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You have a choice! Try an alternative MP3 player
Jason Parker,
Contributing Editor,
ZDNet Downloads
Friday, September 6, 2002
Despite the huge controversy surrounding copyrights and file sharing, let's face it: Listening to music on your computer is easy and fun--and it doesn't have to be illegal.
While we're waiting for the RIAA and the courts to decide what to do about file-sharing networks, let's tackle another, equally controversial subject: Which MP3 player should you use?
Judging from the download counts at ZDNet Downloads, most people would say Winamp for PC and iTunes for Mac. Now, these big-name players are great choices. But I know many of you would rather not be just one of the flock. You'd prefer to blaze your own trail, to be unique.
For all you trendsetters, I've picked three of my favorite alternative MP3 players. They offer plenty of features for listening to your favorite music and at the same time let you express your individuality.
Quintessential Player has a cool interface and all the features you need to play the most popular audio formats, such as MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and WMA. If you really want to be an individual, you can visit Quinnware's Web site and create your own skins. (Shareware/Windows)
UltraPlayer Media Player supports most sound- and video-file formats, including MP3, WAV, CD audio, AVI, MPEG, WMA, and lets you listen to Internet radio streams, as well. Visit UltraCo's Web site, and you'll find an encoding tool and a skin development kit for this app. (Shareware/Windows)
Audion is an excellent alternative MP3 player for the Mac. It offers a huge library of skins, full encoding capabilities, and easy to manage playlists. (Shareware/Mac)
It's important to find an MP3 player that suits your needs as well as your tastes. Just remember: There's no reason you have to follow the flock.
Samsung Adds Hard Drive to MP3 Player
Latest digital music devices feature a 10GB hard drive and a built-in digital camera.
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Friday, September 06, 2002
SHANGHAI -- Samsung Electronics took advantage of the CeBIT Asia exhibition held here this week to show off two prototypes of new gadgets that the company plans to release in the coming months, including an MP3 player with a 10GB hard disk and a voice recorder with a built-in digital camera.
The Yepp YP-900 is the first MP3 player from Samsung to incorporate a hard disk drive, according to Simon Chang, Yepp product marketing manager at Samsung.
Packing a 1.8-inch hard disk with a storage capacity of 10GB, the YP-900 also includes an FM radio, a USB 2.0 port, the ability to play WMA files, and a voice recording feature that allows recordings to be encoded in MP3 format.
The YP-900 will be available early next year, most likely during February or March, at a retail price of around $399, Chang says.
Voice Recorder
The Voice Yepp VY-H700 is a slim voice recorder that offers an MP3 playback function and includes a built-in 0.3-megapixel digital camera.
Three models of the VY-H700 are available, offering either 32MB, 64MB, or 128MB of memory. With 128MB of memory, users can record 74 hours of voice when using the lowest-quality recording mode or 6 hours and 12 minutes of voice using the highest-quality recording mode, according to Samsung.
The VY-H700 will be available later this year at a price between $150 and $200, Chang says.
edig soon to be a pressplay affiliate? when you were able to access wedigmusic.com briefly this morning, there was a link to pressplay--if you go to http://www.pressplay.com/ you will see near the bottom pressplay affiliates, which link between respective sites, i would expect this will happen with edig's music website
ART Joins Texas Instruments Third-Party Network
ART ports its unique smARTspeak NG™ to TI's new TMS320C55x™ DSP generation for voice recognition applications
Atlanta, USA, July 24, 2001. ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc., global leaders in natural Human User Interface technologies for the mobile world, has announced that it has joined the Texas Instruments (TI) third party network. Using eXpressDSP Real-Time Software Technology, ART will port its revolutionary smARTspeak NG Voice Recognition algorithm into TI's recently unveiled code-compatible C55x digital signal processing (DSP) generation (please see http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/news/2001/01062.htm).
TI's new programmable, ultra power-efficient DSPs will drive thousands of applications in the next generation of handheld and Internet-enabled multimedia devices. ART's all-in-one smARTspeak NG voice recognition technology, which includes eXpressDSP compliant algorithms, joins the best in MPEG4, JPEG, MP3 and WMA technologies offered by TI's extensive third party network.
"TI is dedicated to providing the best real-time technologies for tomorrow's hand-held applications," said Christine Wu, C55x marketing manager, TI. "ART's new smARTspeak NG voice recognition bundle, in conjunction with the power-efficient TMS320C55x DSP, will provide next-generation portable, PC-connected and Internet-enabled products with more features in less space and longer battery life."
"ART is confident that customers and other developers will be delighted with the exciting range of voice functionality features that the smARTspeak NG now brings to TI's C55x DSP generation," said Yakov Shulman, VP sales, ART. "It is designed to enhance the radically new time-to-market and price/performance standard these processors now offer."
More About smARTspeak NG
First to successfully combine all voice dialing and control functions for Speaker Independent and Speaker Dependent systems, smARTspeak NG's comprehensive voice recognition algorithm was designed as an all-in-one bundle for operation in the tight processing power environment of today's mass-market cellular handsets, making it perfect for TI's C55x.
smARTspeak NG's unique bundle means that instead of having to choose which technologies to deploy on new cellular handsets, OEMs can simply customize whichever functions they require onto the same mass produced model.
Combining a decade of ART's award-winning technologies, smARTspeak NG's leading-edge developments offer voice-enabled features such as name dialing, continuous digit dialing, menu navigation and device control. It also includes ART's latest innovation: a Speaker Independent Digit-Dialing function with adaptation possibility for heavily accented International English - or any other language spoken with dialect. This simple 30-second adaptation allows further personalization according to the needs of each user.
More About TI's Third-Party Program
ART is a member of the TI TMS320 third-party program, the most extensive collection of global DSP development support in the industry, with more than 400 independent companies and consultants providing TI's customers with a broad range of application software, development hardware and software and consulting services. For more information on the TI third party program, please visit http://www.dspvillage.ti.com.
More About ART
Established in 1990, ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc., is the acknowledged pioneer and market leader in Natural User systems of embedded Voice and Handwriting Recognition for mobile devices. ART has generated a decade of software innovation and today develops and markets technologically superior solutions for the control and command of the full range of mobile devices by the human voice and natural handwriting.
Through its range of proprietary technologies based on unique, signal-processing algorithms, ART provides next-generation human user interface solutions for cellular handsets, smartphones, mobile communicators, PDAs and handhelds, and automotive systems.
Today, ART's embedded software-only solutions are deployed in dozens of product lines from industry leaders such as Acer, A.T. Cross, Casio, Franklin, GVC, Hutel, Konka, LGE, Maxon, Microsoft, Motorola, NeoPoint, Optimay-Lucent, Philips, Quanta, Samsung, Siemens Automotive, and TTPCom.
Based in the United States, with sales offices on the East and West Coasts, ART maintains a wholly owned Israeli subsidiary -- ART Ltd. -- where research and development are conducted. ART is active in the US, European, and Asian markets.
smARTspeak NG™ is a trademark of ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. Names of other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For more about ART, see: http://www.artcomp.com or contact Yakov Shulman, VP Sales at yakov@artcomp.com.
ART'S smARTspeak TECHNOLOGY + Lucent
GVC CORPORATION, TAIWAN, JOINS THE SUCCESS STORY OF ART'S smARTspeak TECHNOLOGY
Atlanta, USA, March 6, 2001. ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc., the global leader in natural Human User Interface technologies for the mobile world, announced that it has signed a contract with leading Taiwan electronics corporation GVC, licensing the incorporation of ART's smARTspeak Voice Recognition technology into GVC's wide range of information products. The agreement is part of ART's ongoing collaboration with Optimay-Lucent.
The contract calls for GVC to port ART's unique, award-winning voice recognition technologies, smARTspeak, on to their range of cellular phones. Providing feature-rich voice activated Name Dialing and Voice Command & Control functions with high noise immunity and rapid and accurate response, smARTspeak is perfect for GVC's cellular phones. Being a trainable, language and accent independent solution, smARTspeak is ideal for today's rapidly growing global market. ART software is integrated on the Optimay-Lucent platform design which GVC is using for its next handset design.
"As one of Taiwan's leading corporations in telecommunications, GVC prides itself on being driven by innovation. Thus we find an affinity with ART's market-proven technologies and with the spirit of the company that created them," said GVC President, Dr. David Su. "We believe that the partnership between GVC and ART will be a very strong and long-lasting one, that will bring many technological benefits to our customers."
"With over twenty years experience in the world market, GVC's trust in ART's unique technologies is another confirmation of our place as the premier partner for all advanced recognition solutions for the mobile world," said Yakov Shulman, ART's VP, Europe and Far-East Sales.
More about GVC
With research and development at the core of its growth and prosperity, GVC manufactures and markets a diverse product line on top of their thriving GSM & CDMA cellphones and PC's & notebook business. These include analog/cable modems, ADSL, Bluetooth devices and motherboards.
Established over twenty years ago in 1979, GVC Corporation went public in Taiwan in 1992. Today it continues to enjoy excellent relationships with the world's leading computer and communication companies, both producing for them as OEM/ODM, and also trading under its own name. The company combines a strong foundation of corporate credibility with the latest technology and market intelligence.
For more information about GVC Corporation see www.gvc.com
More about ART's smARTspeak technologies
ART's unique, proprietary technologies smARTspeak and smARTspeak CS create the voice recognition solution for the full range of today's mobile devices - cellular handsets, smart phones, PDAs and handhelds.
smARTspeak is a language and accent independent, isolated word recognizer for voice-activated Name Dialing. Its award-winning technology enables users to dial, navigate & activate menus, and record voice memos.
Designed for ultra-fast response, ARTs technologies are accurate even in the noisiest environments, in shopping malls or on the busy highway.
smARTspeak CS is a further enhancement to the smARTspeak technology, creating the only true continuous speech digit dialing technology available in the market today. Speaker-dependent, it enables users to train the recognizer with digits and other desired commands in their own voice and language. They can then dial numbers by simply saying '+ 1 805 581-3999' with no pause between digits.
Based on speaker-dependent systems, smARTspeak and smARTspeak CS are perfect for today's rapidly expanding global market.
More About ART
Established in 1990, ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. is an acknowledged pioneer and market leader in Natural User Interface systems of voice and handwriting recognition. First to introduce commercially successful name dialing Voice Command for cellular handsets, ART has generated a decade of proprietary software solution innovation and now develops and markets technologically superior products for control of the full range of mobile devices by the human voice and natural handwriting.
Through its range of proprietary technologies based on unique, signal processing algorithms, ART provides next generation Human User Interface solutions for cellular handsets, smart phones, mobile communicators, PDAs & handhelds, and automotive systems.
ART's advanced voice and handwriting recognition technologies are currently deployed in hundreds of product lines produced by such global market leaders as: Microsoft, Quanta, Konka, Hutel, Franklin, Motorola, Philips, Casio, Samsung, LGE, NeoPoint, Acer, Maxon, A.T. Cross, Siemens Automotive, Optimay-Lucent and TTPCom.
ART's wide range of Natural Human User Interface technologies have been acclaimed by the following prestigious awards: Mobile Computing, PC's Golden Gavel, Mobilis, Direct CE., and Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 ranked ART the 99th fastest growing technology company in the US.
ART is based in the United States, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Simi Valley, California. The company maintains a wholly owned subsidiary in Israel - ART Ltd. - where development and research are conducted. ART is 'active in the US, European, and Israeli markets, as well as in Japan and other Pacific Rim countries.
smARTspeak® and smARTspeak CS®, are registered trademarks of ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc.
ART Advanced Recognition Technologies announced the porting of its revolutionary smARTspeak XG(TM) speech recognition solution to leading processors from Motorola, Inc., the world's #1 producer of embedded processors.
According to the announcement, ART will port its breakthrough speech recognition solution, the smARTspeak XG, to Motorola's processors, including the 2/2.5G and 3G Innovative Convergence(TM) Platform and DragonBall(TM) applications processor families.
The first phonemic-based speech recognition software designed for mass-market wireless mobile device deployment, the smARTspeak XG provides speaker independent name dialing and other dynamic command functions. Thanks to its unique phonemic identification, the XG needs no training to perform accurate name dialing, no matter how command sentences are structured. Thus `Call John Smith in his office' or `John Smith - office' both provide the same accurate response.
"The introduction of phonemic-based recognition solution for mobile devices brings easy to use operation to the consumer just as Motorola solutions bring ease of use to the developer," said Ed Valdez director of marketing for Motorola's Wireless and Broadband Group. "By porting ART's smARTspeak XG, we continue our commitment to leveraging best-in-class technologies to enable developers to deliver a wide variety of applications using Motorola's total systems solutions."
"ART is delighted with the reception Motorola has given the new smARTspeak XG, the latest in a decade of pioneering speech recognition solutions," said Eran Aharonson, ART's President. "High in feature-rich potential and low in resource demands, we are confident the XG will get a similar welcome from all Motorola's customers."
Click Here For Full Details On Line
About the smARTspeak XG
The unique smARTspeak XG is the first embedded speaker independent name dialing solution designed for wireless mobile devices. With dynamic recognition based on phoneme identification, the XG needs no training to provide instant name dialing functionality in response to the user's verbal command. The result is that no more time needs to be spent recording names into a phone book, or browsing/searching for contacts -- and no more the frustration of not remembering exactly how the original entry was phrased.
Being truly speaker independent, the innovative smARTspeak XG also enables devices to respond with equal accuracy to the commands of multiple users. With near infinite out of the box freedom, the XG is another step towards the ultimate user experience.
An evolution of ART's all-in-one smARTspeak NG recognition bundle previously ported to Motorola's microprocessors, the groundbreaking XG continues to offer the popular modular features of speaker dependent name dialing, speaker independent continuous digit dialing, speaker independent command & control and trainable continuous digit dialing for custom languages previously found on the smARTspeak NG platform.
About Motorola's Innovative Convergence(TM) Platforms
Motorola's i.250 (2.5G voice/data) and i.300 (3G multimedia) Innovative Convergence(TM) platforms and DragonBall(TM) family of microprocessors are designed to meet a variety of customer needs by providing a comprehensive road map with distinct industry advantages for smaller, lighter, lower-cost wireless products. These advantages include flexibility, offering low, mid and high-tier feature sets; scalability, offering migration paths from 2G and 2.5G to 3G protocols; and connectivity, with Personal Area Network (e.g., Bluetooth(TM) wireless technology), Wide Area Network (cellular) and mobile commerce capabilities.
The Innovative Convergence platform technology embodies 70 years of wireless expertise, 50 years in semiconductors, and two decades of leadership in the cellular industry. The best-selling DragonBall microprocessor family is designed for advanced information appliances, PDAs, smart phones, Web browsers/tablets, digital media audio players, handheld computers and mobile data/voice applications.
Sony Releases Internet-Enabled, Hard-Disk Video Recorder
Wed Sep 4, 1:36 PM ET
Lisa Gill, www.NewsFactor.com
Linking the entertainment value of video recording with the brains of a home computer and the breadth of the Internet, Japan's Sony Corporation ( NYSE: SNE - news) unveiled a device Wednesday that seeks out and records television programs it believes its owners would want to watch.
The consumer product, one of the first releases in the new Sony line dubbed CoCoon -- COnnected COmmunity On Network -- will use a 160 GB hard drive to record about 100 hours of programming or 15 hours of high-definition TV shows. It can also record music and movies for playback.
Given a constant connection to a broadband service, the device locates television programming information online, then, using up to 44 user-selected keywords, makes a "match" and records the program for later viewing.
While the video recorder will also use past program selections and stored programs as a guide for recording new material, if the user decides not to select a certain program the device will apologize for its choice.
The CoCoon device also has the ability to be networked with cell phones and PCs, allowing for the programming of television recording via the networked components.
TV Programming Shifts
The release is a first shot in the company's campaign to shift home entertainment toward a new breed of Internet-enabled, multifunctional devices.
Predicting a revolution in television viewing, Sony president Kunitake Ando told a news conference that the broadband era will usher in an age where devices such as audio-video products and mobile terminals will connect consumers to the Internet.
"The TV will change fundamentally," Ando said.
The company said it intends the CoCoon series to join the effort it has already initiated, with its televisions, PlayStation 2 ( news - web sites) game consoles, mobile phones and PCs all to be tied to the Internet and networked with each other.
Banking on Convergence
Sony will release the CoCoon device in Japan on November 1st for around US$1,110, with a later rollout scheduled for the U.S. The device will compete with similar products, including digital video recorder TiVo ( news - web sites) ( Nasdaq: TIVO - news).
Analysts also point to Microsoft's ( Nasdaq: MSFT - news) new Media Center, to be released in December, as another opponent for Sony. Previously known as "Freestyle," the operating system will reside on specially manufactured Hewlett-Packard ( NYSE: HPQ - news) computers and will marry television programming, personal video recording, music, movies, DVDs and pictures on a single device.
With the Media Center, users will be able to record, pause and replay television shows, play and organize music selections, store and view still pictures and video and play DVDs. Controlled by a remote, the PC is intended to be viewed from across the room.
Creating Entertainment
"Every company in this space is trying to figure out the best way to throw software applications together with improved hardware to create a new consumer media experience," Steve Vonder Haar, analyst for Yankee Group's Interactive ( news - external web site) Media Strategies unit, told NewsFactor.
Such magic bullets, said Vonder Haar, are what each consumer-related company is trying to find, often seeking revolutionary products over those that are merely evolutionary. And while companies are to be lauded for pushing the envelope, Vonder Haar said, analysts and manufactures might be too focused on searching for the "ah-ha!" moment in digital entertainment convergence.
"The revolutionary force is just the ability to digitize media and have enough computing horsepower to do it in an elegant fashion," said Vonder Haar. "The various product iterations from companies like Microsoft, HP or Sony are merely details along the way."
HP Defines the Digital Lifestyle with New HP Media Center PC
Tuesday September 3, 8:02 am ET
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 2002--HP (NYSE:HPQ - News) today announced the HP Media Center PC, which integrates both computing and entertainment features into an all-in-one, easy-to-use and affordable digital media center.
The only PC to be available this holiday season in North America with the new Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition software, the HP Media Center PC will combine the functionality of a PC, DVD and CD players and recorders, a TV, a digital jukebox and other consumer electronics components for spaces where consumers would want both a PC and entertainment solution -- such as a den, game room, teenager's bedroom, dorm room or small apartment.
"Entertainment is already one of the most popular uses for consumer PCs," said Duane Zitzner, executive vice president, HP Personal Systems Group. "HP is taking advantage of the convergence of these two market segments by providing users an all-in-one entertainment PC."
Featuring a sleek black and chrome design, the new HP Media Center PC will have a six-in-one media card reader on its front panel for quick and easy transfer of digital music, photos and other data. In addition, the PC will feature a specially designed remote control and front and back USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 ports for simple hook up of handheld devices and transfer of video. Offering the latest in PC technology, it will also be configurable with powerful Intel® Pentium® 4 processors over 2 gigahertz, NVIDIA GeForce4 graphics, Klipsch speakers, HP DVD Writer, and photo and home movie creation and editing software.
The new Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition will allow the HP Media Center PC user to enjoy digital entertainment -- including live television, personal video recording, digital music, digital video, DVDs and pictures -- in an easy-to-use, remote-controlled interface similar to the simple, point-and-choose menu screens found on today's DVD movies. Intended to be used with a PC monitor, the HP Media Center PC also will be able to connect to a TV for a large-screen viewing experience.
"Consumers are ready to get more from their home PC, and together with Windows XP Media Center Edition and HP's Media Center PC we're poised to bring a really exciting new computer experience to market this fall," said Mike Toutonghi, vice president of the Windows eHome Division, Microsoft. "We applaud HP's efforts in innovating well beyond the traditional beige box. We hope consumers who are shopping for a PC this holiday season will be equally impressed and take home the HP Media Center PC to enjoy their favorite digital media as well as leverage the power of this machine as a productivity center."
With this new PC and remote control, recording popular TV shows will be as easy as selecting the program from the free(1), easy-to-use programming guide information that is downloaded from the Internet. Choose the "record" function with the remote and the system will record the program onto the PC for future viewing, without the need to program channels and recording times as with traditional VCRs.
Digital photos, videos and music will be able to be viewed and shared easily with the new Windows Media Center Edition interface. When saving these types of digital files to the PC, Windows automatically prompts the user to save the content into one of the default "My Pictures," "My Music" or "My Videos" folders. The Media Center interface will then automatically retrieve and display the saved photos, video images and music information directly out of these folders. All users have to do is point the remote to choose the file they want to view or listen to, without having to access the traditional multiple PC file menus.
Expected to be available through major retailers across the United States and Canada for the holiday buying season, the HP Media Center PC will have an estimated U.S. street price in the $1,500 to $2,000 range, depending on configuration.(2) Additional information is available at http://www.hp.com/go/mediacenterpc. Detailed product specifications, availability dates and exact pricing will be released later this fall.
NOT SURE IF REALLY MEANS ANYTHING BUT NOTE THE PRESSPLAY CONNECT LINK
ads--yes, the reason was that there was an IBM ViaVoice connection with both Philips and One Voice; and coincidentally onev and phg were working together; but since it DOES NOT appear that e.digital is/has been working w/ IBM voice [per Collier at last yr's shareholder mtg]; it does not appear edig has any involvement
Philips, One Voice Form Alliance--July / August 2000
One Voice Technologies, a leader in human interface technologies for PCs, wireless devices and the Internet, and Philips Speech Processing recently announced a global strategic alliance to work together on customization, integration and joint customer projects as well as the global licensing and co-marketing of advanced speech-enabled applications.
One Voice's soon-to-be-released product family called Intelligent Voice Animated Navigator (IVAN) will incorporate Philips speech recognition technology in 16 languages for PC, wireless and consumer electronic devices worldwide.
One Voice produces an interface technology engine based on artificial intelligence, expert systems and natural language processing called Intelligent Voice Interactive Technology (IVIT). As a result, people can speak naturally to their computers as if they were speaking to a friend to easily search for and find information using advanced human interface technology. By using IVAN, consumers can speak their thoughts to browse and search the Internet through natural language dialogue and interaction.
"By adding advanced human interface technologies to consumer electronic devices, we will open the doors of usability to everyone," said Dean Weber, chairman and CEO of One Voice Technologies.
"Natural speech and dialogue capabilities represent the ideal user interface to easily access content specific information from the Internet, be it from PC platforms or any other consumer electronics device," said Cesar Vohringer, president and CEO of Philips Speech Processing.
For more information, contact Reba Rosenbluth at 858-552-4466 or rrosenbluth@onevoicetech.com.
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IBM and Philips collaborate to speed up global growth of Speech Recognition Technologies
Somers, NY and Vienna, Austria -- May 6, 1999
IBM and Philips today announced the two companies will collaborate on the worldwide advancement of speech recognition technology. This research and development cooperative effort will enable IBM and Philips to bring the power of speech to new users quickly and efficiently as the demand for speech recognition products grows worldwide.
According to the initial agreement, both companies will have the opportunity to review and license technology and cooperate on language development that will accelerate the adoption of speech recognition into the marketplace. Also, Philips will license IBM's text-to-speech technology for use in future products.
"The worldwide market for speech recognition products is growing exponentially as the technology moves beyond the desktop and into the enterprise," said W. S. "Ozzie" Osborne, general manager for IBM Speech Systems. "By working with Philips we can bring solutions to market faster, while collaborating on standards for the next generation of speech-enabled technologies."
"Our strategic relationship with IBM allows us to share technical resources and language resource development expertise to expand our global speech recognition offerings," said Ron van den Bos, president and CEO of Philips Speech Processing. "Speech recognition is not only a compelling solution for the personal computer industry, but also for other leading Philips brand categories such as mobile computing, telecommunications and consumer electronics."
According to industry analysts, speech recognition technology is one of top technology trends to watch in the next two to five years. "Speech recognition will drive innovation in user interfaces over the next decade. The Philips-IBM strategic relationship will accelerate market growth by making it easier to launch truly international products," William Meisel, President, TMA Associates, a speech industry consulting firm."
IBM Speech Systems
IBM's ViaVoice speech recognition technology is based on more than 30 years of speech recognition, user interface and human-to-computer interaction research and development. With an established R&D business worldwide and more than 100 patents in the area of speech recognition, speech synthesis, identification and natural language understanding, the company continues to set the direction for consumer and business applications. The company was one of the first to offer consumer speech recognition software, and as a result has established a reputation as the worldwide leader in continuous, natural language command speech software. IBM ViaVoice software is available in eight languages and sold in more countries than any other speech recognition software product.
As a pioneer in speech recognition, the company is focused on developing and supporting open standards that help accelerate the creation of content, servers and browsers that allow speech recognition technology to be easily integrated into voice, data and applications infrastructures. IBM is a member of a variety of industry efforts including VoiceTIMES, VXML, W3C and Java Technology Consortiums.
"For more information about IBM Speech Systems, visit the World Wide Web at http://www.ibm.com/software/speech/
About Philips
Philips Speech Processing is a pioneer and one of the global market leaders in speech recognition, natural dialogue and language understanding technologies. A developer of voice enabled telephony applications, Philips has a large installed base of speech recognition and natural dialogue systems in Europe and is a major speech technology provider in North America. Its natural dialogue platform SpeechMania and SpeechPearl speech recognition engines are used for banking, travel, auto attendants speech portals and white and yellow pages automation.
Philips has more than 40 years experience in the development and marketing of speech products and developed the first commercially available PC based natural, continuous speech recognition engine for speech to text applications in 1993. Philips' line of end user software (FreeSpeech 98 and FreeSpeech 2000 for SoHo and consumer markets, and SpeechPro for the professional dictation users) is available in 16 languages and its VoCon speech recognizer for embedded systems has been successfully integrated in consumer electronics products and devices.
Philips has set up SpeechSolutions Design Centres around the globe, supporting R&D and the establishment of industry standards, and is a member in various standardization bodies such as ECTF, SAPI, HAVi, HomeAPI, VXML, W3C and VoiceTIMES. Internet: www.speech.philips.com
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of over $33.9 billion in 1998. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors and one-chip TV products.
Its 256,000 employees, in more than 60 countries, are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, business electronics, and IT services (Origin). Philips is quoted on the NYSE (PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. Internet:www.news.philips.com.
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Posted by: cksla
In reply to: None Date:5/10/2001 12:31:35 PM
Post #of 15174
ONE VOICE TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP WITH IBM
World's First Intelligent Voice Interactive Technology™ (IVIT); Utilizes Industry-Leading ViaVoice by IBM.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - October 14, 1999 - One Voice Technologies, Inc., "One Voice," (OTC BB: ONEVE), developers of IVIT(tm) (Intelligent Voice Interactive Technology(tm)), today announced a strategic relationship with IBM( (NYSE: IBM).
One Voice's patent pending IVIT provides a layer of Artificial Intelligence that understands advanced linguistic concepts such as topic, subject and synonym. As a result, people can speak naturally to their computers, rather than being forced to speak pre-defined words and phrases. With IVIT, people simply ask their computer to launch applications, open files, search the Internet, pull up a stock portfolio, check weather listings or find current news - just as if they were speaking to another person. IVIT speaks back to users through a series of unique animated characters, which ask intelligent questions and read findings aloud. Through intelligent interactive dialogue and inference capabilities, IVIT asks questions to clarify users' requests and drills down to quickly find accurate information. One Voice's IVIT technology is the foundation for the company's upcoming IVAN' (Intelligent Voice Animated Navigator') application.
Utilizing IBM's ViaVoice speech recognition engine, One Voice's IVAN application will change the way people interact with their computers and the Internet. As part of the IBM Speech Product Line, the ViaVoice engine is a demand-generating enhancement of choice for speech recognition technology companies. According to One Voice Technologies Chairman and CEO, Dean Weber, the integration of IBM's ViaVoice speech recognition engine and One Voice's upcoming IVAN( application will forever change the way people interact with their computers and the Internet. "By adding a layer of Artificial Intelligence to IBM's powerful speech recognition technology, One Voice's IVIT enhances and simplifies computer and Internet interaction," said Mr. Weber. "We are pleased to work closely with IBM, a leader in speech recognition, to bring our exciting, fun and easy-to-use interface to millions of people around the world."
"IBM looks forward to working together with One Voice Technologies to reach our common goal to advance the adoption of speech recognition technologies and to provide voice recognition solutions that will make it easier for people to interact with their computers," says Ozzie Osborne, General Manager, IBM Speech and Pen Systems.
About IBM
IBM speech recognition technology is based on 30 years of speech recognition research and development. With a portfolio of more than one hundred patents, an established R&D business that includes researchers worldwide and a robust, proven speech technology available in many languages, IBM is a leader in speech recognition. For more information about IBM Speech Systems, visit the World Wide Web at http://www.software.ibm.com/speech.
About One Voice Technologies, Inc.
owner is a bud of elwood "fudd" norris-per jon tara posts which appear to bear out
Texas Instruments develops new wireless chip
By Reuters
September 3, 2002 2:10 pm PT
DALLAS (REUTERS) - Texas Instruments Inc. said on Tuesday it has developed a computer chip about half the size and about 25 percent more efficient than current hardware used to connect wireless devices to the Internet or to corporate networks.
The chip, which was designed to connect mobile devices to short-range wireless networks, should allow handheld, wireless computers to work on a battery about 25 percent longer than today, the company said.
The chip would also increase the battery life of laptop computers by up to 6 percent, according to Texas Instruments.
The use of short-range wireless connections is currently hampered by the bulk of network cards that must be slotted into handheld computers or laptops, and by the strain these cards put on the batteries in these devices.
One analyst said the chip was a step in the right direction. "When you're actually using your device to access the Internet, the (power) benefits are not that much, but unfortunately that's part of the wireless standard. Any power saving is beneficial for wireless handheld computer users," In-Stat/MDR analyst Allen Nogee said.
Nogee said that rival Intersil Corp. is also developing power-saving chips for short-range wireless.
Texas Instruments said it expects to ship the product to network card makers, at a price point of about $10 each in the fourth quarter.
Texas Instruments stock fell $1.18, or 6 percent, to $18.52 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Get Ready For Video-Over-IP
A video delivery revolution may be driven by Ethernet and voice-over-IP.
by Keith Dawson
CommWeb.com
09/03/02, 11:03 a.m. ET
One analysis of the burgeoning voice-over-IP industry suggests that this technology is setting the stage for a wide variety of video-related applications that run over on corporate LANs. In fact, Ethernet technologies are beginning to usurp applications in the professional video arena that had previously been the exclusive province of specialized, or proprietary, networks.
That is according to researchers at In-Stat/MDR, who posit that many users of video conferencing equipment are in the process of converting their existing ISDN infrastructure over to IP infrastructure, resulting in an uptake of IP-based services. This will cause a slowdown in the use of legacy ISDN services through 2006.
The market research firm projects that ISDN-oriented video conferencing services revenues will experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of only 6% while IP services will grow at about a 43.5% CAGR, topping $2.5 billion in 2006.
"Once a corporate LAN is ready for voice-over-IP, it will be a short step to make segments of that network capable of Video over IP services," says Gerry Kaufhold, a Principal Analyst with In-Stat/MDR. Corporate LANs all run on Ethernet, and Ethernet is poised to become available outside corporate confines, through industry initiatives such as Metro Ethernet Forum and Ethernet in the Final Mile Alliance.
Three key areas In-Stat says will be effected are: the distribution of live broadcast quality video content over various specialized networks; corporate conferencing and collaboration services; and interactive "on demand" streaming applications.
"Low entry-level cost points for Ethernet solutions for distributing video will impact the existing manufacturers, who currently provide 'big ticket' video equipment," says Kaufhold.
Also, advances in middleware coming from the videoconferencing and satellite video markets, will create new business opportunities for large, global IP backbone providers, and local competitive telecommunications carriers. According to Kaufhold, "Large local and long distance telephone players will need to be on their toes to move with these changes, or face further erosion in the total available market for voice and video services."
In-Stat/MDR also found that as the migration to IP progresses, the typical hourly rate for video conferencing calls will gradually drop from an average of about $45/hour in 2001, down to about $35 per hour by 2006.
9/3/02 Bankruptcy judge blocks sale of Napster to Bertelsmann
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A bankruptcy judge blocked the sale of Napster Inc. to Bertelsmann AG, killing a deal that might have revived the former song-swap service as a legitimate music-sharing network.
Judge Peter J. Walsh made the ruling Tuesday in Wilmington, Del., according to spokeswomen for both Bertelsmann and Napster.
Bertelsmann had sought to purchase the remains of the defunct Napster network for an additional $8 million after having already sunk $85 million into the Redwood City-based company to keep it afloat. Napster has been off line for more than a year and filed for bankruptcy in June.
Suits by several major record labels effectively destroyed Napster. Those record companies also filed motions in the bankruptcy case, vigorously objecting to the sale of the company to Bertelsmann, Germany's biggest media company.
murgirl--btw:
Subject: Connect the Dots
From king999
PostID 211138 On Tuesday, September 03, 2002 (EST) at 12:50:01 PM
Response To: Sinkman PostID 211134
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Musical Electronics Limited is principally engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of consumer electronics products. Established in 1976, the Company is recognized as an experienced and reliable OEM and ODM manufacturer in the field of Consumer Electronics.
Mission Statement
Musical Electronics is a Hong Kong based ISO 9002 certified company with vertically integrated manufacturing facilities in China. Musical manufactures a full line of OEM & ODM audio, digital multimedia and telecommunication consumer electronic products. As an organization, it is committed to the highest standards of customer service and satisfaction. The company continuously pursues a position of developing good value products that have mass-market appeal. Through effective planning, implementation, and control, Musical anticipates their customers needs now and in the future.
Sales and Marketing
The Company's major markets are North America and Europe. Currently the market segmentation of the Company's products are 60% North America , 35% Europe, 5% Central and South America, Japan, Middle East and others.
The Company's major OEM and ODM customers have included - Sanyo, Aiwa, Audiovox, Toshiba, Thomson (RCA), Teac, CircuitCity (Classic), Emerson, Koss, Memorex, KLH, Jensen, Elta, Innovation, GPX, Best Buy (AudioPhase) Tiger, Goodmans, Harvard, Alba, Roadstar, ESC and Sonigem
Banking Relationships
Musical utilizes four main bankers for it's financial needs. Musical has maintained continuos relationships with the following banks: Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp.(HSBC), Ltd. Hang Seng Bank Ltd. ,Standard Chartered Bank and Banque Nationale de Paris.
Google Toolbar
Barely a week after I sang the praises of the Google Toolbar here, I'm about ready to uninstall it. The only thing holding me back is that I haven't yet decided among the several nifty alternatives suggested by readers.
Not that I'm backing away from Google as my search engine of choice (although I have concluded that AlltheWeb.com works significantly better in at least one area important to me).
It's just that the alternatives I've been exploring give me access to the Google features I use most at least as conveniently as the Google Toolbar does,
while making more efficient use of screen real estate -- and in some cases offering other useful capabilities.
WHO NEEDS MORE BARS? First, a couple of readers pointed out that most Web surfers already have a toolbar capable of searching Google: the standard Address bar (the one where the URLs go). This same space can be used for searching for any term you enter there, as long as you steer clear of URL- related signals such as http:// or www.
The Netscape and Mozilla browsers, on both Mac and PC, support Address-bar searching with no extra configuration, and since Netscape has adopted Google for its own search service, they already get their results there.
With Internet Explorer, on there other hand, some futzing may be required. I couldn't get it to work at all with IE on the Mac, but here's the drill, at least for IE 5 and 6, on Windows:
First, just type a few words you want to search for into the address bar, making sure to overwrite whatever was there before. Hit Return. If you get an error message rather than results, go to the Tools menu and choose Internet Options, then the Advanced tab.
Scroll down until you come to a group of settings labeled "Search from Address bar." Unselect "Do not search from the Address bar." (You could try choosing among the other options in that group, but on my PCs they had no discernible effect.)
Then click OK and try your Address-bar search again.
That should get you results, but odds are they won't be from Google, until you change your default search engine. To do that, click the Search icon in the standard buttons toolbar (the one with the forward and back arrows).
In the Search pane that will probably appear at the left, click Customize. (If you're using IE 6 and don't see a Customize button, you have to switch your preferences to "Classic Internet Search." See support.microsoft . com/default.aspx? scid=kb;en-us;Q303210 for instructions.)
Clicking Customize will open a window called "Custom Search Settings." If you see a radio button labeled "Use one search service," click to fill it in. Then you should see a list labeled "Choose the search service," but don't bite -- Google isn't there. (Why not? Ask Bill Gates, not me.)
Instead, in the lower-left corner of the window, click the "Autosearch settings" button. That will produce a different list labeled "Choose a search provider for address bar searches," and this time "Google Sites" will be listed near the top. Pick it, click OK, then OK again, and try your search yet again.
With luck you'll get your results from Google.
Of course, you don't get all the extra features of the Google Toolbar, but for basic searches you get the same hits just as fast -- and a bit more room to see them in.
ROLL YOUR OWN: Reader Jessie Johnson turned me on to a little utility from Microsoft that makes it possible to search other sites, not just your default engine, directly from the Address bar.
Called QuickSearch, the program is part of a package called Web Accessories for Internet Explorer (www.microsoft.com/win dows/ie/previous/webaccess/ ie5wa. asp). Another page on the Microsoft site says these Web Accessories don't work with IE 6, but Johnson insisted that at least QuickSearch does, and my experiments suggest she's right. (A Microsoft representative told me the accessories may work with IE 6, but haven't been thoroughly tested.)
Installing the Web Accessories adds QuickSearch to your Links toolbar. Selecting it brings up a window with a list of search sites and a two- or three-character shortcut for each -- av for AltaVista and so on. Type that shortcut in the Address bar, followed by your search term(s), and IE will send your query directly to the specified site.
Most of the sites preloaded in QuickSearch are mere also-rans in the search derby. But the cool thing about the program is that it lets you create custom shortcuts for other searchable sites.
Just go to the site you want, do a search and copy the URL for the results. Open QuickSearch, press the New button, enter the shortcut you want, choose Custom URL from the Search popup, then paste in the URL and follow the onscreen directions about replacing your original query terms. (It won't work if the query is not in the URL, as with Amazon searches, and apparently it won't accept very long URLs.)
I used QuickSearch, for example, to create a shortcut that lets me search AlltheWeb's news index from the Address bar. (That's the only AlltheWeb feature I've found so far that works consistently better than the Google equivalent, the still-beta and currently quite pathetic News feature on Google's Advanced Search page.)
I also made one for Yahoo Finance. Now I just type "yf ibm," for example, and in a blink I get Yahoo's "detailed" view of Big Blue's finances. Entering IBM in the Google Toolbar and clicking Google's stock quote icon is pretty simple, but my new approach is slicker and quicker.
Following a tip from Johnson, I even managed to make Amazon searchable from my Address bar. The trick is not to use the Amazon site itself, but something called Amazon Light (www.kokogiak .com/amazon), a site that delivers the e- tailing giant's catalog via XML.
BOOKMARKLETS GALORE: If for some reason you don't want to do your searching from the Address bar, but still don't want to add the Google Toolbar, there's another easy way to search Google without going to its home page: add a button or "bookmarklet" to your browser that automatically sends your query there.
To install such a button, just go to www.google.com/options/but tons.html, find the link labeled Google Search and drag it to your Links bar. When you click it, a simple dialog box asking for your query will appear. Enter what you want, hit Return and Google's results will appear, just as if you'd searched from the Google home page or toolbar.
Better yet, if the term you're after appears in the page you're already on, just select it and hit the button -- you'll get your results without typing a single character. That's something even the Google Toolbar doesn't do.
And that's not the only advantage of using these buttons (which are actually bits of JavaScript code). They also work in a lot of places the Google Toolbar doesn't: IE 4 or later or Netscape 4 or later on Windows, Linux or Unix, and version 4.5 or later of both browsers on the Mac. (They should also work with other browsers that support JavaScript, but I haven't tried.)
Similar JavaScript buttons are available free for numerous other search sites, Web directories and online reference sources. You can find a good collection of them at www.bookmarklets.com. There's even one called Make Search Bookmarklet, which lets you spawn still more of them.
DAVE DOES IT ALL: Last but by no means least, a reader who wants to stay anonymous turned me on to a little wonder called Dave's Quick Search Deskbar (www.notesbydave.com/toolbar/doc.htm). Instead of adding a new browser toolbar or buttons or using the Address bar, this free, open-source utility by David Bau installs a search field in the Windows Taskbar (usually at the bottom of your screen).
By default it will send anything you type into the field to Google, but it's not limited to Google -- it also knows how to search 140 other sites, from Amazon to EBay to IMDB to Yahoo Finance. To point it to one of these sites, just select it from a popup menu (which is organized into a dozen categories) or precede your query by the abbreviation that's listed in the menu entry for each site.
And if you want to add still more sites, a wizard that makes it easy appeared on Dave's site last week, contributed by Glenn Carr.
In many ways Dave's Deskbar is smarter and more efficient than the Google Toolbar -- or even Google itself. Type fedex or ups and a tracking number, and the status of your shipment will pop right up. Enter rz and a word, and you get a list of rhyming words from Lycos' Rhyme Zone. And if you type a mathematical expression, the program will calculate it for you.
At first I hesitated about giving up space in my Taskbar, which is often crowded already. But that's less of an issue in Windows XP, which uses the area more intelligently. And since Dave's Deskbar, when idle, displays the time, you can hide the Windows clock and recover some space. (Right-clicking in Dave's space brings up a monthly calendar -- why didn't Microsoft think of that?)
Besides, the Taskbar location has some advantages: you can use it whatever program you're in -- no need to start your browser. And if space is really tight, you can double the size of the taskbar just by dragging its top edge.
I'm still considering all these options, but right now I can't see myself turning off something as elegant and versatile as Dave's Deskbar.
Labels put brakes on CD copy blocks
By John Borland
Special to ZDNet News
September 3, 2002, 4:00 AM PT
Fearful of consumer backlash, major record labels in the United States have slowed controversial plans for making CDs more difficult to copy, even as tension over online music piracy mounts.
Last year, news that record companies were planning to add technology to CDs that would block people from making copies or MP3 files--and in many cases might even prevent playback on computers--sparked considerable controversy online, and even lawsuits.
Now major record labels themselves have put the brakes on the drive for copy protection, at least in the United States, even as record stores lobby for the locks to be added as soon as possible.
"From our perspective, CD copy protection is unfortunately not as good as we'd all like it to be," said Christa Haussler, vice president of new technology at music label BMG Entertainment.
Though the labels are slowing their drive for the technological locks, their desire for them has not diminished. Earlier this week, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reported that CD shipments dropped 7 percent during the first half of 2002 compared with the previous year. The organization blamed the drop on music downloading and CD copying.
Overseas adoption of CD copy-protection technology is growing, moreover. Israel-based Midbar Tech, which makes the Cactus Data Shield product used by Universal Music Group and other labels, said Monday that more than 30 million discs worldwide have been released with its anti-piracy protection built in. Ten million of those discs were released in Japan, where labels began using Midbar tools only this year.
But in the United States, the largest consumer market in the world, the silence on the issue is increasingly conspicuous. Universal Music, whose executives led the industry last year by saying they would copy-protect a significant proportion of their discs by this summer, has had only three relatively small releases.
Universal declines to discuss its strategy in detail, other than to provide a stock statement noting it is still investigating the technology.
"The integration of copy-protection technology into some of our CDs is a first step in measuring its effectiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace," the company's statement says. "We have not finalized our plans for 2002, nor have we made a commitment to put copy protection on all of our CD releases."
Others, such as BMG, are more blunt. Labels are leery of the consumer backlash that met even the first whispers of copy protection. Headlines since have not been friendly; reports have focused on cases where copy-protected CDs couldn't be played in PCs, in DVD players and PlayStation game machines and on suggestions they might even damage Apple Computer products.
So far, European consumers have been slower to take up playing CDs in computers, as opposed to in conventional CD players, Haussler said. That's made it easier for labels to introduce copy-protection technology without as much fear of a backlash, although growing PC penetration in Europe is now making the markets more similar, she added.
In the United States, "it's actually a really big political and legislative issue," Haussler said.
Push and pull
Their own sales figures aren't the only force pushing labels in the direction of protection. Many retailers, which are bearing much of the brunt of declining music sales, are blunt about their dissatisfaction about the slowdowns.
"They're trying to complicate the issues," said John Sullivan, executive vice president of Transworld Entertainment, one of the nation's biggest owners of retail music stores. "We think they should just get it done. We'll take care of consumer complaints."
The response from consumers has been overblown, despite the considerable controversy in headlines and online, Sullivan said. His stores saw no consumer backlash to Universal's protected release of the "More Fast and Furious" CD, he said.
But reaction has come in more areas than simple sales, at least in the United States. Two lawsuits have been filed over protected CDs, even before they were widely distributed. The first to be identified, a small release of country singer Charley Pride's most recent album, drew the first suit, alleging that customers were being misled about the contents of their purchase. It has since been settled.
Experienced class-action firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach followed that lawsuit up with another against all five major labels, charging that the big music companies were selling defective CDs without notifying consumers. That suit, filed in June, has yet to make significant progress.
In Washington, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., has led a campaign questioning the legality of copy protection, asking whether the technology would violate consumers' "fair use" rights to the music they've purchased.
Meanwhile, the technologies themselves have occasionally run into trouble. Anti-copying technology from Sony and Midbar each proved to be easily disarmed using only a felt-tip pen. Compatibility problems with Macintosh computers led Apple to warn people that problems resulting from playing nonstandard CDs wouldn't be covered under standard warranties.
No miracle lock
The companies producing the technology say they're close to working out most of these issues. But there is no silver bullet, they say.
Record companies would like to have perfect playability along with perfect protection. That's impossible, says Noam Zur, vice president of sales and marketing for Midbar. However, an acceptable compromise between playability and protection has been reached, he says.
"The number of complaints we get is negligible," Zur said. "I think the products are mature."
Macrovision, the U.S. company that is expanding from protecting videotapes and DVDs into music copy protection, says that consumers have to be given benefits along with the copy-blocking. Like its rivals, it is creating ways to put digital music files on CDs in a format that can be transferred to computers or MP3 players, along with video files, Web links or other add-ons.
Once these files are routinely put on CDs, criticism of the locks will be muted, the company believes.
"What we and the labels have been spending a great deal of time on is developing the capacity to make it easy to use music on PCs and portable devices," said Brian McPhail, vice president of Macrovision's consumer software division. Once those additions are in place, he said, "I think all the objections will go away, except those from ideologically inspired organizations."
If the push toward copy protection on CDs has slowed, then, it appears that it's not forever. A new generation of technology could persuade the record companies to pick up the pace again.
"The record labels in this country are very sensitive to consumer tastes," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA. "They are looking very carefully at the technology as it improves, but the technology needs to be more consumer-friendly."
TI Wi-Fi Chip Conserves Battery Power
Texas Instruments readies 802.11b chip that dramatically drops stand-by power consumption.
Yardena Arar, PCWorld.com
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
Texas Instruments has unveiled a low-power chip designed to support power-hungry Wi-Fi adapters while still providing the fast, untethered Internet access that the wireless spec promises.
Power-hungry WiFi adapters can take a big bite out of battery life, especially for smaller portable devices such as PDAs. The new WiFi chip, the TNETW1100B, is said to consume a tenth or less of the standby power of competing chips. Since most Wi-Fi-enabled devices spend the vast majority of time in standby or other non-operational modes (TI estimates most devices spend 95 percent of their time in such "rest periods"), the new chip should substantially prolong battery life.
The savings will be most pronounced for PDAs and other small portable devices for which a wireless LAN adapter accounts for a larger proportion of overall power consumption than it does in, say, a notebook PC. TI expects to ship the TNETW1100B in volume by year-end. Products using the new chip should be available late this year or early in 2003, says Dan Nemits, TI product manager.
A Quarter Savings
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Nemits points to the company's tests of the chip's efficiency. A PDA equipped with the new chip that receives 8MB of data and transmits 3.2MB over an eight-hour period will consume an average of 178.7 milliamp-hours of energy per hour, Nemits says. Of that, 3.7 mAh will power the wireless adapter. In contrast, the same PDA outfitted with a competing WiFi chip will consume an average of 239 mAh per hour, including 64 mAh for the wireless LAN adapter, Nemits says.
The result is a 26 percent decrease in battery life when using the competing chip, he adds. With notebooks, the battery life was only about 7 percent less with the competing chip, according to TI's tests.
For New, Existing Devices
The TNETW1100B comes in two form factors: a new 12-by-12mm package specifically designed for small portables with integrated WiFi capability, and a more traditional 16-by-16mm package (so vendors can use it to in existing devices). The new chip is also cheaper than its predecessors, so vendors now only have to spend about $20 on the materials for a WiFi adapter, compared to "the high 20s" only six months ago, Nemits adds.
"We're whittling down the barrier to getting this technology into different things," Nemits says.
The new chip also supports the 22-mbps technology TI introduced earlier this year in a WiFi chip now being used by D-Link and US Robotics, among others.
Listen To The Music: The Latest Features in MP3 Players
by Melissa V. Winter, BestBuy.com staff copywriter
You're a true audiophile. You've been bringing CDs home regularly for years and the storage racks are beginning to take over your living room as well as every other room in the house. From U2 to Schubert, you got 'em and you're not about to get rid of 'em. You'd love to take a hundred along on road trips, vacations and heck, just to the gym. And now you can.
A portable digital music player does the job. It allows you to store hundreds of vinyl records, CDs and tapes within an easy-to-tote, compact music player. Back when they were introduced, MP3 players could barely hold a cassette's amount of tunes. But with emerging technology this past year, more memory, more options and hard drive-based players are changing the way the music rocks you. Read on to learn about some of the latest features and products in the MP3 player arena.
Size or memory: Which do you choose
The current state of MP3 players give consumers some choices: more memory, smaller size or both?
Many of the new players are shrinking in size, yet increasing in flash, or internal memory. Samsung's yepp' Sport Digital Audio Player YP-30SH is a mere 2-1/2" high x 1-3/4" wide x 1/2" deep for fit-in-your-palm fun, yet boasts a solid 128MB of built-in memory.
Other music players that easily fit in your pocket include the svelte RCA k@zoo MP3 Digital Audio Player (shown at the top of the page). It's about 2" high x 2-1/4" wide x 1" deep and comes with a sufficient 64MB of memory for about an hour of play time, expandable to 128MB with a MultiMediaCard.
Measuring in at CD-player size is the Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox. It may be a bit larger than some of the newer miniscule MP3 models, but it packs an impressive 10.0GB hard drive for hundreds of songs. The more recent NOMAD Jukebox 3 kicks it up a notch with a massive 20.0GB of memory. That's enough to store around 300 hours of tunes, or roughly 4,000 songs!
Hard drive-based players
Though the majority of portable digital music players still use flash memory, more and more manufacturers are releasing portable players with hard drives. The advantage of a hard drive is the massive amount of storage it offers for MP3 files, as well as photos, videos and personal data.
A player with 64MB of Flash memory offers about an hour's worth of tunes, while a player with a hard disk drive can hold hundreds of hours of music. The Archos Jukebox Studio 20 and Archos Jukebox Recorder 20, as well as Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox 3 and the SONICBlue's Rio Riot Digital all boast huge 20.0GB hard drives; plenty of memory for long-term storage. And once a hard drive-based player is connected to your computer, it conveniently appears as a hard drive on your desktop for easy file transfer.
Multimedia designs
If you want to deal with both audio and movie files, choose one of the new multimedia portables. Many play MP3, WAV and WMA audio files and allow you to enjoy watching full-motion videos compressed in MPEG-4 (MP4). Some let you view digital images and graphics files. An expansion slot can accommodate audiophiles who need more memory and some devices may include a proprietary slot for a digital camera, a TV tuner and wireless connectivity.
The paperback-size Archos Jukebox MultiMedia is one rockin' multimedia road show. It can show still images on its color screen and play MPEG-4 and DVX video. It's an MP3 music player/recorder, still camera, camcorder and video player/recorder in one. Oh, and it's also a voice recorder and can work as a completely external hard drive, with a whopping 20.0GB of storage. Record directly from a CD player or other music device without connecting to a computer. An expansion connector offers more ways to bypass a PC connection, with adapters that allow for direct connection to other devices, like a digital camera or TV tuner.
Panasonic's hit the combo jackpot with their 4-in-1 SV-AV10. It combines a camcorder, digital camera, digital audio player and voice recorder into a single device. The included 64MB Secure Digital (SD) card stores MPEG-4 video, MP3 and ACC audio files, JPEG stills and voice memos -- all in a gadget about the size of a small stack of business cards. Record video clips using the handy 2" LCD to guide you, then turn around and enjoy your MP3 tunes.
Improved connectivity
Until recently, all Windows- and hard drive-based MP3 players connected to your computer by USB. It's a convenient connection but leaves something to be desired regarding how fast you can transfer files. Some MP3 players on the horizon are slated to boast an IEEE 1394 connection for faster music transfers from PCs with 1394 ports.
One of the players already featuring this connection is Creative Labs' NOMAD Jukebox 3. It packs a USB port plus a FireWire/IEEE 1394 port for faster music downloads. This hard drive-based player also allows you to sync with multiple PCs (with the Creative PlayCenter software installed), which means you can trade entire MP3 collections in a short period of time. PlayCenter software also handles auto song titling and organization, music importing, CD burning and standard file transfers of any type.
A bevy of recording options
And just one more cool, gotta-have feature is recording options. Using the analog-in or digital-in connections, the Nomad Jukebox 3, Archos Jukebox Recorder 10 and 20 let you record directly to the hard drive from a variety of sources like CDs, tapes, albums, lectures on microcassettes, even a powered microphone -- a great way to archive your favorite recordings. Then pump out the melodies through your four-channel stereo system.
Auto song titling, easy file organization
The more advanced players, like the NOMAD Jukebox, NOMAD Jukebox 3 and Rio Riot from SONICBlue, highlight interfaces that display songs by artist, title or album regardless of the song's computer file name. When ripping from a CD, the computer checks for information on each track, then stores a data tag. When you load the files onto the player, this tag automatically archives a list of all the song information. How cool.
DataPlay coming our way?
DataPlay's highly anticipated recordable media will be another option for the music technojock. iRiver's iDP-100 is anticipated to be the first MP3 player to use DataPlay's tiny, write-only optical discs, which can contain up to 500MB or over 500 minutes of MP3 music, on one mini disc.
Be sure to shop our entire selection of portable MP3 players, which includes some of the players discussed here and many more.
we can only hope
Radio, Radio
By Jon Iverson
August 26, 2002 -- Traditional music radio has been taking a beating since the mid '80s, when declining audience numbers entered a ratings freefall. Reader Bard-Alan Finlan argued in his Soapbox a few weeks back that perhaps digital radio could cure the market's over-the-air terrestrial broadcast ills, if only it were implemented with adequate bandwidth and marketed correctly.
"Without a doubt, radio's future is digital," concurs Dale Mowry of Harris Broadcast. In an effort to move In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) digital radio forward, equipment manufacturer and IBOC promoter Harris says it will be launching the "Extreme Digital Roadshow" as a traveling seminar designed to help radio general managers, executives, and engineers better understand IBOC implementation.
Harris Broadcastsays its representatives, along with experts from iBiquity, developer of the recently branded HD Radio IBOC broadcast system, and Impulse Radio, a developer of radio data applications, will present seminars to provide information about the digital transition, standard, and market environment, as well as demonstrations.
According to Mowry, Harris hopes that, as the digital radio word gets out, "radio broadcasters will understand that IBOC offers the most compelling, efficient, and cost-effective path to digital broadcasting with its dramatically improved sound quality and its ability to generate new revenue sources such as wireless data services."
The Extreme Digital Roadshow will initially visit the six cities that have been chosen by iBiquity for a January 2003 IBOC broadcast roll-out. Seminars are scheduled for Seattle (9/10), New York (9/20), Miami (9/18), San Francisco (9/24), Los Angeles (9/25), and Chicago (9/27).
On the satellite radio front, last week saw Kenwood announce a new FM modulator capable of tuning in the Sirius service. Sirius spokesperson Thomas Meyer says that this development is significant for several reasons. "First, at a cost entry point of $229.99, coupled with a $75.00 mail-in rebate, the Kenwood KCA-R70 FM Adapter [bundled with a Kenwood Model KTC-SR901 tuner] allows consumers to purchase Sirius Satellite Radio at a very competitive price point."
Meyer points out that the new Kenwood device can also be added to any car without removing the existing head unit, making it easier to get the system up and running, even if the user has a leased vehicle that cannot be modified. The Kenwood adapter includes a faceplate/controller with 24-presets for Sirius channels and a scrolling LCD readout displaying satellite channel, program category, and song title or artist name.
DSPs move into Bluetooth domain
Two members of the Texas Instruments DSP third party network have developed standard Bluetooth upper-level software for TI's TMS320C54x generation of DSPs.
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Date: 1 August 2002
Product information from:
Texas Instruments
D-85350 Freising, Germany
Telephone: +49 8161 803311
E-Mail Texas Instruments for more information
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Subject:
TMS320C54x To meet the market's increasing demand for wireless products two members of the Texas Instruments DSP third party network have developed standard Bluetooth upper-level software for TI's TMS320C54x generation of DSPs.
With the ability to port an upper-level Bluetooth stack to a programmable DSP, Troy Wireless and Stonestreet One are enabling developers to go wireless with their C54x DSP-based products, including applications such as consumer audio, headsets, hands-free cellular car kits, digital still cameras, Internet connectivity, medical monitors robotics and a wide range of other DSP-based products.
"In the growing market for wireless solutions, DSP-based systems represent an important area of expansion for Bluetooth connectivity", said Joyce Putscher, director, In-Stat/MDR.
"The availability of Bluetooth upper-level stacks for TI DSPs will push wireless connectivity into a new range of application areas".
The new Bluetooth upper-level stacks provide a standard interface that links application-specific Bluetooth profiles with the C54x DSP host processor and effectively open up an entirely new range of Bluetooth applications.
Traditionally, generic Bluetooth upper-level stacks have been available for development on RISC-type processors.
However, programmable DSPs offer customers the added capability to use hundreds of off-the-shelf DSP-compliant algorithms, along with the Bluetooth stack, to develop complete and timely product applications.
Running the stack directly on the DSP eliminates the need for a separate microprocessor and memory for the Bluetooth protocol processing, thereby reducing the cost, size, and power consumption of a DSP-based device.
The ability to efficiently expand the portability of the Bluetooth standard for DSP-based products benefits customers as it enables designers to meet the high demand for wireless applications.
Both Troy Wireless' and Stonestreet One's Bluetooth profiles allow C54x-based customers to perform key functions, such as file synchronisation, wireless serial port and LAN access communications.
These Bluetooth software solutions also work well with TI's current Bluetooth baseband and radio silicon offerings, BSN6040, BSN6030 and TRF6001, and the upcoming BRF6100.
"The new Bluetooth stacks from Troy Wireless and Stonestreet One complement TI's strategy of providing complete DSP solutions to our customers", said Dennis Barrett, TMS320C5000 marketing manager, TI.
"These stacks mean our customers will be able to Bluetooth-enable their DSP applications more quickly and seamlessly than ever before".
The Troy Wireless Bluetooth stack, WindStack, is Bluetooth version 1.1 qualified and is performance optimised to run on TI's C54x DSP devices.
Designed for embedded C54x applications, the WindStack enables complete Bluetooth stack implementation and includes a majority of the profiles, a variety of application programming interfaces (API), documentation and a C54x software evaluation kit.
In addition, Troy has designed WindStack according to the TMS320 algorithm standard to make it easy for customers to integrate it with other third party algorithms and to help reduce time to market.
"We chose the C54x generation for our Bluetooth solution because we feel the DSP market will be the next major opportunity for Bluetooth wireless communications and because TI is the world leader in DSP technology", said Patrick Dirk, chairman and CEO, TROY.
"We knew it was very important to optimise our stack for TI's C54x and to make it easy for customers to quickly add other off-the-shelf eXpressDSP algorithms to reduce product development time".
Stonestreet One's latest release of Bluetopia is specifically designed and optimised for TI's eXpressDSP Reference Framework 3 (RF3).
TI's Reference Frameworks, which are adaptable to a variety of customer applications, eliminate much of the initial low-level design decisions for the developer and allow them more time to focus on the code that differentiates their products.
This release of Bluetopia is built on Stonestreet One's performance-proven DSP Bluetooth protocol stack, which is already being used by several customers and partners.
Bluetopia is Bluetooth version 1.1 compliant, has a flexible memory footprint, is completely scaleable and includes a comprehensive API.
The headset and hands-free profiles, which are crucial to the development of many DSP-based products, are included, along with other core and newly released profiles.
Bluetopia is available for virtually every operating system and platform.
"With this new release, Bluetopia will now allow customers to optimise the audio functionality of Bluetooth technology while enjoying seamless integration into their C54x applications", said Tim Reilly, chief technology officer, Stonestreet One.
"That seamless integration will mean real time-to-market advantages when adding wireless connectivity to DSP systems, and developers who use Bluetopia can tap into the expertise of Stonestreet One's engineers, who designed, developed and now support Bluetopia".
Application processor accesses multimedia library
Designers of multimedia applications based on the new OMAP5910 processor can bring their products to market much faster thanks to more than 70 readily available DSP software algorithms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 8 August 2002
Product information from:
Texas Instruments
D-85350 Freising, Germany
Telephone: +49 8161 803311
E-Mail Texas Instruments for more information
Visit the Company Website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:
OMAP5910 Designers of next-generation multimedia applications based on the new OMAP5910 application processor from Texas Instruments can bring their products to market much faster thanks to more than 70 readily available DSP software algorithms supplied by TI's DSP third-party network.
Developers of multimedia application designs for the broad market can seamlessly integrate proven eXpressDSP-compliant algorithms from TI DSP third parties onto the DSP that will take advantage of the highly-integrated OMAP5910 processor.
This combination of robust DSP third party code and the OMAP5910 processor will help stimulate the creation of new end-equipments in areas such as telematics, wireless security, medical metering, biometrics, gaming, digital multimedia, location-based services and m-commerce.
The dual-core OMAP5910 processor combines the real-time processing capabilities and low power consumption of TI's TMS320C55xT DSP core and the flexibility, scalability and rich man-machine interface of a TI-enhanced ARM925.
The OMAP5910 processor enables embedded developers to program the device in their familiar development environment leveraging the current knowledge base and the large amount of eXpressDSP-compliant algorithms available from TI's DSP third-party network members.
The embedded ARM developer now has access to the power, performance and efficiencies of the standard application programming interfaces (APIs) and an optimised interprocessor communication mechanism, eliminating the need to program the RISC and DSP independently, greatly reducing programming time and complexity.
The TI DSP third-party programme, founded more than 5 years ago, now has an industry leading 600+ member companies throughout the world, bringing unsurpassed support to the development of TI DSP-based applications.
By taking advantage of TI's TMS320T algorithm standard, TI's third parties can offer eXpressDSP-compliant C55x algorithms to customers to help them seamlessly integrate and speed product development for their end-equipments based on the OMAP5910 processor.
eXpressDSP compliancy on TI DSPs ensures compatibility of algorithms and ease of integration into customer designs.
Using the eXpressDSP-compliant third-party algorithms, RISC-based developers can now access and implement DSP functionality while developing in a familiar environment.
"TI's strong support system makes it easy to start OMAP5910 development right away.
The power to create or leverage existing code is now back in the hands of the developer", said Greg Mar, OMAP5910 product marketing manager, TI.
"Developers can find the DSP code they need to create multimedia applications using the OMAP5910 processor and begin integrating their systems immediately.
They can choose as much or as little as their skill sets and time to market requirements allow".
Among the algorithms offered are: video and imaging from ImagePower and Sasken; speech, voice and audio from Wipro, Hellosoft, Virtual IP, EDA, Spirit, DSP Bayer, Creative DSP, SRS Labs, Imagine Technologies, Acoustic Technologies, Spatializer, Delphi and Cybit; security from Snapshield; and networking from Windmill Innovation
Digital processor comes packed with audio features
Texas Instruments has released a new family of high-performance digital audio processors it reckons packs more processing power into a tiny, 38-pin/43mm2 package than ever seen before.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 28 August 2002
Product information from:
Texas Instruments
D-85350 Freising, Germany
Telephone: +49 8161 803311
E-Mail Texas Instruments for more information
Visit the Company Website
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Subject:
TAS3103 DAP Texas Instruments has released a new family of high-performance digital audio processors (DAPs) it reckons packs more processing power into a tiny, 38-pin/43mm2 package than ever seen before.
Both compact and economical, these new DAPs will provide high quality audio processing to consumer electronics manufacturers with a 48bit, fixed-function audio digital signal processor, without the need for additional programming.
TI's new TAS3103 DAP, the initial product in the TAS31XX family of devices, is designed for high performance, exceptional integration and cost-efficiency.
The TAS3103 DAP condenses board space by reducing the number of stand-alone devices usually needed for advanced processing, while operating at 135MHz and providing 540MIPS in a low 38-pin count package.
TI will also implement a broad range of turnkey audio effects algorithms to work with the TAS3103, including those from such companies as BBE Sound, Cooper Bauck, QSound, Sensaura and SRS, saving OEMs development resources and valuable time to market.
Combining form and functionality, this innovative technology can enhance a variety of audio entertainment systems, including: mini/micro component systems, boom boxes, DVD players, audio-video receivers (AVRs), televisions, home theatres and automotive sound systems.
"With the introduction of this new family of digital audio processors, TI is demonstrating its leadership and commitment to enabling affordable, high-quality digital audio from the audio source to the speaker", said Niels Anderskouv, Digital Audio and Video director at TI.
"The high-performance TAS3103 DAP offers a tremendous amount of audio processing power in a cost effective and compact solution".
The TAS31XX product line has a variety of audio processing features to address a wide range of applications, including most home and automotive entertainment products.
Each DAP is powered by a true 48bit, fixed-function digital signal processor core, supporting input and output data with up to 32bit resolution.
This enables extremely high quality audio processing with little or no impact to the audio stream, even for professional systems.
The new DAPs eliminate the need to program complex audio effects algorithms, thus simplifying development for reduced costs and faster time to market.
In addition, due to its work with leading sound processing companies, TI is implementing additional audio effects technology that can be customised requiring no additional algorithm programming.
The following audio processing algorithms are available on TAS31XX devices: soft volume, bass and treble controls adjust sound without pops or clicks; static and dynamic loudness compensation enhances bass effects; parametric and graphic equalisation increases sound quality; dynamic range compression and expansion enables late night listening mode and increases apparent loudness; input and output channel mixing/scaling simplifies input/mode selection; programmable dither preserves audio quality; effects processing supports 3D effects, stereo spreading, surround sound and bass enhancements; and an integrated pool of delay memory enables sound effects and imaging.
With its flexible functionality, the TAS3103 supplies three channels of processing with the entire suite of processing algorithms mentioned above.
It also has multichannel input and output capability while supporting audio sampling rates up to 96kHz.
Another notable feature is that the TAS3103 has the ability to support up to 16 bands of independent equalisation per channel.
The TAS3103 has a total delay of 42ms at 48kHz and can be used in any of the channels for speaker image correction, 3D and surround sound.
A spectrum analyser is also integrated and can be configured for use as a five- or ten-band analyser or stereo VU meter.
TI provides high-performance, programmable DSP and analogue-based solutions for many audio segments.
TI offers the performance headroom and flexibility in a low power solution for designs including portable Internet audio players, A/V receivers, digital radios, home jukeboxes and home theatres in a box.
Samples of the TAS3103 DAP are available now with volume production expected in September 2002.
The device is packaged in a 38-pin thin small-scale outline (TSSOP) package.
Pricing is $2.50 each in quantities of 50,000.
Baseband chip claims first for HD Radio technology
The industry's first digital baseband chip enabling HD Radio technology is available today from Texas Instruments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 13 August 2002
Product information from:
Texas Instruments
D-85350 Freising, Germany
Telephone: +49 8161 803311
E-Mail Texas Instruments for more information
Visit the Company Website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:
DRI200 The industry's first digital baseband chip enabling HD Radio technology is available today from Texas Instruments.
The chip handles all the baseband processing required for HD Radio.
The new product, which combines TI's expertise in digital signal processing and iBiquity Digital Corp's patented IBOC digital AM and FM technology, trademarked HD Radio, will enable radio manufacturers to incorporate the new digital reception technology into home and car receivers for US retail launch in 2003 and for automakers in 2004.
An IBOC digital module (IDM), incorporating TI's solution with all the hardware and software needed to process the HD Radio baseband signal, is also available from iBiquity for radio manufacturers to deploy in new digital receivers.
"Kenwood is pleased to see the first HD Radio DSP Solution available from TI", said Bob Law, Sr Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Kenwood USA.
"TI's DRI200 and iBiquity's IDM will save us valuable time to market and give us a competitive edge in delivering HD Radio to our retail partners for sale to consumers".
As the industry's first digital baseband chip to support iBiquity's HD Radio technology, TI's new single-chip TMS320DRI200 solution will enable manufacturers to design and deliver HD Radio receivers in 2003.
TI's DRI200 chip, which is based on TI's TMS320C6000 DSP architecture, incorporates digital channel, source and data decoding and demodulation functions.
An IDM combines the memory and appropriate interfaces on a credit card size board.
Designed by iBiquity, the IDM reduces the complexity of a HD Radio receiver and helps reduce development and deployment time for radio manufacturers.
The IDM is designed to easily plug into existing AM/FM radio architectures.
Visteon Corp, a leading automotive supplier and system integrator, plays a key role in HD Radio development and worked with TI during the development of the DRI200.
This will enable Visteon to create an efficient HD Radio solution based on its MACH DSP technology.
TI and iBiquity have greatly reduced the risks inherent in developing products for new technologies by implementing HD Radio technology in software.
The flexibility of the DRI200 allows for future refinements, which can be incorporated with software upgrades.
The DRI200 is supported by TI's Code Composer Studio integrated development environment, the industry's most comprehensive tools for DSP development.
Code Composer Studio gives developers the ability to add new software functions on the same piece of silicon, allowing for fast implementation of integrated features.
"The IDM and software radio approach that TI and iBiquity have taken allows manufacturers to enter the emerging digital radio market quickly and with little design risk", said O'Connell Benjamin, Sr Vice President and co-Chief Operating Officer, iBiquity Digital Corp.
"Without a software radio approach, we could not have enabled manufacturers to launch HD Radio products in early 2003".
HD Radio technology (formerly known as IBOC) enhances AM and FM broadcasts with digital signals that improve listening quality and can provide additional information, such as station information, song and artist identification, stock and news reports, local traffic and weather alerts and more.
Major broadcasters plan to begin transmission of HD Radio signals starting in the 4th quarter of 2002 in six strategic markets (Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle).
Transmission equipment manufacturers announced production plans for digital radio station products at the National Association of Broadcasters show in April 2002.
At that show, retailers announced support for receivers with HD Radio technology.
Radio broadcasters are expected to begin converting their stations to HD Radio this fall.
"With the availability of the DRI200, all the ingredients are now in place for the launch of HD Radio receivers in 2003", said Naresh Coppisetti, Digital Radio Business Manager at TI.
"We're proud to see such leaders as Kenwood and Visteon among the first manufacturers to incorporate HD Radio technology in mobile radios.
We look forward to seeing multiple mobile and home receiver manufacturers producing HD Radio receivers in 2003".
Samples of the DRI200 are available now for $50 each.
The IDM is available now to iBiquity's licensed radio manufacturers.
TI's DRI200 is scheduled for volume production in the fourth quarter of 2002.
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex305.html
high-definition radio (HD radio)
Next-gen radio signaling new growth opportunities
Digital, satellite services gaining momentum
By Darrell Dunn
EBN
(08/16/02, 01:51 PM EST)
Eager to exploit new developments in radio, several chipmakers and broadcast service providers are primed to serve the market that helped shape the early days of the electronics industry.
Texas Instruments Inc. last week introduced a chipset for the digital, or high-definition, radio market. And STMicroelectronics Inc. and Agere Systems Inc. recently introduced next-generation chipsets that support satellite radio service providers XM Satellite and Sirius Satellite Radio, respectively.
The success of the next-generation radio market, however, largely depends on widescale adoption by the automotive industry next year.
Although financial concerns have surfaced at two satellite service providers, the market is beginning to show promise, with more than 137,000 subscribers and commitments for installation by various automakers. Digital radio systems are expected to begin shipping next year, offering CD-quality sound for AM/FM broadcasts.
"This is the first major change in radio technology since FM was introduced in the '60s," said John Gardner, marketing manager for digital radio at TI in Houston. "Digital radio will provide CD-quality sound as well as data capability, and the latter is an area I believe broadcasters will see value in, providing them a new revenue stream."
The high-definition radio (HD radio) market is being driven by iBiquity Digital Corp., Columbia, Md., which developed the In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) technology being used to implement digital terrestrial broadcasting. HD radio receivers are expected to begin appearing next year.
The satellite radio market began in earnest last November, when XM Satellite started to roll out services. By June, XM had 136,500 subscribers, and the company, which is backed by American Honda, Clear Channel Communications, DirecTV, and General Motors, has projected it will have 350,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
Sirius began its rollout July 1 and had signed 6,510 subscribers as of Aug. 11. Investors include ABC, Clear Channel, and Viacom. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month, the company warned it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it can't raise as much as $600 million to stay afloat.
Sirius posted a net loss of $215 million through the first half of this year. XM reported a net loss of $240 million in the same period. Both companies are tying revenue to subscriptions, with Sirius charging about $20 a month and XM $10 a month. Both offer CD-quality sound and more than 100 channels. XM promised minimal commercials, while Sirius is promoted as commercial free.
Both companies are heavily relying on the automotive industry. XM radios are being offered as an option in 25 GM models, as well as six Infiniti and Nissan models. Sirius has agreements with BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Volvo.
"The [satellite] service is a viable one, and given enough time the two would be profitable. I just don't know if they are going to have the time," said Michelle Abraham, an analyst at In-Stat Group in Scottsdale, Ariz. "They are still losing a lot per day, and they need to keep up the advertising to inform people they are out there. We'll have to see if they can come up with more investment, and it's hard into today's market."
Silicon providers are doing their part to reduce cost and size requirements to allow the new radio services to compete more effectively.
ST has recently introduced a two-chip device for XM that reduced component count from around seven chips in its previous design. Agere this month introduced a single chip for Sirius that the company said reduced the size of the radio card from that of a videocassette in current systems to a credit card. And TI last week introduced a chip for iBiquity that the company said uses a single DSP core compared with 12 in an older model.
Will Strauss, an analyst at Forward Concepts Co., Tempe, Ariz., believes companies will need to sign an unrealistic number of satellite subscribers to turn a profit, but said he believes the digital radio market will grow from 1.4 million units next year to 23 million in 2006.
"The satellite guys have spent a lot of money upfront, and it's still pretty iffy. I like free radio better," Strauss said. "IBiquity will ultimately become universal."
Michael Kasparian, technical marketing manager at ST's automotive business unit in Detroit, said it's not the fee that is hindering the satellite market but the system cost, an issue that is being addressed.
Receivers have already dropped from around $400 to $200, Kasparian said. Automakers can include the cost in the total car payment, and even roll in the subscription fee, he said. Pontiac is currently offering a free satellite radio for 2003 models purchased before the end of the year.
"If you look at the television model, you have free over-the-air analog going to digital, cable, and satellite," Kasparian said. "And really the digital sound is not what sells XM, it's the programming. The sound is very nice, but you can get that with your own CDs or MP3 files."
TI's Gardner said the attention on satellite systems "could actually spur digital radio. The more successful [satellite] is, I think the more pressure it will put on broadcasters to move to digital."
DIGITAL ERA TRANSFORMS RADIO DAYS
Issue: Radio
A look at radio's transition to digital technology and the potential of
low-power radio stations to serve communities. Concerning digital --
"Existing receivers will work in the system, because, for a period of time,
we will continue to broadcast in analog," explained William J. Casey,
director of marketing and sales for Lucent Digital Radio, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Lucent Technologies. "The stations want to do it because it
increases fidelity for the consumer; there would be the ability to license
or rent out that space on the sideband to data providers; and it is an
opportunity to provide and enhance public service, such as emergency
broadcasts. "For example, with the digital signal, if, there's a tornado, a
transmitter can send a signal out to a digital radio and literally wake it
up...it turns the radio on at a high volume and issues a warning." Digital
radio may be commercially available as soon as next year. David Bickle,
public relations manager for Lucent's New Ventures Group, said "FM will have
a near-CD-quality sound, and AM will sound like FM does today. At the same
time, you'll have the ability to receive data over the digital signal. A
radio probably will have a video display, which could show the name of the
artist, the name of the song, local traffic or weather."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 4, p.1), AUTHOR: Gary Dretzka]
(http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,ART-29734,00.html)
Oct. 23, 1998-- Lucent Technologies and
Cognicity, Inc. will demonstrate the latest digital audio and watermarking
technologies today to more than 160 leaders in the music industry at the
Beverly Hills Nikko Hotel. The demonstration will be presented by renowned
music producer and technology guru Phil Ramone. Ramone will be with a group of
music industry leaders in Manhattan who will be linked to the Los Angeles group
over the Internet through the Lucent Collaborative Video(tm) system.
The event features a demonstration of Lucent Technologies' audio compression
technology, called PAC(tm) (Perceptual Audio Coder), and Cognicity's
AudioKey(tm) watermarking technology.
Phil Ramone, producer of such noted artists as Barbra Streisand, and Paul
Simon, and president of N2K Encoded Music, has been an early adopter of
recording technology throughout his career and a pioneer in the growing
Internet music industry.
``Musicians and scientists share the same creative passions for their work;
this demonstration is an ideal crossroads for two industries that can change
the way people listen to music,'' said Ramone. ``These technologies are
enablers of new applications. What Lucent and Cognicity have is really
exciting, and it's what we've been waiting for in the next phase of the digital
revolution.''
Lucent Technologies' PAC is a patented Bell Labs algorithm for the compression
of audio. PAC delivers the highest-quality audio at the lowest possible bit
rates. It uses psychoacoustic modeling - that is, a representation of how
humans hear sound - to compress music in a way that is not noticeable to the
ear. Music is compressed at a rate of 15 to 1, thus reducing the transmission
time/bandwidth and storage by the same ratio, while still retaining its
fidelity.
Lucent continues to make significant improvements in PAC. Lucent Digital Radio,
a wholly-owned venture of Lucent Technologies, will use PAC for digital audio
broadcast (DAB), and Lucent is working on other products and services that
incorporate the technology.
``We are on the verge of some very exciting developments within this industry,
and Lucent has a great deal to offer as a technology enabler for new ways of
enjoying music,'' said Rachel Walkden, director of Lucent's new audio ventures
group.
Lucent Technologies' famed research and development arm, Bell Labs, has been at
the forefront of technology for the music industry for decades, with the
introduction of sound for motion pictures in 1926; the invention of stereo
recording in 1933; the invention of the transistor in 1947; the introduction of
computer-synthesized music in the 1950s; the introduction of psychoacoustics in
the 1960s; sub-band coding of audio in the 1970s; the introduction of linear
predictive coding in the 1980s, and the Perceptual Audio Coder in the 1990s.
ELEMENTS OF THE LOS ANGELES-NEW YORK EVENT
The Lucent Collaborative Video system delivers high-quality audio and video to
multiple locations over the Internet at rates ranging from ISDN (128,000 bits
per second) to T-1 (1.5 million bits per second) using proprietary Bell Labs
algorithms. The PC-based system can stream 32 simultaneous video files to the
user's desktop, allowing for unparalleled creative control. For more
information about the Lucent Collaborative Video system, visit the Web site at
www.multimedia.bell-labs.com/lcv.
The Beverly Hills-New York Internet connection uses routers from Lucent's
Remote Access Business Unit. For more information on Lucent's remote access
products, visit the data networking Web site at www.lucent.com/dns.
Cognicity's watermarking scheme provides active steps for artists and recording
labels to protect and promote their work.
``The protection of intellectual property is one of the major issues in
Internet music, and we want to demonstrate the effectiveness of our tools for
the music publishing industry,'' said Ahmed Tewfik, CEO of Cognicity. ``We
believe that in the next few years, downloading music from the Internet will
become as common an experience for music lovers as loading a CD player.''
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and
delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems
and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and
microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for
the company.
Why MP3 matters
by Glyn Moody
Thursday 2 August 2001
An apparently peripheral music technology is central to the future of the Internet
Last week's feature described the latest developments in the online music scene. But one major player barely mentioned was Microsoft. Following a by now familiar pattern, the company woke up to the potential of digital music formats late, and by the time that it launched its Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3 had already become the de facto standard.
However, just as with Web browsers, the existence of a market leader did not daunt Microsoft, which has plugged away at its own standard, using its financial might and desktop dominance to forge a credible online music strategy.
This has succeeded to the point where the market is at a very interesting juncture, with WMA now the only serious rival to MP3. Although the recording industry pledged to come up with its own alternative as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), this has proved an embarrassing disaster.
The extent of the music industry's disarray was demonstrated by the fiasco of the HackSDMI challenge. After the SDMI watermarking technologies were defeated, the record companies panicked and attempted to censor all discussion of how they were broken That a supposedly secure format could be cracked was probably unavoidable, but the crass handling of the affair was not.
With the SDMI no longer a credible option, WMA's chances look even brighter. Significantly, Microsoft's stance towards the MP3 format is shifting. At first it seemed that Windows XP would not offer the ability to rip (convert) audio CDs to MP3 format, only to WMA. MP3 ripping will now be available, though only as paid-for third-party add-ins.
Microsoft may be making minor concessions here in part because of the recent antitrust appeal judgement. But it seems more likely that Microsoft is more relaxed about MP3 because WMA is beginning to catch on. Another factor is Microsoft's recent agreement with Pressplay.
Pressplay is yet another attempt by music giants, in this case Sony and Universal, to come up with an online music service. Part of the deal is that the WMA format will be supported. It seems that an insistence on WMA was the rock on which crucial negotiations between Microsoft and AOL foundered.
According to what is claimed to be an e-mail from within AOL management, an agreement for AOL's client software to be bundled with Windows XP was close. This would have been an extension of the previous deal between the two companies, signed in 1996, that bundled AOL's software with Windows 95 in return for AOL backing Internet Explorer over Netscape Navigator.
It was this agreement that effectively sealed the fate of Netscape. But this time AOL did not want to acquiesce so readily. Perhaps it recognised that at stake was the next key area earmarked for Microsoft's conquest: online music. Thanks to AOL's acquisition of Time-Warner, this is of keen interest to the company, and not something to be handed to Microsoft lightly. AOL has already made its first moves in this sector with Musicnet working with Microsoft's streaming rival RealNetworks.
It is also worth noting that some time ago AOL bought Nullsoft, the company that produces the hugely popular MP3 player Winamp (though this also supports WMA). In short, online music is likely to be the market where Microsoft and AOL clash most directly and violently. This is why an apparently peripheral technology like MP3 is in fact central to the future of the Internet.
Intel and Philips plan new breed of consumer devices
Tuesday 3 September 2002
Philips Electronics is to offer design and manufacturing services for a new generation of consumer electronics devices based on Philips' Pronto++ Software for multimedia and Intel's PXA250 processors. Philips will also release its own set of products based on the technology.
Philips' Pronto++ Software lets a consumer electronics device provide various types of multimedia content, such as video, audio, and games, said Sugata Sanyal, director of Philips Components. Most consumer electronics devices provide only a single multimedia function, such as an audio MP3 player, and lack other media technologies such as video.
The new devices will be able to take advantage of the PXA250's low power consumption and 32-bit embedded processing power, said Mike Iannitti, director of Intel's extended computing division. Intel's XScale technology has not been used in consumer electronics devices yet, he said, although Intel has invested a lot into a new generation of its XScale processors and will announce new products for multimedia technology at its upcoming Intel Developer Forum.
Entertainment devices will probably be the first products to emerge from the combination of Philips' software and Intel processors, Sanyal said. Examples include television guides, Web browsers, remote controls, and Java gaming devices, he said.
Philips will either help OEMs design new products based on the multimedia technology, or build the products for them, said Sanyal. The company will provide reference hardware, such as sample devices with the XScale chips, and its software to interested partners. It will also offer consulting services and back-end technology as required.
Pricing will be determined by how much of a relationship the OEM wants to get into, Sanyal said. Some OEMs will prefer to save time and design cost by simply contracting with Philips to build the devices, while others would prefer to design their own devices and need help implementing the Pronto++ Software with the Intel processors, he said. The reference hardware and software is available immediately, he said.
Philips' own multimedia consumer electronics products with PXA250 processors will be announced at its upcoming CEDIA trade show starting 25 September in Minneapolis, USA. The companies will also demonstrate the combined technologies at the Intel Developer Forum in San Jose, California, from 9 September.
Media Enabling - MemUS-B
Features
Operates as a USB-powered mass storage portable device of any digital data
Personal back-up unit for laptops and PCs
Enables multi-session recording
Plays music and video
Operates as a fast multi-session recorder
Virtually unlimited archiving on DataPlay digital media
==================================
Classic - PD-R Audio Player
Features
Download all your MP3's, burn your CD albums, play pre-recorded DataPlay albums
View Videos when connected to PC
12 hrs playtime
Weighs just 5.5 ounces
90 seconds or less to burn an album
Player, recorder and an external
==========================================
Media Enabling - MusicUS-B
Features
Download all your MP3s, burn your CD albums, play pre-recorded DataPlay albums
Portable music player and recorder
Operates as a USB-powered mass storage device of any digital data
Simply drag and drop your files
View Videos when connected to PC
Weighs just 5.5 ounces
=======================
CIAO BABY
Media Enabling Announces Plans to Launch DataPlay-enabled Devices in European Market
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DataPlay - 6/20/2002
By: Suzanne Stephens sstephens@dataplay.com
Media Enabling today announced plans to launch multiple DataPlay-enabled products in Europe by the end of 2002. These products consist of a portable music player, USB drive, a professional 5Mpx digital camera and the "DiscGO!" storage device.
Media Enabling is a brand of Mediatech, an Italian based company with offices in Milan and Sardinia. Founded in 2001, Media Enabling designs, manufactures and distributes DataPlay-centric CE products. For faster penetration into the European markets, Media Enabling is using an internal sales force and regional distributors.
The first product scheduled for launch is a DataPlay-enabled portable music player. The DataPlay-enabled device operates as a portable music player, recorder and external storage drive with USB connectivity. The device supports downloadable music formats such as MP3 and pre-recorded formats such as AAC and QDX. One DataPlay digital media can hold over 11 hours of MP3 music and over 5 complete pre-recorded albums. Major music labels Universal Music, BMG, EMI and Zomba have all agreed to release albums on DataPlay.
Media Enabling is also planning to launch the DataPlay-enabled USB drive this fall. This device functions as a player, recorder and external storage drive. The main advantage is the portability of the device; it is as small as a packet of cigarettes and connects via a USB cable to the PC.
In September Media Enabling plans to launch a DataPlay-enabled professional digital camera (5 Mega pixel, Reflex). This camera, developed in partnership with a famous German brand, will be the first digital still camera to market that utilizes DataPlay digital media. One 500MB DataPlay digital media can store approximately 100 non-compressed 5 Mega pixel photos. Media Enabling plans to launch a consumer digital camera in 2003.
The Media Enabling "DiscGo!" product is a portable universal mass storage system (battery powered), which enables the transfer of digital content from any type of Flash Memory to a DataPlay digital media. "DiscGo!" is USB enabled, which allows drag & drop operations from a PC. "DiscGo" simplifies the use of multiple memory formats for consumers.
About Media Enabling
Founded in 2001 and based in Milan, Italy, Media Enabling is among the first DataPlay development partners, and is the most advanced in all of Europe. The company is focused on developing hardware and software applications for the DataPlay technology, both as a development partner, and as a complete system supplier. Backed by one of the leading Italian industrial Groups, MediaEnabling is currently building a growing number of strategic partnerships with major players in the audio, digital photography, video, wireless, gaming and computing markets.
About DataPlay
DataPlay, Inc. was incorporated in November 1998 to develop a Web-enabled digital content recording and distribution media for portable Internet appliances and hand-held consumer entertainment devices. Headquartered in Boulder, Colo., the Company employs more than 240 people in the United States, Singapore and Japan. Visit DataPlay on the Internet at www.dataplay.com.
Media Enabling - MusicUS-B-it has a "classic" look about it-LOL
give jt a call...maybe about 3:30am....619.234.8581
emit--btw--it's ibm and honda, not toyota
Pronounced Technologies and Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten Team Up to Launch New In-Vehicle Voice-Interactive Control Systems
Patented Voice-Interactive Technology Enables Hands-Free Control of Radio, Phone, Etc.
RESEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1999-- Pronounced Technologies has entered into an agreement with Eclipse(TM) by Fujitsu Ten(TM) to supply the voice-interactive operating software for new versions of the Eclipse Commander in-vehicle voice-interactive computers.
These Eclipse Commander computers will consist of a command module connected to an Eclipse CD player and will allow for voice command of audio controls, cellular phone operation and several in-vehicle electronics, with the flexibility for further expansion.
Pronounced Technologies' voice-interactive software will communicate directly with the Eclipse Commander model 9002. This command module connects to E-COM (Eclipse Commander)-ready CD players (models 5506, 5504 and 5443) and interacts with the task-specific software, equipping each system with speaker-independent voice command of the following: audio system controls; cell phone integration; and on-board vehicle electronics such as window operation and alarm setting.
These interfaces make the Commander models the first audio systems with complete voice control of audio and phone functions. Optional voice-interactive navigation system software is available at an additional cost.
The voice-recognition chip used is a high-quality engine that features a complex spell-checking system, rejection of out-of-vocabulary words, and high-noise robustness. It also enables the in-vehicle systems to respond to different voices (speaker independent), regardless of variable speech patterns, dialects, etc. Pronounced Technologies' chip reacts to voice commands in virtually real time, responding at a rate of 250 milliseconds.
``Our agreement with Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten marks a significant achievement in the consumer electronics market by applying speech recognition technology to audio systems and transforming them into fully functional in-vehicle computers,'' said Zaya Younan, president and CEO of Pronounced Technologies.
``Pronounced Technologies has refined its voice-interactive chip and software to control almost any in-car function through the stereo or CD player. Now car audio manufacturers are able to make the next generation upgrade to their existing audio systems by simply integrating our voice-interactive operating software for added features at a minimal cost,'' Younan added.
``The new Eclipse Commander models will be an extension of our existing navigation-ready Commander models,'' said Ray Windsor, vice president of marketing for Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten. ``By integrating Pronounced Technologies' voice-interactive chip and software into our products, we're able to respond to consumers who wish to control their radio, phone and other electronics through voice commands, but don't necessarily need a navigation system.''
All Eclipse Commander voice-interactive systems will be available late April at car audio and consumer electronics specialty retailers.
Pronounced Technologies is a leading developer and manufacturer of speaker-independent voice-interactive products and software, designing the world's first easy-to-use and low-cost voice-interactive mobile navigation system, enhancing the safety and convenience of consumers. The company's management and engineering team focuses on the development of consumer applications for their patented voice-interactive technology.
Pronounced Technologies is located in Reseda.
Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten is a manufacturer of mobile audio components for OEMs and aftermarket applications and motoronics for OEMs. Eclipse, the aftermarket brand of Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten, is a full line of award-winning high-performance mobile audio products including CD players, cassette decks, amplifiers and speakers. Eclipse products are distributed exclusively through the specialty retail channel of distribution.
Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten is based in Torrance, Calif.
Contact:
Pronounced Technologies, Reseda
Shae Andrae, 818/654-2750
or
Aldrich & Associates Inc., Long Beach
Brian Iannessa, 562/436-5156
brian@aldrichpr.com
murgirl--yes, i am; i am sorry i can't help myself, it's in my genes; J. Edgar Hoover was my mother, i mean my father, i mean my brother;
btw, watch yourself, i have my j. tara webcams trained on you
Vannin Gale, Senior R&D/Marketing Manager, of Eclipse, added, "e.Digital is on the cutting edge of digital convergence and will be instrumental in providing complete system integration with interactive video, navigation, music, web e-mail, and infotainment capability for both OEM and aftermarket automotive products. This collaboration provides an immediate opportunity to deliver fully integrated digital data management solutions, as an option or upgrade to our already substantial installed customer base."
iBiquity Acquires Exclusive License to Command Audio's On-Demand Interactive Audio Technology for Digital Radio
Advanced Digital Radio Application will Enable Listeners to Receive Exciting New Services from Broadcasters and Advertisers
Columbia, MD and Redwood City, CA - August 6, 2002 - iBiquity Digital Corporation, the sole developer of digital AM and FM broadcast technology in the United States and Command Audio Corporation, the pioneer of broadcast on-demand interactive media technology, announced today that iBiquity has acquired an exclusive worldwide license to Command Audio's intellectual property and technology in the field of digital radio and Command Audio's other digital radio-related assets. The acquisition has set the stage for radio broadcasters to provide consumers content on-demand-from program selection via electronic guide to scanning content to pausing or saving for later listening. Advertisers will be able to develop new messages which appeal to and connect with consumers, and content providers will have new tools with which to design innovative programming. iBiquity has established a Redwood City, California office and has hired the former software engineering employees of Command Audio. Both companies are privately held and terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
According to Robert Struble, President and CEO of iBiquity, "iBiquity plans to integrate the Command Audio technology with our digital AM and FM system to allow broadcasters and consumers to fully leverage the revolutionary capabilities of digital radio. The ability for broadcasters to manage the delivery of additional advertising-supported content like news, weather and traffic information along with their current audio is a major benefit of the technology. Radio manufacturers will be positioned to fully utilize the additional storage and multimedia capabilities in their products to differentiate the digital radio experience from today's analog."
"This transaction is very positive for both organizations and for consumers, broadcasters and advertisers who will benefit from services based on Command Audio's underlying intellectual property," said Don Bogue, Command Audio Chairman and CEO. "Our license agreement with iBiquity represents another major validation of our leadership position in on-demand media technology and intellectual property. iBiquity, as the leader in AM and FM digital radio technology development, can effectively commercialize the on-demand media capabilities developed by Command Audio for radio products, while we continue our licensing initiatives in the large and dynamic television arena."
In acquiring the digital radio assets of Command Audio, iBiquity Digital has secured exclusive licensing rights to all Command Audio intellectual property for all radio systems and products including digital AM and FM radio, satellite digital radio and other digital radio systems worldwide. Command Audio's business now is focused entirely on licensing its on-demand media intellectual property in non-radio fields, such as the fast-growing market for personal video recorders in terrestrial and satellite television applications.
About Command Audio
Command Audio owns and licenses a portfolio of intellectual property critical to the transmission, navigation and presentation of stored media. Founded in 1995, Command Audio pioneered the development of on-demand interactive audio. Command Audio's intellectual property broadly covers the audio aspects of consumer devices and services that store broadcast media for playback at the consumer's convenience. Command Audio is a privately held company backed by strategic investors Macrovision, Motorola and Texas Instruments and leading financial investors, including Canaan Partners, Franklin Resources, Granite Ventures, J.P. Morgan Capital Partners, St. Paul Venture Capital and Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures. For more information, please visit Command Audio's web site at www.commandaudio.com.
About iBiquity Digital Corporation
iBiquity Digital is the sole developer and licenser of digital AM and FM broadcast technology in the U.S., which will transform today's analog radio to digital, enabling radically upgraded sound and new wireless data services. The company's investors include 15 of the nation's top radio broadcasters, including ABC, Clear Channel and Viacom; leading financial institutions, such as J.P. Morgan Partners, Pequot Capital and J&W Seligman; and strategic partners Ford Motor Company, Harris, Lucent, Texas Instruments and Visteon. iBiquity Digital is a privately held company with operations in Columbia, MD, Detroit, MI, Warren, NJ, and Redwood City, CA. For further information please see our website at www.ibiquity.com.
CONTACT:
iBiquity Digital:
Scott Frank, Alexander Ogilvy
Tel: 202-557-0836
scott.frank@ogilvypr.com
Laura Taylor
Tel:410-872-1555
taylor@ibiquity.com
Command Audio:
Anna Moore
Tel:650-631-6462
amoore@commandaudio.com