ipod
03/21/2005, 10:40am, EST
Monday, March 21st
LuxPro iPod shuffle knockoff a PR stunt?
An iPod shuffle knockoff shown at CeBit by LuxPro may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt, according to information collected by Jack Campbell from DVForge. "The Super Shuffle is not in production by LuxPro ... There is no intent by LuxPro to ever put the Super Shuffle into production ... LuxPro is looking for companies to hire LuxPro to build uniquely designed players, based around the same electronics inside the Super Shuffle ... the entire CeBit sideshow was planned from the start as a gambit to gain a hugely disproportionate share of the industry’s attention, so as to find a few customers for the Super Shuffle’s electronics." Campbell concludes that "there will be no Apple lawsuits, no Super Shuffles fighting their way onto racks at Circuit City, no angry mobs of Apple lawyers storming the LuxPro factory. This was not a prank, nor was it an act of blind stupidity. In my view, it was one of the most clever PR maneuvers I have ever seen executed by a small company."
Filed under: iPod
,
, 15
,
,
,
,
,
,

subscribe to comments
for this article
If LuxPro wanted to show off their ability to build "uniquely designed players" wouldn't...follow me on this...a unique design, instead of a direct copy, have been a good start?
They are just jealous and wanted to take a crack at creating the ever elusive RDF.
Well... I think their attempt may implode and not help in the long term. Time will tell.
MacMoose
Well, he might know something about deception, but marketing isn't apparently his forte. I take this comment:
In my view, it was one of the most clever PR maneuvers I have ever seen executed by a small company
And add it to this comment:
If LuxPro wanted to show off their ability to build "uniquely designed players" wouldn't...follow me on this...a unique design, instead of a direct copy, have been a good start?
Although, I must say, it took me a long time to follow 'jimothy' on that one. Uniquely designed players? Well, the super shuffle was uniquely designed when it came out of Apple's headquarters, and they certainly could build one, apparently (or could they? since it was a PR stunt, did they actually prove they could build such a player, or just show that they know how to photoshop one together?) [Hey, I'm joking here, 'jimothy'. Don't start flaming me or something!]
Oh, and I can't say much for this guy, anyway, since he says this at the end:
Of course, this completely ruins our scheme to bring a Super Shuffle to the Apple Store in SoHo and have a little fun with the people working at the Genius Bar, but what can you do?
Oh, man! I'm on the floor, and I think I just burst not one, but two kidneys, just thinking of the fun that would be. Oh man, this guy's hilarious! What's next? Going to his local Pepsi bottler with a sprite in his hand saying his Mountain Dew tastes funny?
Z