Toshiba entices customers with
free audio book
Susan Rush
From the October 24th edition of CED Broadband Direct
It's a marriage between audio books and cable modems,
and Toshiba America Information Systems and Audible Inc. believe
it will be a match made in broadband heaven.
Toshiba's Network Products Division has struck an agreement with
Audible Inc., a provider of downloadable, spoken audio, to co-market
their products. Specifically, Toshiba will offer free audiobook
downloads with the purchase of one of its cable broadband products.
Toshiba will market Audible's services on retail packaging for
its PCX line of DOCSIS cable broadband products. The plan is for
the specially marked modems to begin shipping with the spoken
audio offer by late 2002.
The companies believe their joint efforts will produce a spike
in customers. Audible's service requires a high-speed connection
for downloading. "Audible's high growth rates benefit immensely
from consumers who can access our 34,000 hours of premium content
via broadband cable access. We believe this deal will sell more
Toshiba cable broadband products and attract new Audible customers,"
said Foy Sperring, Audible Inc.'s senior vice president of Strategic
Alliances.
In the first quarter of 2002, Toshiba shipped 430,000 units,
which represents 29.3 percent of the market.
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