e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

[Jeau]

Forbes: IPOD / Odyssey

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

Ten O'Clock Tech
Fancy Features, Familiar Looks
Ian Federgreen, 07.29.02, 10:00 AM ET

The Odyssey took Odysseus 18 years. The Odyssey 1000 could have provided him plenty of music for the trip.

It's e.Digital's new MP3 Player. It's PC- and Mac-compatible. And not only is it intended to compete with Apple Computer's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people )
iPod player, it also bears a striking resemblance to it.

Like the highest-capacity iPod, the Odyssey 1000 features 20 gigabytes of hard drive space and holds 4,800 songs (about 400 CDs worth). It uses a fast USB
2.0 connection, allowing an entire CD to be loaded into the device in about five seconds. Users can also transfer music by dragging songs from a CD directory
onto their player's hard drive in a process dubbed "drag n' rip technology." A mirror library of music can be created on the computer if so desired.

The Odyssey 1000, developed in cooperation with Digitalway and powered by e.Digital's MicroOS 2.0, additionally serves as a data storage unit for movies,
spreadsheets and e-books. It can also function as a voice recorder--there is a built-in microphone--and hours of speech may be stored on the hard drive.

The player also sets itself apart from others with a variety of snazzy features, the snazziest being voice-navigation capabilities. Using technology based on
Lucent's (nyse: LU - news - people ) speech-recognition advances, one needs only to say "Hanson. MMM Bop. Play," to hear the brothers' golden tones. There
is also a scroll wheel for those who do not wish to bother a train full of commuters with spoken commands. Apple has replaced a similar control for the iPod with
a virtual scroll wheel that does not actually rotate.

Should you become suddenly sick of all 4,800 songs on your Odyssey, the machine includes a built-in FM radio and the ability to store twelve preset stations.

The device, with 13 hours minimum of playback time, is slightly larger than the iPod, but it's also $150 cheaper than Apple's comparable 20 GB player. Available in
September, the Odyssey 1000 has a suggested retail price of about $350.

Consumers may like it, but don't be surprised if Apple greets it with court papers. The company has a history of tenaciously protecting its designs in court and
unleashing its lawyers on companies who produce similar products to its own.

Take the case of Future Power, a company slapped with an injunction after producing a suspiciously iMac-esque computer called the E-Power in July of 1999.
After two and a half years in court, it was agreed that the injunction, which prohibits the marketing of that machine, would remain in place until Feb. 1, 2004.
Apple also sued to force PC maker eMachines from producing the eOne, another PC that looked similar to the iMac.

Apple did not return calls for comment, but you can bet some curious attorneys with offices inside 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, Calif., will be first on line to test the
Odyssey 1000--so get 'em while you can.