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Blackfire Powering Harman Kardon Omni Wi-Fi Speakers

November 27, 2015

Press Releases

Blackfire Research

Harman Kardon is rolling out its Omni speaker displays nationwide all powered by Blackfire Technology.

Click here to see Press Release by Appliance Retailer

Global audio manufacturer wants to stand-out from the crowd.

In the lead up to Christmas, Harman/Kardon is rolling out its Omni speaker displays nationwide, covering 71 JB Hi-Fi stores and JBL portable wireless displays are being rolled out in 336 stores across JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Bing Lee, as well as selected Dick Smith stores. The JBL Soundbar 250, debuted at this year’s IFA, will also be available exclusively at Harvey Norman pre-Christmas.

Harman/Kardon is ramping up its Christmas offering by providing 50% off the second speaker in the Omni range and a free Omni adapter as a gift with purchase when buying the Harman/Kardon Super Slim Soundbar 35 and wireless Slim subwoofer.

This year Harman/Kardon focused on in-store activation and road shows, but the company is likely to see expansion into experiential and above the line advertising in 2016 and beyond, according to Convoy brand manager, Michael Sherman.

Harman International unveiled two new Harman/Kardon Omni loudspeakers and the Harman/Kardon Adapt wireless adapter at an exclusive media event in Sydney’s eastern suburbs this week.

The flexible design and functionality, relying on a standard Wi-Fi network, enables exceptional sound quality as well as easy set up and management.

The Harman/Kardon Omni system comprises three new products. The Omni 10 and Omni 20 wireless HD loudspeakers and the Adapt plug-in to upgrade an existing home stereo system, all powered by Blackfire Research™ wireless media technology.

The Harman/Kardon app enables users to access and stream music from a phone, streaming service or apps seamlessly, with Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike other wireless streaming systems, the Harman/Kardon Omni 10 and Omni 20 support 24-bit/96kHz Studio Quality HD audio streaming.

“The Harman/Kardon Wireless high definition audio system represents the ultimate in scalability, upgradeability, and personalisation for home audio entertainment,” Harman president – lifestyle division, Michael Mauser said.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to sacrifice exceptional sound or forward looking design in order to get it. Our Omni loudspeaker systems and Adapt wireless adapter make this happen, without compromises in sound quality or aesthetics,” Mauser added.

The Harman/Kardon Adapt is a first-of-its-kind truly HD, wireless adapter for your existing home stereo system. It enables users to play different music in each room for private listening, or stream the same song throughout the house in party mode.

Control and configure your HD audio system wirelessly via the app and a standard Wi-Fi-connection, with no network-cable connection required. The future-proof design is supported through automatic software upgrades and improvements that are automatically delivered through the Wi-Fi connection to the control app.

One Touch Follow Me Audio lets you walk from one room to another, as your favourite music follows you at the touch of a button, even when streaming from Bluetooth.

Harman and Blackfire Announce Android Software Development Kit

May 28, 2015

Press Releases

Blackfire Research

Harman Android SDK focuses on supporting developer innovation.

Click here to see Press Release about Blackfire Research by Harman Kardon

HARMAN ANDROID SDK focuses on supporting developer innovation

GOOGLE I/O 2015, SAN FRANCISCO, CA — HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), the premier audio, visual, infotainment and enterprise automation group, announced today that it has released the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Harman Kardon Omni Wireless HD home audio system. This SDK enables third-party developers to create groundbreaking home audio and IoT (Internet of Things) experiences for Android users with high-fidelity sound.

With HARMAN’s SDK, developers will find it more manageable to explore, innovate and participate in the new network of connected audio and IoT experiences by accessing tools, downloads and community forums. The HARMAN Developer Community will leverage HARMAN’s expertise and technology portfolio to contribute to the next generation of apps.

“Building audio features into connected apps represents the next wave of user experience, and HARMAN is taking a huge leap to encourage developers to participate in this world and turn their ideas into reality,” said IP Park, EVP & Chief Technology Officer of HARMAN. “Our new relationship with the developer community will unleash ingenious ideas simply waiting to be noticed. By being the first to bring out a mobile SDK for our innovative software-defined speakers, this is truly a win-win for HARMAN and the developer community.”

Appealing to audio software product developers, IoT developers, independent developers, and text-to-speech developers, the HARMAN Android SDK makes the process easy to download and test with an application. In addition to detecting, controlling and sending audio to WiFi speakers, the software can identify the status of speakers, determine the strength of the WiFi-signal, and receive events back from the speaker, such as the volume level. This is all made possible through the HARMAN abstraction helper library, documentation and example applications built for the Android operating system.

“With SDKs for iOS and now Android, HARMAN is offering revolutionary wireless products that open even more opportunities for innovation,” said Kevin Hague, VP of Developer Community and Programs with HARMAN. “We are delighted to see how the developer community takes this tool and uses it to create other pioneering products.”

The HARMAN Wireless HD Audio SDK is built on and powered by BLACKFIRE RESEARCH™ wireless media technology under license from BLACKFIRE RESEARCH Corporation.

Furthering its commitment to community-led development, HARMAN recently announced a strategic partnership with Quirky, the company that makes invention accessible, to jointly develop the next generation of audio products. HARMAN will leverage Quirky’s platform and innovation community to generate new ideas for connected products across HARMAN’s family of brands including Harman Kardon, JBL and Infinity.

For further information about the HARMAN Developer Community and the SDKs for iOS and Android, please: visit http://developer.harman.com.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for consumers, automakers, and enterprises worldwide, including audio, visual and infotainment systems; enterprise automation solutions; and software services. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® , Mark Levinson ® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. HARMAN also is a technology and integration services leader for the Automotive, Mobile, Telecommunications and Enterprise markets. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. The Company’s software solutions power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated, personalized, adaptive and secure across all platforms, from the work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 25,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $5.9 billion during the last 12 months ended March 31, 2015. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

About BLACKFIRE RESEARCH

BLACKFIRE RESEARCH (www.blackfirereseach.com) provides leading technology and solutions for high performance media applications over Wi-Fi and is based in San Francisco, California, USA.

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Blackfire Launches on the New HTC One M9

May 11, 2015

Press Releases

Blackfire Research

Blackfire Research Wireless media technology is now integrated into the HTC One M9 smartphones.

Click here to see Press Release by PRWEB

SAN FRANCISO, CALIFORNIA

BLACKFIRE RESEARCH™ wireless media technology is now integrated into the HTC One M9 smartphones, HTC’s flagship Smartphone that was launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 1. This integration is in HTC Connect™ and so will also be available on other HTC Smartphones that support HTC Connect, including previous HTC One products.

“HTC has built its reputation on challenging expectations in the mobile industry,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman, HTC. “The HTC One M9 accomplishes this once again with stunning elegance and design, combined with smart features that help bring your world to life, connecting you in a deeper way to the things you consider most important. So much more than just a phone, the HTC One M9 is an extension of who you are.”

Smartphones are fast becoming the central hub for home entertainment, and HTC Connect™ makes it easy to enjoy your multimedia experience beyond your phone. A three-finger swipe on the screen connects the phone to BLACKFIRE powered products from leading brands such as the HARMAN KARDON™ Omni series of speakers. Once connected, the audio and music from the HTC smartphone is routed to these products, much like Bluetooth. However, unlike Bluetooth, BLACKFIRE enables much longer range, better resolution and multi room play.

BLACKFIRE powered products can be used in various multi room or in-room configurations, can be grouped into various zones, selected for playback at will, shared by multiple phones and any online music/media service applications on the smartphone can play to them. This allows HTC One users maximum flexibility in enjoying their music and makes the HTC One a very powerful media platform.

The user can enjoy music from the HTC One to a HARMAN KARDON OMNI 20 Speaker in the kitchen and simultaneously send it to a HARMAN KARDON Adapt plugged into their stereo system – all playing simultaneously, in high quality, over the home Wi-Fi.

“Integrating BLACKFIRE native to the HTC One M9 smartphone makes it an awesome smartphone that at last allows you to enjoy music, the way you would expect – easily, flexibly, wirelessly and in high quality!” said Ravi Rajapakse, CEO of BLACKFIRE

The BLACKFIRE powered HARMAN KARDON Omni 10, Omni 20 and Adapt plug in, support 24-bit/96kHz Studio Quality HD audio streaming. BLACKFIRE performance advantages include accurate synchronization for true stereo or multi-channel configurations, high resolution loss less transport, full Wi-Fi range, flexible use cases and operation on many different platforms.

BLACKFIRE RESEARCH, the only wireless technology that uses standard Wi-Fi for high-performance playback of music and video, on multiple devices – such as speakers, sound bars, headsets, AVR systems, TVs, set top boxes or plug-and-play audio and video accessories – simultaneously.

The new HTC One will be available in the U.S. on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon early Spring. It will also be available through HTC.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile specialty stores, Costco Wholesale and Target.

About BLACKFIRE RESEARCH

Blackfire Research is based in San Francisco and provides patented software for high-performance communications using Internet Protocol to multiple devices simultaneously over standard Wi-Fi. Blackfire software will be key infrastructure for the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) space.

About HTC

HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile experiences for consumers around the world. http://www.htc.com

About Harman

HARMAN (http://www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and enterprise automation solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® , Mark Levinson ® and Revel®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 17,600 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $5.9 billion during the last 12 months ended December 31, 2014.