Soundstorm was good competition for Creative Labs during its time, but did suffer from driver issues and performance problems.

Pressure from intense competition, especially with the dominant Creative Labs, was forcing audio card makers to try to keep their prices low.

But something like "sound blaster," that was never a good trademark for Creative Labs to have because it is too descriptive.

Creative Labs, a longtime maker of computer audio components, is offering an audio upgrade.

Creative Labs and iRiver executives did not return phone calls on Thursday.

However, early MP3 players from companies like Creative Labs began to appear.

More computers are sold with multimedia built in, so Creative Labs is trying to increase sales to computer makers and broaden into new areas.

It was furthered by Creative Labs, another company that happens not to be Apple.

Many analysts say they think that the strong relationships Creative Labs has with software developers will help it win crucial support in the video market.

Creative Labs, which popularized its technique for incorporating sound in personal computers in the mid-1980's, today controls roughly 60 percent of the market.