<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Kube answer to iPod Shuffle hits shelves here
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Local firm's MP3 player, being sold at 7-Eleven, posts encouraging sales </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tan Weizhen
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The Kube, which is about half the size of the thumb, is selling for $34.90. Its storage device is a 2GB SD card that can hold about 500 songs. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ON A tight budget, not brand-conscious, but still want music on the go?
A home-grown company has come up with what it is pitching as a cheap alternative to Apple's tiniest digital music player, the iPod Shuffle.
The Kube, made by consumer electronics firm Bluetree Electronics, is half the size of the thumb and can hold 2GB worth of music, or up to 500 songs. The 18g device sells for $34.90.
In comparison, the 4GB iPod Shuffle - the size of an AA battery - retails at $128.
The made-in-Singapore MP3 player is available at all 450 7-Eleven stores across the island.
Ms Goh Djong Djong, sales manager at Bluetree, said she hopes the Kube will win fans among the 10- to 16-year-old crowd, along with 'young working adults and aunties who are watching their pockets'.
Sales have been encouraging, she said, but declined to give specific figures. The 7-Eleven outlet at Orchard Cineleisure has sold 30 units so far. Five other branches said they sold between three and 10 sets a day.
Bluetree was formed in 2004, and is the brainchild of five Singaporeans who are long-time friends. They each have more than 10 years' experience in different areas such as product design and sales, and have previously worked in either the IT or electronics industries.
They decided to form their own company because they have a common interest in designing consumer electronics.
The Kube, which took just nine months to go from drawing board to the stores, is the first product Bluetree has designed under its own name.
Ms Goh said the company felt the time is right to launch the Kube, given that, after hankering for the 'cool' iPod, people are now 'used' to it and 'may be looking for cheaper alternatives'. The recession may also have hit their budgets, she added.
The firm's strategy of selling at 7-Eleven, she said, was born of realism. She explained the Kube could be sold at places like Harvey Norman, 'but we don't see the point of fighting for attention beside the giants'.
The Kube, like the iPod Shuffle, does not have bells and whistles. It has no LCD screen, and its storage device is an SD card. To save space, some buttons do double duty - holding down the 'Play Next Track' button lowers the volume, for example.
The SD card storage medium has an advantage though: Users can replace the 2GB card fitted as standard with a larger-capacity one of up to 32GB, which can hold about 8,000 songs.
Analysts say the Kube has other advantages, such as ease of use, but would have limited appeal.
The industry manager of market research firm Frost & Sullivan, Mr Mark Einstein, said standalone MP3 players are losing ground to converged devices like mobile phones. 'But of course, certain segments like students and foreign workers on a budget will still go for cheap devices,' he said.
For student Caroline Tung, 14, the Kube is just the thing. 'I don't have an iPod because it's too expensive, and also because I lose things easily,' she said.
For others, though, branding and reputation are more important than price. Said service engineer Kelvin Lim, 27: 'It's about the packaging, and I trust Apple's product quality. The iPod I bought three years ago is still working fine.'
[email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Local firm's MP3 player, being sold at 7-Eleven, posts encouraging sales </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tan Weizhen
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
The Kube, which is about half the size of the thumb, is selling for $34.90. Its storage device is a 2GB SD card that can hold about 500 songs. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ON A tight budget, not brand-conscious, but still want music on the go?
A home-grown company has come up with what it is pitching as a cheap alternative to Apple's tiniest digital music player, the iPod Shuffle.
The Kube, made by consumer electronics firm Bluetree Electronics, is half the size of the thumb and can hold 2GB worth of music, or up to 500 songs. The 18g device sells for $34.90.
In comparison, the 4GB iPod Shuffle - the size of an AA battery - retails at $128.
The made-in-Singapore MP3 player is available at all 450 7-Eleven stores across the island.
Ms Goh Djong Djong, sales manager at Bluetree, said she hopes the Kube will win fans among the 10- to 16-year-old crowd, along with 'young working adults and aunties who are watching their pockets'.
Sales have been encouraging, she said, but declined to give specific figures. The 7-Eleven outlet at Orchard Cineleisure has sold 30 units so far. Five other branches said they sold between three and 10 sets a day.
Bluetree was formed in 2004, and is the brainchild of five Singaporeans who are long-time friends. They each have more than 10 years' experience in different areas such as product design and sales, and have previously worked in either the IT or electronics industries.
They decided to form their own company because they have a common interest in designing consumer electronics.
The Kube, which took just nine months to go from drawing board to the stores, is the first product Bluetree has designed under its own name.
Ms Goh said the company felt the time is right to launch the Kube, given that, after hankering for the 'cool' iPod, people are now 'used' to it and 'may be looking for cheaper alternatives'. The recession may also have hit their budgets, she added.
The firm's strategy of selling at 7-Eleven, she said, was born of realism. She explained the Kube could be sold at places like Harvey Norman, 'but we don't see the point of fighting for attention beside the giants'.
The Kube, like the iPod Shuffle, does not have bells and whistles. It has no LCD screen, and its storage device is an SD card. To save space, some buttons do double duty - holding down the 'Play Next Track' button lowers the volume, for example.
The SD card storage medium has an advantage though: Users can replace the 2GB card fitted as standard with a larger-capacity one of up to 32GB, which can hold about 8,000 songs.
Analysts say the Kube has other advantages, such as ease of use, but would have limited appeal.
The industry manager of market research firm Frost & Sullivan, Mr Mark Einstein, said standalone MP3 players are losing ground to converged devices like mobile phones. 'But of course, certain segments like students and foreign workers on a budget will still go for cheap devices,' he said.
For student Caroline Tung, 14, the Kube is just the thing. 'I don't have an iPod because it's too expensive, and also because I lose things easily,' she said.
For others, though, branding and reputation are more important than price. Said service engineer Kelvin Lim, 27: 'It's about the packaging, and I trust Apple's product quality. The iPod I bought three years ago is still working fine.'
[email protected]
