Harman Gets a PhatNoise Deal

By Digital Trends Staff August 23, 2005

The Harman Consumer Group, which owns the brands JBL and Harman Kardon among others, today said they would be acquiring PhatNoise out of Los Angeles. PhatNoise is best known for their after market PhatBox car MP3 player hard drive.

PhatNoise’s team will join the Harman Consumer Group’s engineering group in designing digital media systems in the automotive environment. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Recommended Videos

“PhatNoise is a remarkably talented organization focused on developing innovative solutions for acquiring, organizing, and enjoying digital media in the car. In its six-year history, the company has defined the leading edge of digital media systems in the automotive market and counts Kenwood, General Motors, Volvo, Mazda, Volkswagen and Audi among its customers,” commented Gina Harman, President of the Harman Consumer Group. “The addition of the PhatNoise team to our engineering group will greatly accelerate the delivery of innovative products for the automotive environment.”

“Given Harman’s enviable position as a proven leader in all aspects of automotive entertainment, this transaction is an excellent strategic fit for us and for our customers,” said Sharon Graves, PhatNoise CEO. “Ultimately, digital media in the car has to be about creating a great consumer experience. That has always been PhatNoise’s mission, and it is exciting to be joining a company that not only shares that goal, but also has such extensive market depth, experience and resources.”

Topics

Emerging Tech

Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Outdoors

The best portable power stations

EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Emerging Tech

CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation

Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Computing

This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio

acapela group voice cloning ad

There's a scene in Mission Impossible 3 that you might recall. In it, our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tackles the movie's villain, holds him at gunpoint, and forces him to read a bizarre series of sentences aloud.

"The pleasure of Busby's company is what I most enjoy," he reluctantly reads. "He put a tack on Miss Yancy's chair, and she called him a horrible boy. At the end of the month, he was flinging two kittens across the width of the room ..."