SanDisk Acquires MusicGremlin
Tuesday June 10, 7:30 am ET
MILPITAS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK - News), a leading seller of MP3 players in the United States, today announced it has acquired MusicGremlin, a privately-held technology company that develops advanced digital content distribution technologies. The acquisition falls under SanDisk’s Sansa™ audio/video business unit.
“MusicGremlin’s digital distribution platform and capabilities will provide SanDisk with adaptive and innovative technology that will play a key role in the development of future Sansa products for consumers,” said Daniel Schreiber, general manager and senior vice president for SanDisk’s Sansa audio/video business unit.
Robert Khedouri, co-CEO and co-founder of MusicGremlin, will join the Sansa team as vice president of services.
“SanDisk and MusicGremlin share a core passion for granting consumers easy access to digital content,” said Khedouri. “We’re very pleased that MusicGremlin technologies will soon contribute to a new generation of Sansa products and services. We look forward to joining SanDisk in realizing our vision for the future of distributed media.”
Terms of the deal are undisclosed.
About MusicGremlin, Inc.
Founded in 2003, MusicGremlin, Inc. develops technologies to enhance the digital content experience. A pioneer in direct-to-device and wireless distribution technologies, in 2006 the company launched a first-of-its-kind portable Wi-Fi digital audio player (the MG-1000 “_Gremlin_®”) and companion digital music service that includes music from all the major labels and thousands of independents. The _Gremlin_® device incorporated numerous innovative features, including its push-content _Gremlist_™ service which allows users access to fresh DJ-programmed content that is automatically updated over a wireless connection. The device also featured the ability for users to program the device and order new content for it via the company’s Website, and to legally and wirelessly share music between devices for the first time. The company also develops technologies, products and features that it seeks to license to partner companies in mobile and other industries.
What kind of wireless? I think BT would suit the clip nicely with the A2DP/Wireless Stereo profile, but imo, WiFi wouldn’t be that useful… would stil have to plug it in to charge and USB 2.0 transfer would be faster. Although, syncing a playlist like the Zune while sitting in the car outside would be kind of neat… but still not as useful as BT.
This is all well and good, wireless headsets for our Sansa’s but…I have some thought provoking questions.
1. If wireless headsets are to be produced, will Sandisk encompass the older models of Sansas for wireless headsets?
2. Will one have to buy a brand new MP3 player to obtain the wireless headset technology?
I’ve seen it time again, companies encorporating new technology that will easily adapt to products already purchased by the consumer in the past but make it impossible to adapt because…they want to soak you for more money by buying the newer product rendering what you already have…obsolete to entertain the new technology. I think frankly…it is criminal and a waste. It doesnt endear this practise. I have dropped companies myself for ever buying from them again because of this practise.
If Sandisk is going to create a wireless headset but only compatible to a new MP3 player…I’ll buy something else and toss Sansa in the garbage.
I am presently trying to find a compatible wireless headset for my Sansa M240. I am having much difficulty in finding any information advising what product is compatible, if any. Is anyone aware of a wireless headset that is presently compatible with the Sansa M240? I’d love to know.
If there isn’t, I guess one has to wait and see what happens with the decisions Sandisk upsters are making in regards to there products and what will be available for the older models.
The article was from a while back. The wireless interest was regarding the Sansa Connect, a compact device that browsed music via Yahoo, without needing a hardwired connection, except to recharge.
Making the system work well proved difficult, as Yahoo discontinued their service, and WiFi access points often required input from the user. The Connect lacked a keyboard for entries.
Rhapsody absorbed Yahoo Music, but did not offer a service catered to the device.
It’s a shame, as the device had clean lines, and a promising interface. Maybe in the future, a successor will be possible.
Bob 
How great it would be to have a Clip with wireless, and no more fishing around for a USB cable …
Wireless access (802.11) is very nice for updating a Sansa without interrupting the children while they are busy at the computers (school work, of course). Being able to pick from a user library plus browse for new music would be wonderful.
If Rhapsody (RealNetworks) would work with SanDisk on that one, we’d have quite a few happy campers. I’d even jump on the WiFi bandwagon. The Connect was a nice piece of industrial design, even with its little shark fin.
It is possible to design a wireless interface to run solely between your host PC and the device, without messing with the client running on the PC, or I’d experiment with the UPnP protocol to run the device on its cool RF based digital tether.
One could integrate a coil within a device as small as the wee clip (perimeter coil) that allows charging (the coil is half of a transformer formed by plopping the device in a little cradle), and do away with the side port if data is transferred along the AC waveform, but that involves FCC type acceptance and a whole host of interference issues. It would make for a sleeker looking device though, sans holes.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
