaway from
this hellish winter, bought a pair of tickets for the
concert, and booked air travel and hotel.
Earlier in his career, Jarett would play continuously
for 45 minutes or so during these solo events, break for
an intermission, then play continuously for another 40
minutes, and come back for a few encores. Now after
recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome, his solo
concerts consist of numbers of 10 minutes or less.
The concert was everything we hoped for.
Jarrett played a steady stream of improvised short
pieces: a couple of them experimental and dissonant,
a few with driving boogie-woogie rhythms, and
several of them rhapsodic and ecstatic. Not only is
Jarrett a wonderfully articulate pianist, he’s also a
supreme colourist, able to draw incredibly subtle
shades from his instrument.
The sound in Carnegie Hall was amazing, and so
were the sightlines. Our seats were in a box on the
second tier, along the left side and near the back.
From this vantage point, we could see all of Jarrett’s
keyboard work, and his pedaling too. Interestingly,
18 |
www.wifihifi.ca
the visual component helped make sense of Jarrett’s
experimental pieces, some of which have baffled
me in the past.
Jarrett spoke to the audience about his ties
with NYC, musicians with whom he’s collaborated,
a near-death experience with his instrument, and his
relationship with critics. Clearly, his notoriously prickly
personality has softened with age. In earlier times,
Jarrett was known to bark at audience members
who coughed while he was playing, and even had
hall management hand out cough drops to patrons
entering the venue.
After a great concert, I inevitably find myself
humming the tunes I’ve just heard. But that wasn’t
even possible this time. Except for the encores (for
the appreciative Carnegie audience, Jarrett gave
renditions of “Fever” and “Over the Rainbow”), every
moment, every note of Jarrett’s solo concerts is
improvised, played and composed in the moment.
This was literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Like many (or all) of Jarrett’s solo concerts, this
one was recorded, with four microphones pointed
inside the Steinway piano, another pair near the front
of the stage, and another high back in the hall to
capture ambience. None of the evening’s music will be
ever heard again until ECM releases a recording of it.
Until a century ago, all great musical performances
were once-in-a-lifetime events. A privileged few got
to hear a Beethoven symphony or Mozart concerto;
far fewer got to hear these pieces more than once.
This was true not just in the concert hall, but in
other venues like churches. J.S. Bach’s cantatas were
composed for performance on a specific Sunday; very
few were performed afterward during the lifetime of
the first listeners. If you cared about what you were
hearing, you had to pay attention, because once it
was finished, it was finished.
That’s why many great composers had marks in
their scores, instructing performers to repeat certain
passages. Hearing an inspired musical theme once
wasn’t enough if you wanted to remember it. Today’s
conductors often ignore these repeats, because
they’re less necessary in an era when these pieces are
familiar to listeners through recordings, and when we
can hear them as often as we’d like.
Operatic composers had a different trick. Their
big numbers had several verses so that the audience
could remember them. That’s why people came
out of performances of Rossini’s and Verdi’s operas
humming the big tunes. Of course, it helped that the
tunes were memorable in the first place, and that the
audience was paying attention.
Have recordings shortened our attention spans?
I know I’m guilty of musical multi-tasking. Often,
I’ll read a magazine or surf the Web while playing
music on the hi-fi. Not that I take the technology that
delivers these musical experiences for granted. I think
recorded music has provided more pure joy to more
people than any other technology.
Interestingly, the live-concert experience makes
me appreciate this technology even more. After
returning from NYC, I played Keith Jarrett’s Carnegie
Hall concert from 2005. The recording couldn’t do full
justice to Carnegie Hall’s delicious bloom and decay.
On CD, Jarrett’s piano sounded a little harsher than in
real life. His wonderful colouring and phrasing came
through, though not as fully as in a live performance.
But sonically, musically and emotionally, hearing this
CD was deeply satisfying.
So I can’t wait for ECM to release a recording of
the 2014 Carnegie Hall Concert. I’ll buy it as soon as it
comes out, and play it as soon as I get home. And I’ll
be sure to pay attention.
STREAMING MUSIC: FLOODING
THE CANADIAN MARKET
BY FRANK LENK
WHEN WE THINK OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS, we tend to think either of the big ‘record stores,’ or the online
retailers, like Apple or Amazon, that have replaced them. But the future of music may belong to an even newer
alternative: Internet streaming services.
Music streaming has taken a while to grow up. Internet connections needed to be fast and reliable, even
on mobile devices. The software had to be slick and easy to use. Content had to be plentiful. And pricing had
to be attractive.
Those conditions have been met. Consumers can now access a near-infinite supply of music, without
repetition or interruption, for about the same cost as buying one cheap CD every month, or 10 tracks from iTunes.
As a bonus, streaming users get custom playlists, discovery of new artists in genres they enjoy, syncing
across multiple devices, and much more.
THE LANDSCAPE
The streaming music business is full of surprises. The first being that ‘the majors’ in Canada aren’t necessarily
the companies you’d expect. For one thing, the two biggest names, Spotify and Pandora, continue to shun our
northern climes.
“Spotify’s ultimate aim is to be available in every country,” a company representative responded to my e-mail
query. “We know just how passionate Canadian music fans are, but we have no immediate plans to launch there.”
Pandora stated: “The U.S. remains the overwhelmingly largest market opportunity for Pandora. To date, the
licensing situations in most international markets have not been attractive.” And yet, Pandora did mention that it
20 |
www.wifihifi.ca
now has over a million registered users in Australia and
New Zealand, a little over a year after launching there.
Fortunately, the Canadian market is well-served
by other companies. Music Canada, which represents
much of the Canadian recording industry, provides
a very good listing of music services on its Website
(http://musiccanada.com/wheretofindlegalmusic.aspx).
Quentin Burgess, Communications and Social
Media Coordinator, who maintains the listing, is
something of a streaming enthusiast. “It’s one of the
faster-growing segments of the industry,” he says. “It’s
what I listen to all of my music on.”
The largest entrant in Canada seems to be Deezer
(www.deezer.com), based in Paris, France. Other
major names include Rdio (www.rdio.com), Songza
(songza.com), Slacker (slacker.com), Sky.fm and
Grooveshark (grooveshark.com). See the table for a
more-detailed listing. But bear in mind that it’s almost
impossible to track down every service, or to nail
down details that continue to evolve rapidly.
Deezer operates in 183 markets globally, and
claims 10 million active users, five million of them on
paid subscriptions. By comparison, Spotify claims over
nine million paid users.
Canada’s one homegrown entry is ZIK (mu.zik.ca),
operated by Groupe Archambault Inc. It’s obviously
aimed largely at the Francophone market, but does
offer bilingual service across the country as well.
STREAMING RADIO
Deezer reports that its users average 30-60 hours
of music per month, three-quarters of it consumed on
mobile devices, and 40% consisting of new releases.
Deezer also cites global NPD stats showing that 30%
of smartphone owners in 2013 used their devices for
on-demand streaming services.
Vanessa Thomas, Managing Director, Songza
Canada, confirms that about 65% of Songza
subscribers use the service on a mobile device.
Music Ally/ABI Research reports that the number
of streaming listeners grew by 24% in the first half of
2013, compared to the same period in the previous
year. Paid subscription services saw the fastest
growth, as much as 44%.
In the U.S., music-industry revenues from
streaming services grew by 59% in 2012, to a total
of $571 million. By the end of 2013, it was expected
that 29 million people would be paying for streaming
services. By the end of 2018, that number could
reach 191 million.
“We’re definitely on sort of a hockey-stick growth
curve,” says Justin Erdman, Country Manager, Canada,
Deezer. He reports that Deezer has grown “almost fivefold” in Canada, since its official launch in June 2013.
Thomas similarly reports that Songza signed up
over a million users in its first couple of months in
Canada, and has continued to grow rapidly.
time, with the ability to pay for just that one track
(usually $0.99), and to go on listening to it as many
times as they like.
À la carte streaming works a bit like video-ondemand, giving users open access to the entire
content library, and the ability to choose exactly
what they’d like to hear at any given time. This type
of access is generally offered as an all-you-can-eat
subscription (typically for about $10/month).
However, copyright royalties also differ based
on the delivery platform. As noted on the Rara site:
“In simple terms, the mobile device is considered a
different type of use under the license arrangements
we have with record labels.”
In order to reduce the number of SKUs, à la
carte streaming and mobile access are typically both
included as part of the top subscription plan.
Themed playlists let users choose broad
categories of music, but not individual tracks.
(The terms ‘channel’ or ‘station’ are often
used synonymously with ‘playlist.’) Playlists may
be ‘curated’ by expert staff, or created and
shared by users. They can even be generated
by software.
This approach is typically offered on an
ad-supported basis. But for a small monthly fee
(typically $4 or $5), users can both eliminate
advertising and gain extra control: the ability
to skip more unwanted tracks, or to create and save
more finely-tailored playlists.
Again, to keep things simple, playlist streaming is
typically combined with PC/Mac access via the Web,
to form a middle subscription tier.
Online ‘broadcasting’ is the lowest-cost
TYPES OF SERVICES
There are several types of streaming service.
Categories can be identified by their pricing, and,
more importantly, by the degree of control they
grant the user.
Outright purchase, as on iTunes, is the high-end
Internet offering, though it’s obviously not part
of the streaming market as such. It gives users the
most granular control: access to any track, any
which provide users with a convenient front-end from
which to browse for radio stations.
For instance, Rad.io lets users choose from
menus of about 150 countries, 100 languages, many
hundreds of cities, and about 75 genres. On TuneIn,
choosing the Local option gave me a list of 81
Toronto-area stations, including everything from
CBC Radio One to WhiStle Radio, in Stoufville, ON.
Radio aggregators are typically free on both
PC and mobile devices. However, TuneIn has a ‘pro’
version of its mobile app ($3.74) that allows recording
to an SD card.
Oddly, content licenses don’t tend to be limited
by geography. So users subscribing in Canada can
usually continue to access their service without
restriction when traveling abroad. Such quirks are
par for the course in copyright law.
approach, giving users the same access to terrestrial
radio stations that they’d get over the air, but with
greater geographic range.
Most radio stations today transmit
simultaneously over the airwaves and the Internet.
Many use the standard ShoutCast protocol, creating a
Web address that can be opened by most PC or Mac
music players. Others prefer to use Flash, or HTML5.
The bigger ones may offer their own branded app.
Radio aggregators aren’t really a separate type
of access. But they are a separate group of services,
As streaming grows in popularity, Burgess points
out that one other type of access seems likely to
fade: music lockers, such as iTunes Match. When
consumers can access an archive of all recorded music
for $10 a month, why bother with complications like
uploading tracks that are already in the cloud?
Of course, there’s lots of room for synergy
between the various types of services. For example,
iTunes itself spans track purchase and streaming, with
music locker as an option. And Thomas notes that
Songza includes a ‘purchase track’ button that takes
users directly to iTunes.
PROS AND CONS
Access to these services is swiftly becoming universal,
across platforms such as AV receivers, smart TV,
Roku set-top boxes, music players such as Sonos and
SqueezeBox, and most cars.
Legality is equally a non-issue. All the commercial
services are happily jumping through all the requisite
music-industry hoops.
Audio quality is somewhat debatable. Streaming
April 2014
| 21
STREAMING RADIO
services typically use either 128Kbps MP3 or 64Kbps
AAC. These are said to offer equivalent quality, but
neither is really in the same league as CD audio or
lossless FLAC. However, they’re certainly more than
adequate for the vast majority of listeners, and quite
acceptable even for audiophiles on the go.
App quality is more uncertain. All the streaming
apps have a goodly percentage of reviews complaining
of problems like crashes or failures to connect.
Grooveshark’s app currently rates only 3.8 out of 5 in
the Google Play store. Rdio and Slacker score 4.1, and
CURATED CONTENT
Songza stands out with a more respectable 4.5.
Privacy could be a concern at some point.
When accessing services via the Web, I found myself
allowing cross-site scripts to numerous other sites,
including some that were entirely unfamiliar to
me. Most users will never know or care about all
this, but it’s an unfortunate vulnerability, at a time
when commercial services of all kinds are being
embarrassed by criminal hacks.
Depth of content, on the other hand, is
remarkable. It’s difficult to assess the library on
a service that uses genre-based playlists. But on
Deezer’s à la carte plan, I had no trouble finding
either classic 1930s jazz by Valaida Snow or recent
indie rarities like Neutral Milk Hotel. Or Canadian cult
favorites like Big Rude Jake or La Bottine Souriante.
Erdman notes that all the major services now
offer most all of the major content.
“Services should compete on the basis of feature
set,” he feels. That lets consumers shop around,
confident that they can choose based on features and
pricing, without missing out on any important content.
Mobile
Web
Free
Features
Deezer
$9.99/mo.
$4.99/mo.
Web only, with ads; after 6 months limits
to 2 hrs/mo.
themed channels; albums, playlists and tracks
selected by Deezer Editors and members
Galaxie Mobile
$4.99/mo.
$4.99/mo.
included in plans from Shaw, Telus, Cogeco
and other providers
favourite channels
Grooveshark
$9/mo.- no ads, mobile & desktop apps $9/mo. no ads, mobile & desktop apps
Ad-supported; limited collections
and favourites
theme, genre, curated, user-created
iTunes Radio
ad-supported, or no ads with
iTunes Match, $24.99/yr
--
ad-supported
over 250 curated and genre-focused stations
RaRa
$9.99/mo., incl. offline playing
$4.99/mo.
--
themed Stations; curated playlists
Rdio.com
$9.99/month, 20-50% off
2nd/3rd subscription
$4.99/mo.
no ads; limited number of tracks, for up
to 6 months
staff picks; genre-based stations;
Artist/Song Stations
Sirius XM Canada
$7.99/mo
$7.99/mo
--
up to 10 favourite channels
Sky.fm
$4.99/mo. w. no ads, 2x quality
$4.99/mo. w. no ads, 2x quality
ad-supported on Web and mobile
favourites
Slacker
$3.99/mo. ad-free; $9.99/mo.
with on-demand access.
$3.99/mo. ad-free; $9.99/mo.
w. on-demand access
ad-supported, available on all platforms
“more than 300 expert-programmed stations”
Songza
$0.99/wk. ad-free with extra skips
$0.99/wk. ad-free with extra skips
display ads, limited skips
curated, user-submitted; but users can’t listen
to own lists
$4.99/mo. unlimited
--
custom channels
Sony Music Unlimited $9.99/mo. unlimited
Xbox Music
$9.99/mo., allows creation of ‘radio
stations,’ keeps devices in sync
$9.99/mo., allows creation of
‘radio stations,’ keeps devices in sync
ad-supported 6-month unlimited trial,
then 10 hours/mo. max.
custom “radio stations”
ZIK.ca
$14.99
$9.99
--
Playlists, caching for offline play
Mobile
Web
Free
Features
Rad.io
free
free
original ads included in radio streams
favourites
ShoutCast
free
free
ad support varies
depends on player
TuneIn Radio Pro
free
free
ads vary with radio stream
favourites
Mobile
Web
Free
Features
Qello
$4.99/mo. unlimited access w. no ads
$4.99/mo. unlimited access w. no ads
one track from each concert, view 30+
channels of Qello TV
setlists with paid subscription
VEVO
free
free
ad-supported
favourites
ONLINE RADIO
MUSIC VIDEO
* Notes: Older platforms (e.g. BlackBerry) and miscellaneous AV devices (e.g. audio receivers) may be supported even if not shown in ‘official’ listing. Web-based streaming may work on some mobile devices, depending on technology
used (e.g. HTML5 vs Flash). Geographic availability and size of content library are shown when cited on official sites, but are approximate at best, and subject to change based on new music-industry license agreements.
22 |
www.wifihifi.ca
STREAMING RADIO
Of course, each service will continue to look for
exclusive material, but mostly on a time-limited basis.
Where streaming services truly excel is in
fostering discovery of new music. Thomas notes that
Songza playlist curators specifically watch out for up
and coming artists. Playlists are updated weekly to
get new material into rotation.
In fact, though not covered by Canadian-content
rules, Internet streaming providers seem to be
doing a very good job of promoting local talent.
“Our message to labels and artists is that we serve
Canadian artists better than every other service,” says
Erdman. Deezer has one ‘editor’ working on Englishlanguage content, and another on French.
Songza actually has eight playlist curators in
Canada, says Thomas, including ones focused on
regional West Coast, East Coast and Quebec audiences.
THE OUTLOOK
Although it’s reached a very healthy plateau,
streaming is still a rapidly evolving field. Hopefully,
Canadian copyright rules will keep pace. Thomas
points out that the next review is scheduled for late
summer or early fall. A favourable ruling could bring
even more participants to the market, and help drive
the wider adoption of streaming.
But for now, Erdman sees no huge problem
operating in Canada. “For the industry as a whole, the
goal needs to be developing the mass audience.”
That could happen within a year or two. “There’s
a generation of people younger than us who have
never bought a CD,” notes Erdman. “It’s a whole
different world.”
Platforms
Availability
Base
Content
Comment
Web, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Windows 8,
Mac, Xbox, cars, smart TV
“183 markets worldwide”
Paris, France
30 million tracks
over 10 million listeners monthly; Canadian
content including Francophone
iOS, Android
Canada, U.S., Latin America
Montreal, QC
50 professionally-programmed music channels
Web, iOS (jailbroken), Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Nokia,
Mac, Windows
30 languages
Gainesville, FL
iOS, Mac, Windows, Apple TV
U.S. and Australia
(other countries expected in 2014)
Cupertino, CA
26 million songs
London, UK
“over 22 million songs”
iOS, Android, Windows 8
up to 10 devices sync via Cloud
Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Roku, Sonos
51 countries
San Francisco, CA
“20 million songs”
Web, iOS, Android, select Pioneer, Onkyo and Yamaha
AV receivers; Sonos; Logitech Internet radios
Canada, U.S.
Toronto, ON
“over 100 channels of satellite radio”
Sirius subscribers pay $4 extra for Internet
access; online has some channel differences
Web, iOS, Android, BlackBerry 5.0+, Windows Phone, Sonos,
SqueezeBox, Apple TV
Denver, CO
60+ genre channels of expertly curated music
limited ability to tailor content
Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Xbox 360,
Roku, Sonos, various car brands
San Diego, CA
“more than 13 million songs”
Web, iOS, Android, Windows 8.1, BlackBerry OS10, Sonos
Canada, U.S.
iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4,
PlayStation Vita, Bravia TV and Blu-ray players
New York, NY
Tokyo, Japan
“millions and millions of songs”
HQ option plays 320Kbps AAC
iOS, Android, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Xbox has no ad-supported
version, also requires Live Gold subscription)
23 regions, including
Canada and U.S.
Redmond, WA
“tens of millions of songs”
offline listening “coming soon” for iOS
and Android
Web, iOS, Android
Canada
Montreal, QC
“millions of songs,” “the largest catalog of
Francophone music”
Web access in Canada only
Platforms
Availability
Base
Content
Comment
Hamburg, Germany
over 12,000 radio stations, 107 Canadian stations
Simpler player, clean design
none
48,720 stations (checked Feb. 21)
quality and content plentiful but variable
Palo Alto, CA
100,000 live radio stations, 2 million podcasts,
concerts or shows
Web version wants Flash, Silverlight and
Quicktime plugins
Base
Content
Comment
New York, NY
“the largest library of HD concert films and music
documentaries, from 1920s to today”
Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Roku,
Sonos, Chevy, Ford, Tesla
PC, Mac, most mobile platforms (supported by various apps)
global
Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Roku,
Sonos, Chevy, Ford, Tesla
Platforms
iOS, Android, Windows 8, Apple TV, Google TV, Sony TV,
Samsung TV, Windows 7 and 8, Web
iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Apple TV, Xbox,
Chromecast, Roku, Samsung TV
Availability
on-demand in 13 countries incl. U.S.
New York, NY
& Canada; VEVO TV in U.S. and Canada
75,000 HD music videos, live concert performances
Offers videos on-demand, as well as VEVO TV
live ‘broadcast’ streams
April 2014
| 23
THE SMARTPHONE AT THE CENTRE
OF THE CONNECTED LIFE
BY CHRISTINE PERSAUD
USING A HIKU, WHICH SITS ON THE SIDE OF THE REFRIGERATOR with the rest of your magnets, you
can scan items and store them in a virtual grocery list that’s accessible on a smartphone. D-Link’s line of mydlink
app-enabled devices, which range from home security cameras to baby monitors, let you access live video feeds
from a smartphone or tablet, or via computer from a remote location. Jarden’s coffee maker with Belkin WeMo
technology will accept a message from your phone when you wake up and brew a fresh pot of java by the time
you’ve showered and walked into the kitchen. With LG’s HomeChat system, your laundry machine can send an
SMS to let you know when the load will be finished; or use your mobile device to contact LG customer service
so they can remotely diagnose an issue.
These are just but a few examples that illustrate the Internet of Things, which draws on the concept of
machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, whereby machines communicate with one another without
human intervention. And it has caused a lot of buzz already this year as we begin to see glimpses of a world
where everything in our lives will be connected, and processes automated.
The number of devices that will be connected by 2020 varies from 26 billion (Gartner), to 30 billion
(ABI Research), all the way up to Cisco CEO John Chambers’ recent prediction at Mobile World Congress of
50 billion devices, equating to $19 trillion in benefits for the economy.
24 |
www.wifihifi.ca
The Story
The Internet of Things points toward a
hyper-connected world, where everything
will be automated, with little to no human
intervention necessary.
The smartphone is central to the highly
connected experience, acting as a control,
access, and monitoring device.
In order for the connected world to succeed,
security concerns need to be addressed, and
necessary network demands met.
MOBILE WORLD
“It all comes down to connectivity,” says Court
Elliott, Senior Manager, Brand Communications
for LG Canada. “More and more things are being
connected, and being connected more easily. And
I think that’s something everyone in the industry
is aspiring toward.”
With many, if not all, of these connections, there’s
one common denominator: the smartphone. The
name is no misnomer, except for perhaps the “phone”
portion. Because today’s mobile devices, whether
they’re smartphones, tablets, phablets, superphones,
or whatever you want to call them, sit at the heart of
the Web of connectivity in which we live.
“ More and more things are being
connected, and being connected
more easily. And I think that’s
something everyone in the industry
is aspiring toward.”
Court Elliott
Seniro Manager,
Brand Communications,
LG Canada
They’ve replaced thousand-dollar touch panels
in home-automation setups, cannibalized the
traditional portable music and video player market,
eaten the entry-level point-and-shoot digicam
market alive, and caused a big dent in the basic
computer space.
The reason is that the smartphone has one
significant advantage over all of the others: it’s with
us 24/7. We’re more likely to forget our wallets at
home then our phones. And in fact, or phones can
act as our digital wallets anyway.
If the Internet of Things is the future, the mobile
device is the brain that will help make it happen.
recordings. They can function as the AV devices
themselves. And tap into security, HVAC, and
lighting systems. As IoT becomes more prevalent,
this will extend even further. You’ll get alerts if
your AC is on without anyone home, or if you
forgot to turn the lights off; or have the security
system intelligently kick in during a power outage.
Google’s recent purchase of Nest, which popularly
launched the Learning Thermostat, is evidence
that major companies are looking at this market.
Nest isn’t just a thermostat that one can control
remotely, or set to adjust on a schedule. Rather,
it intelligently learns your schedule, and your
habits over time, and programs itself. Once it’s
set up, there’s zero human intervention needed.
And that’s what’s at the core of the IoT.
“Google buying Nest for $3.2 billion was a huge
tip of the hat to the industry that this thing is for real,
and it’s growing,” says Elliott. “A company like Google
is taking it that seriously.”
Security: IP cameras and other home monitoring
devices are becoming part of the IoT experience in
a big way. Lou Reda, President of D-Link Canada,
says the company has seen “explosive” growth in
the category, noting that the camera can not only be
used for home or remote viewing, but also to trigger
activities. For example, a motion sensor could trigger
a video clip to be sent if someone comes into the
home unannounced. It doesn’t just have to be about
intruders; parents can keep an eye on when the preteen comes home from school, or on pets while away
at work. And baby monitors are becoming part of the
equation as well.
“If you have your phone or tablet in front of
you all the time, it makes sense that it becomes that
common screen for you to use to monitor your
baby,” says Reda.
Appliances: Technologies like LG’s
THE ROLE OF THE SMARTPHONE
While the smartphone plays an integral role in
everything from AV and automation, to health and
wearables, it will become even more at the core
as IoT permeates each of these areas.
AV & Automation: Today, smartphones
can be used as touch screen remotes for AV
equipment, controlling playback or setting PVR
26 |
www.wifihifi.ca
aforementioned smart appliances that can
communicate with a smartphone via text message,
and Jarden’s small appliances that can be triggered
to cook a meal or brew a pot of coffee via a mobile
device, are ideal examples of how IoT can play in the
appliance space. The growth potential in this area
is huge, building on things like remote diagnosis of
products, and better utility management, like smart
electricity usage.
The Car: We saw demos of the driverless car at
the International CES as one of the latest automated
processes in the 12V industry. Future possibilities
might extend to intelligent music playback: hop in
the car, and depending on the time of day, the car
automatically plays an appropriate playlist. Or there
are more practical uses. OnStar, for example, has a
program called Drive Safe & Save whereby a detailed
report of driving habits is sent to the insurance
company in order to get price breaks on coverage.
Health & Wearables: Wearables focus on
bringing smartphone notifications to a device on
your wrist, or tracking fitness and health information
that can be accessed through an app. But the real
world benefits will come when IoT allows for constant
tracking of one’s vital signs, fitness levels, and basic
health condition. An app or piece of software may be
able to continually monitor you as you go through
your everyday activities, alerting you of any red flags.
For the elderly, it might be at the sign of a fall, the
detection of the onset of a heart attack, trouble with
breathing, or rising blood pressure. For the young,
it could be to advise of dropping activity levels, and
the need to move around more; or a nudge that
The wearables market presents tremendous opportunities
for the connected world; a smart watch can act as a control, data
collecting, and monitoring device.
more vitamins or water intake are needed. These
devices could be connected to health-care networks
and professionals so that your doctor doesn’t have
to just see you at regular intervals, or when you feel
something might be wrong. But he can monitor daily
readings, and receive notifications when the system
detects an anomaly.
MOBILE WORLD
A recent report by Signals and Systems Telecom
forecasts that the market for mobile health will reach
nearly US$9 billion this year, and will grow at a rate of
nearly 40% over the next six years.
When it comes to mental health, IoT can also
play a role, through systems that can remind patients
when they have an appointment, when they need to
take their medications, or even when it’s time to do
some exercises. A system might be able to detect if
the person is depressed for too long by measuring
health data, and alert a care team.
“We look at the human body as a whole new
area of sensors,” says Ken Haertling, Vice President
GOING RETRO:
THE EVOLUTION OF
THE MOBILE PHONE
IT WAS 41 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH that the mobile
phone was introduced by John F. Mitchell and Dr.
Martin Cooper of Motorola. The DynaTAC phone was
10.1” long, weighed 2.5 lbs., and offered 30 minutes
of talk time. The price? $4,000.
Dr. Cooper made the first phone call in April 1973
to his rival from Bell Labs, and the first reporter to
use it called her mother in Australia. The concept left
everyone in awe.
Today, four decades later, communicating by
voice is arguably the least common thing we do
with our phones. We communicate by text-based
messages, through social media with hundreds
of people at one time, many of whom we don’t
personally know, or via video using services like
Skype and FaceTime.
The concept of the “smart” phone as we know
it today, however, is still relatively new, drawing
from the launch of the Apple iPhone only just seven
years ago.
Phones eventually evolved from that first
“brick” device to employ much smaller and lighter
form factors. And the design principles continued
to morph considerably over the years. Remember
when having a flip phone meant you had the latest
and greatest?
and Chief Security Officer at Telus. The carrier is a big
player in this market, reporting last summer that it
had invested $1 billion in health care since 2008.
“ Security is a key underpinning
to make all this happen.”
Ken Haertling
Vice President and
Chief Security Officer,
Telus
Today, a smartphone needs to have a large,
edge-to-edge, high-resolution screen, needs to be
ultra-thin and lightweight, boast a decent built-in
digicam, and have processing specs and capabilities
that we’d expect from a full-fledged computer.
On the features end, things like downloadable
ringtones used to be the extent of entertainment on
your device. Gaming on your phone typically meant
Solitaire, or an engaging game of Minebuster. Text
messages could only be sent to those with phones
operating on the same carrier network, and took 10
times as long to compose, requiring two or three
button presses per key in order to get the desired
letter. Because of this, they were sent infrequently;
not like today, where Canadians send over 270
million of them daily (CWTA). Picture messages, once
you could finally send them, cost an arm and leg.
The leaders in the business have also taken a
turn. Once at the height of the business, Motorola
has been through its share of struggles. Palm, which
had an integral role in ushering in the PDA (Personal
Digital Assistant), which represented the first real
concept of the phone as a mini computer, has
disappeared. BlackBerry helped grow the idea of the
pocketable phone/computer hybrid device, but now
faces hardships of its own as it attempts to compete
with the Apple, Google, and Samsung juggernauts
that currently lead the smartphone space.
So much innovation has happened even over
just the past decade. Now, with the touch screen and
powerful operating systems like iOS and Android,
music on the device means storing your entire library
Retail: From bitcoins to contactless payment
methods, and credit card information stored in
mobile devices, we’re seeing our view of currency,
and the transactional process, changing drastically.
Electronic wallets and loyalty programs can not only
provide the retailer with details about the customer,
but also the customer details about the retailer.
The overall retail experience is being molded
around the smartphone. It begins with simple things
of high-resolution audio files, not downloading a
polyphonic, 10-second clip as a ringer. Games are
in the thousands, and are just as sophisticated as
you’d see on a dedicated console. Typing is a cinch
with full QWERTY keyboards. Phones can essentially
accomplish every basic task a computer can. And
then some.
The crazy part is that we’ve only just begun
to scratch the surface of what the smart, super
phone can accomplish. Here’s to another 41 years
of development.
Dr. Martin Cooper poses with the first mobile phone; and LG’s
new G Flex curved smartphone.
April 2014
| 27
MISS NOTHING.
EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING
Sharp AQUOS continues its legacy of best in class engineering and design with four exceptional new lines of LED TV for 2014. Our large
screens, with cutting edge picture quality, give you amazing detail and gorgeous, consistent colour. The lineup includes our flagship 4K
UHD as well as our new Quattron+ TVs which provide the highest resolution Full HD available today. Sharp’s exclusive Quattron+ LED Full
HD TVs use 10 million more sub-pixels than normal Full HD. Quattron+ TVs also include a powerful built in proprietary up-scaler to optimize
all content and fully accept 4K signals, ensuring your customers are future ready.
Sharp’s 2014 best in class offers great flexibility at every budget with no compromise. Whether you are selling to those moving straight
in to 4K, a customer looking for the best Full HD experience with 4K compatibility, or someone who simply wants the best picture quality
available, Sharp is there with the right large panel. That’s why when its Sharp, you’re not just watching it. You’re part of it.
HD
Big, bold,
breathtaking clarity
Q
uattron
Finer details and a billion
more shades of colour
Q+
uattron
The highest resolution
Full HD TV available
4K
Four times the pixel
resolution of Full HD
sharp.ca
©2014 Sharp Electronics Corporation. Sharp, AQUOS, and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated companies.
MOBILE WORLD
like contactless payment terminals. But can expand
to more complex strategies, like sensors that can
track when people walk into a store to ensure there
is enough staff manning cash registers; or that can
sense where a customer is in the store and push
personalized offers to his smartphone based on
a previously-stored shopper profile. It’s Minority
Report come to life.
Scheduled to be released some time in the fall, Jarden’s new
coffee machine boasts Belkin WeMo technology, which will allow
consumers to control it from their smartphones.
The Commercial Sector: IoT has major
implications for the industrial world, from remote
sensors, to companies being able to better manage
everything from the manufacturing process, to
delivery, fleet vehicles, inventory levels, and purchase
orders. Elliott provides the examples of remote
sensors in the oil fields in Fort McMurray, which allow
workers to monitor wirelessly what’s going on.
“There are so many exciting ways to expand the
technology,” says Haertling. “I see it starting to go into
automotive, logistics, oil and gas, where they’re using
IoT to collect sensor data.”
Municipalities can appreciate being able to
manage things like traffic cameras and stoplights
from remote mobile devices, eliminating the need to
send someone to go and collect sensor data one-byone. Smart metering is another integral area. “The
days of someone getting into the truck and reading
every meter are a thing of the past,” says Haertling.
But even from a traditional office standpoint,
Haertling says Telus is trying to look at ways that
it can make the smartphone a worker’s unique
identity. “I look at our employees and use the
30 |
www.wifihifi.ca
analogy of the Batman utility belt. They have their
phone, their iPad, the badge, a secure ID token, their
car keys. We’re looking at how we combine all of that
into a single credential in the phone that gives you
all of the access.”
ADDRESSING CONCERNS
Universal Standards: One of the most common
roadblocks to the widespread adoption of any new
technology has always been the lack of universally
compatible standards. And if several key players
attempt to take a leadership role in this market, we
could see the same thing happen with IoT.
“In order for all of these devices to work
together,” says Reda, “they have to have a common
thread. And that’s what’s missing today.”
There are ways to work around that. D-Link, for
example, makes smart hubs, sensors, door contacts,
and other devices that connect well together, and
to some degree, can communicate with lighting
control or door locks from other manufacturers as
well. Some companies are developing open source
technologies so third-parties can use a software
development kit (SDK) to develop around it. Reda
also points, most recently, to groups like the Allseen
Alliance (allseenalliance.org) and AllJoyn (alljoyn.org)
both open source environments working to develop
software on top of the hardware that will make for
seamless communication among devices.
“ To me, the definition of Internet
of Things is hardware and
software coming together so
these technologies are seamless
and work well together.”
Lou Reda
President,
D-Link Canada
Reda also suggests that low-power Wi-Fi will be
a “game-changer,” and says a draft format has been
developed, hinting that we may start to see lowpower Wi-Fi enabled on a standard router or gateway
by 2015. This means, notes Reda, that manufacturers
could Wi-Fi-enable everything from a toaster, to
coffee machine, or battery-operated devices like
With the Hiku, you can scan grocery items at home and have
them automatically sent to a virtual grocery list on the smartphone.
door sensors and keypads. From a manufacturer
perspective, this also allows companies to focus on
their core competencies.
LG is using a simple messaging service called
Line with its HomeChat service in an attempt to
avoid such concerns.
“Going back to CES,” recalls Elliott, “and some
of the things we brought to the table for the smart
home, it was less about the connectivity and as much
about the fact that it was an easy language being
used to communicate among the devices.
“I think things are moving to a universal
language,” he continues, “and it’s just going to be our
language…that will have to be integrated into the
products to help bridge that connectivity gap. Moving
forward, that is one of the biggest things that’s going
to come out of this. That it has to be intuitive, and very
connected, but also very easy to use.”
Adds Reda: “To me, the definition of Internet
of Things is hardware and software coming
together so these technologies are seamless and
work well together.”
Building the Pipelines: From a provider
standpoint, concerns arise with regards to the
pipelines, or networks, that fuel these connections.
Can the providers in Canada handle the bandwidth
requirements needed to have everything from your
AV systems, to your cars, home appliances, and even
HVAC systems, controlled from your smartphone?
And can they do so fast enough to keep up with the
demand? Or might bogged-down networks lead to
dropped, slow, and unreliable connections?
Telecommunications providers need to ensure
that the network highways, so to speak, are clear
enough to accommodate the amount of traffic needed
to pass through them on a weekly, daily, even hourly
TM
MOBILE WORLD
or minute-by-minute basis. A theoretical traffic jam
could spell major disaster for the Internet of Things.
Naturally, this is part of the reason all major
carriers in Canada spent big bucks to acquire
spectrum in the recent 700 MHz auction, which is
essential for building out and improving the networks
required for these such systems.
“Providers understand bandwidth requirements
better than they have in the past,” says Reda. “I do
believe we’re getting there. I think probably for the
first year, we’re keeping at pace with technology.”
“Every year, we’re trying to grow our network at an
ever-increasing pace to keep up with the data demand
and the ever-growing number of devices,” says
Haertling, who adds that there’s “a lot of money to be
made across a variety of industries by enabling this.”
Big Brother is Watching: Another large concern
is the potentially Big Brother-esque nature of the
highly connected world. We need to be cognizant
that 1) this data from multiple sources and devices will
be passed through, and controlled by, a few sources;
and 2) in order to facilitate these communications,
it means that everyone from the manufacturer of
your washing machine, to Google, to your wireless
carrier, and the manufacturer of your smartphone,
could potentially have access to your personal data.
This poses some very interesting security and privacy
concerns that need to be addressed.
“Security is a key underpinning to make all
this happen,” agrees Haertling. He stresses that
building a secure container on the mobile devices is
a requirement for Telus, along with ensuring that a
SIM card that holds details like a person’s credit card
information, ID badge, and car keys, employs all of
the appropriate levels of security. It’s also important,
D-Link’s DCS825L baby monitor connects to your home’s Wi-Fi
so you can view a live feed of the camera from your smartphone
or tablet in another room, or from a remote location using the
mydlink Web application.
Haertling notes, that this secure container cannot
be accessed over the public telecom network, or
Bluetooth. It has to be Near Field Communications
(NFC), which requires proximity.
Reda says D-Link includes technology in its baby
monitors, for instance, that lets customers turn off
remote connectivity, and run a local connection
between the monitor and the phone or tablet. “My
belief is that connecting devices together in the home
doesn’t mean you always have to have that remote
capability turned on. That’s really up to the user.”
MOVING FORWARD:
WILL THE SMARTPHONE CONTINUE
TO BE THE HUB?
Smartphones really are miniature computers in your
pockets. But will they have the required processing
power to continue to be the devices that serve as those
central control systems to our entire connected world?
Phones continue to become more powerful,
with faster processors, better graphics, more robust
networks, and increasingly sophisticated apps. The
tablet form factor is becoming more compact, and
Smartphones are integral to the AV experience: they can serve as the AV devices themselves, for remote or personal viewing;
or simply as control devices and second screens.
32 |
www.wifihifi.ca
we’re seeing a growing number of hybrid “phablets”
that combine the best of both worlds. But there are
already inklings that the smartphone concept may
morph into a wearable device of sorts that could
become that central computer.
“I think there’s some evolution still to come from
the actual smartphone area,” says LG’s Elliott. “And I
think this idea of wearables is going to really help to
bolster that and move things in different directions
going forward.”
Reda says D-Link can even see the smartphone
replacing the notebook or tablet in the home, pointing
out that with its cameras, customers don’t even need a
computer to connect them to the Internet.
The advantage with the smartphone, again,
comes down to our complete reliance on the device.
Look in virtually any public place and you’d be hardpressed not to find someone on his phone, typing,
Perhaps one of the biggest eye-openers that the Internet of
Things is real has been Google’s US$3.2 billion purchase of Nest,
known for its Learning Thermostat.
talking, or swiping away. Even those who were
typically averse to smartphones, including the elderly
and emerging markets, are finally adopting them due
to lowering costs and simplified user interfaces.
“I think people are going to start to see the
convenience [IoT] brings,” says Haertling. “If you want
to catch a bus, instead of waiting for 40 minutes,
if you can track where the bus is and know it’s 30
minutes out, you can time your day to be there just in
time. Or your refrigerator letting you know you’re out
of milk when you’re on your way home from work.
There will be cost and convenience drivers to help
people embrace the technology.”
As people become more comfortable with
their devices, and with doing more with them, the
smartphone will continue to secure its place at the
hub of the connected experience. Of course what a
“smart” “phone” might look like 20 years from now…
Well, that’s anyone’s guess.
The New Night Collection for iPhone® 5c protects your new
phone from bumps and scratches while illuminating your
style with it’s fluorescent messaging of dreams, peace and
love. Don’t fade into the dark, light up the room with style.
Puro is distributed by DayMen Canada
55 Valleywood Drive • Markham, Ontario • L3R 5L9
Phone: 905.944.9400 • email: puro@daymen.com
For more information visit daymen.ca
iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
GETTING REAL: DIGITAL
IMAGING AFTER THE BOOM
Sony’s new entry-level mirrorless camera, the Alpha 5000, has
a 20.1MP sensor, built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, and a 3” LCD that tilts for
selfies, overhead shots and low-angle images.
BY GORDON BROCKHOUSE
KAJI MASILAMANY HAS SOME SIMPLE ADVICE FOR RETAILERS alarmed at declining sales of digital
cameras: Keep calm, and carry on. “The market is a lot smaller compared to 2010,” acknowledges Masilamany,
Imaging Product Manager for Panasonic Canada Inc. “That may be causing panic out there. But when you dissect the
market data over the last four or five years, it’s just stylish entry-level cameras with 3 to 4x zoom that are declining.
“It might be a better time for real cameras now,” he continues. “Waterproof cameras, large-sensor enthusiast
cameras, high-zoom compacts, bridge cameras; there’s stability in that market. For event photography, people
still want a real camera.”
“Real cameras” are where imaging vendors are focusing for 2014: interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs)
as well as point-and-shoot models that offer real benefits compared to smartphones.
THE NUMBERS
According to the Canadian Imaging Trade Association (CITA), 2013 shipments of digital cameras totaled 1.776
million units. That’s 25.2% lower than 2012, and less than half of the level at the peak of the imaging boom in
2008. What’s more, CITA is projecting a further decline of 11.9% in 2014, to 1.565 million units.
However, ILCs are holding up well. In 2013, Canadian shipments of DSLRs fell 1.4%, to 424,000 units; CITA
projects a further decline of 4.5% for 2014. A bit surprising, given the newness of the category, was the decline of
11.8% for Compact System Cameras (CSCs), to 69,600 units. But CITA is forecasting an increase of 22.1% for CSCs
34 |
www.wifihifi.ca
The Story
Digital camera sales are now less than half
what they were at the peak of the imaging
boom; but the declines have been mainly in
low-end point-and-shoots.
Sales of interchangeable-lens cameras are
holding up well, and so are sales of lenses
and accessories. Price erosion is a continuing
issue with DSLRs.
While Compact System Camera sales fell in
2014, CITA projects strong growth for 2014.
Much of the product innovation in imaging
is occurring in CSCs.
Given the rich feature set of today’s imaging
products, the photo specialty channel is
becoming more important.
DIGITAL IMAGING
“ The importance of the specialty
channel is growing. You need
someone who can explain the
benefits to the end user.
Mass merchants hope the signage
will sell the product for them.”
Kaji Masilamany
Imaging Product Manager,
Panasonic Canada Inc.
this year, to 85,000 units. ILC shipments are expected
to total 490,000 units, a decline of only 0.7%.
Sell-through stats tell a similar story. According
to NPD, Canadian retail sales of digital cameras were
down 26% in unit terms and 21% in dollar terms
in 2013 compared to 2012. The point-and-shoot
segment suffered the worst, with unit sales falling
by 30%. “However the ASP increased by four per
cent,” notes Mark Haar, Director of Consumer
Electronics for NPD Canada, “mostly as a result of
the continued shift in product mix toward more
expensive longer-zoom cameras.”
NPD’s view of the ILC segment is less optimistic
than CITA’s. “That market was down six per cent
on units but 14 per cent on dollars, with the ASP
dropping by nine per cent, reflecting a market that
is aggressively pursuing the entry-point consumer,”
Haar says. CSCs declined by 4% on units and 11% on
dollars. The DSLR segment was down 6% on units
and 15% on dollars.
Haar agrees that bridge cameras, tough cameras
and super-zooms are bright spots in the pointand-shoot category, but adds a note of caution to
Masilamany’s enthusiasm. “That’s true to the extent
those are bigger pieces of the pie. Even so, they also
showed declines in the back half of 2013. We’ll have
to see how it plays out in 2014.”
THE NEW CAMERA BUYER
These numbers point to a changing photographic
consumer, Haar believes. “The consumer going
into the camera store is going to be a much more
valuable customer. That’s one bright spot for the
industry. The market has given way to someone
who is more of a hobbyist.”
Haar’s statement is supported by the relative
robustness of accessory sales. In 2013, Canadian unit
sales of DSLR lenses fell only 2%, while dollar volume
fell 3%. Lenses for CSCs were up 19% in units and
dollars. External flashes fell 7% in units and 11% in
dollars; filters fell 7% in units and 4% in dollars; tripods
fell 3% in units and 1% in dollars. The main casualty
was bags and cases, which declined 28% in unit terms
and 18% in dollars.
With entry-level camera sales drying up, and
other cameras getting more advanced features,
the specialty channel is becoming more important.
“You need someone who can explain the benefits
of today’s cameras to the end user,” Masilamany
says. “Mass merchants hope the signage will sell
the product for them.”
Panasonic’s new flagship system camera, the Lumix DMC-GH4,
features 4K video recording, ultra-fast Depth from Defocus autofocus
technology, and high-contrast OLED viewfinder and rear screen.
GETTING CONNECTED
Just because mobile devices are cannibalizing
camera sales, that doesn’t mean people have lost
interest in photography. “The imaging market is
down, but interest is photography is up sharply,”
says Jim Malcolm, Executive Vice President at Ricoh
Imaging Americas Corp. “A lot of that interest is being
discovered in the mobile space. More pictures are
being taken than ever before.”
Many of the people shooting pictures on their
smartphones will never buy a dedicated digital camera,
Malcolm says. But some will bump up against the
photographic limits of their phones, and aspire for
something better. “People aren’t going to move to a
camera if their only interest is sharing images on the
Internet,” he elaborates. “But people who get the bug
will want to do more than their phone will let them do.”
Hence, the vigor of high-end compacts, as well as
tough and long-zoom cameras. “All of these segments
are healthy because they do something your mobile
phone can’t do,” Malcolm says.
Smartphone users don’t have to give up much
in the way of immediacy to share pictures from a real
“ The consumer going into the camera
store is going to be a much more
valuable customer. That’s one bright
spot for the industry.”
Mark Haar
Director of Consumer Electronics,
NPD Canada
camera. Virtually all new cameras have built-in Wi-Fi,
and work with free apps for transferring photos to a
smart device, and from there to social media. Many of
these apps also allow remote control of the camera.
“Even at the dealer level, if there’s no Wi-Fi, they
don’t want it,” Masilamany observes. “Photo specialty
dealers are demonstrating it, but not necessarily
mass merchants.”
Elaborates David Oyagi, Product Marketing
Manager at Sony of Canada Ltd.: “Connectivity allows
good image quality and very easy sharing. It’s a way
to increase the fun and functionality of the camera.”
Sony offers a unique twist on connectivity. Its latest
Alpha cameras and some of its Cyber-shot fixed-lens
cameras can run downloadable apps for functions
like time-lapse photography, star trails and lens
compensation. Ten PlayMemories apps are currently
available (some paid, some free), with three more
coming this spring.
Not everyone’s a believer in connected cameras
though. “Consumers have gone in droves to the
iPhone because it’s just one button to take a picture,”
comments David Bursach, Director of Product
Imaging, Sigma at Gentec International. “You have
your phone in your pocket. You can use it to take a
Nikon’s new flagship full-frame DSLR, the D4S, employs a new
Expeed 4 processor that allows for a very wide ISO range: up to
50-409,600 expanded. Its Group Autofocus function can track focus
on five areas of the scene.
April 2014
| 35
DIGITAL IMAGING
“ The imaging market is down, but
interest in photography is up
sharply. A lot of that interest is being
discovered in the mobile space.”
Jim Malcolm
Executive Vice President,
Ricoh Imaging America Corp.
picture for sharing, then go back to your camera
for picture-taking.”
But there are accessory opportunities from
the legions of people who use their phones to take
pictures. A case in point: Manfrotto’s Klyp+ system for
the iPhone 5, 5s and 5c. At the core of the Klyp+ system
is a bumper that protects the phone. The bumper
accepts options like LED lights; a tripod adapter (the
Pixi table tripod is a great match); and accessory wideangle, fisheye and tele lenses. The system is being
sold mainly by the photo channel, says Marc Gautier,
Manfrotto Brand Manager at Gentec International.
“Photography is still at its height,” Gautier comments.
“We just have to be more open-minded about the
devices being used for photography.”
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2014
In even numbered-years, camera vendors often hold
major announcements for Photokina in Cologne,
Germany, which this year takes place September
16 to 21. But many important imaging products will
arrive in Q1 and Q2. Here are some of the highlights.
and video, based on people and events selected by
the user. The N100 will be available in May for $370.
All four new PowerShots have built-in Wi-Fi and NFC.
Canon: At the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan in
mid-February, Canon announced a new entry-level
DSLR, the EOS Rebel T5, an 18MP model with 1080p
HD video capture. It retails in Canada for $580 with
a stabilized 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, or $530 with
non-stabilized lens.
The big news from CP+ for Canon was the
PowerShot G1 X Mark II enthusiast fixed-lens camera
($850, April), with a large 1.5” 12.8MP CMOS sensor, 5x
f/2-3.9 zoom lens (24-120mm equivalent), upgraded
31-point autofocus system, and 3” tilting capacitive
touchscreen. The lens has dual control rings with
customizable functions, including zoom and aperture.
Other new PowerShot cameras for spring 2014
include the SX700 HS ($380, April), a compact superzoom with 30x lens (25-750mm equivalent) and 16MP
CMOS sensor; and the D30 ($350, April), a waterproof
model rated for use 25m below sea level, the deepest
of any current tough camera.
A unique entry is the PowerShot N100, which
features a new dual-capture mode. In addition to the
front-facing main camera, there’s a rear-facing subcamera. Photographers can embed pictures or video
of themselves into the main image telling the story
behind the picture. There’s also a Story Highlight mode
that compiles a two-minute highlight reel of images
Aimed at photographic storytellers, Canon’s new PowerShot
N100 has a dual-capture mode that lets users embed a picture
or video of themselves inside the main image.
Fujifilm: For 2014, the big news from Fujifilm is a
new high-end X-series system camera. The weatherresistant X-T1 features a 16MP X-Trans CMOS sensor,
plus top-mounted analog controls for shutter speed,
ISO, exposure compensation, drive mode and
metering. The huge high-resolution OLED electronic
viewfinder has a dual-view mode that can show a
magnified image in a secondary window for manual
focusing, with focus peaking or split-image options. It
will retail for $1,900 in a kit with a 18-135mm lens, or
$1,400 for the body only.
Fujifilm has also announced several new XF
lenses. Coming this spring are the 56mm f/1.2 portrait
prime lens, and 10-24mm f/4 OIS wide-angle zoom.
Nikon: Announced at CES, Nikon’s D3300 entrylevel DSLR has a 24.2MP APS-C size CMOS sensor and
Expeed 4 processor. It retails for $650 in a kit with an
AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens.
At CP+, Nikon launched an upgraded version of
its full-frame pro flagship body. Priced at $7,150 (body
only), the D4S sports a new Expeed 4 processor that
allows for an incredibly wide ISO range (50-409,600
expanded), a new Group Autofocus function that can
track focus on five areas of the scene, and 1080p60
video capability.
Nikon has also introduced several Coolpix pointand-shoot cameras during Q1 2014. Super-zoom
models include the P600 ($480) with 60x wide-angle
stabilized zoom lens (24-1440mm equivalent), 16.MP
CMOS sensor and built-in Wi-Fi; and the S9700 ($380),
a compact model with 30x stabilized zoom lens,
16MP CMOS sensor and built-in Wi-Fi. Priced at $280,
36 |
www.wifihifi.ca
DIGITAL IMAGING
“ Photography is still at its height.
We just have to be more
open-minded about the devices
being used for photography.”
Marc Gautier
Manfrotto Brand Manager,
Gentec International
the AW120 is a waterproof/shockproof/freezeproof
camera with built-in Wi-Fi, GPS with mapping and
electronic compass, 16MP sensor, 5x wide-angle
zoom lens (24-120mm equivalent), 1080p video
capability, and 3” OLED monitor.
Olympus: In late January, Olympus added a new
entry-level system camera to its SLR-styled OM-D
series. The E-M10 features a 16MP Live MOS sensor,
three-axis in-body image stabilization system, built-in
flash and autofocus system with zooming options
for locking focus on a very small part of the frame.
It combines a 1.444-million-dot EVF with a 3” tilting
LCD with 1.037-million-dot resolution. The E-M10
retails in Canada for $700 (body only) or $800 in a
kit with the M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R
standard zoom lens.
Olympus announced some interesting superzoom and tough cameras. The Stylus SP-100 ($400)
has a 50x zoom lens (24-1000mm equivalent), and
a very useful feature for telephoto shots of faraway
subjects: a pop-up Dot Sight screen just above the
920,000-dot EVF that gives a wide-angle view of the
scene on a semi-translucent mirror.
The Stylus TG-850 has a 21-105mm (135
equivalent) zoom lens. That’s the widest-angle zoom
lens of any rugged camera, Olympus says. Also unique
is the 3” 460,000-dot LCD screen, which flips 180
degrees upward. Not only is this useful for selfies, it’s
valuable for shooting semi-submerged pix just below
the waterline, without getting your face wet.
Panasonic: For Q1 2014, the big news from
Panasonic is a new flagship Micro Four Thirds camera,
the Lumix DMC-GH4. The GH4 can capture 4K video
at up to 30fps in MOV/MP4 format. There is also a
Cinema 4K option for shooting at 24fps. Full HD
performance has also been improved, with support
for ultra-high bitrates (up to 200Mbps), in MOV/MP4,
AVCHD and AVCHD Progressive formats.
The GH4’s new Depth from Defocus (DFD)
autofocus technology, which currently works with 22
Panasonic Lumix G lenses, can shorten focus time to
0.07 sec., Panasonic says. The GH4 can capture still
images at up to 12fps with single autofocus, or 7fps
with continuous autofocus. The eye-level viewfinder
and rear monitor are both high-contrast OLED displays.
Ricoh/Pentax: At CP+, Ricoh showed a new
Olympus’ new OM-D E-M10 features a 16MP Live MOS sensor,
three-axis in-body image stabilization system and autofocus
system with zooming options for locking focus on a very small
part of the frame.
New lenses include the M.Zuiko Digital 25mm
f/1.8 ($400), which Olympus says offers performance
comparable to the acclaimed 45mm f/1.8. Retailing
for $350, the new M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.55.6 EZ pancake zoom is only 2.25cm thick. With the
E-M10, the new electronic zoom makes for a very
slim package.
version of its 645D, due for shipment late this spring.
Rumor sites are reporting that the medium-format
body could have Live View and video capability.
In February, Ricoh announced new WG-series
tough cameras. The WG-4 is available in a GPS
version for $400 or non-GPS for $350. Also new are
accessories like an adhesive mount, handlebar mount
and suction-cup mount.
The big news for Ricoh this year is colour.
Pentax Q mirrorless and K-mount DSLRs are
available in three base colours and 120 custom
colours. Custom orders are sent to the retailer
within three weeks. The custom colours are ideal
for gift-giving, Malcolm says, and can generate
follow-up lens and accessory sales. “The customer
has already paid for camera, so you can spread
the cost across two tickets.”
Pentax’s K-mount DSLRs can be ordered in 120 custom
colours. Cameras are built to order, and then sent to the retailer
selling the camera.
Sigma: At CES, Sigma introduced two new lenses.
The 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is a fast prime lens for
use on cameras with full-frame and APS-size sensors.
Designed for cameras with APS-size sensors, the
18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC Macro OSM Contemporary
lens is 11% smaller than Sigma’s previous 18-200mm
vacation zoom.
Sony: For 2014, Sony is doing away with the
NEX sub-brand for its mirrorless system cameras.
Henceforth, all of its interchangeable-lens cameras
will carry the Alpha sub-brand.
Introduced at CES, the entry-level α5000 has a
20.1MP sensor, the same Bionz X processor employed
on Sony’s α7 and 7R full-frame cameras, built-in Wi-Fi
and NFC, and a 3” tilting LCD. It retails for $500 in a kit
with the 16-50mm motorized zoom lens.
A month later, Sony announced the α6000, with
24.3MP Exmor HD CMOS sensor, Bionz X processor,
Wi-Fi and NFC. The sensor contains 179 phasedetection and 25 contrast-detection autofocus points.
According to Sony, the α6000 has the world’s fastest
autofocus: 0.06 seconds. This allows full-resolution
stills to be captured at 11fps with tracking autofocus.
The α6000 will be available in Canada in April. MSRP is
$800 for a kit with 16-50mm motorized zoom, or $650
for the body.
Sony has also announced several new fixedlens Cyber-shot models, including three SLR-styled
super-zooms, topped off with the DSC-HX400B
($530), which has a 50x (24-1200mm equivalent) Zeiss
lens, 20.4MP CMOS sensor, 3” LCD, GPS, 1080p video
recording and 4K HDMI still-image output. There’s
also a compact super-zoom, which Sony bills as the
smallest 30x zoom camera with CMOS sensor. The
DSC-HX60VB ($450) has a 24-720mm (135 equivalent)
Sony G zoom lens and 20.1MP sensor. Both models
run Sony’s PlayMemories camera apps.
April 2014
| 37
FWD
THINKING
YOU’VE GOT MAIL
BY CHRISTINE PERSAUD
WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL, I MADE
MY OWN MIX TAPES USING A DUAL-CASSETTE
RECORDER. I LISTENED INTENTLY FOR THE END
OF THE SONG SO I COULD STOP THE RECORDING
AT THE RIGHT TIME. SOMETIMES I’D RECORD
TUNES OFF THE RADIO, CURSING THE DJ EACH
TIME HE’D TALK OVER THE BEGINNING OR THE
END OF THE TRACK.
Just as I hit my teens, my parents surprised me
with a brand-spanking new video camera. I spent
hours making stop-motion films with pose-able dolls
(you gain a newfound respect for the process after
realizing how many frames are needed just to make
Barbie wave!) I filmed home movies, school concerts,
and fun vids with friends. It took a laughable amount
of time to add text titles from the camera’s menu, and
fades in and out of scenes. But boy, did I have fun.
When I was in high school in the ‘90s (shout
out to Mary Ward in Scarborough, ON), my friends
would joke that I was single-handedly keeping Kodak
in business. I’d always have my camera with me,
snapping shots at every turn. I kept the prints (once
developed at the local one-hour photo shop) neatly
organized in a library of photo albums so we could go
through them whenever we got together and relive
the fun memories.
Later in high school, we’d communicate using
our trusty pagers, coordinating meet-ups at the mall
to do what teenagers do, hang around. We had codes
for everything: “I’m here” (“1777 4323”), “-411” (call
when you get the chance), and “-911” (it’s important.)
Without them, we’d have to dig through our pockets
to find quarters for the payphone and check the voice
message, or call the person back. If he was still at
home, that is. Cell phones, while available, were not
commonplace just yet.
And oh, the Internet. It was just becoming a force
to be reckoned with when I entered secondary school.
38 |
www.wifihifi.ca
Eventually, services like AOL became popular. I’d fight
with my parents: how could they so selfishly try to use
the phone line to make phone calls? “Mom, I’m on the
Internet. Hang up the phone!” I’d sit anxiously listening
to that awful screeching sound as the ‘Net attempted
to reconnect. Grab a coffee; this could take a while.
By the time I reached university (fist pumps to my
fellow York U. alumni), Napster was all the rage. I had
finally convinced my parents to subscribe to cable
Internet. And boy, did I get use out of it, watching
the progress bar slowly fill as my endless list of songs
downloaded to the computer. The average download
time per song was half an hour. And that’s if it didn’t
cut out halfway through. I won’t even get into the
frustration if it turned out to be a corrupted file.
Those of the boomer generation and earlier
Gen-X times may laugh at these recollections in
comparison to how greatly things have changed
today. But the truth is, times really have changed;
arguably as much over the past 15 years as they
have over the previous 30.
Today’s kids snap photos with their
smartphones, view them right away, and instantly
share them with friends, family, and strangers in a
number of ways, from Instagram, to insta-messages.
They can manipulate the pics and turn them into
retro B&W shots, collages or animated GIFs.
Or just as easily shoot video without the need
for dedicated (and heavy) equipment.
A world without the Internet is unfathomable.
How can one do homework, communicate with
friends, or entertain oneself without the World Wide
Web? And there’s no time for grabbing a coffee or a
bathroom break while you wait for a download: it’s
done literally in a flash, including files far bigger than
a single three-minute tune.
I find that I’m in a unique position because I grew
up during the time when things were in transition. I
certainly had privileges far greater than those of the
generation before me. I could look up things on the
Internet in high school. I did have a cell phone in my
university years, though it didn’t do much else than
make calls.
But I also had a great appreciation for the
technology because in the first half of my schooling,
I wrote my book reports with a good old pen and
paper, even began by typing some up on a typewriter
(we didn’t get the Commodore 64 at home until a
few years after it was released), and researched topics
through books and periodicals in the school or local
library. I listened to music on cassette tapes, and
while I toyed with recording TV programs to VHS (a
frustrating experience by today’s standards), for the
most part, I watched shows when they were on. If I
missed them, I missed them. To today’s generation,
that’s all jaw-dropping stuff.
What will the future hold 10 or 15 years from
now? It’s amazing to think that what’s high-tech
today will be what I describe to my son as the
“good ol’ days” two decades from now. He’ll laugh
at my ramblings about how a curved 4K TV was once
a big deal. And no Internet? Yah right! All while he
pleads with me to be quiet because he’s watching
a movie beneath his glasses. *Rolls eyes.* You’re
soooo lame, mom.
A NEW ANGLE ON
Installation
MOUNT MULTIPLE SCREENS FROM A SINGLE CEILING DROP FOR
EASY VIEWING FROM ANY ANGLE WITH CHIEF FUSION
MULTI-DIRECTIONAL CEILING MOUNTS.
©2014 Milestone AV Technologies. Chief is a division of Milestone. WiFi_HiFi_2014.
Choose between triple- and quad-display options while
keeping the Fusion single ceiling mount features you enjoy,
and start seeing things differently with Chief.
877.345.4329 | chiefmfg.com
FWD
THINKING
WHAT’S OLD
IS NEW AGAIN
BY TED KRITSONIS
IT OCCURRED TO ME RECENTLY THAT
I HAVE BEEN PLAYING VIDEO GAMES FOR
ALMOST 30 YEARS. THAT MORE OR LESS
SPANS THE LIFE OF THE GAMING INDUSTRY
IN ITS CURRENT FORM. AND YET, THE GAMES
OF YESTERYEAR SEEM TO HAVE FOUND
NEW LIFE WITH THE LATEST DEVICES.
Many who love to play video games today
weren’t even born when the classic Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES) restored confidence and
changed the console market forever in the mid ‘80s.
It’s fascinating to see how today’s games, with their
jaw-dropping graphics and elaborate storylines and
characters, are juxtaposed with the retro games that
ultimately inspired them.
Recently, some gaming pundits have suggested
Nintendo should make its classic games available on
iOS and Android. Some salivate at the idea of playing
Super Mario Bros. on an iPhone or iPad. Even though
it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, it highlights
a trend that has been going on for some time.
Sega has been out of the console business since
2001 when the company killed the Dreamcast. Yet the
iTunes App Store and Google Play have been flooded
with retro Sega games, many of which have been
optimized to work on touchscreen devices. A search
for Sonic the Hedgehog garners about eight games
that include the original from 1991, as well as newer
ones made specifically for mobile devices. Old-school
publishers like Atari, Midway and Capcom have done
much the same.
Indeed, classic retro titles are far more ubiquitous
than anyone probably could’ve imagined back in
the ‘80s and ‘90s. Smartphones and tablets are one
side of it, but Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have
all made old console and arcade games available
through their latest consoles and handheld platforms.
A loose community of “modders” enables even
40 |
www.wifihifi.ca
greater flexibility for playing these games on PCs and
Macs, sometimes with third-party controllers that
mimic the look and feel of those from a bygone era.
I have ION Audio’s iCade, a miniature model of an
arcade machine. Whenever guests comes over and
see it for the first time, they’re drawn to it. Once they
get past the fascination over how it works with an
iPad, inevitably comes the questions about which
games are compatible.
There’s a little bit of irony at work here. The more
elaborate today’s games get, the more time and
attention they demand. Retro titles may look dated,
but they’re undeniably fun without requiring the
same level of commitment. Naturally, nostalgia plays
a role in all this, particularly for those reliving their
youth through these games.
When I first saw that I could play Street Fighter II
on the iPhone, I gasped in awe. That game was so
influential to me, I had written an unfinished story
about one of the characters on a bunch of napkins
back in 1994. True story. When the X-Men arcade
game from 1992 was ported to iOS, I downloaded it in
an instant. Without worrying about pumping quarters
into a machine, I died often, hit “continue” without
reservation, and played it straight to the end. I don’t
think it took more than 90 minutes.
Even from a modern perspective, I thoroughly
enjoyed playing Air Attack HD on the iPad alone or
with the iCade, because it’s based on the concept
of a scrolling aircraft shooter first made famous by
Space Invaders in the late ‘70s. The old war shooter,
1942, is a legendary classic that kept the theme going
into the ‘80s, and one I spent hours playing as a kid.
I certainly can’t forget NHL 94 for the Super NES and
Sega Genesis, arguably the most iconic hockey video
game ever created.
To see all these games again is simply awesome.
To play them for a fraction of their original cost
is a nice bonus. And equally gratifying is to see
that they haven’t been jettisoned to the dustbin
of history because a new generation of gamers is
being exposed to them in a new way, on a new
set of devices.
Technology has so rapidly evolved that you
could fit the entire library of the Atari 2600, NES, Sega
Master System, Super NES and Genesis on one 8GB
USB thumb drive. That’s pretty astonishing when you
consider how much physical space you would need
to stack up all the old cartridges from these systems.
That would be a photo worth framing.
Of course, you don’t need shelf space to stack
up games downloaded to a mobile device or
computer. They’re just there, lying in wait among
various other apps.
In this, there’s a brewing renaissance. Retro
has become fashionable in many industries. But
in gaming, it’s a little different. It fosters a bridge
between the old and the new, and sometimes comes
back with a new layer of polish that reinvents it for
new sets of eyes. Apple could never have imagined
that the iPhone would trigger much of this on the
mobile side, though the stage had already been set
on Windows PCs and the gaming emulators that were
so readily available.
As gaming has become a breathless spectacle
of 3D realism today, it comes from a heritage that is
becoming more and more recognized by gamers of
all stripes. And that’s something to smile about.
TALKING SHOP
BY WALLY HUCKER
ODD COUPLES:
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
Banks and creditors don’t ask where the dollars
came from, just how many you have. Here’s a look
at a few CE specialists that have added a sideline
or two, or more, and are profiting from them.
While some also have more commonplace items,
like furniture, appliances, and bedding, all are
thinking outside the box, and box springs.
“You’ve got to survive before you can thrive,”
advises one of them.
PowerLine Electronics, Guelph, ON
“My next big purchase will be a pool table,”
PowerLine partner and cofounder Tim Huck would
often hear from clients relaxing into their brand new
custom home theatre. Huck decided not to leave
that money on the table, so to speak.
So he started PowerPlay, an on-site gaming
division 14 years ago. “PowerPlay helps us provide
the total entertainment package,” says Elana Gibbs,
who runs the 4,000-square-foot PowerPlay division,
in addition to being PowerLine’s Office Manager
and Controller. “We have everything you could want
in a man cave. We sell pool and snooker tables and
cues, billiard lighting, foosball, table shuffleboard, air
hockey tables, ping pong tables, wall art, and bars.
An average pool table is $2,500, plus delivery and
set-up. Cues run to $1,000 but the norm is $170.
Elana Gibbs runs the 4,000-square-foot PowerPlay
division at PowerLine Electronics that helps to complete
the man cave with items like pool and air-hockey tables,
darts, and e-bikes.
42 |
www.wifihifi.ca
“Darts and its accessories are huge sellers for us,”
she adds. “Sales have been growing exponentially
yearly, and only require a very small footprint on the
sales floor. This is a very profitable category.
“We recently added e-bikes from Emmo,”
she adds. “Our 12V installers assemble the e-bikes,
and service and repair them, keeping them occupied
even though 12V is down.”
All 12 staff members work with both divisions.
While Gibbs declined to supply margins for specific
categories, WiFi HiFi sussed out elsewhere that these
average 30 points. The only local competitor is a
billiards store about a kilometre away, which does
not stock the other big-boy toys.
Outside the core of pool and darts, she notes,
“Year-to-year the popular items change. This year
over the Christmas season, we sold a lot of air hockey
tables, whereas the year before, table shuffleboard
was more popular.”
Other advantages accrue from PowerPlay
merchandise. “There is no sell-through allowance
to baby-sit, no returns, and nobody calling at night
asking how to work a pool cue.”
New Age AVU, Weyburn, SK
What doesn’t this store sell? In addition to CE,
furniture, appliances and bedding, it offers
snowmobiles, ATVs, boats, barbeques, paddleboards,
exercise systems, and hot tubs. “I’ve always pushed
for diversity,” says owner Jeff Chessal.
So much so that he outgrew New Age’s 19,000
square-foot edifice, and constructed a separate
12,000-square-foot building out back to house
New Age Motor Sports. A further 4,200-square-foot
addition is slated for April.
All the additional categories Chessal added
seem to have spawned others, and more business.
BBQs, for example, begat smokers, patio furniture,
and patio heaters. In warm weather, such lifestyle
products are proffered in their own 2,500-square-foot
outdoor showroom. Chainsaws begat lawnmowers.
Snowmobiles begat snow suits and helmets. “Our
winter clothing sales are huge.”
Since 2010, New Age has offered three lines of
boats, two of them Canadian products. Although
margins on boats are lower than some other
categories, only 17 points, at $25,000 to $90,000 each,
boats pay their way. They also led to paddleboards,
wakeboards, life jackets, and sunglasses.
“We have a display of 48 Oakley sunglasses,
priced from $99 to $399.” Margin is 50 to 55 per cent.
“If we sell 10 pairs of sunglasses, that’s equal to the
profit on a $15,000 TV.”
Sunglasses, Chessal stresses, are just one
example of a high-margin product which CE dealers
can consider without incurring large commitments
in overhead or space. To this end, he is seriously
considering adding automated window coverings.
New Age AVU augments its CE selection with everything
from snowmobiles and BBQs, to hot tubs, lawnmowers
and chainsaws. Photo: Husqvarna
Amigos AVU, Sydney, NS
Shawn Waterfield is a race car driver in his spare
time from managing the Amigo’s Car Clinic adjunct
to Amigos AVU. “Paul Roach,” says Waterfield of
the current co-owner, “knew of my passion for
cars and racing, and suggested we start selling
performance products.”
That was a dozen years ago. “We sell everything
from headlights to supercharger kits.” Everything
As a race car driver, it was a natural extension for Shawn
Waterfield to start selling performance products through
Amigo’s Car Clinic, part of Amigos AVU.
The World’s 1st
TSc NertnŅed
Curved OLED TV
dtzwŅwxypnxx/Lgfg~>xŅwxyxyjux/_mjrfojxy~tkfijxjwyxzsxjy/
^trjymnslxnsqnkjijk~fqqj}uqfsfyntsfsirzxygjj}ujwnjshji
ytgjgjqnj{ji/^zhmnxymjhfxj|nymymjsj|N`]aPOWRZWPO
_a/bnymijjujw0wnhmjwhtqtzwx0xyzssnslhtsywfxy0fsifsnsljsntzx
hzw{jixhwjjs0nynxzsqnpjfs~yjhmstqtl~~tz>{jj{jwxjjs0fsiny
ijqn{jwxfunhyzwjymfyj}hjjix~tzw|nqijxynrflnsfynts/
WRZWPO/hf
QnsiWRNLYLOLts5
© 2014 LG Electronics. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks shown are held by their respective owners.
TALKING SHOP
includes complete engines in a crate, mufflers,
headers, nitrous oxide kits, lift kits, and lighting
packages. Margins range from 15% on high-priced
engines and superchargers to between 25% and 35%
for other auto products. Installation is offered, for
most goods, in a 4,500-square-foot bay.
“The transformation was easy. Suppliers
were very accessible. We do our homework to
find stuff. And our customers are passionate and
knowledgeable.” They are also willing to wait a day or
three for delivery, knowing that such auto exotica has
to come from Moncton, Toronto, or beyond.
“It’s a profit centre,” muses Waterfield, “more
so than the video side.”
The Entertainment Centre, Cobourg, ON
“It saved my bacon,” says Dave Tredree of his U-Haul
truck rental franchise. “I wanted to make use of two
underused things: my time and space.”
Tredree has a huge lot on a main street in and
out of town, and can get 25 trucks in his parking lot.
“The truck rental money I get goes straight to the
The Entertainment Centre in Cobourg, ON made good
use of additional space by setting up a U-Haul truck rental
franchise to complement its CE retail sales business.
bottom line. I already have Internet, and am here all
week. The only extra expense is a separate phone line.
“All the trucks belong to U-Haul, and they supply
everything, including packing boxes. People always
need boxes, so I keep an inventory.” Boxes have
25% margin.
Margins are not as high on the actual rentals, he
notes, before adding, “Every $20 I get is $20 I didn’t
have before.” Much of the business is in cash.
It also builds traffic for his electronics business.
“People moving into town always need something,
and since I am their first contact, if they have a good
experience with the truck rental, they are likely to
return as customers for electronics.
“For any CE retailer with space, I’d say a U-Haul
franchise is a no-brainer.”
Haney Sewing & Sound, Maple Ridge, BC
This unique dealer backed into CE when Jack
Sheppard added Panasonic televisions shortly after
he founded his own business in 1969. Sheppard had
been a top sales agent for Singer sewing machines
in suburban Vancouver. He was told the company
was opening corporate stores in malls, and he was
welcome to work for less money in his own franchised
operation, well outside the urban Vancouver market.
Home audio followed TVs, and in the late 1970s,
appliances were added. Sons Dave and Don Sheppard
bought the business in 1994. The former runs the CE
side including custom installation, and the latter the
appliance, sewing, and vacuum side.
After peaking in the 1990s when sergers became
available at retail, notes Dave Sheppard, “total sewing
sales have shrunk quite a bit.” Now accounting for
For the second year running, SEARS CANADA held the
Toronto edition of its Great Canadian Chill on Family Day,
February 17, in downtown Dundas Square. Two hundred
hardy souls braved subzero temperatures and took a
plunge to support childhood cancer research. The total
funds raised reached $50K. In addition to the polar plunge,
a winter festival atmosphere prevailed with refreshments,
live entertainment and family-oriented activities, including
ice sculpting, face painting, restorative hot tubbing, and
the Hawaiian Punch Patrol Beach Party.
44 |
www.wifihifi.ca
about 5% of the business, sewing machines still offer
“margins like Sonos products.”
It also brings in traffic. Shoppers want to try
before they buy, take lessons, and bring machines in
for service. “They still have to spend time with us, and
they may buy a bed or TV from us.” Marching to its
own drummer, bedding was added 18 months ago
through Cantrex Nationwide, to which Haney S&S
belongs although it is an AVU member.
Upon exiting 12V sales five years ago, Haney
gave over more space to appliances. “We’ve been an
Appliances Unlimited from its start. Headphone sales
have increased,” he notes, “but what’s a good year
in headphones.” How many must be sold, he asks
rhetorically, to make $100,000? Many more than
high-end majaps like Sub Zero and Wolf, he states.
In addition to selling sewing machines, New Age AVU
augments its CE offerings with bedding.
HBC (HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY) sold
its flagship property to the Eaton Centre
across Queen St. W. for $650M. The property
encompasses an entire city block, a modern
23-storey office tower, and the nine-storey
heritage building which houses The Bay’s
flagship Toronto store. The Bay will retain
450,000 square feet of retail space. Saks,
which HBC bought last fall for $2.4B, will
move into the remaining 150K.
TALKING SHOP
ANDRES’S OPENS MORE STORES
“We have opened a Telus Store in Prince Rupert in
a temporary location,” Andre Blanleil tells WiFi HiFi,
“and we have bought a building in PR and are now
remodeling it. We will be opening a full-line electronics
store in mid-April. This will boost the store count of
Andre’s Electronic Experts, based in Kelowna, BC, to 19.
The renovated full-line store will be 5,000 square
feet, including 1,500 on a mezzanine. In addition
to home CE and cellular, it will offer a full line of
appliances and 12V sales and installation.
Last year, Andre’s purchased Williams Lake Sight &
Sound, and built a 6,000-square-foot store there that
opened November 1, 2013. Andre’s plans to open a new
full-line electronics store in Prince Rupert in mid-April.
“It is exciting,” exclaims Blanleil. “Telus asked us
to go to that city because they had no location there.”
Temporarily, Andre’s is operating a cellular store in
rented premises with a staff of three. George Cooper
will eventually manage a staff of five or six, according
to Blanleil. Cooper was hired from the Audio Video
Unlimited in Terrace, BC.
“In June last year,” Blanleil adds, “we purchased
Williams Lake Sight & Sound. We built a new
6,000-square-foot store there, which opened
November 1st. We kept the staff and have added
to it.” Now there are eight employed in the store,
under Derrick Harris, a veteran with Andre’s.
In addition to full lines of CE including 12V,
cellular, and appliances, this store also stocks musical
instruments. “We continued it from Sight & Sound.
Some of the staff members give lessons upstairs.
We’re not considering it for other stores at this time,
but we will wait and see how it does. We may expand
to other stores if the opportunity arises.”
Andre’s empire began as a small electronics
repair shop started by his father in 1976. After joining
the business as an equal partner, Andre opened the
first store in Kelowna in 1980.
THE WEATHER OR THE ECONOMY:
WHAT MADE HOLIDAY CE & APPLIANCE
SALES PLUMMET?
Canadian electronics and appliance retailers took
it in the neck over the holidays, with sales falling
13.1% contrasted to November. Furniture and home
furnishings had a big drop, too. Although much less
than the CE and appliance categories, the decline
was 7.8% at the latter. New car sales were down
3.6%, seasonally adjusted.
All provinces were negatively affected, with the
national average being 1.8% across nine of 11 retail
subsectors. Ontario’s decline of 2.2% overall in retail
dollars spent was the country’s largest.
“Most store types typically associated with
the holiday shopping period registered weaker
sales in December,” stated Statistics Canada.
“Extreme weather conditions throughout the
country were a factor.”
One hesitates to invoke a phrase popularized
by Mark Twain (“There are three kinds of lies: lies,
damned lies, and statistics.”) having often found
StatsCan facts and figures useful, and informative,
and their people helpful and patient. However, it does
look like the conspiracy crowd in the blogosphere
might be on to something when they cried “cover-up”
as the retail drop, which drove the loonie down to
below 90 cents US, was blamed on Old Man Winter.
An internal report by the Harper Government,
revealed by a Freedom of Information request by The
Canadian Press, says that Canadians are “mortgaging
their future” just to stay in one place. “Many in the
middle spend more than they earn,” the report
prepared in October for the federal Conservatives
reads, “mortgaging their future to sustain their
current consumption.
“Over the medium term,” it continues, “middleincome Canadians are unlikely to move to higher
income brackets, i.e., the ‘Canadian dream’ is a myth
more than a reality.” Tempting though it is to blame
it all on Harper and company, the report covers the
period from 2003 to 2007, before the crash of ’08,
and Harper didn’t become PM until 2006.
“The wages of middle income workers have
stagnated. Middle-income families are increasingly
vulnerable to financial shocks.”
What is middle-class doesn’t seem to be defined
in the report. Statistically, one might say earning
above the bottom and below the top 20 percentiles.
That means between $10,000 and $60,000 annually.
Canadian individuals earned on average of $39,300 in
2011. Family average earnings were $66,200, but the
median point was only $48,300.
Still, 93% of Canadians identify themselves as
middle class, so expect all three federal parties to
pitch to the “middle class” in next year’s general
election. Stay tuned.
WALMART CANADA intends to spend almost
$500M for Canadian expansion, including 35
supercentres (new and renovated projects)
in the year ending January 31, 2015. Walmart
will have 395 Canadian stores as result, 282 of
them supercentres.
TARGET will open nine more Canadian stores
this year. Five will open Ontario, and one each,
Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and BC. This will give
the retailer 133 stores in the Great White North.
It is just three shy of 1,800 south of the border.
April 2014
| 45
TALKING SHOP
READERS WANT TO KNOW…
drive customers and business. They do not have to embrace all of them but they
need an open mind to listen and adapt or take some that they feel may work
for them in their business. The most annoying part of our business is, honestly,
consumers that search for the lowest possible price on a product but then expect
highest possible service and expertise. Consumers need to understand that to have
properly trained professional sales, service and delivery people costs money and it
is unfair for the retailers when the consumer’s expectations are to receive all of the
above, but expect it to have no impact on the cost of products.”
What’s in store for you and/or the industry in the rest of the year?
“This year, Chinese brands will begin to show strength,
especially in entry-level product and price points. 4K will
grow in popularity and see reduced price points, but due to a
lack of content and weak demand for TV in a mature market,
conventional LED and transitional product will dominate.
This will be the do-or-die year for independent dealers for
their Web presence. If retailers don’t have a proper Website, it
will be very difficult to compete. Consumers are way ahead of
Photo: Wally Hucker
many CE retailers with regard to the Web. This year, retailers
with decent sites will want to be completely mobile with their Websites and fully
transactional as consumers increasingly rely on smartphones to shop and buy.”
John Power, National Sales Manager, Canada, Palliser Furniture
What is the most rewarding aspect of your business?
“Dealing with independent retailers and trying to make their
business better. We have a great ability to be able to influence
small to medium sized retailers and help them grow their
business by developing programs their customers want.”
Chris Smyth, Axxium Marketing, Cambridge, ON & Tailbase Inc., Laval, QC
What is the most annoying aspect of your business?
“A very annoying part of our business is retailers looking for and wanting the
‘same thing’ that they always had and expecting the results to be different. For
retailers to grow and experience good business, they need at a minimum to be
open-minded and be prepared to look at new ideas and concepts that will help
HOW DID YOU GET HERE?
John Power, National Sales Manager, Canada,
Palliser Furniture
Photo: Wally Hucker
PASSIONS & POINTS
Marilyn Sanford
“I’ve been addicted to sailing since my teens.
Sailing and running; works out everyday
CEO & PARTNER, PACIFICTECH MEDIA (OPERATING AS LA SCALA HOME CINEMA
& INTEGRATED MEDIA, AND CONNECTED SPACES), VANCOUVER, BC
Set up CEDIA Canada (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association),
served on the board and was an executive with CEDIA in the U.S.
Lives on a 43-foot boot
SCHOOL
Loves gardening, reading, philosophy, travel.
John T. Errington Public School, Richmond, BC
No time for Facebook. No time for retirement.
Steveston Secondary School, Richmond, BC
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Accounting
LIFE LESSONS
BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology), Vancouver, Marketing
“I didn’t get my degree attending UBC, so I got my CGA (Certified General
Accountant) later through UBC remotely.”
“Everything has a ‘best before’ date. You need new
tasks and challenges to be refreshed.”
“Stay with what you do well.”
JOBS
1971-1972 Post office in the marketing department.
“It wasn’t my cup of tea.”
1976-1991
1993-1999
MacMillan Bloedel, forestry
& wood products company.
Started as an accountant
and left as controller.
“My husband and I built
three houses while I was
at Mac-Blo.”
46 |
www.wifihifi.ca
SmartFX
“In 1999, La Scala asked us to partner
with them. In 2002, I bought out Doug
[Faulkner], and in 2008, I bought out the
Spevako family that founded La Scala.
The next year, we purchased Smart
Home Shop, a custom integrator and
rebranded it as Connected Spaces.”
“Just go for it. God hates a coward.”
2013
La Scala merged with Sandy MacDonald’s
Sound Advice under the corporate name
of Pacifictech Media Systems.
“Sandy wanted to work on bigger
projects like La Scala does, and
I wanted to work on smaller ones
with Connected Spaces projects.”
TALKING SHOP
Derek Collier has been appointed
to the newly-created position of
COO at Audio Video Unlimited.
Prior to this, he was vice president
of merchandising. He has been with
AVU six years. Previous to that, he
spent 17+ years with A&B Sound.
Mike Chorney is now
President at La Scala
Media. He originally joined
La Scala as vice president
of sales & marketing, and
was previously national
sales director at Trends
Electronics. Prior to
that, he worked for Best Buy Canada, where
he’s credited for launching the ConnectPro
division. Chorney got his start in the industry
in 1990 as a 12V service tech.
Satya Nadella has become Microsoft’s
third-ever CEO, succeeding Steve
Ballmer. Nadella, who joined the
company in 1992, is also a new
member of the Board of Directors.
He previously held the position of
executive vice president of Microsoft’s
Cloud and Enterprise group.
Glorie Averbach
has moved from the
presidency of Pacifictech
Media Systems, operating
as La Scala Media, to
president of Connected
Spaces, another firm in
which she is partners
with Marilyn Sanford
and Sandy MacDonald.
WHO WENT WHERE?
Canon Canada Inc. has
appointed Taizaburo
“Ted” Egawa, a 31-year
veteran with the imaging
company, as its new
President and CEO,
replacing Kazuto “Kevin”
Ogawa, who now assumes
an executive position
with Canon China and the
Canon Asia Group after six
years with Canon Canada.
WHO’S DOING WHAT?
Stampede Presentation Products will distribute Parametric Sound Corp.’s line of directed audio systems in
Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. HyperSound systems creates zones of audio by beaming sound in the same
manner that a flashlight beams light. Parametric Sound Corp. markets products under the Turtle Beach and
HyperSound brands.
B&B Electronics of Edmonton, AB has
signed a partnership with Powerbass USA to
serve as exclusive distributor for Powerbass
mobile/12V audio products in Canada.
Martin Huntington, Sony Canada’s Vice
President of Supply Chain Operations, is retiring
after 34 years of working for the company in
various roles, including warehouse operations,
order management, inventory planning, and
business process management. WiFi HiFi wishes
Martin the very best.
Christopher R. Leader
has been appointed as
President and CEO for
Paradigm, MartinLogan
and Anthem. Previous to
this position, Leader served
as managing partner at
Hi-Beam Consulting.
Canadian distributor,
SFM, has announced
Randal Tucker as its
new President, while
Sol Fleising, founder
and owner, will assume
the title of CEO. Tucker joined SFM in 2008
as director of product management, and
spent the last five years as vice president
of marketing and COO.
CANADIAN TIRE was one outfit not walloped
by winter. In fact, all three of its retail divisions
posted healthy sales increases. FGL sports had
a whopping 12.5% Q4 increase. Mark’s Work
Warehouse boasted a rise of 5.2%, and Canadian
Tire Stores were up 4%. All figures are same
store comparatives. Wild winter weather
“helped drive the increase in sales over 2012,”
said the company. Consolidated retail sales
for the full year increased 3.1% to $13.2
billion, while revenue increased by the same
percentage to $11.8 billion.
April 2014
| 47
4
HIGH-TECH COFFEE SHOPS
BY VAWN HIMMELSBACH
Smart coffee shops are sweetening their java offerings with everything from mobile payments to loyalty programs and cool offers
on social media, making it easier (and more fun) to pick up your morning skinny vanilla latte.
Starbucks
Tim Hortons
www.starbucks.com
www.timhortons.com
www.illy.com
Twitter Followers: 5.75M
(100K+ for Starbucks Canada)
Instagram Fans: 2.09M
Facebook Likes: 36.21M
Twitter Followers: 154K Instagram Fans: 11.2K
Facebook Likes: 2.39M
Twitter Followers: 6,104
Instagram Fans: 16,909
Facebook Likes: 414K
This global coffee chain is known for a
lot more than its strong Arabica beans.
It was among the first brands in Canada
to offer free Wi-Fi, and has been leading
the way in mobile payments, loyalty
programs and customer apps — even
offering free iTunes Pick of the Week
cards for new songs, ebooks and games.
illy
Timmies, as it is affectionately known, is a Canadian
institution where people go to grab a coffee and
donut (or, perhaps more appropriately, a Timbit).
This popular coffee chain was slow to jump on the
high-tech bandwagon, but now it’s leaping ahead
of the pack.
• The TimmyMe app allows customers to pay for their coffee using an Apple or Android
device; register your Tim Card and use scan-to-pay barcode technology to complete
your order (locations are currently limited, but more are coming soon). BlackBerry 10
NFC tap-to-pay mobile payments are also accepted at participating locations.
2 4
1
3
• Find it annoying when you have to wait behind someone in line to order drinks for
the entire office? TimmyRun is a Web-based tool that allows you to combine beverage
orders for groups of up to 20 people.
• Timmies is the official coffee of the Canadian Curling Association. Maybe you’ve
never hurled a 42-pound rock down a sheet of ice, but you can do it on Tim’s Website
(#CoffeeCurling), where you slide virtual coffee cups toward the rings. You can also
create a smile-o-gram cookie message, play donut Sudoku or try your hand at the
Panini pileup game. There are even videos of — wait for it — its new thick cut bacon.
• Tim’s TV, the coffee shop’s latest initiative, is a unique TV network created with
• The Starbucks Card mobile app
allows you to pay for purchases, find
a nearby location, and even check
how many calories are in that java
chip Frappuccino, all from your
mobile device.
• My Starbucks Rewards — a loyalty
program tied to its mobile app that
can be read by a barcode scanner
at the point of sale — provides
members with personalized rewards
that increase with frequency of use
(from free refills on coffee to free food),
as well as a free birthday beverage, your
13th cup free, and other special offers.
• In January, Starbucks launched
Tweet-a-Coffee, which allows people
to send Starbucks gift cards to their
friends via Twitter (Starbucks will charge
the credit card in the sender’s Starbucks
account, while the recipient gets a
digital voucher).
48 |
While you can find illy’s espresso for sale
at retail, you can also sip on one at an
espressamenta illy, a global network of
cafés reminiscent of Italy’s coffee bars.
The company is known for being at the
forefront of creativity and innovation,
bringing in artists, for example, to design
its signature coffee canister. And now
that’s being extended to technology.
www.wifihifi.ca
Cineplex that plays local news and programming showcasing everything from daily
specials, to Tim’s involvement in communities.
Jimmy’s Coffee
www.jimmyscoffee.ca
Twitter Followers: 1,584
Instagram Fans: 84
Facebook Likes: 1,181
Jimmy’s, with two locations in downtown Toronto, ON, is the definition of hipster
cool, and has regularly been ranked as one of the top independent coffee joints in
the city. While it’s perfected the art of velvety foam atop its lattes, Jimmy’s has also
succeeded at creating a neighbourhood feel, or “coffee for the heart of #Toronto.”
And it’s using technology to get closer to customers.
• The TouchBistro iPad point-of-sale system is coupled with PayPal’s mobile payment
system, allowing Jimmy’s to accept cloud-based mobile payments and speed up the
payment process.
• If a customer checks in with the PayPal mobile app, their name and photo show up at
the point of sale, allowing staff to greet them by name, have a conversation about their
profile pic, and drive a whole new level of service.
• illy has teamed up with Samsung on a
multi-year partnership in the U.K., where
Samsung will serve up illy coffee in its
showrooms at flagship stores, and illy’s
flagship cafés will be “digitized” with
Samsung technology.
• illy’s flagship café on Regent Street in
London now offers a fleet of Samsung
Galaxy mobile devices, so coffee lovers
can browse the Web, watch a video to
learn how illy coffee is sourced, and play
app games, like designing your own
virtual coffee cup. In future, customers
could use the devices to order a
beverage, rather than waiting in line.
• Looking for your next caffeine hit?
The location app will help you find
the closest cup of illy. You can even
track down an artisti del gusto (artist of
taste), a barista that has earned the title
through months of education at illy’s
Università del caffè.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS THAT DRAW THEIR INSPIRATION
FROM YESTERDAY’S CLASSICS
BY GORDON BROCKHOUSE
Most of us experience nostalgia from time to time. That helps explain the appeal of
products with a strong retro hook, recalling designs from the 1920s to the 1980s.
Let’s be honest, though: in our nostalgic moments, we peer at the past through rosecoloured glasses. The truth is that a lot of ugly designs, bad music, boring TV programs
and crappy cars came out of the last century.
Even the best products were challenging. Until the 1970s, cameras were completely
manual. TVs and radios had a hard time holding the signal; all too often, you had to
adjust the tuning dial and antenna to get back to your program.
But there were also many classics that have stood the test of time; not just in their
external design, but also in their internal engineering.
In a multitude of ways, all products build on the past. Here are 10 whose connection
with the past is especially strong.
Serious Shooter
On the outside, the Nikon Df looks and feels
like a classic Nikon film SLR. It has a large glass
pentraprism viewfinder, plus analog controls for
shutter speed, ISO, metering mode and exposure
compensation; and it works with all of Nikon’s
lenses, past and present. Inside, it’s a digital
powerhouse, with the same full-frame 16MP
sensor and processor used on Nikon’s D4 flagship,
a 39-point autofocus system, and 2,016-pixel
matrix meter. The Df retails for $3,100 in a kit with
a special-edition 50mm f/1.8 lens.
Introduced in 1959, Nikon’s first SLR had a broad
selection of lenses, as well as interchangeable
back and viewfinder. Photojournalists used the
Nikon F to cover the war in Vietnam, and NASA
used a version with 250-exposure
u
motor drive in its Mercury, Gemini
m
aand Apollo space programs. The
Nikon F sold in Canada for about
$400 with a Nikkor 50mm f/2
standard lens in 1963. Adjusting
for inflation, that’s roughly $3,000
in current dollars.
Loud and Proud
Patented by Paul Klipsch in 1946, the venerable Klipschorn loudspeaker has been in continuouss
production for 65 years at Klipsch’s Hope, AK facility. While there have been changes in the driverss
and enclosure materials, the fundamental design is the same now as it was 65 years ago.
The Klipschorn has a tapered back for corner placement, so that room boundaries can reinforce
e
output. The 15” woofer, 2” compression midrange driver and 1” compression tweeter fire into flared
horns that increase output. The horn-loaded design makes the speaker very efficient at converting
watts into decibels. In the pre-solid-state era, when amplifier output was limited, this was a very
important consideration for anyone who wanted to achieve concert-hall levels at home.
Still available by special order, a single Klipschorn weighs 175 pounds and costs $6,900 (you’ll
need two for stereo). An early version of the Klipschorn, the Model 1a, cost US$426 in 1946, which
translates to US$5,500 in today’s dollars.
50 |
www.wifihifi.ca
Pure Power
Based on a Bestseller
One of three digital products introduced last
year to mark NAD’s 40th anniversary, the D 3020
amplifier is rated at 2x30 watts and sells for
$549. Designed for use with digital sources like
computers, game consoles and disc players, it can
accept high-resolution audio to 96kHz/24 bits. It
also has Bluetooth connectivity, so you can stream
music from a wireless device.
The D 3020 takes its inspiration
from NAD’s classic 3020 integrated
amplifier, which was aimed at
audiophiles on a budget. Despite its
modest 2x20-watt output, the 3020
was praised for its musicality, even
with difficult loudspeaker loads.
Introduced in 1978, the NAD 3020
became the best-selling amplifier in the
he history
of hi-fi; more than a million units were sold over its
lifetime. In 1982, the 3020 retailed in Canada for
$320, which translates to $695 in current dollars.
Its Canadian distributor calls the MA8000
integrated stereo amplifier from McIntosh
Laboratory “a beast … in a good way.” Priced at
$11,000, the 100-pound beast puts out 300 watts
of ultra-low-distortion power per channel. For
vinyl fans, there are two phono inputs; and for
computer-audio enthusiasts, there are eight digital
inputs, with support for high-resolution streams to
192kHz/24 bits. The power amp section features
McIntosh Autoformer technology, developed for
McIntosh’s first solid-state amplifier, the MC 2505.
It enables the amplifier to deliver its full output to
any speaker, regardless of its impedance.
Introduced in 1967, the MC 2505 power amp
was the first model to feature McIntosh’s iconic
black-glass faceplate and blue power meters. It
delivered 2x50 watts at 0.25% THD, which for the
day were jaw-dropping specifications. Whereas
early solid-state amplifiers were criticized for their
h
harsh sound, the MC 2505 was prized
ffor its solid bass, and its smooth
yyet articulate mids and highs.
When production ended in 1977,
the MC2505 retailed for US$549,
equivalent to US$2,000 today.
Crystal Clear
A 60-year-old Brooklyn, NY-based family business, Grado Labs makes headphones that are
known for their excellent clarity, rhythmic sound, incisive attack, spacious presentation and
strikingly retro styling. One of Grado’s most popular and best-reviewed phones is the SR325is,
the top model in its Prestige series. Priced at $350, the SR-325i is an open-back design with
aluminum air chamber and leather headband.
All of Grado’s designs recall headsets made for use with crystal radios in the 1920s. These home-built
e-built
affairs had no amplifiers, so could not power loudspeakers. The ’phones were the most expensive
ensive
component. In 1922, a good headset, like the Holzer-Cabot model shown here, cost about $15,
equivalent to $200 today.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Small is Beautiful
Olympus’ PEN series of interchangeable-lens
cameras prove that you don’t have to lug around
a big DSLR kit to capture great pictures. The topof-the-line Pen E-P5 has a 16.1MP sensor, 3” tilting
touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi for connection to a
smart device, five-axis image stabilization for blurfree pictures in low light, and super-fast autofocus.
Most important, it has a large ecosystem of lenses
and accessories that are also light and compact.
A special-edition kit with a fast 17mm f/1.8
wide-angle lens and high-resolution electronic
viewfinder currently retails for $1,300.
The British Sound
Created by KEF to mark its 50th anniversary, the
LS50 mini-monitor won best-of-2013 awards
from several audiophile mags and Websites. No
surprise: this wonderfully articulate loudspeaker
creates a huge, well-defined soundstage that
belies its compact size. The LS50’s Uni-Q driver
employs a one-inch inverted aluminum dome
tweeter situated at the acoustic centre of a 5.25inch alumin
aluminum-magnesium mid-bass driver.
Priced at $1,500 a pair, the LS50
draws its inspiration from the
BBC’s LS3/5a studio monitor, which
was also prized for its big, precise
soundstage. The LS3/5a employed
KEF drive units and was sold by
several U.K. speaker brands, most
ffamously Rogers. Instead of the
LLS3/5a’s crude boxy construction, the
LLS50 has a beautiful high-gloss molded
e
enclosure. The newcomer’s sound is
m
more spacious and more neutral, and
it can play louder and deeper. The
original Rogers LS3/5a cost about $500 per pair
when it was introduced in 1977. That translates to
$1,750 in 2014 dollars.
The PEN’s retro cosmetics are based on Olympus’
Pen-F half-frame 35mm camera, which debuted in
1963. The original cameras captured pictures that
were half the width of a standard 35mm film frame.
Magazine ads for the original Pen-F highlighted
ht of the camera and
the small size and weight
st about
lenses. In 1965, a Pen-F cost
$200 with standard
lens. That translates to
around $1,500 today.
Clean and Connected
When they arrived in North America in the mid-1970s, Yamaha’s audio components were like a breath of fresh air.
Most amps and tuners had black front panels festooned with bright meters and big buttons. Yamaha’s components
were clean and bright, with satin-finished aluminum faceplates, wood cabinets, and silky-smooth controls.
Available in silver and black, the R-N500 stereo network receiverr has
the same clean cosmetics, but the technology is pure 2014. Rated
ated at 2x80 watts and
retailing for $599, the R-N500 features Apple’s AirPlay technology,
gy vTuner Internet radio
radio, and four
digital inputs that can accept high-resolution streams to 192kHz/24 bits.
In 1976, Yamaha’s CR-400 stereo receiver, a step-up model rated at 2x16 watts, sold in Canada for
about $300, equivalent to $1,150 today.
52 |
www.wifihifi.ca
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Radio Days
City Wheels
A favourite ride for urban hipsters, the Fiat 500 is
a remake of a classic city car. Coming this spring is
the 1957 Edition, with styling reminiscent of the
original Nuovo 500, including 16” retro wheels,
chrome bumpers, vintage colours and two-tone
white roof. But the leather interior is far more
luxurious than the original. And the 1.4-litre MultiAir engine and sports-tuned suspension are a
dramatic contrast from the 1957 model. Pricing
has not been announced, but other Fiat 500
models range from $13,500 to $29,000.
The Fiat Nuovo 500 had a rear-mounted 479cc
two-stroke engine that produced a whopping 13
horsepower. The 500 was originally conceived to
provide affordable transportation to a continent
that had been devastated by war. The Nuovo 500
sold
so
d for
o 465,000
65,000 Italian
ta an Lire in 1957, equivalent to
$365 at that time. That
translates to about $3,000
current Canadian dollars.
Between 1957 and 1975,
almost 3.9 million units of
the Cinquecento and its
descendants were built.
Tivoli makes a wide range of radios and music
systems, all reminiscent of classic radios from the
1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Like the Canadian-made,
battery-operated De Forest-Crosley Model 51,
Tivoli’s Model One BT has a rotary tuning dial and
wooden cabinet. But the Tivoli radio receives both
AM and FM signals (FM broadcasting didn’t begin
in Canada until after WWII). And it has Bluetooth
connectivity, for streaming music wirelessly from
a tablet or smartphone.
The Model One BT retails in Canada for $260.
In 1936, when the CBC wass established, a good
table radio cost about $40.
40.
This was a significant
sum during the Great
Depression, equivalent
to $650 today.
April 2014
| 53
WHAT I WEAR: Sunny Gawri
AS TOLD TO JOHN THOMSON
Sunny Gawri is someone whom you would define as a textbook example of a Generation-Yer, or what is also known as a Millennial. The 20-something
entrepreneur knows all too well that the economic and job prospects of his generation have been plagued by recession and unemployment.
Latest stats show that one in two new university graduates are either unemployed or underemployed.
Sunny isn’t going to fall into that statistic any time soon, and has put his career on warp speed by holding not one, but three jobs. Not only is he a licensed agent
with Kingsway Real Estate, the Brampton, ON-based man is also the owner and President of mobile retail store InTouch Wireless. Adding to those commitments,
Sunny is also the Director of Operations for the industry standard Canadian Wireless Trade Show, now entering its fourth year.
“I have been dressing up since high school,” he says. “Not only do clothes give me confidence, I find that people look at me differently when they see that I have
made an effort. We meet so many people every day, so how are you going to stand out and be remembered? ‘Oh yah, remember the guy with the pocket square?’
For me, that’s a leg up. Clothes are also a good motivator to work hard and be successful since you have to be able to pay for them!”
Sunny has an addictive energy and an enterprising spirit. His personal style screams success and confidence.
HERE’S HOW SUNNY PUTS TOGETHER HIS EFFORTLESS STYLE:
POCKET SQUARE:
BLAZER:
Tommy Hilfiger.
Dolce & Gabbana.
(www.tommyhilfiger.com)
(www.dolcegabbana.com)
“Nice and simple. It adds a
“Let’s get this out in the open
nice touch and reinforces my
right away; I love fashion brands.
attention-to-detail personality!”
I love the history, the attention
to detail, and the cut. This velvet
blazer is a personal favourite.
BELT:
I have 12 blazers in total from
Louis Vuitton.
various designers. I bought this
(www.louisvuitton.com)
one at Saks on a trip to NYC.”
“Remember, I told you I love
brands! My favourite designers
SHIRT:
are Ted Baker, Gucci, Louis
Calvin Klein. (www.calvinklein.com)
Vuitton, and my goal is to one
“Crisp and white!” If you are going
day own a Tom Ford suit.”
to wear a velvet blazer, you don’t
want to be wearing a competing
WATCH:
shirt. CK is a great everyday choice.
Rado. (www.rado.com)
“The Indian culture loves jewelry.
I am no exception, so in addition
SHOES:
to my watch, I wear a sign ring
Kenneth Cole with Ted Baker
(Gemini), my wedding band,
and also a bracelet, which
socks. (www.kennethcole.com,
was a gift from my wife.”
www.tedbaker.com) “CES is a
great time to be in ‘Vegas since all
the stores have their after-holiday
PANTS:
sales. There’s a great Ted Baker
Tristan & America.
store at Caesars that never fails me.”
(www.tristanstyle.com)
Connect with Sunny on LinkedIn:
ca.linkedin.com/pub/sunny-gawri/26/377/b11
54 |
www.wifihifi.ca
D&H Canada delivers
retro designs &
progressive sales
iB63 On-Ear Headphones
with Volume Control
IB63B
Jumb and jive
to crisp audio
reproduction institutionalized.
Yeti Multi-Pattern
USB Microphone
YETI
Vintage look of
yesteryear with
today’s advanced
features.
Great reliability.
Roger that!
Modern
performance.
Classic cool.
Grundig Satellite 750 AM/FM
Aircraft Band Radio
NGSAT750B
16.1MP OM-D E-M10
14-42mm Lens Camera
V207021SU000CA
Did You Know?
D&H is a convenient,
one-stop-shopping
resource for retailers.
YOURR
New customers receive a
$
50 Petro Canada Card just for
making their initial purchase
with D&H Canada
NATIONALL
TECHNOLOGYY
Becoming a D&H
Canada customer is
simple and FREE.
DISTRIBUTORR
D&H Distributing is a
leading technology distributor
of electronics for today's
reseller and retailer.
www.dandh.ca | 800.340.1008