Texas Instruments Programmable DSP Platform to
be First to Support Audible, Inc.'s Spoken-Word
Audio Content and Audiobooks
TI to Offer Audible's Speech Format to Portable Internet Audio Device OEMs, Enabling Support for the Widest Array of Music and Spoken Audio Formats Available
DALLAS and WAYNE, N.J., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - news) today announced it will
offer Audible, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ADBL - news) popular speech format on TI's industry-leading programmable digital signal
processors (DSPs), enabling portable Internet audio device manufacturers to provide customers the ability to access more than 20,000 hours of premium audio books, audio newspaper and magazine digests and other spoken-word content
provided by Audible.(See ti.com
The TI/Audible solution will be the first to combine Internet-delivered spoken word audio and music compression formats,offering manufacturers the widest array of content available.
The solution is based on TI's ultra low-power TMS320C5000DSPs, which are software-upgradable to enable support for future product features and multiple audio compression formats. TI's programmable DSPs will also be the first semiconductors to support Audible's newest preferred spoken audio format, separately announced today with the VoiceAge Corporation. With these developments, portable Internet audiodevice manufacturers will now be able to support storage and playback of Audible's best-selling and classic audio bookssuch as John Grisham's The Brethren; daily newspapers such as The New York Times and San Jose Mercury News; andmagazines in audio format such as Forbes and The Economist. The TI/Audible solution will be available for evaluation in February 2000.
``As one of the first companies to usher Internet audio into the mainstream, TI continues its commitment to provide
customers with the most flexible and robust solution possible,' said Bob McKune, worldwide marketing manager of
Internet audio business at Texas Instruments. ``By adding Audible's popular speech format to the list of audio and music formats our programmable DSP's already support, TI makes it possible for OEMs to provide their customers with access to the best downloadable audio content available on the Internet today.'
``Support for Audible's speech format by a global DSP leader like Texas Instruments will help us expand our reach in
portable digital audio devices and reinforce Audible's position as the leading spoken word audio service on the Internet,'said Travis Millman, vice president of business development at Audible, Inc. ``This is another important step in enabling our AudibleReady(TM) device partners to let their customers get connected with the most timely news, information and entertainment services available.'
www.audible.com is the largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken-audio services for content download or
playback on personal computers and AudibleReady mobile digital audio devices. The site features daily, selected audio content from The Wall Street Journal, and daily digests of The New York Times, The San Jose Mercury News and The Los Angeles Times; The Economist Audio Digest, Forbes and Harvard Management Update. The site also offers thousands of audio books from proven best-selling authors, including Stephen King, John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Jon Krakauer,Scott Adams and Mary Higgins Clark. With over 20,000 hours of audio books, audio digests of newspapers and
magazines, on-demand radio (including Marketplace, Nightly Business Report, Fresh Air, Car Talk), speeches, lectures,
and language learning, Audible.com offers the broadest range of digital spoken audio available for mobile playback.
Audible is the Internet's largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken audio services for content download or playback on personal computers and AudibleReady mobile digital audio devices. Audible allows customers to take advantage of their commute, travel and desktop computer time by delivering premium entertainment and information audio while their eyes are busy but their minds are free. Audible's content partners include leading audio book publishers, broadcasters, magazine and newspaper publishers, business information providers, and educational and cultural institutions.
Visitors towww.audible.com(TM) can browse, sample, purchase and subscribe to more than 20,000 hours of audio programs.
Among the company's key business partners are Amazon.com, Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, S3/Diamond
Multimedia Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks, Inc. and Texas Instruments. |
