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Creative Technology
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Creative Technology Ltd. is a living legend in the global computer industry. The creator of the famed Soundblaster series of sound cards--one of the pioneer products of the multimedia revolution--Creative has maintained its dominance of that market segment with the success of the Audigy series of sound cards, launched in 2001. Yet Creative has expanded its focus beyond the PC world to embrace what it calls the Lifestyle Digital Entertainment market (LDE), launching a range of products including the Nomad line of MP3 players; computer speaker systems, under its own brand name as well as under higher-end subsidiary brand Cambridge Soundworks; digital cameras; and, in 2003, the Prodikeys, which combines a computer keyboard with a 37-key music keyboard. These efforts have helped reduce the company's reliance on its core sound card business (the company is ... the leading supplier of OEM sound chips and cards to the computer industry), which nonetheless generate 44 percent of total sales, which slipped to $805 million in 2002 (from $1.2 billion the year before). Nearly half of the company's sales are generated in the United States and elsewhere in the Americas; Europe represents 32 percent of sales, with Asia making up the remainder. The company also produces Chinese-language and bilingual software for the Singapore market.
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Presently, the shares of Creative Technology are considered to be a "Weak Hold" by Wall Street financial analysts. Tracked by 3 Wall Street professionals, the weighted consensus ranking or AQO is 0.33. This value is inside the .00 and .349 AQO range designated for a "Weak Hold" recommendation. As a proxy for the broad market, the S&P 500 average, currently has an AQO of 0.90, indicating the shares' performance is likely to be less attractive than the general market.
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It's a good thing Creative Technology has this patent. The myopic belief that the iPod is all advertising ensures the company will likely continue to struggle in direct competition. Of course, it's unlikely Apple Computer will allow the patent to go unchallenged, but the portents for such a legal fight are clouded. Consider the battle between Research In Motion and NTP over the Blackberry. While RIM has won at the US Patent and Trademark Office, overturning much of what NTP has been awarded, RIM has lost in court and faces an injunction that might shut down Blackberry service in the US. This latest patent dispute again highlights problems with the patent system, a system that increasingly appears to reward patent lawyers as much as it does innovation.
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MILPITAS, Calif., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Technology, Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF - news), the renowned innovator of market-leading multimedia solutions for personal entertainment, today announced the availability of Live!Ware 2.0 -- the latest release in its Live!Ware program. Live!Ware 2.0 dramatically enhances the entertainment experience for Sound Blaster Live! and Sound Blaster Live! Value users. Live!Ware 2.0 leverages the programmable design of the EMU10K1 processor -- the powerful audio engine at the heart of Sound Blaster Live! solutions -- to bring new and existing users a completely new experience through a software upgrade.
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Despite the failure of the computer system, Creative Technology continued to develop its sound card, shifting its focus from language reproduction to music. The resulting sound card was called the Creative Music System. The company ... recognized that the U.S. market, which already dominated the world computer market in terms of sales, was its likeliest route to success. In 1988, Sim moved to California, establishing a subsidiary, Creative Labs, and vowing not to return to Singapore until the company was successful. As Ng revealed to Businessweek, "He told everybody that he would not come back unless he made $1 million selling 20,000 of our music soundcards. Everybody thought that he was crazy."
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Creative Technology is expected by financial analysts to book earnings of $0.47 per share in the fourth quarter. This figure represents no change from the prior month but still indicates that analysts believe earnings will rise over the $0.05 per share recorded in the prior year earlier quarter by 840.00%.
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