I would point out that SONICblue is the world market leader in MP3 products, with 30% of the total market. That's 10% higher than the next competitor. In Japan, Rio Volt is the biggest selling MP3 product. Q4 2001 revenue projections were recently increased from $59m to between $78m and $80m.

A few years ago the portable products were also rather expensive and niche. The empeg car is not a practical product to manufacture and sell cheaply - it needs cost reduction and redesign. It always needed that. We have a solution, and have moved to a different business model to make it happen (licensing to established 12V manufacturers).

The design and price point of the Receiver was influenced somewhat by an OEM, but it's still a nice product and is selling at a more attractive price now. It is NOT end of line.

The HSX109 is a leading edge product which we believe out performs all of the others in that sector. It is priced mid point between the direct-supply PC manufacturer boxes and the hifi component manufacturer solutions. If you think it has anything in common with a 200 disk autochanger, you clearly haven't used one.

I would also guess that you haven't used an RTV4000, which would definitely be my PVR of choice if it gets released in the UK. The price is $699, not $1200, and there is no subscription fee to pay. Tivo would also cost that kind of money if it wasn't subsidised by a subscription model.

I think the web problems you have experienced relate to the eStore, since I haven't noticed any issues with our main site recently (it just got a nice face lift as well). The eStore isn't actually run by SONICblue, but rather by an ecommerce specialist. I can't deny that there are some issues with that!

Most of our products are sold in shops, however. That will definitely be the case with future automotive products, and products which initially ship direct only are likely to become available in retail as production and demand increases.

I particularly take issue with the suggestion that customer support is lacking. I know there have been issues with customer service (an entirely different dept) and the manager of that team has gone so far as to publish his email address here and work on problems personally. If you've had issues with support for the car player, however, I'd be interested to hear the details. I believe we provide an excellent service.

Finally, leaving car customers in the dust.. erm, how do you conclude that? Lots of EOL notice was given, existing customers had plenty of time to buy the accessories they needed, software development continues, and support continues. We're working on getting another batch of tuners, and lots of 3rd parties have offered to get involved with that if SONICblue do not.

Just MHO.

Rob