Frontier Smart Technolog... Share Discussion Threads

[life of crime] 07/10/2017 14:49

There is a mention of the Google Mini and a premium version at the attached. It is around 11.30 minutes into the programme:

[the drewster] 07/10/2017 08:44

I know someone is looking for stock, but I don't know who, or how much.
Haven't had a call to see if I'm selling for years, so while it might be nothing, it's at least encouraging.

[rob_evans] 04/10/2017 16:56

Regardless of whether the Sonos One has FST technology or not, the smart solution for speakers is to support Alexa, Google Home, and Siri. Buying an Amazon, Google, or Apple speaker just locks you into the one voice service.

And that means, for most speaker manufacturers, buying in a module that supports all three.

FST are ideally placed to benefit from this.

[the drewster] 04/10/2017 16:34

"Sonos, which has raised about $110 million in primary funding from investors, including Index Ventures and KKR & Co., also is seriously considering an initial public offering, the company said."

that's almost twice FST market cap!!!

[life of crime] 04/10/2017 16:20

That sounds promising. Sonos could use an off-the-shelf integrator!

[the drewster] 04/10/2017 16:15

This could (can't stress could enough) be a launchpad for the SP:

04/10/2017 3:59pm
Dow Jones News

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 4 October 2017

Click Here for more Amazon Charts.
By Yoree Koh
Sonos Inc., the pioneer in wireless speakers, was on its way to $1 billion in sales in 2015 when Amazon.com Inc.'s Echo smart speaker took off. Sonos's sales fell off a cliff.

Sonos now has a new game plan: Partnering with its rivals -- all of them.

On Wednesday, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company is announcing its first smart speaker, the $199 Sonos One, powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. By next year, the company will integrate Alphabet Inc.'s Google voice assistant, and down the road hopes to make its smart speaker compatible with Apple Inc.'s Siri and others. The partnerships would mean consumers wouldn't need to choose one tech giant's services over another -- Sonos could serve them all.

The company built a loyal fan base by letting customers play music in every room of a home through a network of wireless speakers that supported streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Speakers, though, are no longer just for listening to music.

Chief Executive Patrick Spence admits the company became "complacent" when it came to artificially intelligent assistants. Sonos "missed the turn on voice," he said in an interview.

Amazon's Echo has become a game-changing product thanks to Alexa, which can play music, answer questions, relay the day's news, provide weather forecasts and more. The Echo has captured about three-quarters of the U.S. market for smart speakers, with more than 15 million total devices sold as of June, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

On Wednesday, Google, which has the other quarter of the smart-speaker market, is expected to unveil a successor to its Google Home speaker. Apple is readying its $349 HomePod speaker for a December release.

Sonos saw itself getting shut out of a category it helped create.

Its pivot came amid change at the top. In January, founder John MacFarlane stepped down after 14 years as chief. Mr. Spence took over and has sought to make Sonos, known for its obsessive but time-consuming attention to detail, move faster to catch up in the smart-speaker revolution.

Sonos, which has raised about $110 million in primary funding from investors, including Index Ventures and KKR & Co., also is seriously considering an initial public offering, the company said.

As part of its strategy of working with the very rivals that upended it, Sonos said it would support Apple's AirPlay 2 in 2018, letting owners control their Sonos speakers through any Siri-enabled device such as an iPhone. A free software upgrade will allow Sonos speakers to be controlled through any Alexa device such as an Echo or Dot.

Partnering with a tech giant won't make it any less a competitor, analysts said. The cash-rich giants are able to adjust the price on their speakers more easily than a smaller player like Sonos, said Ben Arnold, an analyst at NPD. Amazon flexed those muscles last week when it cut the price on the Echo by $80 to $100.

One hurdle will be getting tech juggernauts to play nice. For instance, Sonos users can ask Alexa to play music if they also subscribe to Amazon Prime, but they won't be able to use their voice to start a song on Apple Music.

Mr. Spence said he isn't worried: "Our job is solving those gaps over time."

Mr. Spence said the company is back on track to cross $1 billion in revenue this year, helped by sales of its $699 Playbase, a wireless speaker for TVs that launched in March. Sonos hopes its inaugural smart speaker will continue that momentum.

"The promising tailwind that we have is more interest in smart speakers thanks to the work of Amazon and Google jumping in," Mr. Spence said.

Write to Yoree Koh at [e-mail]

[life of crime] 04/10/2017 14:57

Good spot re. Zound. I have to admit I have never heard of them, but have certainly heard of the legendary Marshall.

I thought the speakers looked a bit gimmicky personally, but who cares if they sell by the truckload. FST are definitely turning a corner for the better, unlike Theresa May whose speech today looked like the last words (when she could get them out) of a leader heading for the exit faster than her heckler!

[snaffleclamp] 04/10/2017 12:48

Don't look too bad either

[the drewster] 04/10/2017 12:22

Dave, my Son's gig amp is a Marshall ... awesome piece of kit. the Marshall Tent was the first port of call whenever we went to "Music Live" too.

[the drewster] 04/10/2017 12:20

Peel Hunt BUY Recommendation, Target 170p

[sweenoid] 04/10/2017 12:18

Amazing what you learn on these bb's-Zound, sounds daft, but a little search and they look really dynamic and interesting, the Marshall BRAND of course speaks for itself.

Now if only FST could have won itself into the Sonos Bootleg....... we can only dream
S

[the drewster] 04/10/2017 09:02

London, 4 October 2017

Frontier Silicon, a leading supplier of consumer audio technologies, announces that its Minuet platform has been chosen by audio pioneer, Zound Industries International AB (“Zound Industries”), to add multi-room functionality, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay to three speakers in its range of Marshall branded wireless multi-room speakers.

The three speakers are the Marshall Acton, Marshall Stanmore and Marshall Woburn models, which now come with new design and multi-room technology features.

[blueskyventurer] 04/10/2017 09:00

Smart Speakers growth at 800%.






SMART SPEAKER DEMAND IGNITES HOME AUDIO MARKET, REPORT REVEALS SPECTACULAR GROWTH
posted on Thursday, 21st September 2017 by Steve MaySmart home Smart Speakers Hi-fi [#pageName]
Demand for soundbars may be dipping, and sales of hi-fi systems declining, but global home audio sales are rising, thanks to the new wave of voice enabled Smart Assistant speakers. That’s the finding of Futuresource Consulting’s latest Home Audio Quarterly Tracker.

The analyst reveals total home audio shipments grew 32 per cent between Q2 2016 and Q2 2017 to reach $3.7 billion in revenues. The rapidly developing smart speaker category delivered an extraordinary year-on-year growth of 843 per cent.

Smart speaker shipments reached 4.2 million units in the quarter, with Amazon alone accounting for 82 per cent of overall sales. Google is expected to grow rapidly with its smart speaker products, as it gears up to enter more markets from Q3 onwards. Overall average prices declined 2 per cent for total home audio, however soundbar prices grew in Q2, driven by demand for higher-end products.

The top audio brand in the sector is Harman/JBL, which took a 17 per cent share unit share in the second quarter. In revenues, Bose was the top brand, followed by Harman/JBL and then Amazon.

So where does this leave the high-end audio market? Jack Wetherill, Home Electronics analyst at Futuresource Consulting, tells Inside CI that there remain plenty of opportunities.

“The balance of sales is definitely moving towards Smart Assistant speakers, but those who want the real Hi-Fi experience will be unlikely to trade down their expectations on audio quality for the additional services that Smart Assistants bring,” he says. Demand for smart speakers may speak volumes about the future of the audio market, but sales are impacting impacting Bluetooth speaker sales rather than higher end audio devices, he suggests.

Futuresource Consulting’s worldwide audio report analyses trends, brands, segments, sales and pricing of home audio products in key markets including North America, Latin America, China, The Netherlands, France and the UK.

[hammerd2] 04/10/2017 07:10

Grist. Apologies if posted before but I couldn't find the corresponding ref to Zound.



I'm only about 40% down on my remaining shares now - better than I ever hoped !

[life of crime] 03/10/2017 17:30

The link is via the WorldDab site. It is good to see that even low spec versions of basic cars like the Polo now come with DAB as standard; a sign of things to come:

[nod] 02/10/2017 21:54

I'm holding for now but like Sweenoid and others remain somewhat skeptical that FST will make a profit.While the gross profit was good the company's expenses are usually greater than gross profit, resulting in a loss and, on only one occasion I believe, FS gave a small net profit. It seems standard for Sethill to spend all the gross profit which leaves nothing for its shareholders.Turnover is vanity, Profit is sanity.I hope I'm proved wrong in this year's final results and we make a significant NET profit.

[monty panesar] 02/10/2017 20:24

Apologies you are right. 40 for 1 consolidation, not 80 for 1!

[sherylchan] 02/10/2017 20:11

thanks for your reply MP - think it was at 4p in Nov 2013 raising 17.2m net - 40 for 1 consolidation is 160p in new money?

I can't find any information of the price that IMG's 10% stake was placed but guess it would be around the Jan/Feb 16 price level - prob need to root thru IMG's old results

[monty panesar] 02/10/2017 19:56

Last placing was at 320p in 2013. Raised 17m. Forgotten what price IMG were forced out at when they were forced to sell due to running out of cash. I think it was at around 190p-200p.

[life of crime] 02/10/2017 13:36

To be fair to Sethill, he has cut the loss making side (which is more than can be said about HY while at IMG) and gave TMZ/FST exposure to the growth markets in DAB, and now smart audio.

Sensium was given away but at least we will get some royalties over 10 years if it is profitable, or 19% of the price if TSC sell it by 2020. I just wonder if FST will still be independent by the end of next year, especially as sterling's drop makes UK firms cheaper for overseas bidders.

[sherylchan] 02/10/2017 13:28

IMG sold 175.3m shares in TMZ (10.3% ) in Feb 2016 - does anyone know what price it was placed at?

Also, when was the last placing of TMZ?

An interesting recovery play if Smart Audio gets some traction

[sweenoid] 02/10/2017 12:58

Google or Sonos?
both, please ;-)

oh.....if only.....Sethill wasn't the CEO, I could summon up more optimism!
S

[life of crime] 02/10/2017 12:51

Agreed Drewster, confirmation would be nice. I assume, given Minuet was re-configured to Google's requirements, that FST are in their smart devices.

[the drewster] 02/10/2017 12:43

Confirmation of FST tech in either, both, or ideally ALL might do wonders for the share price going forwards.

It's been an unduly long journey, and nothing I originally invested for remains, but it looks like it could be a big winner after all.

HUGE potential given the market share, margins, and relationships.