Rebecca Day

The Z-Wave Alliance announced Tuesday a specification enabling four times the range and 10 times the devices that can operate on a network. Z-Wave Long Range is in testing by three companies and is expected to be in beta in late Q4 or early Q1, Mitchell Klein, alliance executive director, told us. General availability is expected late Q1, Klein said. To do long-range communications in a mesh network like standard Z-Wave, end devices need to carry a “significant amount of overhead” to maintain mesh connectivity, Klein said. The direct connectivity of Z-Wave LR is a lower cost solution with fewer “hops” to other devices and less lag. That frees up a network to scale to more than 2,000 devices, up from the current 232 devices per gateway, Klein said.

Wireless power company Energous’ vision has changed, said CEO Stephen Rizzone, at a Wednesday tech conference. Rizzone recalled demonstrating wireless charging with a smartphone at the 2014 CES, and while the company can do that in its San Jose, California, lab, “it’s not an opportunity we should be focusing on.”

Net sales in Conn’s fiscal Q2 fell 8.6% to $279.7 million due to COVID-19 impacts, including underwriting adjustments made in mid-March in response to the pandemic. Same-store sales dropped 13.2% for the quarter ended July 31. Tighter loan underwriting reduced same-store sales by 20% in Q2, said Chief Operating Officer Lee Wright on a Thursday investor call.

Qualcomm bowed a technology to boost the user experience for true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. Qualcomm Adaptive ANC is designed to improve user comfort and provide consistent sound quality by adapting performance according to fit, adapting in real time to changes in fit during use, it said Thursday.

Bowers & Wilkins refreshed its 600 series speakers for the 25th anniversary of the company’s most “democratic” speaker line that starts at $699 a pair, Andy Kerr, director-product marketing, told a media briefing. The seventh-generation line has the same Continuum cone technology used in the company’s 805 series, said Kerr. The 600s don’t have the cabinet quality or polished finish of the higher end speaker lines, Kerr said, noting the 805s are used as studio monitor speakers in Abbey Road Studios in London.

Marantz’s fall audio product debut was supposed to happen at a “fun CEDIA presentation, where we’re all in the same room, all listening to music, with a drink in hand,” said spokesperson Paul Wilkie. The Sound United brand’s plans for a physical launch party were dashed when COVID-19 forced cancellation of the physical CEDIA Expo Sept. 8-12 in Denver (see 2005280053). Marantz executives instead had to describe the features of their new hi-res audio gear -- an integrated amplifier and a combo Super Audio CD player/network audio streamer -- on a sometimes-garbled RingCentral VoIP call from their respective homes.

In a week when Fitbit introduced its most advanced health-tracking smartwatch to date (see 2008250014), Amazon announced the Halo monitoring service and a wrist-worn wearable. The company is taking requests for the Halo Band ($65) at a 35% discount off the $99 regular price in an early access invitation program, a similar approach it took with the launch of the Echo smart speaker. “If selected,” customers will receive an email notifying them when access is available. Access will be issued on a rolling basis.

The COVID-19 pandemic helped make free a new interactive 3D design tool from retailer Audio Advice that models an acoustically correct home theater system with locations for speakers, a TV or projector and seating. The specialty AV retailer and e-commerce site launched the tool for anyone on its website Thursday, CEO Scott Newnam told Consumer Electronics Daily in a Wednesday pre-brief.

Fitbit is taking preorders for two smartwatches and a tracker slated for late September availability, including the Sense ($329), billing it as its most advanced health smartwatch. The Sense has an electrodermal activity sensor for stress management, an on-wrist-based skin temperature sensor and an electrocardiogram (ECG) app. When used with Fitbit Premium ($9.99 monthly), the watch can help track heart rate variability, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation using the company’s Health Metrics dashboard, said the company Tuesday.

World Wide Stereo's August marketing reflects the times more than the retailer’s roots. The 41-year-old company pushed home office products, interior design and enterprise-grade networks in a Friday email encouraging customers to upgrade home tech to meet the needs of working and schooling from home during the pandemic. “We’re really just trying to expand on how we can be the best possible resource for our clients from an integrated home perspective,” emailed Chief Marketing Officer Emily Cole. Focusing on design and connectivity, the business is trying to be “as much of a one-stop-shop as possible.”