Creative 2002 Annual Report Download - page 5

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and over seven minutes of anti-skip cache. It also works as a high speed portable hard drive to enable you to bring all
your data files around. The NOMAD MuVo is a snazzy product which doubles as a digital audio player and data storage
device. Extremely small (the size of a lighter), it can even fit on a keychain to take with you anywhere. It has very high
quality sound (more than 90dB signal-to-noise ratio) with virtually skip-free playback. Another must-have feature of
the MuVo is that it doubles as a solid-state portable USB hard drive for the PC or notebook, which will basically make
obsolete the bulky and slow floppy disk drive.
On the speaker front, the portable Creative TravelSound™ MP3 speaker system, the world’s first multifunctional MP3
speaker system, comes with an integrated stereo digital amplifier and titanium drivers to deliver exceptional audio clarity,
an MP3 player, a voice recorder and a 32MB solid state USB hard disk. It fits into the palm of your hand, and can be used
as a standalone MP3 player with digitally amplified speaker or as a portable speaker for the NOMAD Jukebox, notebook,
portable CD player, MiniDisc player or DVD player. The newly introduced Creative Inspire 6.1 speaker systems - the
first 6.1 speaker systems from Creative, feature 6 satellite speakers (including a rear center channel) and a subwoofer,
to take advantage of the 6.1 surround sound capability of the Sound Blaster Audigy 2.
In the graphics market, Creative’s participation via its acquisition of 3Dlabs during the year has seen the launch of the
new 3Dlabs’ Wildcat VP series of graphics cards for the professional workstation market. The new graphics cards
incorporate ground-breaking “Visual Processing Architecture” that includes a virtual memory subsystem that is not
limited by on-board graphics memory, multi-threaded command processor for simultaneous multiple processing and
programmable units that support complex operations.
In the entertainment keyboard market, the Creative Prodikeys™ is the industry’s first synergistic music and PC keyboard,
targeting a broad base of music lovers from the novice to the professional musicians who wish to interact with music in
an exciting new way. It is a unique and refreshing concept combining an ergonomic QWERTY keyboard and 37 touch
sensitive MIDI keys with powerful, yet easy-to-use software. It is extremely user-friendly and allows users to pick up basic
music skills without going through formal training.
Looking ahead, the business environment remains highly challenging. Market conditions remain highly uncertain and
difficult, with continued uncertainty on recovery, at least for the near term. While there are some instances of indications
of improvements in the economic outlook, these have been tentative and there has not been any sustained and consistent
or broad based economic recovery, particularly in the global technology markets. With these market conditions, we need
to carry on with the strategy to focus on profitability and higher-margin core audio, speakers and Lifestyle Digital
Entertainment products and with the measures taken to reduce costs and expenses.
With the success of the action we have taken over the past two years, Creative is emerging from these turbulent times
a much leaner and focused company with the ability to respond rapidly to changes in business conditions. We have now
a much lower cost structure that allows us to weather such difficult prevailing business conditions with a wide range of
new product offerings, especially in audio, speakers and Lifestyle Digital Entertainment, which provide us with new
growth opportunities. I believe we are now well positioned to meet the challenges ahead.
I would like to record my appreciation to the management and staff of Creative for their dedication and perseverance
in helping the company through this difficult period. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders
for their continuing support.
Sim Wong Hoo
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer