Several things struck me about this announcement.
First, WIND is clearly making an effort to accelerate publicity. They have press releases every day now. Amazing how many are significant. The "cool customer design" seems designed to promote WIND, internet appliances in general, and smaller customers all at once. This increased PR can only help.
Next, this device can do a lot of things. Imagine real time impulse purchasing of items suggested by TV content. Consider pausing the TV (via TIVO), asking the device about items in a Seinfeld show, ordering one, and returning to the show. Who knows? The odds of this device becoming a standard TV remote -- and therefore garnering significant royalties are probably low. But the odds of some WIND powered device like it overtaking traditional remotes is probably high.
The eRemote may complement or compete with TIVO. But TIVO is a WIND customer, also.
Lastly, Dr. Design was involved from the beginning, meaning not only were software sales involved, but also professional services, and therefore unit royalties will be higher commensurate with WIND's increased value added.
And, of course, this isn't a "significant" release, say like NEC becomes a VAR, or WIND buys Rapid Logic, or ...
-Peter |
