Audiovox said Tuesday morning that Best Buy will begin selling the FLO TV car tuner system this quarter as well as the first portable DVD player with FLO TV built in.

The news came as Audiovox announced its first quarter results, reporting growth in mobile video and security. No further details on Best Buy were provided.

For the quarter ended May 31, Audiovox said it was encouraged by some positive signs in the new car market but recovery from the recession is slower than expected.

Total net sales for its fiscal Q1 2011 were up almost 9 percent to $130.3 million and net income more than doubled to $1.1 million after a favorable tax settlement.

Electronics sales were up almost 20 percent due to new OEM sales from Invision Automotive Systems, acquired in February but also from improved aftermarket sales in mobile video, security and new sales in FLO TV. The gains were offset by declines in audio and in other CE product sales, said the company. Total electronics sales for the fiscal Q1 were $94.5 million, up from $79 million for the period last year.

Accessory sales declined over 12 percent to $35.8 million due to lower sales of digital antenna products: last year the industry was switching over to HDTV and Audiovox sold $8 million in antennas in fiscal Q1.

Gross margins were 20.8% for the period versus 19.1% last year. Operating expenses increased to $28.5 million from $22.7 million as the company spent $3.3 million in expenses to acquire Invision and Schwaiger, plus other fees. Otherwise, core overhead costs were essentially flat.

President and CEO Pat Lavelle said, “While we showed improvement over last year’s first quarter, like most companies, we are still feeling the effects of an economic recovery that is materializing slower than expected…” But he noted that the company is still positioned for profits and postured to gain market share when the economy improves.

Audiovox also continues to seek companies to purchase. “Despite two acquisitions last year, our cash position has improved. Our balance sheet is strong and we remain active in the M&A [mergers and acquisitions] arena. We continue to look for companies that will strengthen our product mix and distribution…” added Lavelle.

Source: Audiovox Corp.

Watch Master Yoda during the recording of his GPS voice for TomTom.

We can’t tell you how sales strong or weak sales are on the Garminfone, but the price just got a lot cheaper.

T-Mobile is offering the Garmin-Asus phone for $130, down from $200. The device, as you know, was several years in the making. It is basically a Garmin Nuvi in an Android phone with real time traffic, weather and gas price listings.
Source: T-Mobile via engadget

If your Garmin Nuvi portable navigation device (PND) is freezing up, Garmin has a fix for that. The company issued a required software update for its Nuvi 1100, 1200, 1300, and 1400 series PNDs, which are subject to a freezing screen. A software malfunction can cause the unit to seize, showing the Garmin logo and temporarily lock the user from navigation. Not a good way to start a road trip.

Users can download a free firmware update via Garmin’s WebUpdater program. Consumer Reports says the update will correct the problem but recommends that if you have already experienced the problem, you return the PND to Garmin for repair. The turnaround time is estimated to be 10-14 days.

Source: ConsumerReports.org

Expresso Satellite Navigation is offering a $249 combo portable car- and golf-GPS device. It uses Navigon and iGolf technology to offer both turn-by-turn driving directions and a golf range finder. Called the Expresso AG1, it comes in a pocket-sized clam shell case with a built-in media player.

The AG1 is pocketable with a battery that lasts for over 500 miles of navigation or 10 to 12 hours. It has a touch screen 3.6-inch display and dual SD card slots for up to 64GB of storage.

For driving, the unit announces street names, offers lane assist and other Navigon features. For golfing, it includes more than 33,000 courses worldwide.

The screen has a 480 x 320 resolution and can switch from portrait to landscape mode.

The AG1 will be sold via the Home Shopping Network during July and then on Amazon in August. It will go to other big stores within 90 days, said the company.

It comes with a car charger, windscreen mount, dash pad, 2GB SD card, and USB sync cable.

Source: Expresso Satellite Navigation

The 4th marked the launch of the one of largest consumer product giveaway in the history of Memphis Car Audio, in which one lucky fan of Memphis will be awarded their own independence from a system without slam.

1) Simply visit your local Authorized Memphis Car Audio dealer.

2) Select the system that you would like for Memphis to give to you as a token of our RESPECT for you, the customer…and pose with your system of choice, as a gesture of RESPECT for your INDEPENDENT dealer.

OR

3) If purchased and installed a complete Memphis Car Audio sound system (No mixing and matching of any other manufacture’s will qualify- must be all Memphis Car Audio system not to exceed product criteria listed below) take a photo of your newly installed system and then follow same contest procedures for entry into the contest on our Facebook Page.

Entries are to be submitted on the Memphis Car Audio Facebook page. Click on the Contest entry tab, upload your photo with the registration provided and your entry to win is complete. Your entry must be registered and uploaded no later than midnight (CST) on Labor Day, September 6th, 2010.

The drawing will be held on Tuesday, September 7th and the winner will be announced Wednesday, September 8th. Memphis Car Audio will contact the winner via cell phone and Facebook. Memphis Car Audio will contact the winning dealer the same day.

*Contest Official Rules:

Contest begins on July 4th, 2010. All entries must be uploaded to Memphis Car Audio’s Official Facebook page NO LATER THAN midnight (CST), Labor Day-Monday September 6, 2010 to be eligible. All submissions received after that date will not be eligible for the contest. One (1) Winner will be announced on MCA’s Official Facebook page on Wednesday September 8, 2010.

System selected can include, up to and not exceeding:

• 2 (Two) MCA Amp

• 2 (Two) MCA Subwoofers

• 4 (Four) MCA Speakers

• 1 (One) MCA Capacitor

• 1 (One) MCA Sub Enclosure Box

• 1 (One) MCA Line Output Converter

• 1 (One) MCA Connection Kit

Any new or recently installed system MUST be specifically for the contestant’s personal vehicle, and meet the contest product rules listed above. MCA will credit the winning dealer the cost of the installation fees up to and not to exceed $1000. Any additional costs associated with the installation process are the sole responsibility of the winner. $5,000 towards system is based on manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Additionally the sales person at the winning dealer’s shop who is directly associated with winning photo entry will receive a $250 (Two-Hundred-Fifty Dollars) cash prize.

Only Memphis Car Audio equipment qualifies for this contest. Prizes can not under any circumstances be redeemed for cash or for the product’s cash equivalent. No dealer credit to be issued, Memphis Car Audio will provide product to the winning dealer for installation. Participants and winner must be 18 (eighteen) years of age or older and must be a legal US resident. Contest winner is subject to a verification process. Only one entry per person is allowed. Dealer can host unlimited entries. If the winner does not qualify based upon these contest rules, then MCA reserves the right to determine an alternate winner.

Sirius XM Radio added over a half million net new subscribers in Q2 and set a new record for total subscribers at 19,527,448 as of June 30.

In addition, in spite of a relatively poor showing in June new cars sales and present economic jitters, the company announced it increased its guidance for new subscribers for the full year 2010 to 1.1 million net additions. This is the third time Sirius XM upped its subscriber guidance for the year.

CEO Mel Karmazin said, “Our subscriber results mark the best quarter of gross additions, deactivations and net additions since the merger of Sirius and XM in July 2008.” He attributed the gains in subscribers and the ability to retain them to ‘strong execution despite continued economic uncertainty.’ Karmazin added, “The further improvement in our guidance reflects the attractiveness of satellite radio but maintains a cautious outlook for continued improvement in the economy.”

Specifically, the satellite radio company added 583,249 subscribers in Q2 versus a net decline of 185,999 in Q2 2009.

The gains are more impressive for the total first half, as Sirius XM added 754,690 net new subscribers, compared to a net loss of 590,421 net subscribers in the first half of 2009.

In total subscribers are up by 1.1 million from last June.

The company also reported that gross subscriber additions increased by 46 percent and deactivations decreased by 8 percent during Q2 over last year. Self-pay churn improved to 1.8 percent from 2 percent in Q2 2009. Also the conversion rate for new car buyers moving from a free trial to a paid subscription climbed to 46.7 percent from 44.3 percent for the same period last year.

In recent quarters, all of Sirius XM subscriber growth has come from OEM and other subscribers as opposed to retail subscribers.

Source: Sirius XM

Sirius XM Radio added over a half million net new subscribers in Q2 and set a new record for total subscribers at 19,527,448 as of June 30.

In addition, in spite of a relatively poor showing in June new cars sales and present economic jitters, the company announced it increased its guidance for new subscribers for the full year 2010 to 1.1 million net additions. This is the third time Sirius XM upped its subscriber guidance for the year.

CEO Mel Karmazin said, “Our subscriber results mark the best quarter of gross additions, deactivations and net additions since the merger of Sirius and XM in July 2008.” He attributed the gains in subscribers and the ability to retain them to ‘strong execution despite continued economic uncertainty.’ Karmazin added, “The further improvement in our guidance reflects the attractiveness of satellite radio but maintains a cautious outlook for continued improvement in the economy.”

Specifically, the satellite radio company added 583,249 subscribers in Q2 versus a net decline of 185,999 in Q2 2009.

The gains are more impressive for the total first half, as Sirius XM added 754,690 net new subscribers, compared to a net loss of 590,421 net subscribers in the first half of 2009.

In total subscribers are up by 1.1 million from last June.

The company also reported that gross subscriber additions increased by 46 percent and deactivations decreased by 8 percent during Q2 over last year. Self-pay churn improved to 1.8 percent from 2 percent in Q2 2009. Also the conversion rate for new car buyers moving from a free trial to a paid subscription climbed to 46.7 percent from 44.3 percent for the same period last year.

In recent quarters, all of Sirius XM subscriber growth has come from OEM and other subscribers as opposed to retail subscribers.

Source: Sirius XM