We will entrust to a specialized provider

Diabolo. It is the name of this spacecraft colourful, funny whose form evokes the toys of our childhood. Except that this is not a toy. Packed with technology, Diabolo is in fact the first French digital radio receiver. With a screen touch and gravity (as with the iPhone, the image adapts to the position of the screen), connection Wi - Fi, and soon GPRS, of a new type of radio station could settle home at Christmas 2009. Indeed, it is this date that the French radios should begin to broadcast their programmes in digital format in 19 cities hexagonal the France have adopted the T - DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) format. With a lot of the key services. And hear the voice of the Narrator, the listener will see his photo, those of guests, or the title and the cover of the album played. He can see a weather map, a stock market course, or even a video...

If channels have already been thinking about this content, had left them to test to prove the validity to the listeners. Only problem, there is no yet receptor. Laurent Michel, former Director of R & D at ATT Lucent Technologies (professional telephony), has seized the opportunity. Founder of Caméon in 2003, a Nantes Office specialized in biometrics, it was converted in the technologies of web-radio as early as 2005. Two years later, he won with RTL a research project on digital radio, funded by the national agency of research and supported by OSEO, Atlanpole incubator (the Nantes technopole), Télécom Paris, TDF and Grenoble society Allegro. After a year and a half of development to four people, the team led to marketable prototype. They were acquired by RTL and TDF, who will make the demonstrators of the terrestrial digital radio in the French standard. "Laurent Michel is today the France only to propose a technology in phase with the prospects of the market, says Jérôme Hirigoyen, Director of digital radio in TDF. project" It is believed from the beginning and advance from other manufacturers.

Bouquet of services

To market its product, Laurent Michel established the company E-Steresys. It relies on sales between 10,000 and 30,000 units in December 2009. But to fund his project and do not make groom the pawn by his future competitors, including Korean, which have a standard consistent with the approach adopted by the France release Laurent Michel betting on the service: "We will propose a bouquet of domestic services complementary to the map, via a Wi - Fi connection, and type Widget on the sites of our suppliers." Alert banking, telephone invoice, power consumption, support for the elderly at home, E-Steresys has already established (still confidential) contracts with two providers. The young company has obviously studied manufacturing, which will be in Langon, 67 km from Nantes, in your. A manufacturer of GPS for Magellan and Thales. The industry has already participated in the manufacture of the product including 1,000 units should be deployed in Nantes this summer. "We will test the use and services of the Diabolo to consumers," says Laurent Michel.

Side marketing, operation will be largely relayed by radio as NRJ, RTL project partners and the stations of Radio France. Even the local associative radio will be part. On the distribution, "is not our business", says the leader. "We will entrust to a specialized provider." "The Diabolo will be marketed under our brand, brand distributor or"co-branded"with a radio, all options are open," continued. Darty or Baker would be interested to dispose of the product as soon as the holiday of the year in their rays. Still needs to find the money, because Laurent Michel has a need for 2 million euros by this summer to fund the pre-series of 1,000 positions and pass to the industrial stage.