Trident Case® Combines Convenience, Storage and Protection in its New Apollo Folio Series!

Trident Case®, manufacturer of rugged and eco-friendly mobile and tablet cases, today announced the introduction its Apollo Folio cases, a light-duty series of handsome smartphone cases that provides prime storage for IDs and credit cards without sacrificing protection. The introduction was made at CTIA 2014 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in the North Hall, Booth #1639.

“Trident is proud to support our user’s lifestyles by providing protective cases with storage for smartphones,” Vickie Achee, Trident Vice President of Marketing, said today. “Trident Case’s Apollo Folio cases differ from the rest because they don’t sacrifice protection for the convenience that Folio cases offer.”

The Apollo Folio Series, available in a variety of designs, patterns and styles, essentially features two cases in one. First, the case features a two-piece bio-enhanced polycarbonate rim and back plate to protect the smartphone from accidents. Second, the case features a polyurethane leather folio cover containing two card slots that folds easily over the screen. The Folio cover, perfect for carrying an ID or credit card, includes soft microfiber lining for extra screen protection.

Trident’s Apollo Series is light-duty, constructed with durable polycarbonate, providing protection from minor bumps, scratches and debris. All bio-enhanced polycarbonate is recyclable, degradable and compostable, making it entirely eco-friendly. In addition, each Apollo case includes a self-applicable screen protector to ensure that mobile screens stay safe.

The 2014 Apollo Folio case is available for the Samsung Galaxy S4 & S5, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in five colors, Navy, Black, Purple, Orange, and Red . All three models are available now with an MSRP of $34.95.

Core Brands And Furman Introduce BlueBOLT to The Commercial Market At InfoComm2014

The new BB-RS232 brings BlueBOLT cloud-based power and energy management to the Furman Contractor Series of Power Sequencers.

At INFOCOMM 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Core Brands  is announcing the expansion of the award-winning BlueBOLT cloud-based energy management platform to the commercial market with the new BB-RS232. This new adaptor brings the BlueBOLT platform to the Furman Contractor Series, beginning with the Furman CN-1800S and CN-2400S for domestic models, and the CN-3600S E for the EMEA markets.

With the addition of the BB-RS232 adaptor, users can harness the power of BlueBOLT for easy-to-use hosted-remote access from any web-enabled device, providing the ability to instantly reboot problem components, monitor power consumption, sequence multi-zone systems on or off, generate email alerts for power anomalies and more. As it can be accessed from any web-enabled device, commercial integrators and their clients can leverage the power of the BlueBOLT platform from anywhere in the world. The BB-RS232 connects directly to the CN-1800S, CN-2400S or CN-3600S E serial connection.

“As electronics become more mission-critical than ever, keeping systems healthy requires a solid foundation of power and energy management,” said John Benz, Director of Power and Accessories at Core Brands. “Adding BlueBOLT capabilities to a Furman commercial power sequencer creates an extremely reliable infrastructure for our customers, plus one that is increasingly more accessible to manage.”

Furman will be demonstrating the BlueBOLT platform and the new BB-RS232, along with its entire line of professional power conditioning solutions, at Infocomm in booth C9521 in the Central Hall. The BB-RS232 will ship in Summer 2014.

Stampede to Celebrate Year of Record-Breaking Growth at InfoComm 2014

New lines, new dealers, and new market opportunities fuel growth for the industry-leading distributor of ProAV solutions. 

Paced by the addition of a number of new manufacturers to its vendor portfolio, along with a substantial growth in the number of dealers in its network, Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. plans to celebrate a record-setting year of growth next month at INFOCOMM 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The new manufacturers who have appointed Stampede to serve as a distribution partner include Samsung-Techwin, Parametric, ASK Proxima, Cenique, Circle Technology, We Present, Demo Pad, DISE, Samsung Galaxy Professional Tablets, SAPPHIRE media players, Surf Communications, Videotel, Whoosh! Screen Shine, and NTW among many others.  According to Kelly, these manufacturers are electing to work with Stampede because of the depth of its market knowledge and the strength of its dealer network, which has grown 25 percent in the last year to 11,500 dealers.

A rapidly changing industry is also playing to Stampede’s strengths, according to Kelly.  “The Age of Interactivity is now giving way to a new Age of Hyperactivity characterized by an always-fast, always-on Internet and, as a result, a new era of unprecedented opportunity is now unfolding — creating sales opportunities for dealers that were unimaginable a few short years ago.

“At a time when the traditional AV industry is maturing, a new personalized industry is rising up to take its place, one that is built upon the ideas of connecting, integrating, and sharing devices in entirely new eco-systems built around highly customized software applications,” Kelly explained.  “This shift is challenging our industry to stop using the terms ‘audio and video’ and start using the terms ‘see, hear and control’ in order to understand the business opportunities that this shift is creating.”

Stampede has taken a number of strategic steps to empower its 11,000 dealers to take advantage of this seismic shift by consumers and professionals to connect, integrate and share devices at work, school, government and home.  “Since last year’s InfoComm Show we added 20 new product lines and several new core platforms that traditional AV products can attach to,” Kelly said. 

Even more encouraging for dealers and integrators, Stampede’s sales are growing in all three of its primary product categories — displays, projectors, and unified communications, which is by far the fastest growing segment of the company’s business.

Kelly reaffirmed Stampede’s commitment to constantly add value to every system installation it is involved with.  “Value adds margin for our dealers,” Kelly told Vendor Summit attendees.  “And, thus far in 2014, Stampede is adding value at an unprecedented level that cannot be matched by any other distributor in the business today.  We can add this value on a consistent basis because we are focused exclusively on meeting the needs of the ProAV dealer community.  We are not distracted by other industries and market segments.  We devote 100 percent of our time and considerable resources to helping dealers grow their business.”  

Meeting the demands of growth, however, requires an expanding commitment to maintain face-to-face training, online learning, and readily available credit facilities to qualified dealers, “all of which Stampede is committed to providing,” Kelly added.  “Last year we increased our available monthly credit line by 28 percent, enabling us to serve as a bank to our dealer partners.  This year we are opening a new southwest regional office and adding to our field sales team network to increase the number of contacts we can have with dealers and their customers.”

VITAL Systems Cooperative To Host Charter Meeting In Las Vegas

Responding to a growing demand by forward-looking custom installation dealers and integrators for a full day information sharing session, VITAL MGMT founders Paul Starkey and Steve Firszt today announced that its VITAL Systems Cooperative will hold its first-ever meeting in conjunction with CES 2014.
 
The one-day invitation-only event will take place on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at the Business Suites Hughes Center located at 3753 Howard Hughes Parkway in Las Vegas. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information can be found on the VITAL MGMT website located at www.VITALMGT.com.
 
The VITAL Systems Cooperative is the dealer organization that is part of VITAL MGMT’s “reverse merger” initiative focused on working on the business together before any formal merger of the companies takes place. As members of the VITAL Systems Cooperative, custom integration companies will collaborate, develop and implement uniform management systems and practices. The services cover financial planning and management, benchmarking, project management and administration, sales and marketing, and operations and production. Starkey and Firszt serve as executive directors of the cooperative.
 
“The foundational practices are ready to go,” Starkey said today. “Steve has spent the past nine years implementing his Top-Line Management System (TLM) with hundreds of integrators throughout the United States. We’ll be using the system platform and offering a far more comprehensive solution than Steve was able to deliver on his own. No other system provides the high impact guidance and personal relationship that this new system offers.”
 
The one-day meeting in Las Vegas will provide a detailed look at the new system, both for charter members and companies interested in the membership opportunity.
 
“We’re excited to get these like-minded dealers in a room to share our ideas and gain their feedback and insights,” Firszt said. “This will be the kick-off of the collaborative model, where dealers work together towards a common goal of profit, efficiency and ultimately a national entity devoted to custom systems design and installation.”
 
VITAL Systems Cooperative is a Missouri corporation comprised of independent custom integration companies from across the United States who share business, marketing and information services to better their respective businesses.