Who's it developed by then? Has it been developed in house or is it simply a clone of someone else's product (ala RioVolt vs. iRiver).

Also, what would be wrong with using empeg's software in a portable? From a user interface perspective, I think a portable device has very similar needs to that of a car stereo.

What's the point in developing different software for devices that essentially do the exact same thing? SonicBlue has assembled an interesting collection of companies over the years, yet has failed to really show any significant synergies between them. The company looks like it's pulled out it's gun and is shooting in all different directions with the expectation that many products will fail, but hopefully some will succeed.

Hopefully this new Rio unit will be good. Upon finding the Archos and Creative units for so cheap I was tempted to buy one. However, I decided to hold off since the products in this area are improving rapidly and prices are dropping fast. My RioVolt shouldl keep me satisfied until I see the player I really want.

The iPod looks really cool, but it's still too expensive and too proprietary. I refuse to buy a product that only works with a Mac and/or only works with Windows. I like the Archos design where any computer that can mount it's USB hard drive can access the device, which includes Linux. Also, the Archos can be had for significantly cheaper than the iPod. If Apple were to drop their price by $100 and document how their propreitary iTunes databaes works, I'd buy one in a second. Otherwise I think the Archos looks the best for the money.

But I'd really rather have a portable device with empeg's software in it. Having their car stereo has really spoiled me. It is so refreshing to see a group of guys so dedicated to improving their product and open about sharing that with their customers. When was the last time you saw that type of behavior from Sony or other similar big company?