Superior Communications brings exclusive market research to CES 2008
2/14/08

With another successful CES show complete, it appears as if 2008 will bring further innovation and technological enhancements to the mobile phone industry. And although this year’s CES saw fewer new wireless product unveilings, quantity was exceeded by products of exceptional quality and buzz worthy excitement.

While there were too many Bluetooth® headsets to mention at this year's CES, one in particular caught the attention of most attendees at the show: the Iqua SUN™. The SUN is the world’s first solar-powered Bluetooth headset and received a CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Award. Television network G4 sent host Kristen Holt to Superior’s booth to feature the SUN as a must-have gadget on G4’s CES spotlight show.

Diamonds also sparkled from our showroom floor, catching the attention of everyone who passed by. Superior showed off Case-Mate’s exclusive diamond-encrusted case for the BlackBerry® Curve™, stunningly handcrafted with 3.5 carats of diamonds and 15 grams of gold. The case, valued at $20,000, was given to one lucky winner at the end of the show. Another product highlight was the new Bluetooth adapter for Superior’s exclusive music player, Phoneo™, which provides consumers with the freedom to talk, charge, sync, and groove with any Bluetooth compatible handset.

Customers who attended meetings in our lounge, or just stopped by to chat, received gift bags from our booth sponsors: RIM, SanDisk, and iGo. The gift bags included SanDisk Memory Cards and Mugs, along with iGo power extenders and charging tips. We also had giveaways from RIM and SanDisk where a handful of lucky winners received BlackBerry handsets and SanDisk 4GB memory cards.

Whether our customers were looking for the next big thing in Bluetooth technology, a shimmering look into the lifestyle of the wealthy, or just a place to relax from the chaos of the show, Superior’s 2008 CES booth brought it all. The New Year is bound to bring improvements and expansion to the mobile industry, and CES 2008 was a great place to start.

CES Product Highlights

Although the show is over, we’re still excited about all the new and innovative products that were featured at our booth. Bluetooth technology has exploded over the last few years, allowing technology-lovers to enjoy their toys on the go, no matter where they are. The best of the best were shown at this years CES and we were able to feature everything from personal Wi-Fi to a solar powered car-kit.

Headsets were a main attraction at this year’s CES and we featured a handful of the most innovative on the market today. Nokia’s BH-803 headset has a stylish design coupled with touch sensitive controls as well as technology to help eliminate background noise during conversations. Along with Nokia’s headset, several other manufactures contributed to the lineup of noise canceling Bluetooth headsets: The Plantronics® Discovery™ 655, Motorola Pure™ H12 and Jawbone headsets reduce noise levels to provide enhanced sound for crystal clear conversations.

The Dragon™ Bluetooth headset from Callpod® also features noise-canceling technology but also has a performance range of more than 328 feet, allowing you to roam around your office or home without having to carry your phone. The Dragon also lets you connect with your PC to simultaneously receive Skype calls with the push of a button. Along with the buzz from the crowd, the Dragon headset was also named as a CES Innovations Award Honoree.

Portable Bluetooth car kits were also a hit at this year’s CES show. We featured two new innovative car kits that stood out from the ordinary. The MOTOROKR T505 car-kit lets you take and make calls hands-free and listen to your music with features like echo/noise reduction and Audio CallerID. For those consumers that are eco-friendly, Anycom has created the world's first Bluetooth car-kit that is equipped with a high-performance solar panel. With sufficient sun light, 3 hours of charging will provide 30 minutes of talk time. ANYCOM’s Solar Car-Kit SCK-1 is the most environment-friendly Bluetooth product available.

Along with headsets and car-kits, we also introduced a Bluetooth adapter for Superior’s exclusive music player, Phoneo™, allowing consumers the freedom to talk, charge, sync and grove with any Bluetooth A2DP capable handset. The Phoneo was recently shown on NBCs TODAY show as part of a segment featuring hot Bluetooth products. Some of the non-Bluetooth items that created a stir from consumers stopping at our booth included the following products: CradlePoint Wi-Fi Travel Router, a dynamic little WiFi Router that will make you a HotSpot wherever you are; Medis 24-7 Power Pack, the world's first portable fuel cell power product; and the Solio® Classic Hybrid Charger, a device that stores power from the sun or outlet, allowing you to recharge your mobile phone anywhere, anytime.

Superior's Booth

Superior’s CES booth was bigger and better than ever before, thanks to Trillium Creations Inc. who creatively brought our concepts to life. The “ZIP” lounge created a relaxing atmosphere and featured a 2,000 square foot lounge where customers could take some time out of their busy day to unwind, listen to music, and talk to our Superior represenatives.

The “ZIP” Lounge, which highlighted Superior’s research of consumer purchasing habits according to the ZIP codes they live in, was a creative way to show current and potential customers the type of services Superior can provide. Superior is the only accessory distributor and manufacturer with primary data on consumer wireless accessory purchases and consumption behavior. The data has led to the development of segments, which represent homogenous consumer groups in terms of accessory needs, expectations, and purchase behavior. With this data we can determine which retail stores or channels should be a key focus when it comes to wireless accessory sales, product launches, appropriate product mix by store, training, etc. We can also identify which locations have the greatest demand potential for wireless accessories – for each major wireless product category.

One final element of our booth involved a section dedicated to showing Superior’s process of creating products from a prototype to a packaged item ready for sale. Superior offers a complete accessory development solution for wireless and consumer electronic manufacturers and retailers. From concept to production, Superior is a full-cycle product design, development, and manufacturing house. We have a robust compatibility testing system to align accessories with the correct handsets and other core electronic devices, and our retail packaging meets the highest standards for easy display, self-selling and “green” initiatives. Informed by extensive research and an effective product strategy, we can help increase sales and customer satisfaction.

With nearly 17 years of experience in the wireless industry, Superior Communications possesses the knowledge and resources to help you align your accessory strategy with your existing overall customer and retail direction. If you’re not already a Superior customer, but would like to begin working with us, please call (800) 522-4727.