Yahoo Finance Sim Wong Hoo Over The Decades: 3 Iconic Creative Technology Products That Put Singapore On The World Stage (And One That Didn’t Make It)
Known as Singapore’s first techpreneur, Sim Wong Hoo, founder and CEO of Creative Technology, passed away recently at the age of 67. However, his legacy as a pioneer in Singapore’s technology scene and entrepreneurial spirit continues to live on. Under his leadership, Creative Technology developed 3 iconic products that placed Singapore on the world stage (and in one case, even winning over Apple).
We take a walk through the decades that defined Sim Wong Hoo’s legacy at Creative Technology.
1990s: Sound Blaster
The Sound Blaster 1.0 sound card was first released in 1989 and propelled Creative Technology into global attention as a dedicated sound card for computers. The Sound Blaster series offered superior audio quality of its time and was often touted as the benchmark for PC audio, eventually replacing Ad Lib as the dominant market leader. It was met with huge success and became the top-selling PC add-on product in the world by the end of 1990.
On top of the Sound Blaster sound card, Creative also sold multimedia upgrade kits (including speaker systems) that complemented its audio.
As onboard audio became more common (and offered better quality audio performance), the Sound Blaster sound card waned in popularity over the decades. Today, the Sound Blaster is still offered today as high-end audio solutions, such as Sound Blaster AE-9, a PCI-e sound card, and Sound Blaster X7, an external USB DAC and audio amplifier.
2000s: Zen MP3 Player
In 2000, Creative pioneered digital audio players with its Nomad, MuVo and Zen series of MP3 players. The first Nomad Jukebox was released in 2000 and this evolved to the later Zen series. Creative’s foray into consumer MP3 players preceded Apple’s iPod.
Significantly, the Zen series was the one that marked Creative in the record books. Creative went head-to-head with Apple over a lawsuit for its
and won with Apple settling the legal dispute for $100 million and Creative gaining entry to Apple’s program as an authorised seller of iPod accessories. Unfortunately for Creative, despite winning the legal and technological battle, Apple was the eventual market leader for digital audio players with its iPod.
As mobile phones took over as most consumer’s default choice of music players over the decades, the Zen MP3 players also lost their shine.
2020s: Super X-Fi series
After its initial decades of success, Creative languished for a period of time without notable successes in the 2010s. However, the company did not sit on its heels but continued to invest in research and development, doubling down on its expertise in audio technology.
Things changed in 2019 with the launch of Super X-Fi Spatial Holography, a ground-breaking audio technology that recreates a high-end multi-speaker surround system in headphones format. Creative swept a total of 15 best-of-show awards at CES 2019, the leading global tech event. The Super X-Fi’s second-generation iteration won 7 awards in the following CES 2020.
Today, the Super X-Fi has sparked new enthusiasm among audiophiles, putting Creative back on the global stage. At the time of Sim Wong Hoo’s death, Creative was working on the third-generation iteration of Super X-Fi.
The Miss: Cubic 99
However, the Creative journey was not a bed of roses for Sim Wong Hoo. In 1984, Sim Wong Hoo developed the first personal computer (PC) to be designed and produced in Singapore, the Cubic 99. It had a vocal synthesizer which allowed the user to record and to reproduce words in English or Chinese language. While it was the best in low-cost sound technology of its time, and fully compatible with the Apple II and the CP/M operating systems thanks to its dual processor motherboard (6502 and Z80), it found little commercial success.
Fortunately for Singaporeans, Sim Wong Hoo continued to persevere despite the disappointing performance of the Cubic 99 and went on to develop the Sound Blaster. Over the decades, Sim Wong Hoo weathered the disappointments and successes of Creative Technology with perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit. Now, his legacy cements his place as Singapore’s first techpreneur and inspirational story to future entrepreneurs.
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