Reading this board since a while now and owning an empeg since a even longer while I have to speak up - you guys are way to religious about that thing.

It's nice, it's great, there is no competition (yet) but if there would be one I would probably buy from them, they might stick closer to their promises then empeg does.

After owning both HW Version1 and 2 from the beginning I was the same excited as most of you have been in the beginning. That excitement has now really become way more relaxed, here is why:

EMPEG, once been very enthusiastic with their products and developments now have turned into Sonic Blue. I'm sure this was a very attractive move for them, looking at it from a financial point of view. But - look what happened. Basically, no major change in the software since then. And even before - I guess the guys were too buisy sorting out the contractual issues and getting their package set right.

Minor bugfixes, thats it. What is about all their promises - VR, Tuner, all the neat software features promised (EQ-to-song, more visuals, this and that, you name it) - history, over. It just will not happen.

Who is taking the bet ? I bet we will never see the tuner module for the version 2. I bet, we will never see VR for version 2. What will happen (if we all scream out loud enough) we will get offered again a discount on the new version 3 which will might come (or not) out one day. I would be happy if I loose, but I don't think that will happen.

Lets face it. From a mass production point, the number of empegs sold is - nothing. The product is way overpriced for a mass audience - and this is where a company makes money. This is how they get big. Not a few expensive units, many cheap units sold to every Dick, Tom and Harry, this is how you get maket share. So do you really think sonic blue will stick to that expensive hardware design ? I don't think so. Look, they creep up everywhere, cheap portable harddisk players with a $400 tag attached to them. One would need to ask themself how comes an empeg costs 5-8 and even more times as much ?!? And, how long to you think it takes the competition to come up with a _reliable_ car player in a low price segment ? What do you think next, would people buy. Where would the most development happen ? And, do you think sonic blue would still sell many of their empegs ?? NO! They will need to follow that trend. Linux! Who the hell needs linux on a car radio, other than geeks and people who think they need the cool-fsctor ? I can hear empeg say, yeh, it's so cool man, we have software decoder in there and all these cheapo players are using a chip - SO WHAT! People want to listen to music and not debug unix kernels. I'm very fine with a chips decoding MP3, I can't see a difference wether this is done by a chip or a software. Oh, I hear empeg again - whuuuu but you cannot upgrade to WMA which we signed up with M$ for. First I don't care, I havent asked for it (but I would appreciate you stick more to your promises than adding new features noone wants, but I'm sure M$ made up a nice package for you guys to support WMA, not to mention the free lunches and stuff) AND if I am in need for new decoding, I just buy a new unit which supports that. I gotta do that anyways, since past has shown that you don't get along for a long time with one hardware release.

What I'm saying is, it just doesn't pay off to invest much effort in e.g. developing a tuner module for this handful of empegs out there. I guess we will see a major hardware redesign which will e.g. result in an internal tuner. When empeg folks say this and that can't be done cause of this and that reason (RF, whatever) that doesn't mean other designers couldn't do it. Sonic blue is bigger and they just have more resources, developers, and I'm sure they will come up with cheaper ways for mass production, but this must result in a hardware redesign, this is most obvious, don't you think ?

Now I can hear empeg sream and yell that software is their business, not hardware. Fine, but that doesn't help me. I'm still lacking the tuner module, the VR, the software featuires announced. Since 8 month we were pomised the tuner module, the VR.

E I G H T M O N T H ! !

Even longer. This is rediculous. ANY other company would have been sued to death if they would treat their customers like that. But - here, we all look like stupid sheeps ignoring the kick in the butt. EMPEG, your all my friend. I'm really fed up with all the excuses I'm hearing from empeg. This is missing and that is missing, we can't do this. I would accept that for a month or two, but not 8!!

After all, I can still share some of the excitement (the empeg still does what it should do) but I'm on the other hand so disappointed.

IT SUCKS! Chris.