As energy costs invariably rise, connecting and integrating American homes to the smart grid is a worthwhile endeavor for the nation. The reality however is that smart solutions allowing homes and utilities to communicate beyond their monthly electric bill are currently in pilot stages only. How can innovation help advance the smart home agenda?   The good news is nearly 70 million U.S. households already have a home network, providing a foundation to build upon for greater home automation and connectivity to systems like the smart grid. What’s more, energy conservation ...

Welcome to the 2013 International CES! These four days of CES energize me for the entire year. CES, owned and produced by CEA, is the most influential gathering of consumer electronics (CE) professionals around the world.   More technology deals are done at CES than anywhere, with buyers, investors, analysts and media able to meet with customers and partners all in one place. This year, the CES Tuesday-Friday pattern helps make it a productive workweek.   To see innovation in action, just walk the show floor, packed with 3,000 exhibitors across more than 1.8 million net square feet of space highlighting the newest products and services. We are expecting 150,000 attendees,...

Innovation Entrepreneur AwardsCEA’s inaugural Innovation Entrepreneur Awards (IEA) program, sponsored by It Is Innovation (i3) magazine and the Small Business Council (SBC) recognized the contributions of one executive and two small companies in the CE industry that innovate to grow their businesses and also excel in community outreach at the Industry Forum member luncheon. Participation is limited to CE companies with annual domestic revenue under $30 million. The winners are GrandCare Systems, ecoATM and Sandy Gross. EcoATM was founded in 2008 by Tom Tullie as an automated eCycling Station for eWaste recycling. Its automated kiosk buys back used CE products like cell phones...

Retail theft is an epidemic that is wreaking havoc on the CE industry. Each year, millions of dollars are walking, and in some cases running, out the doors of retailers. Retail “shrink” (loss) averaged 1.41 percent of sales across categories in 2011, and while that may not sound like much, it equates to more than $35 billion in the U.S. according to the 2011 National Retail Security Survey by Dr. Richard Hollinger. This loss directly impacts the bottom line for both brands and retailers.   The National Retail Federation has identified the top two sources of loss as employee theft (44 percent) and consumer shoplifting (36 percent) according to the survey. The amount of...