infosonics corporation
in this annual report on form 10 - k, infosonics,  infosonics corporation,  the company,  we,  us and our refer to infosonics corporation and our wholly owned subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, unless the context otherwise provides .
ceo interview: joseph ram, infosonics corporation ,
wall street transcript, august 22, 2005 .
infosonics latin america, inc. ; infosonics de mexico s. a. de c. v. ; infosonics de guatemala s. a. ; infosonics el salvador s. a. de c. v. ; infosonics s. a. (uruguay); axcess mobile, llc .
miami, june 8, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (nasdaq: ifon) announced the appointment of michael galloro to its board of directors... .
infosonics corporation (infosonics) was incorporated in february 1994 in the state of california and reincorporated in september 2003 in the state of maryland. infosonics and its subsidiaries, infosonics latin america, inc. , infosonics de mexico s. a. de c. v. , infosonics de guatemala s. a. , infosonics el salvador s. a. de c. v. , infosonics s. a. , infosonics colombia s. a. , verykool usa, inc. , infosonics de panama, verykool hong kong limited, and verykool wireless technology limited (collectively, the company), define, source and sell wireless telecommunication products and accessories to wireless carriers and distributors. the company markets its branded products throughout latin america and the united states .
miami, march 12, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (nasdaq: ifon) and cooltech holding corp. (
cooltech
) today announced the successful ...
san diego, july 26, 2017 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (nasdaq: ifon) and cooltech holding corp. (
cooltech
) today announced that ...
san diego, aug. 10, 2017 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (nasdaq: ifon), the provider of verykool ® wireless handset solutions and tablets, today announced results for its second quarter ended ...
san diego, nov. 9, 2017 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (nasdaq: ifon), the provider of verykool ® wireless handset solutions and tablets, today announced results for its third quarter ended september ...
in october infosonics closed four of its axcess mobile mall kiosks and sold the other six to the mobile solution corporation. the retail unit had contributed only about 5 percent of the company' s revenues, and had not been consistently profitable .
we incorporated under the laws of the state of california on february 7, 1994, under the name infosonics corporation. on september 11, 2003, we reincorporated under the same name under the laws of and into the state of maryland .
note: all trademarks and copyrights other than infosonics and verykool are property of their respective owners .
infosonics studies plan for chile subsidiary ,
business news americas, november 23, 2005 .
today, i will be analyzing infosonics corporation’s (nasdaq: ifon) recent ownership structure, an important but not - so - popular subject among individual investors. when it comes to ownership structure of a company, the impactread more ...
infosonics begins distributing i - mate cellular handsets ,
business news americas, january 12, 2006 .
infosonics reports us $ 146mn in 2005 revenues ,
business news americas, march 8, 2006 .
we have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of infosonics corporation and subsidiaries as of december 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended december 31, 2015. our audits also included the financial statement schedule of infosonics corporation listed in item 15. these financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the companys management. our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits .
balint, kathryn ,
infosonics stock fall worries investors ,
san diego tribune, june 15, 2006 .
infosonics in pact with samsung electronics latin america ,
dow jones news service, december 27, 2004 .
employment agreement effective of april 9, 2014 between infosonics and vernon a. loforti (12) (* )
equipment market is hot, but infosonics is cool toward ipo ,
ct wireless, october 26, 2000 .
infosonics enters agreement to distribute alcatel, tcl brand phones ,
business news americas, march 14, 2006 .
infosonics to offer 1. 1 million shares in private placement ,
reuters news, january 30, 2006 .
ipo spotlight: infosonics corp. prospectus info ,
dow jones corporate filings alert, february 2, 2004 .
proxy: infosonics corp. ,
san diego business journal, december 19, 2005, p. 29 .
vuocolo, jonathan ,
infosonics stk down 21% ,
dow jones news service, june 6, 2006 .
infosonics corporation is a leading distributor of cellular telephone products in north america. the california - based firm sells handsets and accessories from manufacturers including samsung, vk mobile, and i - mate to retailers, regional wireless carriers, and through its web site. more than two - thirds of infosonics' business comes from latin america. founder and ceo joseph ram owns a sizable minority stake in the publicly traded firm .
infosonics, which was founded in 1994 and began trading on the nasdaq stock exchange 10 years later, has 103 employees .
2004 infosonics completes its initial public offering; online store begins operations; company becomes exclusive north american distributor for vk mobile .
categories: yahoo financeget free summary analysis infosonics corp. reports financial results for the quarter ended june 30, 2017. we analyze the earnings along side the following peers of infosonics corp. – addvantage technologies group, inc. , tessco technologies incorporated, voxx international corporation class a, china techfaith wireless communication technology ltd. sponsored adr, richardson electronics, ltd. , zagg inc and... read more (read more... )
in march 2018, infosonics and cooltech announced the successful completion of the merger of the companies. cootech is now a wholly - owned subsidiary of infosonics and the company’s common stock will continue to trade on the nasdaq capital market under the stock ticker symbol “ifon. ”
miami, april 2, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (ifon), which closed its merger with cooltech holding corp. on march 12, 2018, announced the recent opening of its newest oneclick store located in the el solar shopping district in buenos aires, argentina. this represents oneclick' s sixth store in the country, and the company plans to open seven more new stores in the coming year in different cities across argentina .
in just over a decade infosonics corporation had become one of the leading distributors of cellular telephone handsets and accessories in north america. the company was busily expanding in latin america, where it earned two - thirds of its revenues, while continuing to supply regional carriers and retailers in the united states. the firm looked forward to ongoing growth in the still young market .
in november, infosonics reported net sales for the third quarter of $ 9. 9 million, up 84% from the same quarter in 2012 .
in november the firm' s credit line was boosted to $ 25 million through new lender wells fargo, and the following month infosonics began selling samsung phones and accessories online. consumers who went to the samsung web site and wished to purchase equipment would be redirected to an infosonics - run site .
wise, christina ,
infosonics: cell industry' s friend ,
investor' s business daily, january 30, 2006, p. b2 .
san diego, jan. 22, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (the
company
) (ifon) announced today that on january 19, 2018 the company entered into a securities purchase agreement for the sale of $ 1 million face value of three year 0% convertible notes and warrants with accredited investors affiliated with cooltech holding corp. (
cooltech
). the company will use the proceeds of the offering to pay company expenses related to the merger with cooltech and for general corporate purposes. vernon a. loforti, infosonics' chief financial officer, commented :
since it was announced on july 26, 2017, infosonics and cooltech have been working diligently to complete the merger of our companies .
unless you buy your smartphones and mini - tablets in mexico, the caribbean or central and south america, chances are you' ve never heard of infosonics corp .
the consolidated financial statements include the accounts of infosonics and its wholly owned subsidiaries as listed in note 1. all significant intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation .
brand. infosonics is committed to delivering quality products that offer high - end design and impressive functionality at affordable prices. additional information can be found on our corporate website at
to contact infosonics corp, please visit urltoken. company data is provided by s & p; global market intelligence. please use this form to report any data issues .
we have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our president and chief executive officer, chief financial officer and controller and a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees. copies of these codes are available on our website (urltoken) and are also available without charge upon written request directed to investor relations, infosonics corporation, 3636 nobel drive, suite 325, san diego, california 92122 .
in december 2001 infosonics signed an agreement with pc - ephone, inc. , to distribute that company' s handheld device, which combined features of cell phones, personal digital assistants (pdas), and computers. infosonics was also an authorized reseller of products from such manufacturers as samsung, motorola, ericsson, lg, and audiovox at that time .
san diego, march 8, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (ifon) announced today that it will effect a 1 - for - 5 reverse stock split. the 1 - for - 5 reverse stock split will be effective as of the open of trading on march 9, 2018 (the
effective date
) and the company' s common stock will thereafter begin trading on a split - adjusted basis. the reverse stock split will reduce the number of shares of the company' s common stock currently outstanding from approximately 3, 378, 000 shares to approximately 676, 000 shares .
cnbc personality jim cramer, writing at the urltoken investing website, rates infosonics as a hold, seeing strengths in its revenue growth but also weaknesses in poor profit margins and weak cash flow .
san diego, oct. 5, 2017 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (ifon) announced today that it will effect a 1 - for - 5 reverse stock split. the 1 - for - 5 reverse stock split will be effective as of the close of business on october 10, 2017 (the
effective date
) and the company' s common stock will begin trading on a split - adjusted basis on october 11, 2017. the reverse stock split will reduce the number of shares of the company' s common stock currently outstanding from approximately 16. 9 million shares to approximately 3. 4 million shares .
cool holdings, inc. manufactures and sells wireless handsets, tablets, and related products to the carriers, distributors, and retailers in latin america. the company sells its products under the verykool brand. it operates oneclick store located in the el solar shopping district in buenos aires, argentina. the company was formerly known as infosonics corporation and changed its name to cool holdings, inc. in june 2018. cool holdings, inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in miami, florida .
the purpose of the nominating and corporate governance committee (the “ committee ”) of the board of directors (the “ board ”) of infosonics corporation (the “ company ”) is to (a) identify individuals qualified to become directors on the board and approve and recommend to the board candidates for election as directors, (b) oversee evaluations of the board and its committees, and (c) develop, periodically review, monitor and recommend to the board corporate governance principles and policies applicable to the company .
san diego, feb. 12, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (ifon) announced today that it has set the record and meeting dates for a special meeting of its stockholders to vote on matters related to the proposed merger with cooltech holding corp. (
cooltech
). in addition, the company announced that the registration statement filed on form s - 4 with the securities and exchange commission (
sec
), as amended, was declared effective on february 12, 2018. the special meeting will be held at 10: 00 am pacific time on wednesday, march 7, 2018, at the offices of perkins coie llp located at 11988 el camino real, suite 350, san diego, california 92130. infosonics stockholders of record as of the close of business on february 5, 2018 are entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the special meeting .
on jan. 9, infosonics said, it received notification from nasdaq that the company would remain listed because the stock had maintained a closing price of $ 1 or more a share for at least 10 consecutive business days .
this month, infosonics announced the release of its newest product: a 7 - inch tablet called the kolorpad that comes with a 1. 3 - gigahertz dual core processor that works off the android 4. 2 operating system .
20 + years of career in finance, general management and operations in a fortune 500 technology industry leader. experience leading teams in international markets streamlining operations and implementing financial controls, processes and productivity improvements. tech data corporation: vice president of finance, latin - america for over eight years. multi country role creating, controlling and restructuring companies in the region. built and developed a robust internal controls environment with a high performance team in several countries. tech data mexico: managing director. started up and development of the business unit from greenfield. created a profitable entity with double digits revenue growth and streamlined sg & a. served in other regional and in country positions for tech data corporation .
in november the firm unveiled an online store where customers could buy new phones and accessories, and shortly afterwards it also began distributing vk mobile cell phones. infosonics would be the sole north american distributor for the korean manufacturer. at this time the company was deriving 70 percent of its revenues from sales of handsets to regional wireless carriers, 25 percent from sales to dealers, and 5 percent from online sales. for 2004 infosonics reported sales of $ 73. 4 million .
in our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of infosonics corporation and subsidiaries as of december 31, 2015 and 2014, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended december 31, 2015, in conformity with u. s. generally accepted accounting principles. also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein .
beta is one aspect of your portfolio construction to consider when holding or entering into a stock. but it is certainly not the only factor. take a look at our most recent infographic report on infosonics for a more in - depth analysis of the stock to help you make a well - informed investment decision. but if you are not interested in infosonics anymore, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential .
in january 2006 infosonics sold 1. 1 million shares of common stock to institutional investors for $ 14. 4 million. the company also expanded its distribution of samsung products to paraguay and uruguay and began selling i - mate brand cell phones in north america. in february the firm expanded its exclusive vk mobile distribution territory to include canada, giving it full coverage of north america. infosonics had succeeded in winning approval of that firm' s vk530 phone from a number of carriers .
miami, june 6, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (
infosonics
or the
company
) (ifon) today announced that it has closed a public offering of securities to new and existing investors wherein it raised aggregate proceeds of approximately $ 3. 7 million. the company sold approximately 1, 183, 000 units at an offering price of $ 3. 14 per unit. each unit was comprised of (i) one share of common stock or 0% series a preferred stock of the company and (ii) and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock of the company with an exercise price of $ 3. 02 per share. the warrants are exercisable beginning six months after issuance and expire three years from the date of issuance. each share of preferred stock is convertible into common stock on a one - for - one basis .
miami, june 14, 2018 / prnewswire / - - infosonics corporation (ifon) today announced that it has changed its name to cool holdings, inc. (the
company
), effective today. the company' s stock symbol remains unchanged at this time, but the name change resulted in a new cusip number (21640c 105) for the company' s common stock offered on the nasdaq capital market. the company intends to soon launch a new corporate website at www. coolholdings. com, which will include a new investor relations section containing stock information, corporate governance information and other materials of interest to investors .
in july infosonics signed an agreement to distribute the wireless remote video monitoring and data systems products of cenuco, inc. , and a few months later the company extended its distribution agreement with samsung and added that firm' s products to its latin american offerings .
the spring also saw infosonics take on caribbean distribution of alcatel and tcl brand phones, which were less expensive than the samsung and vk products it primarily sold. several new vk models were introduced as well, each of which included an mp3 player and other advanced features .
too
kool
to be tied down to a wireless service provider? wireless handset manufacturer infosonics wants to help commitment - phobic users with its verykool line of affordable, unlocked mobile phones and devices you can use with any gsm carrier (at & t or t - mobile in the u. s .). with the $ 279 rs90 vortex rugged android smartphone leading the line of verykool products, infosonics wants to win over people who don' t want to be locked into contracts, have lost or damaged their phones or travel internationally .
the purpose of the audit committee (the “ committee”) of the board of directors (the “ board ”) of infosonics corporation (the “ company ”) is to oversee (a) the company’s accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the company’s financial statements, (b) the independent auditor’s qualifications, independence and performance, (c) the company’s internal audit function, if any, and the performance of its internal accounting and financial controls, and (d) the company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements (including, without limitation, compliance with the company’s code of ethics for senior financial officers and compliance with the company’s code of conduct for all company personnel) .
if you are looking to invest in infosonics corporation’s (nasdaq: ifon), or currently own the stock, then you need to understand its beta in order to understand how it can affect the risk of your portfolio. broadly speaking, there are two types of risk you should consider when investing in stocks such as ifon. the first risk to consider is company - specific, which can be diversified away when you invest in other companies in the same industry as ifon, because it is rare that an entire industry collapses at once. the second risk is market - wide, which arises from investing in the stock market. this risk reflects changes in economic and political factors that affects all stocks .
infosonics began operations in february 1994, initially distributing telephone equipment and pbx systems to third parties. with cellular telephone sales exploding, ram soon decided to shift his focus to this market, and the company began distributing the products of such manufacturers as samsung, which it added in 1997 .
infosonics is committed to protecting the interests of its stockholders through sound principals of corporate governance and openness and transparency with regulators and the investing public. as a public company, we are committed to a strong code of business conduct and strive to make honesty and integrity the foundations of our corporate culture .
in december 2000 infosonics acquired a cell phone retailer called axcess mobile for the forgiveness of $ 57, 000 in accounts payable. axcess owned a small number of retail kiosks in san diego shopping malls. the firm was also considering an initial public offering at this time, but pulled back due to unfavorable market conditions .
, infosonics president and chief executive officer .
from its dramatically thin 1mm bezel to its 2, 200 mah li - po battery (providing enhanced battery life), and its mediatek mt6735p lte baseband processor powered by four 64 bit cortex – a53 arm 1. 0ghz cores…the spark lte comes with a lot of promise .
a critical component of infosonics' ability to keep up with industry trends was a web - based data sharing system in which the company offered information about the market while asking customers to tell what they knew about sales and equipment issues. the web site was also used to track shipments of orders and facilitate transmission of essential documents .
the purpose of the compensation committee (the “ committee ”) of the board of directors (the “ board ”) of infosonics corporation (the “ company ”) is to (a) oversee the company’s compensation plans, policies and programs for its senior management and non - employee directors of the board, (b) oversee the company’s employee benefit plans, including its incentive compensation and equity compensation plans, and (c) review, discuss with company management, make recommendations regarding and approve, as applicable, compensation - related disclosures as may be required by the securities and exchange commission (“ sec ”) or other applicable regulatory bodies, including any compensation discussion and analysis (“ cd & a ”), if required by the securities exchange act of 1934, as amended (the “ exchange act ”), to be included in company sec filings .
in january 2005 infosonics bought an argentina - based company that distributed samsung cell phones and accessories, which would give the firm its largest presence in latin america to date. the company had locations in the united states, mexico, argentina, guatemala, el salvador, and colombia, and it was reportedly also studying the feasibility of opening an office in chile .
in 1998 the firm hired abraham rosler to serve as executive vice - president. he had previously worked for a company that sold cell phone accessories in latin america, where ram, who was fluent in spanish, was seeking to expand. rosler also took a minority equity stake in the firm. with sales growth averaging roughly 50 percent each year, by 1999 infosonics' revenues had risen above $ 24 million .
according to san diego - based infosonics, verykool is an established and popular brand in latin america that the company has decided to start marketing back home thanks to growing acceptance and demand for cheap, unlocked phones. the rs90 vortex is both dust - and waterproof, but unfortunately has outdated specs that include the two year old android 4. 0 ice cream sandwich os and a slow 1. 2 ghz dual - core processor .
infosonics was founded in 1994 in san diego, california, by joseph ram. born in israel, ram had served as an army captain and studied business and economics at tel aviv university before taking a job with an importer of telecommunications equipment from the united states and the far east. he was recruited to run the international business of american client procom supply, and he worked there from 1989 to 1993 before leaving to found a company of his own .
for consolidated financial statement purposes, cash equivalents are defined as investments which have an original maturity of ninety days or less from the original date of purchase. cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and in banks. the company maintains its cash and cash equivalents balances in banks that from time to time exceed amounts insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation. as of december 31, 2015 and 2014, the company maintained deposits totaling $ 2. 2 million and $ 1. 0 million, respectively, with certain financial institutions in excess of federally insured amounts. the company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk on cash .
according to international data corporation (idc), worldwide shipments of smartphones during 2015 increased by 10. 1% to an estimated 1. 433 billion devices compared to 1. 301 billion units in 2014. this represented a continued slowing of growth from 27. 6% in 2014. mature markets have become increasingly dependent on replacement purchases, and although first - time buyers provide momentum in emerging markets, the focus there has shifted toward low - cost devices. idc also estimates that 2015 shipments of android - based smartphones reached 1. 161 billion devices and represented 81. 2% of the total smartphone market. it estimates that android will hold a dominant share of the smartphone operating system space for the foreseeable future .
harris corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving customers' toughest mission - critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. harris is one of the only companies concentrated exclusively on developing the trusted solutions that solve the toughest technology challenges faced by businesses and governments around the world. the company is a proven leader in tactical communications, geospatial systems and services, air traffic management, environmental solutions, avionics and electronic warfare, and space and intelligence. the company is organized into four business segments: communication systems, space and intelligence systems, electronic systems and critical networks. harris' public safety and professional communications business is a leading supplier of communications systems and equipment to support public safety, federal, utility, commercial and transportation markets .
with a five - year beta of 0. 58, infosonics appears to be a less volatile company compared to the rest of the market. the stock will exhibit muted movements in both the downside and upside, in response to changing economic conditions, whereas the general market may move by a lot more. ifon’s beta implies it may be a stock that investors with high - beta portfolios might find relevant if they wanted to reduce their exposure to market risk, especially during times of downturns. nasdaqcm: ifon income statement aug 30th 17
infosonics is a miami - based company comprised of oneclick international, llc and oneclick license llc, a chain of retail stores and an apple authorized reseller under the apple premier partner, apr (apple premium reseller) and aar mb (apple authorized reseller mono - brand) programs; cooltech distribution llc, an authorized distributor to the oneclick stores and other resellers of apple products and other high - profile consumer electronic brands; and a provider of wireless handsets, tablets and related products to carriers, distributors and retailers in latin america under the verykool® brand .
in january 2004 the firm bought a company called infosonics de mexico from executives ram and rosler, and also filed the paperwork to make its long - delayed initial public stock offering. in june the company took in $ 12 million from investors on the american stock exchange, using the funds to boost sales and marketing efforts, expand warehouse and office facilities, increase the number of retail wireless service activations, and start a logistics service business. prior to the sale founder ram had held a 76 percent stake, but his total would fall to 48 percent after the offering .
the company' s mission had evolved as the cell phone market grew and it took on a number of challenges unique to the industry. in addition to simply ordering, warehousing, and shipping phones and accessories, infosonics also marketed new products to both carriers and consumers; tested for compatibility and secured approval from regional service providers; customized and loaded software onto phones; and performed field services including training, support, and warranty fulfillment. in the united states the company' s carrier customers were primarily smaller regional ones such as alaska cellular, cincinnati bell, and suncom, but in latin america they included both second - tier providers and market leaders telefonica and america movil .
in the fall of 2000 infosonics opened a second warehouse in miami, where it had earlier used a third party to supply its latin american accounts. the company was distributing phones and accessories to 400 carriers who resold them to customers, as well as to more than 9, 000 retail locations around the united states. its clients were primarily firms that were independently owned and / or regional players that lacked the clout of an at & t or sprint. the average order was worth $ 14, 000, and the company made a profit of 4 to 8 percent on the price of a handset and 10 to 15 percent on accessories. two - thirds of the products it shipped were phones .
in april infosonics leased a new sales, warehouse, and manufacturing facility in mexico, which would serve as the company' s headquarters in that country. revenues for the first quarter of 2006 were 125 percent higher than those of a year before, and the firm' s stock jumped after the figures were announced, topping $ 30 by june. the company restated its net earnings for the first quarter early that month, however, and with a stock analyst also downgrading their rating, the price declined by more than 50 percent within a few days. the company subsequently attempted to reassure investors, some of whom had filed lawsuits over the restatement, that the company' s business was sound .
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urltoken
the maker of wireless handsets and other devices such as tablets has positioned itself well in latin america but continues to fight for brand recognition .
the san diego company designs, manufactures and sells wireless handsets and other devices, such as tablets, to other manufacturers, distributors and consumers .
its research and development center is in beijing. the company also maintains a small quality - control office in shenzhen, china, close to its manufacturing facilities .
third - quarter net income was $ 34, 000, or less than a penny a share, compared with a net loss of $ 1. 2 million, or 8 cents, in the third quarter of 2012 .
over the years, the company has moved from fixed land - line products to cordless phones to smartphones and tablets, said founder and chief executive joseph ram .
you have to be nimble. you have to be able to adapt ,
ram said .
now, we are trying to be prepared for the fact that tablets are going to be replacing a lot more of traditional computer functions .
the new device is meant to distinguish itself from other mini - tablets by providing greater functionality with traditional usb port access that allows the connection of a keyboard and mouse .
ram said that the tablet can be used as a mini - computer. it retails for $ 149 .
last september, the company launched its new brand - name
verykool
smartphone, which is geared toward pre - paid phone service uses because of its lower price .
priced at about $ 229, the phone has a quad - core processor, a 4. 7 - inch screen and 8 megapixel and 2 megapixel cameras .
asked what he felt his company' s biggest achievement has been, ram didn' t miss a beat :
it' s been surviving in this industry for the past 20 years ,
he said with a laugh .
it is a very tough industry .
ram said that the company has managed to position itself well with its biggest customer base — that is, in latin america — and could be poised to take advantage of consumers in the u. s. who are growing weary of the sticker shock they receive when their monthly wireless phone bills arrive .
it can feel like they have another car payment ,
ram said .
people are looking for alternatives. a significant number of new subscribers are coming from the prepaid side. they don' t want to pay those high prices .
ram said his company continues to fight for brand recognition and
building up trust with consumers. i think it is going to take us a while to have consumers trust our products .
ram said that although his company makes high - quality phones and tablets ,
there is that gap between a very good product and an unknown brand. our task is to bridge that gap so that the customer can get a product from us and believe in its value rather than seeing it as a cheap phone or cheap tablet that won' t work for them .
another challenge has been the company' s share price, which has dropped low enough over the last year to risk delisting of its stock .
google' s android chief says company doesn' t need retail ...
also in the verykool line of products is the $ 64. 99 rxb1 fuelbox, a dust -, shock - and waterproof power reservoir that can charge your devices on the go .
with wireless service providers like t - mobile' s (jump), at & t (next) and verizon (edge) already offering users the option to upgrade their devices more frequently, the little - known verykool may struggle to keep up with the
kool
kids in the smartphone playground with its unlocked devices .
cherlynn low, laptop staff writer cherlynn joined the laptopmag team in june 2013 and has since been writing about all things tech and digital with a focus on mobile and internet software development. she also edits and reports occasionally on video. she graduated with a m. s. in journalism (broadcast) from columbia university in may 2013 and has been designing personal websites since 2001. cherlynn low, laptop staff writer on
if you' re going off - contract and off - road, the verykool rs90 vortex is a rugged, unlocked android phone that won' t break the bank—just be prepared for slow mobile web speeds .
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once you get past the silly name, verykool actually has a pretty commendable mission—to provide low - cost, unlocked cell phones to a u. s. market that' s sorely missing affordable unsubsidized options. the rs90 vortex ($ 279. 99 direct) is a rugged, android - powered smartphone that' s compatible with gsm networks like at & t or t - mobile. it' s a decent performer and a good value for adrenaline junkies who need a phone that can take some abuse, but it makes some significant sacrifices to reach that low price .
at 5. 67 by 2. 98 by 0. 48 inches (hwd) and 7. 1 ounces, the rs90 has the unmistakable chunkiness of a rugged device. that' s heavier and thicker than the
, and nearly as wide at 5. 95 by 3. 17 by 0. 37 inches and 6. 34 ounces. this is no phablet, though; it' s packing a relatively modest 4. 5 - inch screen. all that heft ostensibly helps the rs90 achieve its ip67 rating, which means it' s fully dustproof and waterproof to one meter for up to 30 minutes. there' s a power button the left side and volume controls on the right, with a micro usb port on the bottom and flap covering a 3. 5mm headphone jack on the top. above the display is the vga - quality front - facing camera and notification light, with capacitive menu, home, and back keys below. i prefer the standard software android back, home, and recent apps button arrangement, since the menu function is typically built into apps. holding the home button brings up the list of recent apps .
the 960 - by - 540 - pixel ips lcd may not be hd, but its 244 - pixels - per - inch density looks pretty sharp. the
, for instance, features a gorgeous 5 - inch, 1080p display, but also costs $ 759. 99 unlocked—well over twice as much as the rs90. viewing angles here are good, thanks to the ips technology, but color reproduction isn' t great. whites appear too cool, with a near bluish hue that' s more typical of amoled panels, and colors look a little dull overall. there' s also some light bleed on the left and right edges of the display, which is more pronounced when viewing from an angle .
there' s a 5 - megapixel rear - facing camera around back, and the textured plastic back panel slides off to reveal the 1, 800mah battery and sim and microsd card slots. the rs90 comes in a single 2gb model, so that last slot is important if you want to store anything locally on the phone. our 32 and 64gb sandisk microsd cards worked fine during testing .
the rs90 is unlocked and compatible with gsm networks like at & t or t - mobile supporting hspa 7. 2 data on the 850 and 1900mhz bands, and 2g on 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900mhz bands. also on board are 802. 11b / g / n wi - fi (2. 4ghz band), bluetooth 2. 1, and gps. there' s no lte and no higher - speed hspa + either—in our tests, the rs90 averaged 1. 63mbps down and 1. 82mbps up. t - mobile' s faster hspa + 42 network averaged 8. 5mbps down and 1. 46mbps up in our fastest mobile networks test, so you' re missing out on significant speed if you opt for the rs90 .
the 1, 800mah battery is rated for 9 hours of talk time. our test was interrupted, but the rs90 turned in 12 hours of 3g talk time with 44 percent battery life remaining. this phone should have no problem lasting all day .
we tested the rs90 on t - mobile' s network in new york city. call quality was decent, with clear voices coming through the earpiece and enough volume to overcome loud environments. the speakerphone is a bit too weak, however, and it was hard to hear outdoors. calls made with the rs90 sound full with a bit of a digitized tone to voices that can make them sound a bit harsh, and i noticed a slight, but persistent background hiss. noise cancellation is disappointing, as loud construction outside the pcmag office came through clear during my test calls. the rs90 paired easily with my
the rs90 is fully waterproof and dust - proof, but not drop - proof. i tested the waterproof rating by submerging the rs90 in a bucket of water. at first it seemed like moisture was penetrating the case. upon closer inspection, you' ll notice that the back panel isn' t actually sealed, but there' s another sealed panel underneath that covers the battery and microsd card slot. after 30 minutes the rs90 emerged fully functional .
the rs90 is powered by a dual - core 1. 2ghz qualcomm snapdragon msm8625 with 1gb ram. it' s a modest cpu, and benchmarks were expectedly low across the board. it was handily beaten by the unlocked
in nearly every category, scoring 8, 107 in the antutu overall system test to the nexus 4' s 10, 489. the phone notched just 13. 85 frames per second to the nexus 4' s 55. 89 in the taiji graphics test. the rs90 balked at some of the more taxing tests, completely crashing and requiring a hard reset during the glbenchmark graphics test. real world performance was also a mixed bag: apps generally launched swiftly, and the rs90 had no problem switching back and forth between multiple running apps. the chrome browser crashed a few times with multimedia heavy sites, and there was the occasional force close during testing. none of these were frequent or replicable enough to be a major cause of concern though .
android 4. 0. 4
ice cream sandwich ,
which is now three versions behind the current version of android (4. 3) is installed. that means google now, project butter, and other recent android improvements are missing here. you still get access to the more than 800, 000 apps in google play, most of which should work fine on the rs90. it' s also a stock version of android, so there' s no sign of skins like with samsung or htc devices. there' s no carrier bloatware, but there are a few removable preloaded apps, which are mostly useful, including kingsoft office and a file explorer app. you also get all the usual android perks, like a fast web browser, excellent email support, and voice - enabled, turn - by - turn gps directions via google maps .
multimedia, camera, and conclusions media support is solid. the phone played all of our test audio files and video files without issue. sound quality is good through wired headphones, but the single rear - facing speaker sounds pretty anemic. video played back at resolutions up to 1080p with no audio sync issues .
the 5 - megapixel, rear - facing camera is pretty mediocre. there are a number of issues holding it back, but the most egregious are its long shutter delay and poor exposure. it can take nearly a second between pressing the on - screen shutter and capturing a photo, which is entirely too long to be reliable. the rs90 struggled with proper exposure and dynamic range, exhibiting blown highlights and underexposed shadows in virtually every outdoor test shot. indoors, under low light, images looked grainy and a bit soft. video tops out at 480p and looks pretty awful. frame rates hover around 15fps in low light and detail is washed away by excessive image noise. the front - facing 0. 3 - megapixel camera suffices for the occasional video chat, but not much more .
when compared with your typical carrier options, the verykool rs90 is an underachiever. but this isn' t your typical carrier phone—few unlocked phones can match this low price. the nexus 4 represents a far better combination of features and performance for the price, but with the nexus 5 on the horizon, it' s sold out and may not be coming back. the rs90 isn' t cutting edge in any way, but it does offer freedom from contracts, a reasonable set of features, serviceable performance, and a waterproof design for an incredibly low price .
bottom line: if you' re going off - contract and off - road, the verykool rs90 vortex is a rugged, unlocked android phone that won' t break the bank—just be prepared for slow mobile web speeds .
before joining the consumer electronics team at pcmag, eugene worked at local news station ny1 doing everything from camera work to writing scripts. he grew up in montclair, new jersey and graduated from the university of virginia in 2010. outside of work eugene enjoys tv, loud music, and making generally healthy and responsible life choices .
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we have sales and support personnel located in miami, florida and various countries throughout latin america. we also have a procurement, quality control, and manufacturing control office located in shenzhen, china, where we have established relationships with independent design houses and original design manufacturers who manufacture our verykool products. we maintain a rigorous in - house quality control system and have dedicated personnel who monitor production and perform inspection and testing before, during and post production to ensure that products meet our quality and performance specifications .
the company’s teams are focused on moving forward to execute our strategy as an apple licensed partner to grow our retail footprint under our oneclick brands stores. we are one of a limited number of partners under the apple premium reseller and apple authorized resellers mono - brand programs in latin america and the united states and aims to expand into other countries shortly .
a better retail experience, for the end consumer and for the brands. cooltech is a new generation of retail solutions that includes distribution, retail sales, and marketing all under the same umbrella .
cooltech’s retail business unit is in charge of the apple stores under the apr program (apple premier reseller), and aar (apple authorized reseller) .
cooltech’s distribution unit is icon networks, responsible for the sales, logistics, and marketing of apple products and multiple consumer electronic brands .
our marketing team is focused on using the best strategies and tools to make your products sell fast, and most important, generate brand awareness to generate a purchase cycle .
mr. diaz has served as the chief executive officer of cooltech holding since december 2016. since september 2016, mr. diaz has also served as the president of oneclick, and since september 2014 he has served as the chief operating officer / managing partner of icon networks llc. from august 2006 until july 2014, mr. diaz served as the director of global business development of electro group, and from july 2005 until august 2006 he served as a senior manager of samsung. from october 1996 until july 2005 mr. diaz served as a business development manager of panasonic. mr. diaz studied social communication at pontificia universidad javeriana in colombia .
mr. rezk has served as the executive vice president of sales and marketing of cooltech since december 2016. since may 2013 he has also served as the chief executive officer and is the founder of icon networks llc. from january 2011 until may 2013 mr. rezk was the head of enterprise sales for latin america at apple inc. , and from march 2009 until january 2011 he was the senior manager, gtm business development, emerging channels team at cisco system (“cisco”). from august 2005 until march 2009, mr. rezk was the senior marketing manager, emerging markets channels at cisco. mr. rezk received his bachelor’s degree in economics from university of los andes, bogotá and a master in business administration and master of computer information systems from the university of miami .
mr. defrancesco has served as chairman of the board of cooltech holding since december 2016. since september 2007, mr. defrancesco has served as chairman & ceo of delavaco group. mr. defrancesco served as director of kalytera therapeutics (formerly santa maria petroleum) from july 2011 to december 2016. from january 2014 to june 2015, mr. defrancesco served as chairman and ceo of firm capital american realty partners (formerly delavaco residential properties corp). from august 2013 to july 2016, mr. defrancesco served as partner and executive director of kahala corp. from october 2009 to december 2010, mr. defrancesco served as director, president and ceo of p1 energy corp. from january 2010 to december 2010, mr. defrancesco served as co - founder and chairman of apo energy. mr. defrancesco received his b. a. from the university of western ontario.
infosonics corporation ( nasdaq : ifon ) is a publicly traded telecommunications equipment provider based in san diego , california . it develops , manufactures , and distributes wireless handsets and accessories through its proprietary brand verykool and other private label brands . infosonics sells its products through carriers , distributors and oems in latin america , europe , africa , asia pacific and the united states . it is best known for its line of inexpensive unlocked phones as well as its rugged phones in its verykool line of products . 
infosonics corporation (nasdaq: ifon) is a publicly traded telecommunications equipment provider based in san diego, california. it develops, manufactures, and distributes wireless handsets and accessories through its proprietary brand verykool and other private label brands. infosonics sells its products through carriers, distributors and oems in latin america, europe, africa, asia pacific and the united states. it is best known for its line of inexpensive unlocked phones as well as its rugged phones in its verykool line of products.
infosonics corporation (nasdaq: ifon) is a publicly traded telecommunications equipment provider based in san diego, california. it develops, manufactures, and distributes wireless handsets and accessories through its proprietary brand verykool and other private label brands. infosonics sells its products through carriers, distributors and oems in latin america, europe, africa, asia pacific and the united states. it is best known for its line of inexpensive unlocked phones as well as its rugged phones in its verykool line of products.