Executives at Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc. met with customers around the clock last week at their suite at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino as part of a push into audio and video.
The schedules of Chief Executive Sailesh Chittipeddi and other company brass were filled with “hundreds” of meetings as Conexant debuted a new line of chips and a processor at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show.
The company launched two chips that enhance audio quality and eliminate peripheral sounds in video streaming through TVs, laptops, ultrabooks and tablets.
“We’re clearly focused on audio and video,” Chittipeddi said. “This year is the first showing in several years that we’ve had this many products.”
Conexant also debuted an encoder for home surveillance, baby monitoring, hospital patients or other uses. The encoder was embedded in a small mounted camera that can be held in one hand.
The company chose the relatively cozy confines of a suite over the exhibitor floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center to pitch its new chips and other products.
Suites and other off-sites are often preferred by companies looking for a more relaxed setting to strike new deals and partnerships, or speak with investors.
Suites can also cost less than the exhibition floor as some are partitioned off like time shares.
Under $50
Conexant executives held demonstrations of numerous products embedded with their chips, including the highly touted Aakash tablet that sells for less than $50 in India, thanks in part to government subsidies.
The Android-based tablet has garnered worldwide attention since it was announced late last year.
The tablet has racked up more than 1.4 million orders on backlog as of last week, an iPad-like showing in pre-release.
That prompted its Canadian-based manufacturer, Datawind Ltd., to set up three new plants in India to meet demand. The Aakash is projected to ship early this year.
Conexant also showed off smart TVs and new, more powerful processors.
Its latest processor, targeted for high-definition cameras, set-top boxes and TVs, eliminates ambient noise and allows users to speak to each other from different parts of the globe without buffering or sound delays.
Demonstration
In one demonstration Conexant executives mimicked a conversation—a la Skype—while loud music played in the background. In a test using an unnamed competitor’s processor, the music drowned out the conversation, made speech choppy and prohibited seamless communication.
With the Conexant processor the music went silent as users spoke to each other in real-time, without any glitches.
Conexant has slowly been moving away from its legacy technologies in set-top boxes and the DSL market in favor of more direct plays in the consumer market, particularly in the growing audio and video segments.
Conexant was taken private by San Fran-cisco-based Golden Gate Private Equity Inc. in a $282 million buyout nearly a year ago.
Shortly after the deal, Chittipeddi told the Business Journal that Conexant and Golden State were working on a long-term exit strategy.
The company’s newfound emphasis on the audio and video consumer market could provide an attractive story for potential buyers.
Conexant also makes chips for multifunction office printers, digital picture frames, PC speakers and other devices.
The company has annual revenue of about $200 million.
