According to the Red Herring, if Indrema doesn't find additional funding in the next 30 days, the ill-fated manufacturer of the L600, the company will fold.

Not surprising, given market conditions. Venture capitalists would be taking a great risk on an unproven competitor in a marketplace that has already claimed the life of one veteran of the field.

But worse than that, Indrema is a victim of a poor business plan. Wanting to focus the machine on a small community doesn't put dollar signs in the eyes of investors, and the price was too high (around $600) to generate much in the way of profit. As well, they planned on giving away development tools ... also rarely done in the industry. A typical console plan calls for losses on the hardware to generate user base, with the money made up on software royalties, and sales of development kits.

Plus, the machine lacked identity. Was it a console, a DVD player, or a PVR (Personal Video Recorder)?

Regardless, it doesn't seem likely that Indrema can find funding within the next month, bringing us back to three major players ... and that's all the market has ever been able to sustain. Now it's a matter of watching the fallout after Nintendo and Microsoft launch their machines.