After Akimbo announced that they’re killing the RCA hardware line, I got in touch with my PR rep. We agreed there wouldn’t be much point in a review of the device now, though the GUI may be similar to what they license to other manufacturers/services. She suggested I recycle the box… and as we all know, recycling starts with reusing. So I recovered an 80GB Western Digital hard drive, a USB 802.11g adapter, some AAAs, and a few cables — none of which I need. It wasn’t quite as fun as getting to format that Compaq computer when Free-PC folded, but I do enjoy taking things apart.
Since the story broke, Akimbo has given current subscribers the bad news via email and Digital Trends interviewed CEO Tom Frank:
DT: Talk a little bit about the direction Akimbo is heading, now that you are exiting out of the hardware business.
TF: We are heading in the same direction we were, but just getting a little better and smarter about it. I am a firm believer that consumers want content and don’t shop for platforms. Running the service indefinitely puts us in potential conflict with some distribution partners.