Trek 2000

Once a hot stock, then faded away because its FluCard sales never seemed to get going.

Finally, it will happen. Trek said shipments of FluCard have started..... to Japan where Kaga Electronics will sell the FluCard and Ai-Ball (world’s smallest WIFI camera). Sales projections
of US$2 million for FY2011 --- not significant to Trek but can't be help as it is just a couple of months of sales, takes time to place these items into the sales network.

Good thing is distributor is Kaga Electronics Co., Ltd, one of Japan’s largest consumer electronics distributors.

Trek is doing ok so far. 1H2011 net profit increased by 45.2% for US$1.3m to US1.9m

Downside shoould be limited. Last year, Trek traded above 30 cents prior to the FluCard being touted as the Next Big Thing.

This looks like and smells like Trek's FluCard!
As Toshiba is a partner of Trek, it has re-packaged the FluCard. Very positive development. High - time the FluCard made progress into commercialisation.
Toshiba is to launch the world's first WiFi-enabled SD memory card, the company announced today at the IFA consumer technology show in Berlin. 
The new FlashAir card looks outwardly like a standard SDHC memory card and weighs in at a measly 2g. It will initially be available in a capacity of 8GB.
Building wireless communication directly into the memory card means users of devices like digital cameras will be able to use it to upload and download photos, videos and other files to their PC, phone, tablet or other WiFi-equipped device directly over a wireless network, without having to faff around with cables or card readers.
The cards will be compatible with the 802.11n wireless standard, and backwards-compatible with the b and g variants. Security is provided by WEP, TKIP and AES encryption (WPA and WPA2).
According to Toshiba's specs, the card's power draw is similar to that of a standard SD card, so users shouldn't see too much of a dent in their camera's battery life when using the FlashAir card.
Toshiba is currently seeking Wi-Fi certification for FlashAir in Japan, North America and Europe, and says the first FlashAir cards will go on sale in February 2012.
Read more: www.thinq.co.uk/2011/9/1/worlds-first-wi...a-ifa/#ixzz1X562UgJX
 

On any other normal market day, unlike today's gloomy day, Trek would have soared with this news >>

SINGAPORE – 21 September, 2011 - Trek 2000 International Ltd. (“Trek”), inventor and
patent owner of the ThumbDriveTM , today announced that it will start delivering customized
FluCard® to PLUS Corporation (“Plus”) from October 2011 onwards, a premier provider of
leading-edge digital projectors and electronic Copy/White boards. Trek will deliver
approximately 50K units of Flu Card to Plus in FY2012. It will have a positive financial impact
on Trek’s FY2012 earnings.

ThumbDrive inventor out to prove he is no one-hit wonder
Bernice Tan December 14, 2010
 
Henn Tan, chairman of Trek 2000 International posing in front of the company's signage in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Henn Tan could have ruled the global market in what became the ubiquitous USB flash drive that helped consign the floppy disk to the dustbin of technological history.
But his grip on the ThumbDrive slipped and the market was flooded with a myriad of brands for the handy memory device which could be small enough to dangle on a key ring.
Now the Singaporean entrepreneur hopes to prove he was no one-hit wonder.

This photo shows various thumb drives displayed at the office of Trek 2000 International in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Tan, who holds the patent for the compact data storage device in over 30 markets and the global trademark for the ThumbDrive brand, now has a firmer hold on another invention with a rather unusual name.
The FluCard - a postage stamp-size storage device that can also transmit data wirelessly - is Tan's new baby, and he hopes to see it used by millions of people; just like the USB drive.
Tan said many thought the ThumbDrive was a one-hit wonder.
"I told them no, but many refused to believe me," the 54-year-old said.
"We are more than just about ThumbDrives and the power of this FluCard is going to be immense," insisted the chairman and chief executive of Trek 2000 International, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange.
Tan laments that he made a mistake with the ThumbDrive by going it alone instead of partnering with an established player in 2000, an admittedly "naive" move that allowed rivals to get big slices of the USB-based data storage pie.
This time around, he has teamed up with Japan's Toshiba Corp to promote the FluCard and ensure its patent is protected globally.
Why the name?
"It's contagious and easy to recall," says Tan, a marketing man who employs technical experts to flesh out his ideas.
"You go to Afghanistan, you say flu, and they understand."
Marc Einstein, regional manager at technology consultancy Frost and Sullivan, said the FluCard is a sign of the convergence underway in consumer electronics and computer technology.
"I do think that this is where the future lies for technologies and consumer devices," he said, adding that securing Toshiba's support "is a good first step" for the Singapore firm.
Tan said his company and Toshiba, now the second largest shareholder in Trek 2000 International after him, formed a consortium of camera makers to adopt the FluCard as the industry standard.
Terence Wong, co-head of research at Singapore brokerage DMG and Partners, sees good commercial prospects for the FluCard and also feels partnering Toshiba is a right move for Tan.
"This FluCard can potentially kill off the dummy SD card if they get it right," Wong said.
Shaped exactly like the Secure Digital (SD) memory cards now used widely in compact digital cameras, the FluCard comes embedded with Wi-Fi to transmit data to other wireless-enabled devices such as mobile phones, laptops and tablet computers.
"It can do more than what an ordinary dumb, dumb SD card can do which is just to store data," Tan said.
"As long as you have a hardware embedded with Wi-Fi, you can download anything from the FluCard."
Launched earlier this year, the FluCard works in any device that has an SD slot and the camera market is the most obvious target for Tan.
SD cards are predominantly used in compact digital cameras, 100 million of which were sold in 2009 alone, according to industry estimates.
Using a FluCard in the digital camera the user has the option of uploading new photos directly to the internet for sharing with friends on Facebook and other social networks.
It also functions as a data storage back-up since the content inside the FluCard can be instantly transferred to a private user account on a portal set up by Trek 2000 International.
Tan's idea for the FluCard came about after a holiday with his family in China five years ago was ruined when they lost their camera.
"You can't be going back to the places to retake the photos, and I felt lousy there wasn't any data backup," said Tan.
"The power of this FluCard is going to be immense if I get it right," he said, adding it could catapult his company from a fringe player into the major leagues of the data storage industry with Toshiba's support.
Tan's anguish was clear as he recalled how his company lost out to the "big boys" of data storage who came out with their own USB-based devices - and to pirates who simply made ThumbDrive knockoffs.
"Right now we are still generating income [from royalties] but not much," said Tan.
"Size counts, and I learnt my lesson real hard."
In retrospect, Tan said it would have been better if he had partnered one of the big brands when the ThumbDrive was launched in March 2000, but his eagerness got the better of him at the time.
"I was naive, I was gullible and I decided to take this product all alone, believing that we can do it."
"Now I have Toshiba, I am riding on the coat-tails of Toshiba."
AFP

a good invention but a lousy product's name + lousy design