Maxell Unveils 100 New SKUs at CES

Maxell is continuing in 2010 to broaden its reach into new CE and related categories, through several strategic partnerships, and will ship those products as part of a release of about 100 new SKUs, starting this spring, the company announced at the 2010 CES.

The company is partnering with KeySmart to market a personal security alert system. Designed for a target market ranging from active retirees to college students, said Maxell’s director of accessory product sales and marketing, Gordon Tetreault, the keychain-sized device ($299), for a monthly $11.95 subscription fee, offers 24-hour emergency response and roadside assistance. It works in the U.S. and Canada and alerts one of three call centers, using GPS and CDMA triangulation technologies to locate the caller. Tetreault added that point-of-sale kiosks would be deployed to major retailers for merchandising the device near GPS and accessory areas.

Maxell has also brought out several new headphone lines. The Timber mahogany- and oak-tipped wooden earbuds line targets the sound-conscious customer ($29.99), while an aluminum-tipped earbud line boosts high frequencies ($19.99). Several child-oriented headphone lines also debuted, and Maxell has augmented the M&M-branded line with the addition of an on-ear headphone with interchangeable color caps ($14.99).

Care and maintenance introductions include a microfiber cleaning cloth for cameras ($14.99) and a professional-use credit card reader cleaner ($29.99 for 50 swiping cards).

A new line of rechargeable RoHS-compliant batteries that are prepacked ready to use at 85 percent charge will be released in Q1, said Tetreault, and the Maxell alkaline battery line will sport a new “green” box package that acts as a storage container for unused batteries after the packaging is opened.

A partnership with Hantech has resulted in the release of the PC Pen ($129), which enables a PC owner to use a special implement to write on a laptop screen and transfer the writing to a document stored in the computer. If the device’s transmitter is placed on a paper notepad, anything written on the pad, in turn, can be transmitted to the document on the screen.

Maxell is also teaming with Smartfish for the Ergomotion Powered Automotion keyboard  ($149). It works with either Macs or PCs and subtly adjusts the keyboard radius, changing position so the typist won’t develop repetitive motion disorders of the hand and wrist.

A host of netbook accessories being release includes cases, sleeves, a travel mouse and a USB hub/card reader ($29.99).

Maxell has also entered the external hard drive arena, pairing with Rebit to release a series of devices that range widely in pricing and storage capacity, all the way up to a two-terabyte, $289 hard drive that automatically backs up a computer’s data and its operating system.