While I was driving to work this morning, after a few sips of coffee, I had a moment of clarity, and it all seems to fit.
Has anybody considered the possibility that edig's unannounced "strategic partner" could be none other than Creative, makers of the Nomad jukebox?
Creative's Corporate Fact Sheet:
More than 70 percent of PC audio systems worldwide are built on Creative's Sound Blaster technology.
NOMAD Jukebox is the first hard drive MP3 player to be marketed successfully worldwide. Users can leave home with their entire music collection - over 150 CDs' worth or 2,000 songs - in this portable device.
Over 100,000 NOMAD Jukebox units have been sold since its August 2000 launch.
R & D strength - The company has 550 R&D engineers worldwide.
Developer support - Creative has more than 3,300 developers worldwide.
Creative has over 30 subsidiaries and associates worldwide, mostly in complementary fields of audio and high technology. These include Broadxent, Cambridge SoundWorks and E-mu Systems, Inc.
Global reach - The company has more than 5,000 employees worldwide with offices in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea and South Africa. It has a network of 230 distributors in over 80 countries.
Now, with the Nomad jukebox (MP3 only) soon to be extinct, wouldn't it make sense that the next gen of this product be multi-codec? Also, doesn't Creative serve as thier own OEM? Couldn't they simply liscense MOS or MircoCam from Edig and market it as thier own (with Edig royalties of course!). Couldn't they then expand thier horizons, and manufacture for other private labels as well? They also provide the warranty and tech support that Edig wants to offer as part of their cradle to grave solutions. Last but not least, to quote the immortal Hai.....
Sometimes your competitors become your customers....
I of course could be way off base, but felt good to ramble. Still waiting for an answer back from Dataplay on my "Hack" query.
John Q Law
AI
