The Harmony remote is the Cadillac of universal remote controls. Logitech bought the company that made it, Intrigue Technologies back in 2004 for $29 million. Likewise, Slim Devices is the foremost producer of digital music networking equipment, and now Logitech has added Slim Devices to its stable of home electronics products.
One important thing to note about Logitech's aquisition pattern is the fact that the acquired product's brand remains the same. The Harmony remote is still called the Harmony remote, and according to the press release from Slim Devices, it will remain autonomous and won't change the brand names of the devices. Logitech is making a lot of sense with these decisions. They're targeting companies which have already made a name for themselves in the home electronics market, and a good name. What they bring to the table is marketing, and possibly manufacturing expertise which will allow the company to expand its base of customers, drop prices and spread the word.
Slim Devices had an exhibit at the DigitalLife conference in New York last week, it shared space with another company I wrote about, Ruckus Wireless. Slim Devices makes products which allow users to network their digital music collections throughout their homes, Ruckus Wireless' router/receiver combo was a great bridge from the computer to Slim Devices' hardware. — Brian Ward
Logitech hopes to bring Slim Device's Squeezebox to the mainstream.
Go to story from Gizmodo
Go to press release
Technorati tags: gadgets, logitech, slim devices.
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