The somnolent handheld IFE market has stirred into life, with The IMS Company unveiling the sector’s first new order in months and digEcor vowing to continue its pursuit of old foe e.Digital in the courts.
Brea, California-based IMS announces that Kuwait Airways will deploy its PAV705 7in-touchscreen device in business and first-class cabins from the beginning of May. The players will be offered to passengers travelling in five Airbus A300s and four A340s and a pair of Boeing 777s on routes from Kuwait to Europe and the United States. Under a three-year agreement IMS will provide several hundred players and accessories, ground support equipment and content management services.
The PAV705’s 160Gb storage capacity will be exploited to provide more than 280 hours of video, including 72 films, along with audio content, games, news and current affairs, comedies, documentaries and sports programmes.
Meanwhile, Utah-based digEcor, which contests the No 1 spot in the handheld market with IMS, continues to put its time and money into litigation. In a seemingly interminable case, digEcor accuses secondary player e.Digital of failing to abide by a non-compete agreement and various other infractions.
Earlier this month a partial ruling from Utah court dismissed digEcor’s non-compete grievance, leaving e.Digital free for the moment to continue offering its eVU player to the market. digEcor looks set on appealing the decision, however, and has its teeth sunk into several more bones besides.
digEcor continues to pursue a five-figure refund for undelivered batteries as well as substantial damages for other failures to deliver – two aspects of the digEcor case that the court did uphold, having earlier also dismissed e.Digital claims that digEcor had misappropriated its technology.
Battle resumed today, with the court considering a fusillade of claims and counterclaims by the two companies. If the rulings go its way, digEcor plans to drag e-Digital back to defend renewed allegations of late delivery, breach of warranty, breach of promise, and unfair competition. “digEcor remains determined to pursue justice from e.Digital for the substantial harms e.Digital has perpetrated,” a company statement thundered today.
While the attorneys give expensive battle, the still small voice of the industry rumour mill suggests that IMS may have further good news to impart.
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India has approved millions of dollars in new military purchases, most of which will go to public sector companies.
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MBDA is adapting to supply chain pressures as the Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to increased demand for armaments.
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This week on the Shephard Defence Podcast, senior naval reporter Harry Lye and military training & simulation reporter Norbert Neumann chat with Professor John Louth.
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