Ebook reader designer Sagem Wireless went bankrupt last month
But they managed to keep it very quiet. BTW, Sagem Wireless changed their name to Mobiwire back in February, so I’ll refer to them as such.
I don’t have full details on the story just yet, but I do have a back channel confirmation that Mobiwire did indeed file for bankruptcy at the beginning of May. (I have to admit that I missed the story at the time, but then so did most people.)
Mobiwire look to be primarily a designer of OEM equipment. Their website shows a wide selection of interesting looking phones, and even a few ereaders. The one at left is the Chromer 6. It never hit the market, but its 6″ color E-ink screen does show that Mobiwire were pushing ahead.
Mobiwire did release an ereader to the European market; it’s called the Binder. It was rebranded as the Thalia Oyo and the Fnac Fnacbook. The Binder looked much the same as the Chromer6 pictured above, only it had a 6″ Sipix screen (grayscale).
The Binder was not a terribly successful design, and its poor market performance may have hurt the company. Last month I told you that the Fnacbook only sold 14 thousand units since it launched late last year. The unfortunate part there is that I’ve also been told Fnac had signed a deal to buy 100 thousand. That’s a fair amount of money that Mobiwire could have used.
The latest news with Mobiwire is that several of the management are trying to make a buyout of part of the company. My guess is that it won’t be the ereader section.
Comments
fjtorres June 16, 2011 um 11:40 am
Canary in the coal mine, perchance?
Any other generic reader OEMs looking vulnerable?
Maybe others that bet on Sipix?
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