Now *this* is what engaging the customer meaningfully is about

At the risk of further diverting from the purpose of my own thread, the following caught my eye and I feel strangely compelled to dive in.

Sure it is ethical. You are a customer and a prospective future customer of their new products, if they ever have any new products going forward. What is unethical about asking for information?

It may not be ethical for your contacts to tell you what they may know, if anything, but it certainly is not unethical to pose the question.