Creative Technology News

Creative Leaving Recession?

thetonyweapon — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:26:50 +0000

Creative’s FY2010 Q1 results were made official just a short while ago. Pretty much good news all around except in one major category: net sales, which were down nearly 50% over Q1 2009. This might typically be cause for alarm, but with a worldwide recession and no real products introduced during the quarter, it’s not entirely unexpected. The bigger news, however, is the net loss: down to $1 million US. Last year at this time, the company lost $40.8 million. Here’s the rest:

Gross Profit Margin: Up 25%
Net Loss: $1 million US. Last year, the first quarter brought nearly $40.8 million US in loss. According to the report, this was due to a 50% decrease in loss in operating costs.
Research: Down 17%. Cuts were made in areas that are not strategic for the company, whatever that means.
Gains: $4.9 million from disposal of investment, $5.8 million in foreign exchange gains, $6.2 million from Qala divestment
Losses: $15.4 million foreign exchange losses, $8.9 million in loss of financial assets because of the recession

Now as for total balance, I’m not a financial expert, and it seems as if they make these things purposely impossible to understand, but if I’m reading this correctly, the company has a comfortable balance, where they could lose a lot of money still before they go under. My tentative guess is $325 million US in the green. If someone has a better read, please let me know in the comments so I can fix it.

Q1FY10 Earnings Release

MediaBook- Creative Intros eBook+ For Singapore Market

thetonyweapon — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:25:40 +0000

Creative’s always done a “side project”. Over the company’s history, they’ve done some projects that never fanned out very well: digital video cams, video cards, wireless cards, PC components, and internet telephony devices. This seems like it could be a more successful venture, and it’s the ‘in’ thing for 2009. It appears to be an e-book reader.

But according to epiZENter, it’s far more. According to the depiction kingone put up, it seems to resemble a Nokia Internet Tablet powered by the company’s oracle: the Zii. Yup, that’s right. The first official consumer device with the Zii will be a handheld, internet-enabled, touchscreen device with support for pictures, text and video. Certainly Amazon, Sony, and Barnes and Noble have their devices that can do the first two, but the latter will be an interesting step forward for the market.

Perhaps more exciting as a Creative fan is the publishing support- epiZENter reports that the MediaBook and Creative are in talks with a major Singaporean content provider, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to supply the new tablet with text, video, audio, and photos.

It is notable, however, that the MediaBook appears to be aimed at the Singapore educational market first. Creative is teaming up with SPH and ST Electronics to create the “FutureBook”, a Singaporean government initiative to create the interactive book of the future. Inside the press release is the statistics, which notably includes the educational market, which is where I think it will be launched first. By teaming up with the Singapore government, it allows the company to fund much of the production. It’s similar to how the US defense industry works- the government gives money to Lockheed Martin (or similar) to build new fighter jets. The government will still end up paying for the jet, but the company can also sell to other partners- Canada, UK, Germany, etc. I think the MediaBook could be similar. First for research and the SG government, but then it will open up to the general public. What do you guys think?

FutureBooks partner network
The convergence of media has resulted in many opportunities in the digital market.
Today, people want to get information on the go, be it through their mobile phone,
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or in more recent years, e-book readers like
Amazon’s Kindle. There is opportunity in this emerging sub-sector for Singapore
companies to be part of the value chain. To spur the development, delivery and managing of innovative applications and content on the e-book platform, a FutureBooks partner network championed by major
industry players such as Creative Technology and SPH together with other key
industry members such as Personal e-Motion (PEM), Singapore Centre for Chinese
Language (SCCL), Popular e-Learning Holdings, Times Publishing Group and
Pearson Education has been established. Together with MDA, the partner network
invites companies with innovative ideas for applications, services and business
models, to leverage on the technology, global distribution network as well as
educational content offered by the partner network members.

Successful proposals will be able to leverage on the wide reach offered by the
combined partner network. This includes more than 12.7 million news readers globally,
500 language teachers from 475 schools in Singapore and across the Southeast Asia
region, more than 350,000 Popular members with retail presence in 117 stores in
Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and markets in more than seven countries in
Asia, including China.

Mr Willie Png, Vice President, Creative Technology said: “With the advent of the
Internet, the global scenario for learning is fast changing. New innovative technologies
play key roles in defining the future of learning which calls for new ways to create,
deliver and consume content. Always at the forefront of innovation, Ceative offers an
open platform that enable industry players to provide services and develop
applications and devices for the world of future learning.

MDA also hopes that the FutureBooks initiative will draw synergy from the Media in
Learning initiative announced recently by generating innovative applications with
Learning-related content to reach a wider global audience.

SG Government News Release

epiZENter

Creative SoundBlaster and X-Fi Windows 7 Compatibility List

thetonyweapon — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:04:43 +0000

Excited about Windows 7 but not sure which Creative sound cards work with the operating system? Fear not, for here is a list of ones that officially work according to Creative. It’s pretty extensive and covers pretty much every sound card made by the company dating back to the Windows 98SE era. The Compatibility Center on Microsoft’s site is a bit out of date- here’s the latest we got from Creative. If it is listed as not compatible, it may still work- just try the Vista drivers on the Creative support site.

SoundBlaster X-Fi Series

Supported:

SoundBlaster Series

Supported:

Digital Audio Players

All Creative products with the latest firmware update should be able to natively interact with the operating system.

Speakers and Headsets

All beta versions. Non-USB versions do not need drivers. If you are not getting sound, check your sound card driver.

Products with Beta Drivers

Bonus Coverage: Webcams

The following camera drivers are in beta stages. To find them, go to Creative’s support page, navigate to your model, then click “Beta Drivers”

Live! Cam Notebook Ultra
Live! Cam Video IM (VF0350)
Live! Cam Video IM Pro
Live! Cam Vista IM
Live! Cam Notebook
Webcam Vista
Live! Cam Chat
Live! Cam Notebook Pro (Est release Q4 2009)

Android Hitting Zii EGG This Week?

thetonyweapon — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:57:35 +0000

GenerationMP3 is reporting on an Android update this week to the Zii EGG- exciting news!

See the post over at ZiiEGG.com

Inspire S2 Wireless: Bluetooth Hits Your Speakers

thetonyweapon — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:34:34 +0000

Creative’s made wireless speakers before. So why are the Inspire S2 Wireless speakers spiffy? Aside from the fact that they are way cool, they feature Bluetooth technology for the connection, enabling you to stream music from your Bluetooth-enabled audio device directly to the speakers. Most smartphone and music-oriented cell phones have a Bluetooth chip installed on them somewhere, and the technology is becoming more popular on DAPs- the one that springs to mind is the Samsung P3. According to the specs, you’ll be able to get up to 30′ from the unit and still get it to work; but as always your results will vary based on location characteristics. Also sporting Bluetooth is ZiiLABS’ Zii EGG, and while it’s not fully implemented yet, don’t be surprised to see these Bluetooth speakers being demoed using a Zii at CES 2010. If you have no Bluetooth devices, fear not, as the speakers come with a dongle to allow use with your PC, as well as a standard AUX IN jack.

Among the other less intriguing features is the apt-X codec, which Creative licensed a while back, Mac OS support (a new theme for the company), and Energy Star certification. I dunno if they’ll make any sales based on the “Energy Star” rating, but yay environmentalism.

Inspire S2 Wireless on Creative US

Inspire S2 Press Release (37)

ZiiLABS Press Release ZiiLABS Announces Graphics and HD Video Acceleration for Adobe Flash Player, AIR Support

thetonyweapon — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:20:20 +0000

More good news on the Zii front. HD Video acceleration and full Flash support have officially been announced by ZiiLABS. On a more surprising front, AIR support will be coming to the Zii EGG platform. Read more for the entire lowdown.

ZiiLABS

Amsterdam – 11 September 2009 - ZiiLABS, a pioneering media processor and platforms company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd. announced that it is collaborating with Adobe as part of the Open Screen Project to optimize and enable Adobe® Flash® Player, a key component of the Adobe Flash Platform to enhance the Web experience across a wide range of mobile and digital home devices.

The ZiiLABS accelerated implementations of Adobe Flash Player enable users to experience uncompromised Web browsing, full H.264 HD video playback and rich Flash technology based content on any platform based on its ZMS media-rich applications processors and recently announced handheld Zii EGG StemCell Computer.

“Users want the same rich Web experience on all their devices, be it their internet tablet, mobile device or high-definition TV and like Adobe, we are dedicated to deliver the best visual experience on all these platforms,” said Tim Lewis, Director of Marketing and Partner Relations, ZiiLABS. “Our long heritage implementing OpenGL, 3D graphics and multi-format video acceleration put us in a great position to work with Adobe to provide a no-compromise implementation of Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR™ on ZMS processors.”

The Open Screen Project is a broad initiative of industry leaders working to deliver a consistent runtime environment across devices. Led by Adobe, the Open Screen Project is dedicated to enable Web content and standalone applications across PCs, netbooks, mobile devices, televisions and other consumer electronics that take advantage of Adobe Flash Platform capabilities. For more information, please visit www.openscreenproject.org.

“We are excited to welcome ZiiLABS as a new participant to the Open Screen Project,” said Anthony Haag, Director of Business Development, Open Screen Project, Adobe. “As a provider of innovative application processors, hardware platforms and middleware, ZiiLABS’ support for Flash Player 10 and AIR will help deliver much richer and more immersive user experiences across a broad range of new devices and consumer electronics.”

About Flash Platform

The Adobe Flash Platform is a complete system of integrated tools, frameworks, clients and servers for the development of Web applications, content and video that runs consistently across operating systems and devices. Adobe Flash Player content reaches over 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops, and Adobe Flash technology is the number one platform for video on the Web. In addition, the mobile runtime has shipped and delivered Flash based content on close to 40 percent of all new mobile phones and devices in 2008. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

About ZiiLABS

ZiiLABS is a worldwide leader in low-power, media-rich application processors, hardware platforms and advanced middleware that enable OEMs, ODMs, System Integrators and Software Developers to deliver best-in-class products across a broad range of consumer electronics and embedded markets. Originally founded in 1994 as 3DLABS, the company re-branded and joined with the Personal Digital Entertainment group of Creative Technology to form ZiiLABS in January 2009. ZiiLABS now has over 800 R&D engineers working on ZiiLABS related projects and has invested US$1 billion and 10,000 man years in media processing solutions. The company has offices in the UK, China, USA and Singapore.

Creative to Gain $6.1 Million, Guess When Zii Will Be Announced

thetonyweapon — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:29:46 +0000

Thanks to awesome tipster Sim (unknown relation to Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo) , we’ve uncovered quite a lot about what’s forthcoming from Creative in the Zii department. Over on epiZENter, ramakandra relayed from his sources that the ZEN X-Fi2 isn’t meant as a full replacement for the X-Fi itself, but rather a way to reduce parts inventory and testing the waters for the Zii consumer model. Seemed feasible enough at the time, but now Sim has dropped the same commentary on our post about the X-Fi2:

As for the Zen touch screen x-fi2, I think some smart people have guessed correctly why it had to be released. It will make sure we will continue to generate sufficient revenue so as to cut losses and possibly break even this holiday season while we prepare for the Zii updates…

Breaking even over this quarter would amount to quite a turnabout for the Singapore company, who has posted losses for several straight quarters. Helping to feed that ambition is $6.1 million in funding from a divestment in QALA Singapore, a local ISP. I’m certainly not an expert in the world of finance, so correct me in the comment section, but this divestment is like pulling an investment from a company that you had previously funded. Creative originally invested $1.6 million, so the net gain is $4.5 million over time, a very smart investment. Qala needs not fear, however, as they were just bought by MobileOne, a major Singapore cell carrier for $10.3 million US. Clearly, this is meant to clear funding for the Zii launch.

Speaking of the Zii launch, Sim also dropped a link to the recently updated ZiiLABS.com events page, which shows when and where ZiiLABS will be demonstrating products over the next couple of months. Here they are:

IBC 2009

Amsterdam
11th – 15th September 2009

Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2010)

Las Vegas
7th – 10th January, 2010

World Mobile Congress (Mobile World Congress, misnamed by ZiiLABS)

Barcelona, Spain
15th – 18th, February 2010

I’ll be putting my money, if I had any, on CES as the big announcement, as this is a Creative tradition to announce stuff a couple of days prior to the convention, then having a media blitz over the convention days. The company has garnered three “CES Best in Show” awards in the last decade, and they sure would enjoy a fourth. It’s almost more interesting to see the MWC announcement- perhaps a mobile carrier partner will be lined up by then?

ZEN X-Fi2- Touchscreen Update to the X-Fi includes TV out, FLAC support, 3″ Screen

thetonyweapon — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:15:28 +0000

Waited for the touchscreen DAP to be announced? Wait no longer. Creative has announced the X-Fi2, a major update to the ZEN X-Fi. The most important of the new features is the new 3″ touchscreen, which will be a first for a Creative consumer model. The new user input method results in a new revision of the UI, which is evident in several video shots of the player. However, that’s not all that is being updated. There is support for lossless audio in the form of FLAC, video out via composite video cable, full drag and drop support with both Windows and Mac, and a change to microSD expansion. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) , for those who are unaware, is an open-source audio codec that allows for superb audio quality by an algorithm that results in no loss of audio quality during compression, see Wikipedia for more. The TV out will come via an accessory cable which will not be packaged with the player at the outset, but will be available immediately in the store. Similar to the top-notch Creative ZEN Vision:M and Vision:W, the player will support video up to 640×480 resolution videos. There’s no confirmation if the player will output at those resolutions, but it’s a good bet. The X-Fi2’s screen is 400×240, an upgrade from the original’s 320×240.

Notably absent from the specification list is the Wi-Fi, which I think is a good move. The X-Fi appealed to audio buyers, and the WiFi was half baked. It’s good to see they focused on the selling points of the player rather than trying to disastrously fix it.

Keep reading for the full specs and videos!

Thanks to Sim for the tip!

This Week in EGG

thetonyweapon — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:18:44 +0000

The internet has gotten hold of the EGG, and as such have revealed their first impressions. Browse through some of these and let us know what you think below in the comment section!

Our sister site: ZiiEGG.com

DAPreview (DaHarder)

Anything But iPod

Also, Engadget unveiled a roadmap for development on the platform, which you can see in this article.

Additionally, ZiiLABS has announced that they will be using the Wolfson WM8350 audio chip in the device for audio processing. This will work in union with the ZMS-05 processor, which will do almost all of the work except audio processing. It’s an interesting step, but the chip claims to be a very power-efficient one, and could increase battery life for the audio side. Read more about the WM8350 here, and read the ZiiLABS press release below.

Wolfson/ZiiLABS Press Release

Wolfson’s integrated audio and power management solution selected by ZiiLABS

Faster time-to-market for media-rich, low power portable designs

Edinburgh, UK – 25 August 2009 – : Wolfson Microelectronics plc (LSE: WLF.L) announces that applications processor vendor ZiiLABS has selected the WM8350 Stereo CODEC with Integrated Power Management for inclusion on both its ZMS-05 System Module for embedded devices and its Zii EGG StemCell Computer, the first market-ready handheld Plaszma platform.

The WM8350 is one of Wolfson’s successful family of power management solutions, which are compatible with leading multimedia application processors. It features an integrated high fidelity audio CODEC and power management subsystem that delivers high performance audio and extended battery life at a reduced system cost. Coupled with ZiiLABS’ media-rich processor technology, the WM8350 enables the creation of new and exciting high performance designs, whilst significantly reducing power consumption, system cost, design challenges, manufacturing complexity and time-to-market. In the case of the WM8350, the savings can be up to 25 percent on the device bill of materials (BOM) and up to 50 percent on the board footprint.

“Wolfson is delighted to be working with ZiiLABS. The WM8350 provides a highly integrated solution without compromising on audio performance, a perfect fit for their platforms and processors”, comments Jess Brown, power management product line manager at Wolfson. “Successful portable consumer electronics products are increasingly differentiated through enhanced, high performance multimedia user experiences, in ever smaller sizes with longer battery life. Working with Wolfson offers processor vendors such as ZiiLABS the ideal companion technology and an innovative product architecture optimised to help the designer meet these demands.”

The ZMS-05 is a fully programmable, media-rich applications processor capable of delivering high-performance HD video, 2D/3D graphics and multimedia capabilities within a low-power environment. The ZMS-05 System Module, incorporating the ZMS-05 and WM8350, comes in a production-ready SODIMM form factor simplifying customer base board developments. Based on the ZMS-05, the Zii EGG handheld StemCell Computer, offers an energy efficient handheld platform featuring a multi touch display, GPS, forward and rear facing cameras, Bluetooth, HDMI, full size SD card slot, 256MB RAM, 16/32GB Flash Memory and Wi-Fi.

“We have chosen the WM8350 because of Wolfson’s world-class expertise in audio and power management mixed-signal design. Wolfson has provided excellent application support throughout the project, something that has been an essential component in our decision to work with them”, comments Tim Lewis, Marketing Director at ZiiLABS. “The WM8350 and ZMS-05 processor form a powerful combination that will help designers differentiate their products with media-rich applications at the lowest possible power consumption. Both the WM8350 and ZiiLABS’ ZMS-05 are highly integrated devices that help shorten system design times and reduce the requirement for additional components, whilst delivering a superb, non-compromised multimedia experience.”

The WM8350 functions include a high performance, low power audio CODEC with advanced mixing capability that delivers excellent 98dB SNR performance. The device also features on-chip clock generation, six DC-DC converters, four LDO voltage regulators, a lithium battery charger, two white LED drivers and an auxiliary analogue to digital converter (ADC), all inside a compact 7×7mm BGA package.

About Wolfson Microelectronics

Wolfson Microelectronics plc is a leading global provider of high performance, mixed-signal semiconductors to the consumer electronics market.

Wolfson is known for its high performance audio and ultra low power consumption, its devices are at the heart of many high profile consumer electronics products, including mobile phones, mp3 players, flat panel TVs and in-car infotainment systems. Wolfson technology enables exciting new end-user experiences by connecting the digital world to the human senses.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, UK, Wolfson has sales and engineering offices in the USA, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and India.

Wolfson Microelectronics plc is listed on the London stock exchange (LSE: WLF.L).

For more information about Wolfson Microelectronics, please visit: www.wolfsonmicro.com or sign up for Wolfson eNews at: www.wolfsonmicro.com/enews

About ZiiLABS

ZiiLABS is a worldwide leader in low-power, media-rich application processors, hardware platforms and advanced middleware that enable OEMs, ODMs, System Integrators and Software Developers to deliver best-in-class products across a broad range of consumer electronics and embedded markets. Originally founded in 1994 as 3DLABS, the company re-branded and joined with the Personal Digital Entertainment group of Creative Technology to form ZiiLABS in January 2009. ZiiLABs now has over 800 R&D engineers working on ZiiLABS related projects and has invested US$1 billion and 10,000 man years in media processing solutions. The company has offices in the UK, China, USA and Singapore.

A Bit More on the Zii EGG

thetonyweapon — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:39:04 +0000

After the release of the EGG, there was much excitement about the “next big thing” from the little company that could. However, there were also a few issues that sprung up regarding the shipment unit- and I got some answers.

Despite the various differences around the web with regards to capitalization and spelling, the official product name is the Zii EGG – with the entire EGG part capitalized.
The HD cable is not included with the SDK package- and the box contents over at ZiiLABS is much clearer. The device box will include the following: the Zii EGG, earphones, a USB cable, the wall charger, and a warranty card.
The 32GB included in the SDK promotion is embedded in the device. This is not the 0GB device that ZiiLABS offers to OEMs so they can add 32GB of storage via SDHC.
The device is of matte plastic material. A comparison shot can be seen here on a fake iPhone.
Currently the only shipping countries are those listed. No mention of you poor Australian people who want the device.
No new information on the battery life. The focus at this point is on developers and thus there is no stable benchmark for battery life.
The SDK contains all the tools, libraries and example applications to get developers started. It will be officially supported under Ubuntu 8.04 using the Eclipse program. This is great because people who are on any system now can (for free) install Ubuntu as a secondary OS to program in without messing up the Windows/Mac system. And if you’re already in Ubuntu, then you know how to manage your OS properly and probably already know a decent amount of programming.

On another note, I’ll be launching an app store over at ZiiEGG.com soon- please post in the forums links to free Android programs so that I can begin building the collection!