The truth is that Playaway is alive and well and thriving. We have doubled every year since introducing the product in 2005 and will end 2007 having built and shipped out more than 400,000 Playaways from our location here in NEO. We have signed 55 publishers on board who have provided us with more than 1200 titles to date. And after two years of hard work by a team that now numbers north of 50 people, Playaway can be found in 1,000+ retail locations nationwide, as well as more than 6,000+ public libraries and schools.

As consistent cheerleaders for NEO innovation we would gladly provide any of our corporate neighbors (or interested bloggers) with a tour of our facility in Solon.

Hope that brief update confirms for you that not only are we still around, but we are still having fun, still growing and still trying to deliver a great product experience for audiobook lovers all across the country.

Thanks – Christopher Celeste, Founder & President

I know there was talk of adding video to the Playaway line way back when, but never take over as an e-reader.

They’ve moved a lot of their production from Mexico and overseas to NEO, and Playaway has found a consistent spot in the audiobook space.

I can’t speak for the company, but I bet they’d give an enterprising blogger a tour of their space.

By all means, I hope you get some and then let us know if they’re worth it! It does look as though some institutions (libraries in particular) like them.