After some thought, I have finally been able to formulate a response to this news.

Firstly I have to say that I'm disapointed with SB. I don't think they backed their new riocar as much as they could have. MY impression is that they had already created these other mobile units and that was going to be the main focus or their campaign. There certainly weren't, as was pointed out, the units being shipped to the major mover and shaker magazines to promote the player. There wasn't the advertising in car audio magazines and on web sites. How does a product that until now has only been available via internet ordering break into these markets that have been dominated by 'traditional' marketing strategies? It HAS to used those stratagies as well.
There is not a single manufacturer of mainstream car audio equipment that is worth it's salt, without a decent website. So where was the SB promotion of the riocar advertising?

I feel that SB acquired empeg principally to invest in the brains at empeg, not capitalise in the empeg car product. While I'm elated that most of the empeg team is still with SB, I'm annoyed that SB didn't do more to enhance, market and promote the riocar. Rob, you said that the riocar is several years ahead of it's time. Why the hell didn't SB capitalise on that? Years ahead. So now they're going to orphan a world leading product in order to come back to the level of the other manufaturers?
Why are they taking so many steps back after such an enourmous run forward?

I truly think that SB, unintentionally or otherwise, let empeg down by not allocating resources to their latest acquisition. Unforgivable production delays, shipping problems, etc etc. If they needed it to succeed, the company manager would have been crashing through doors to fix the problems.

I hope that the software support continues as promised. At this time I'm inclined to want that in writing, not from Rob or Hugo because I would follow them to the ends of the earth, but from the Rio product line manager or accountant who is in charge of funding these now 'sideline' projects.

I'm so glad that V2 is so close to production, but I'm aprehensive about further development beyound that. I'd be in for the $100 levy to fund the research and production of the VR project. hmm, $100 from 1000 people, invested wisely for the next few years could provide quite a good foundation for this project.

I hope that the empeg will be the 'test bed' for upcomeing OEM projects which Rio develops. This way we will see continued developments of our own investments.

hmm, I've said about enough for now.

Murray
Go-Wit-Da-Fro