I have noticed that Roku gets some (seemingly) free press here in the US as well. Or, maybe they are paying for some of it... presumably, they have deeper pockets than Slim Devices; their founder has been in the industry for a while.
I'm an electrical engineer and get the EE Times publication. This month they rean a "Tear Down" article on the Soundbridge, where they pulled out the circuit boards, pointing out the various conponents and their functions. They were very complimentary. Obviously, they didn't do any comparison with SB2. Earlier in the same issue, I saw an ad for Analog Devices Blackfin processor (used in the Soundbridge). There in the sidebar were three products; the Soundbridge family was one of them. I don't know if Roku has to pay for this publicity, but it's a win-win situation for both companies. Granted, ADI is a huge company, but I have never seen an ad for Squeezebox's Ubicom processor. On the positive side, I have seen Squeezebox2 ads on-line, in areas where music lovers would be found, so they are advertising in (probably) the most effective venues, as far as sales per advertising dollar are concerned. I've seen Rokus in both Tweeter and Best Buy, but I don't know how many sales that generates, and the profit margins are going to suffer by going through one of those retailers. Especially with the Squeezebox2, the word _is_ getting out. You can Google "Squeezebox2 reviews" and the first hit takes you here, which lists links for a number of reviews: http://www.vistra.com.au/products/slimdevices/Squeezebox2_Reviews.htm This one is not listed: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000807035126/ [Interestingly, a search for "Squeezebox reviews" (without the 2) pulls up the older (not as complementary) reviews on the older Slim Devices model.] Finally, in a not-so-small "by the way", last year, Sean, Dean, and Slim Devices were featured in EE Times in a really great, inspiring article (two actually). So they've had some time in the sun, too: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=26806405 http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=26806414 -- Dave D _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
