Just got back from CES...and all I have...
to say is WOW! I'm blown away. This was my first CES, but certainly not my last. It was eye/ear candy for video/audio geeks, and the show is absolutely enormous! Had to have been well over 150K people there...easy. It is impossible to see in the 6 hours that I was there, all that I wanted to see, and sleuth...but the show is incredibly impressive.
The hit of the show, from the miniscule portion that I saw, was XM Radio display. I don't know who's bankrolling this company, but we're talking BIG money. I want it in my home.
I went to the show, with a friend of mine who's become a heavy hitter in the home theater/entertainment/security business, so much of my time was involved in discussions with home AV systems. Giving us the grand tour, was an employee of my friend, who's also a contributing editor for The Perfect Vision Magazine. I got a chance to sneak away to visit e.Digital, when they became involved in discussions with an end-to-end home theater design company.
RP and FF were not at the edig booth, which was located on the second floor of the south building LVCC. Their booth was right along the main walkway splitting the room in half, so traffic exposure was optimum for those going upstairs. Steve Ferguson was manning the booth, and I had a somewhat abbreviated visit, as other retailers were there to discuss the products, etc. I saw and listened to the O1000, and it kicks serious booty. I want one. The headphone set is a MAJOR step up from the worthless earbuds of the O300 and Treo. They would be fine for active people, ie., skiers and joggers. The unit is smaller and lighter than the Treo, with excellent sound quality, fit and finish. Packaging is the same as for the O300, et al.
I had a chance to bend Steve's ear about the past year, upcoming prospects, edig's current financial situation, etc. We covered a LOT of ground in the short time that I was there. I came away satisfied with his answers, and satisfied that we're NOT close to financial ruin, as many here, and at RB have wanted to project. We will get an OEM, probably for the O1000, but there's more underway that he could only allude to, and not give specifics. Fujitsu, in typical oriental style, is the one that dropped the ball on the Eclipse, a situation that will soon be cleared up. e.Digital's part of the project was done on time, and Fujitsu is more than satisfied with the result. (I did not get a chance to see/hear that unit, as the car audio/video portion of the convention center was PACKED, mostly with tattoed, pierced kids that crowded the convention floor.) Like I said, I'm satisfied with his answers, and although I didn't have time to sit down and fire away with tougher questions, my doubts about the viability of the company were assuaged.
The Sony display/booth was awesome. The new XBR LCD HDTV 50 and 60" TV's are incredible. I want one. And it's a good thing that Sony makes great TV's and cameras, because the rest of their display was a joke. Pretty much crapola. Same with the majority of large CE companies handheld devices, and such. Bunch of garbage.
The Equator chip information was PROMINENTLY displayed in the MSFT booth...I have a feeling that this agreement with e.Digital is something more special than I originally thought. Steve urged me to go talk to the Equator people, but he assured me that they would NOT divulge their relationship with us...but that they would discuss their technology to a greater degree. (I didn't get a chance to)
I did not visit Sonic or Archos...I could really care less about the competitors in audio. We're more than that.
Then, it was off to the Alexis Hotel where I listened to some of the most bodacious audio systems that I will never own. $250K is a tad bit expensive for my wife's tastes, but it was a dream come true...to have that many class A mono amps, and tube units in such close proximity, it's like I'd died and gone to heaven. Pass Labs, Jeff Rowland Audio, Thiel Speakers...even the McIntosh demo was VERRRRRRY cool. So much esoteric audio there, that I had a hard time determining how best to allot my limited time. I'll go again...but next time, I'll wear my running shoes.
Sorry if this post doesn't allay some of the many concerns that many of you have with our company. The fact that I didn't feel it necessary to sleuth our "competitors" should indicate, I hope, to some of you the level of concern that I didn't have after visiting our booth. We're not on the main floor, that's true...at least not yet. But to look Steve in the eye, and ask him what I did, and walk away satisfied that we're headed in the right direction, is enough for me. Baby steps...even 3-4 years after my first stock purchase...baby steps are needed. But I'd put any of our current products up against anything else that's out there, and we do just fine, thank you...
AI
