Arlington Hts.' Bang & Olufsen teams with BMW

Bang & Olufsen, which has its North American headquarters in Arlington Heights, is providing a dramatic high-end Surround Sound System in two new BMWs rolling out in October.

The new 6 Series convertible and coupe will include a loudspeaker cover in the center of the dashboard that silently lifts to reveal an acoustic lens. Embedded LED lights then simultaneously turn on, which Bang & Olufsen calls “light orchestration.”

“It's pretty dramatic,” said Bang & Olufsen spokesman Dave Zapfel.

The maker of luxury sound and TV systems as well as related equipment has longtime partnerships with automotive makers, including Audi, Mercedes and for the first time, BMW. The engineers from both companies work together to provide a custom-designed system, Zapfel said.

Watch the demo here: www.bang-olufsen.com/Userfiles/Flash/CarAudio/BMW/BO_Audio_en.html

Photon debuts: Sprint customers will be able to go online July 28, three days before the national launch, to buy Motorola Mobility's Photon 4G, the wireless provider's first international smartphone for the 4G network. It costs $199.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade along with a two-year contract.

Sprint and its prepaid brands, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA, will offer a total of 10 new Motorola devices this year, said Alain Mutricy, Motorola Mobility's senior vice president of Portfolio and Device Product Management.

This device will allow consumers to download music in seconds and a movie in a minute. And the dual-core processor ensures everything runs smoothly so users can surf the web, use multiple apps, video chat and take calls with no loss in performance or playback, said Mutricy.

Surfing: Speaking of Motorola Mobility, the Libertyville company has partnered with Spotify, a digital music service that reaches about 10 million Europeans. It will now be launching a number of marketing campaigns in coming weeks in the United States. Spotify offers free, ad-supported service as well as subscriptions. It's available as a desktop and a mobile app.

Ÿ Itasca-based Aircell said Thursday it is changing its company name to Gogo, after its successful online and Wi-Fi service for several airlines, including AirTran, Delta, Virgin and select United, American and others. The company also said it plans to launch a new in-air multimedia platform that will provide airline passengers access to real-time travel information, destination content, news, shopping deals and even social networks. The new service will be available via the passengers' own web-enabled devices on any of the aircraft that provide Gogo Wi-Fi service.

Ÿ Chicago-based iHispano.com offers online job information and tools for your career, along with other resources. In addition, AMightyRiver.com offers professional networking for African-American professionals and is offering free membership.

ŸR osemont-based VHT nc., a provider of technology and services for marketing real estate online, has acquired Dwellicious, a social bookmarketing site for real estate buyers, which includes its website, technology and clients. Dwellicious will be integrated into VHT ImageWorks. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ÿ The Illinois Commerce Commission has added a comparison of alternative energy suppliers to its

Plug In Illinois website at www.PlugInIllinois.org.

ŸFollow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter. Write to her at akukec@dailyherald.com.