RE: Killer Device for CES. Does anyone know what happened to the "Killer Ap Device" that was being touted by Collier and RP earlier in the year that was to be announced at CES? TIA.

BARHZ

EDIG VS. BEST BUY In looking at today's LQID pr, it seems that EDIG is setting up a digital music download service like Bestbuy has going.

SEE:

http://www.bestbuy.com/dgtlmusic/default.asp?b=0&st=4&m=254


EDIG, however, will also be able to produce independent artists that would be in addition to LQID, I think, with their relationship with JMA.

Thoughts anyone?

Thoughts re LIQD:

Perhaps EDIG is going to be the company that finally puts together a website for downloading music that works and will draw customers.

I would hope that EDIG will set up a subscription model to allow monthly, yearly or per song purchase of downloadable and transferable songs to portables.

Think of this, if EDIG can set up a model for $10 per year subscription plus maybe .10 per song times a millon subsrcibers, we are in the money.

Then, when DIVX downloading becomes the MP3 of videos, and broadband becomes more prevelent, the subscription model would be expanded to include movies.

Netflix, for example, charges $20 a month for getting dvds by mail. If I could download movies I would pay at least $20 a month plus a per movie fee to be able to download movies that I could then transfer to a portable device or a home set top movie jukebox.

Looks good to me.

BARHZ

E.digital treo 10 and MXP listed on Microsoft website for version 9 upgrades, but it shows as currently unavailable. Soon to be?

http://windowsmedia.com/mg/portabledevices.asp

Movie storage?

Note the reference in the forbes article to movie storage:

http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/29/0729tentech_print.html

This is the first time I have actually seen a reference to a mp3 player to do this. Perhaps this player will be the lead in player for a divx supported handheld. Maybe, Apple will upgrade their Ipod by licensing the design.

Thoughts anyone?

Thoughts on today's announcement.

I appears to me that EDIG has been engaged in the past year in taking control of its own future. What I mean is that for the past three years, e.digital's success has been contingent upon two major issues, one-content, two-sales of players.

Unfortunetly, both issues have been out of e.digital's control. That is now changing. e.digital is now going to provide both things that it needs to hopefully be a success. Content and players (Audio AND VIDEO).

I think Divx is the real key to the potential of edig to make it big. Downloading video will be the next big thing in the internet world. Edigital is setting itself up to be the mext mp3.com of video, but with a twist. Legal licenses to distribute and the players to do so.

When you add this to telematics it all becomes very interesting. I myself have an in car video player for my kids to watch Harry Potter on roadtrips. I use a standard VCR. I cannot wait to have a 80 GB harddrive on board to store movies on divx and all my cd collection and books on tape to listen to on the road. Commercial truckers would love this for their sleeper cabs and on the road entertainment. Combine that with downloading fees for the movies and it could be huge money.

Imagine if edigital becomes THE place to download movies. Everyone will know the name of the company and the name alone will hot property not to mention the revenue from product sales.

I am still long since feb 99 (although I wish I would have sold at 24 and bought back in now-who wouldn't)

BARHZ

Jimc1997: Thank you for the info re video editing. The quest begins. I'll keep you posted as to how it turns out.

BARHZ

OT (Sort of) regarding DIVX.

Does anyone know if there is a way to digitize my personal 8mm videotapes onto DIVX and then record them onto a CDR or a Dataplay disc? I would love to be able to do so in order to preserve them better and to be able to view them on my personal portable video player by Edigital.

I am not familiar with this type of tech yet and it seems that this type of process is now close to being able to be performed by average middle age fat guys like me with little or no tech knowledge.

This also seems like a huge market, preserving your own videos.

Any thoughts from the board?

Email from Dataplay

Here is the verbatim content of the reply to my question to them about when the discs will be available to buy: (Notice they will be linking directly to the Evolution retailers--cool)


DataPlay discs will be sold from our web site as soon as the first device hits the market. Evolution is expected to be first to market with their music player (see http://nowevolution.com/products/EV-500MDP.html) in late May. At that point, we will link users to Evolution's retail partners and we will sell the discs from our online store.

ijgarcia: My thinking exactly. Blockbuster would want to be a hub or a home site for people to log onto with their setop (edigital) boxes and download whatever they want to watch at that moment and generate a download fee to them.

Someone will have to get the licensing from all of the movie studios to be able to encode the movies into Divx format and then distribute them.

Hopefully, the movie people will have learned from Napster and have in place secure downloads before movies are readily available for free. I think Edig is wise to be positioned to take advantage of this whole new market from the get go as a retailer rather than a OEM engineering firm.

Thoughts RE: DIVX-

This partnership appears to me to be the beginning of a point to point system to allow couch potatos like me to be able to order any movie any time by using a set top box with MicroOS inside and DivX compression technology.

To me, this is potentially huge, just think of the movie possibilities alone let alone sporting events, news reels, adult entertainment, airline video on demand applications, education footage, personal movie players etc.

I hope that Edig takes to market first, as an Edig branded system, a portable divx player and set top box combination. We would be first to market in this whole new way to get content to your TV.

Blockbuster video watch out, no one will rent movies any more because they are on demand and there are no late fees!

Go edig!

Eastech also has a dataplay device:

http://www.mp3ok.com/product_I.htm

I wonder if EDIG is inside that one. Also note the settop boxes soon to be released.

RE: Dataplay and MXP100-does anyone know if the current mxp100 can be upgraded to use dataplay discs when they come out as storage only? I would love to be able to use a 500mb dataplay disc to store my current collection of mp3 music without having to buy another ibm mini drive for $150+

A thought re Dataplay:

When Dataplay gets going big, what companies are there that a person can buy stock in. As I understand it, it is privately held, at least for now. So, when the Dataplay surge comes forward what will be the pure plays on stocks that will benefit from the new format.

Imation (IMN) and Edig right? I truly think that we will see a nice rise on this alone. I hope that will be the case.

2manyfatcats:

I like the Samsung/Nike angle in your post. Hmmm...could it be a dataplay device with Edig or perhaps a variation of the MXP100 sport. Lets hope!

BARHZ

Imation Link: It looks like Imation will be building Dataplay discs and that is why Edig is at the Imation booth.

http://www.imation.com/en_US/products/category_generic_3b.jhtml?Id=IM_CAT107

RE: David Evans, IMHO: I feel the "news" article is totally misleading and false. According to the 10Q the interest rate is 12% not 49%. The Warrants were issued as a "finders fee" which is not uncommon in public financing, as far as I know. Also, the warrants are at .75 a share. What if the share price at time of excution of the warrants was .50 a share. They would not be worth anything. Mr. Evans, how would you then calculate that interest rate?

From the 10 Q:

On September 28, 2001 the Company sold for cash in a private offering an aggregate of $1,000,000 of 12% Secured
Promissory Notes due December 31, 2002 ("SP Notes") to accredited investors. In addition, the purchasers were granted
warrants to purchase 750,000 common shares of the Company at $0.75 per share until September 30, 2006
("Warrant"). The SP Notes are secured by the Company's accounts receivable and inventory. >
Any shares received on the exercise of the Warrants will be restricted securities unless the Company elects to register
such shares. The Company has no requirement to register the stock underlying the Warrants but the holders have certain
piggyback registration rights. The securities have antidilution rights reducing the conversion and exercise price for
certain issuances of equity securities by the Company at an effective price below the applicable exercise price of the
Warrants.
The securities were offered and sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), in
reliance upon the exemption provided by Section 4(2) hereunder and/or Regulation D and an appropriate legend was placed
on the SP Notes and Warrants and will be placed on the shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants unless an effective
registration statement is submitted to the transfer agent for the Company at the time of exercise or conversion. The
Company issued warrants to acquire 100,000 common shares (at the same terms as the Warrants) as a finders'fee in
connection with identifying investors for the SP Notes.
The proceeds from the sale of the SP Notes are being applied to working capital primarily related to the MXP100 digital
audio player.
The description of this transaction is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the agreements attached as exhibits
hereto.
In the event that the Company offers shares of its common stock or securities convertible into shares of common stock in
connection with an equity financing each noteholder shall have the right and option, at any time prior to the maturity
date, subject to and upon compliance with the provisions and the terms of the equity offering document, to convert the
unpaid principal amount of each SP Notes and accrued unpaid interest into shares of the common stock being offered at a
conversion price equal to the offering price of the common stock in effect at the time of conversion.

MTV Dataplay device to be out in March 2002:

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8338123.html?tag=tp_pr


CES offers electronics makers new hope
By Richard Shim and David Becker
Staff Writers, CNET News.com
January 3, 2002, 4:00 a.m. PT
video

Will interactive TV dominate CES?
Allison Thacker, analyst, RS Investments
Consumer electronics companies will get a chance to change their luck next week in Las Vegas.

After a dismal 2001, companies plan to use this year's Consumer Electronics Show to introduce upcoming products and announce new strategies aimed at reviving consumer interest in gadgetry. CES starts Monday and runs through Jan. 11.

As was the case last year, one of the dominant themes of the show will be the convergence of computers and consumer electronics devices.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will kick off the show Monday with a keynote speech, discussing how computers with the Windows XP operating system can be used to store, record and play digital video and audio, as well as link other devices through wireless networking.

The obstacle to such advances isn't a lack of consumer interest, analysts say. Rather, it's the struggle to make the technology easier to use.

"The industry has been challenged in making digital content convenient to find and access, as well as affordable to consumers," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said. "The switch over to digital content has been slow because responsibility lies on the industry and not just one company."

Gates' keynote speech is also expected to emphasize that Microsoft technologies--mainly XP and the .Net software-as-a-service strategy--are key vehicles for bringing about the convergence of PCs and consumer electronics.

Front and center will be Microsoft's eHome division, which the company formed after last year's CES. Part of the division's mission is to propagate a wide variety of digital devices with Windows, extending the operating system far beyond its desktop roots.

Mike Toutonghi, head of the eHome division, made it clear in an interview late last year that Microsoft could not have delivered on its digital device strategy with Windows 98 or Me.

"With XP and the underlying technologies--whether that's networking technologies, communication technologies, or media technologies--we're finally at the stage where we can deliver these kinds of experiences to consumers," he said.

Just press "play"
At CES, Toutonghi's group is expected to announce the first products that eHome plans to deliver.

"Our primary focus is entertainment and communication scenarios," he said. "Our focus groups and what our partners and consumers are telling us is that (consumers are) most interested in entertainment scenarios, whether those be videos, photos, music--those kinds of things. They're interested ww

CNET.com editorial director Steve Fox previews the CES show.

Play clip

in communications scenarios. They're interested in how to bring those things together in a way to make them simple, accessible to the entire family."

Another anticipated announcement at CES will come from start-up Rearden Steel, which is expected to debut a product it has been working on for two years. Rearden Steel founder and CEO Steve Perlman is best known for launching WebTV, which he sold to Microsoft in 1997 for an estimated $500 million.

According to sources, Rearden Steel has developed a platform targeting the interactive TV market but could expand into wireless networking that will allow devices to communicate with one another sans cables. The company is also expected to announce partnerships, which will play a key role in the success of Rearden Steel's product.

Start-up Dataplay plans to announce partnerships with hardware makers and will demonstrate portable digital-audio players that use its discs, which are roughly the size of a quarter and have a 500MB capacity. According to the company, drives that can read the discs have been distributed to manufacturers, and portable players will be available this year costing between $199 and $299.

One of the first players to use Dataplay's discs will come from Evolution, which is expected to release a device in late March. Samsung is also expected to release this year a player using Dataplay media.

Blank discs from Dataplay are expected in the first quarter, and discs with protected audio content from music labels, such as EMI Recorded Music, Universal and BMG Entertainment, are expected later this year.

Sonicblue is also expected to demonstrate an upcoming portable digital-audio player, as well as its Rio Advanced Digital Audio Center. The portable player will feature a 20GB hard drive, putting it in competition with Creative Labs' Nomad Jukebox device.

The Rio Advanced Digital Audio Center is a $1,500 home entertainment hub that features a 40GB hard drive and allows consumers to play digital audio from its hard drive on receivers placed throughout their homes.

The convergence conundrum
Digital music players, however, are a good example of the problems companies face with the concept of convergence.

"MP3 players tend to still be a small market," NPD Intelect analyst Stephen Baker said. "What it's turning into is that all these other devices--CD players, DVD players and the like--are MP3-enabled, so they can play the songs across all your devices. Those are the kinds of things where we're seeing a lot of growth."

Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard is trying to make it easier for consumers to use its digital imaging products. CEO Carly Fiorina's keynote speech on Tuesday will focus on digital imaging and advances to make the technology more convenient.

The company will be demonstrating a notebook that comes with built-in capabilities for either 802.11b or Bluetooth wireless networking.

Also looking to make a splash at CES are rivals XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, both of which hope to get millions of consumers to pay subscription fees around $10 a month for access to dozens of channels of specialty music, news and talk. Signals are delivered by satellite to specially equipped car and home receivers.

XM launched its service in November and is conducting an aggressive marketing campaign for car stereo receivers that can tune into its service. Sirius plans to launch its service Feb. 14. Recent reports from analysts at S.G. Cowen and Lehman Brothers cite better-than-expected subscriber numbers for XM, boosting hopes for the satellite radio market.

An XM marketing executive said manufacturing partners such as Sony and Alpine are expected to announce new XM-ready car stereo equipment at the show. Announcements regarding further XM support from automakers are expected from the International Auto Show in Detroit, happening the same week as CES.

General Motors recently began offering XM receivers as an option in several Cadillac models. Plans for uses outside the car currently are limited to a Sony XM receiver that can be adapted for use with an existing home or car stereo.

Electronic oddities
As usual, CES will have its share of electronic oddities this year.

Timex will show off a "satellite" watch that connects with Global Positioning System navigation signals to compute a runner's speed and distance traveled.

Technology Enabled Clothing will model the Scott eVest, a bulky black garment with lots of pockets for stowing gadgets and networking infrastructure that can connect a handheld computer in one pocket to the cell phone in another.

Sanyo Fisher will announce a foul-language filter that can be used on televisions, videos and DVDs. Olympic champion and spokeswoman Mary Lou Retton will be on hand to try to get consumers to flip for the product.

Ectaco will demonstrate the Universal Translator, a portable speech-recognition device that translates between English and French, German or Spanish.

At the same time that CES is unfolding in Las Vegas, Apple Computer fans will be congregating in San Francisco for the Macworld Expo. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to deliver a similar message to Gates', touting the convergence of electronic devices around the computer. Apple is already helping the cause. Last year, the company delivered a wide range of digital products, including the iPod digital music player and software for recording digital music, making movies, and authoring DVDs.

Despite such efforts from Apple and Microsoft, Baker noted that the consumer adoption of digital devices that attach to PCs is still "taking longer than us IT guys would like."

News.com's Joe Wilcox contributed to this report.




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Eclipse Comand Series: this looks like wher VoiceNav might fit into the Eclipse line of products:

http://www.eclipse-web.com/top.html

RE ST Micro: Has there been an established link between EDIG and ST Micro other than the Dataplay dot. TIA for all info.

BARHZ

Murgirl: Thanks for the info re Atmel. Thats why I like these boards, there are people who go out and get info (or at least try to). We shall see.

BARHZ

Spectra: All I can tell, so far, is that is was made in Korea. Isn't Eastech a Korean company? I am still trying to read more.

BARHZ

RE: Intel player.

Go to this link, click on the 360 degree tour. Then rotate the player to see the back side and notice all of the fine print and logos on the back. My resolution is so bad I cannot read them all. Can anyone tell if there is a Powered by Edigital logo on the player. Note, right click on the player to zoom in.

http://www.intel.com/home/audio/personalplayer/

SENTINEL: I agree with you about shareholders being too pushy, nosy and the like and I have not contacted the company for that reason. I was just curious to see if anyone has any info confirming the MicroOs connection.

Frankly, I am not technically minded enough to know what the CD product with the MicroOs kernal is and if it would even fit into an edig type product.

BARHZ

RE Atmel: Has anyone emailed them to see if their reference to MicroOs is actually eDigital's MicroOs? TIA Barhz.EOM

INTEL PLAYER IS UPGRADABLE/REPROGRAMABLE:

http://intel.com/home/audio/faq.htm

Q: Exactly what is a digital music file format, such as "MP3*" or "WMA*"?
A: There are many varieties of digital music file formats. Audio CDs, for example, contain uncompressed digital audio. MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) files use compression to squeeze the digital music to roughly one-tenth the file size.

The term MP3 stands for Moving Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3. It is the compressed digital audio file format developed by Fraunhofer IIS-A in Germany almost 10 years ago. Today there are many audio formats available, offering choices in size, quality and speed. The Intel® Personal Audio Player 3000 currently plays both MP3 and WMA formats. And because your player features a microprocessor that can be reprogrammed, Intel can offer current owners support for new audio formats as the market demands them.

Q: What is “firmware” and how is it used on an Intel® audio player?
A: Firmware is the program code within the player that instructs the microprocessor how to interact with the controls and the digital audio files. Firmware is used to manage all aspects of a player's operation. The firmware in Intel's audio players is upgradeable, so that when new or improved code is written for the player, each individual player can be upgraded. Firmware upgrades make it possible to add new music formats, security protection software, or operating features that enhance the player. Many competitive players in the market today do not feature a programmable microprocessor design, limiting player functionality to a either single format (typically MP3), offering no possible path for upgrading or enhancing the player

Hy Tek has changed its explanation regarding the treo.

http://www.treoplayer.com/

e.Digital's Trademark lawyers website: http://www.trademarkgroup.com/frontend.html

check out the other lawyer's clients. more dots.

IBM embedded viavoice brochure: No edig mention but sounds close.

http://www-4.ibm.com/software/speech/enterprise/collateral/MobileDeviceEdition.pdf

Sanyo, IBM jointly develop new chip for Internet appliances


OSAKA, May 14, 2001 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. and
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) of the United States have jointly
developed a new semiconductor for use in home electric appliances that can be
connected to the Internet, Sanyo officials said Monday.

A huge market is expected to develop for accessing the Internet through home
appliances such as TV sets and telephones, and electronics makers are rushing to
develop new chips for such appliances.

Japan's telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) will
launch new L-mode Internet access services next month, enabling the user to
access the Web simply by using a regular fixed-line home phone equipped with a
liquid crystal display panel.

Sanyo and IBM hope to grab a larger share of the market by strengthening
technical ties and jointly developing the new chips, the Sanyo officials said.

The two firms plan to start shipping the new semiconductor, to be priced at
7,500 yen per unit, on a test basis this fall. They aim for 5 billion yen in
sales in fiscal 2003, the Sanyo officials said.

Sanyo and IBM have had cooperative business ties since 1998 in areas such as
Internet alliances and telecommunications equipment.



2001 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945



KEYWORD: OSAKA