Ex-AST Execs to Sell Portable MP3 Player
Two former executives of AST Research Inc. are expected to unveil a new-media company today that has developed a portable stereo that plays digital music--so-called MP3 files--and will retail for less than $400.
AudioRamp.com in Tustin is being formed by Safi Qureshey, former chairman of the onetime personal computer manufacturer, and Dan Sheppard, AST’s former vice president of global corporate marketing.
The new venture will make a device that plays MP3 files, which use a compression technology that shrinks audio files at near-CD quality for easy transmission over the Internet.
The company’s goal is to offer easier access to the massive amount of digital audio content becoming available online, said Qureshey, who has invested more than $1 million in AudioRamp.com.
In addition to the machine, AudioRamp.com will roll out an online service that allows people to pull digital music from the Net, browse Web radio stations and customize their virtual jukebox.
Analysts predict that 15% of all music will be bought, sold and listened to in a digital environment by 2003.
As MP3 grows in popularity, so too are the selections of consumer electronic devices that can play the tunes. But the current wave of portable MP3 players do more than just spit out tunes: They’re smaller, smarter and connect with your home stereo, computer e-mail account and car stereo.
AudioRamp.com’s player, called the iRad, allows consumers to plug the unit into a telephone jack and use it to play digital music or stream in live audio, such as radio broadcasts, without having to hook it up to a computer.
The player also can work in combination with PCs and other digital-media devices connected to each other in the home.
“You can set up the box to wake you up with the news from the BBC or pick up sports broadcasts from your college,” Qureshey said.
Although analysts praise the iRad’s design and low price tag, the company faces plenty of competition.
Vertical Horizon, a Garden Grove start-up that promises to make the cheapest MP3 players in the industry, already is selling a stereo-component device that plays both regular audio CDs and CDs burned with MP3 files. The machine, which sells for $120, has fewer features than the iRad.
Since leaving AST Research after its acquisition by Samsung Electronics Co., Qureshey said he has invested in several so-called dot-coms. Several, including AudioRamp.com, ultimately will reside in an incubator in the Irvine Spectrum, officials said.
Qureshey also has stakes in Connect.com, a Santa Monica integrated-circuits company, and NotifyUs.com, a Loma Linda start-up that sends out reminders for and to clients.
