SINGAPORE : Analysts are calling it a brave move by Creative Technology to plunge head-long into the video- conferencing market.

Over the weekend, Creative unveiled its latest offering - the portable system Inperson.

The move is part of efforts to grow new revenue streams but industry players say video-conferencing is an established and fiercely competitive market.

It has not exactly been music to the ears for Creative's push into the MP3 player market.

It is struggling to make a dent into the market now dominated by Apple.

But Creative is hoping for better result with its newly-unveiled Inperson video system which will be launched in mid-March.

Foong King Yew, Research Director, Gartner, said: "I think that you know Creative is really trying to look at a new replacement revenue stream, because of the challenges in the MP3 market coming from Apple. Apple has really redefined the entertainment space in that segment, going from a purely hardware play to a service and customer experience perspective.

"So I see this as a move by Creative to move into new areas for growth. The key question is - will it be a blue ocean for them or will it be a red ocean characterised by competition and narrow profit margins? Clearly the opportunities are there but the challenges are also there so it depends on how well Creative actually executes to overcome these challenges."

Industry players say the video-conferencing market is highly competitive and Creative has its work cut out trying to break through.

Mr Foong said: "I think firstly we need to understand that the video conferencing market is really a very challenging one, and you know Creative is more known for their consumer entertainment devices. So it's basically a new market which they are entering into.

"And it's a competitive market with a lot of options readily available for the enterprise end-users like managed web services, solutions from Cisco, Microsoft, Polycom, Tandbergs. So can Creative really offers something different that is valued by the enterprise and end-users in such a competitive market?"

Still, market-watchers say the move suggests that Creative is starting to leverage on their tech skills to proliferate into new product platforms.

Creative's portable wireless conferencing system will retail at S$1,200 per unit with a monthly service fee of S$25 to service provider QMax.

Users will be able to speak with up to four people at a time. - CNA/ch