Rio -- Founder of Handheld Digital Audio Players -- to Showcase
Car Stereo That Plays Up to 1000 Hours of Digital Music
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2001--
Developer of the World's Top-Selling Digital Audio Players Will
Demonstrate How Its New Products are Driving the Industry Beyond
Portables At Las Vegas' Consumer Electronics Show
Rio(R), a division of SONICblue(TM) (Nasdaq:SBLU), will give the consumer electronics industry a glimpse of soon-to-be-released Rios for the car, the home, and for people on the go at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. One highlight of the demonstrations will be an in-dash car stereo that -- without any CDs -- stores and plays so many digital music files that one could drive roundtrip from Los Angeles to New York City more than 10 times without ever listening to the same song twice.
Rio, pioneer and acknowledged leader in digital audio, will also unveil a portable MP3-CD player that plays CDs packed with more than 250 songs, and a Rio Receiver that distributes digital music throughout the home using phone lines or standard, three-prong power outlets. These futuristic demonstrations are taking place at CES and the Las Vegas Country Club, Jan. 6-9.
"This year's news coverage of Rio, Napster and MP3.com have exposed tens of millions of people worldwide to digital audio," said Jim Cady, president of Rio. "We know that people enjoy music in three primary places -- at home, in their cars and while they're on the go. Our players allow you to store and play large amounts of music in any of these venues without the hassle of carrying a stack of CDs."
Rio Players Previewed at CES
The following players will be on display at Rio's CES headquarters in the Las Vegas Country Club.
-- Rio Car(TM), a removable in-dash player that has the on-board
storage capacity for up to 1000 hours of digital music.
-- Rio Receiver, a player that makes piping digital music
throughout your house as easy as plugging in your iron or
telephone.
-- Rio Volt(TM), a new portable MP3-CD player that allows the
playback of music from more than 25 albums on one CD.
Take Your Music Library on the Road -- CD-free
With various capacity options to store hundreds of hours of digital music, the Rio Car allows people to take their entire music collection on the road. This means that glove boxes, door panels and center consoles overloaded with CD or cassette cases will be a hassle of the past. Rio will feature the Rio Car inside a convertible Honda S2000 at booth No. 23260 in the Gold Pavilion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Rio also will be demonstrating wireless music transfers from a PC to the Rio Car, enabling the music selection in each Rio Car device to be changed without removing the deck from the dash. For ease of installation and use, the Rio Car works with standard car amplifiers and speakers.
Rio Receiver Streams Music Via Standard Household Phone Lines
The Rio Receiver will enable people to listen to digital audio away from the home PC -- just hook up existing speakers to the Rio Receiver, plug the unit into an open phone outlet and hit the power button. The Rio Receiver streams digital music throughout the house via existing phone wires, allowing people to get out from behind their computers and listen to music in their home wherever they want.
Rio Volt -- Listen to 25 Hours of MP3-CD Music on a single CD
Rio's first MP3-CD player, the Rio Volt, plays up to 25 hours of continuous music on one disc. Music fans comfortable with the CD format can burn recordable CDs with hours of MP3 or WMA music files and enjoy them anywhere they go. The Rio Volt also plays standard music CDs.
About Rio (www.riohome.com)
Rio, a division of SONICblue, is a pioneer and the acknowledged leader in digital audio devices. Focused on delivering a family of digital audio products designed for various lifestyles, Rio is dedicated to engineering superior portable, home and car digital audio products for consumers.
About SONICblue Incorporated (www.SONICblue.com)
A leader in the converging Internet, digital media and consumer device markets, SONICblue holds significant financial assets, global marketing capabilities and a focused technology portfolio that includes Rio(R) digital audio players, HomeFree(TM) home networking solutions, Diamond(TM) Internet access products and frontpath(TM) Information Appliances.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements as to the expected availability of Rio Receiver, Rio Car and the Rio Volt and the expected benefits of the Rio products described, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, manufacturing difficulties, possible delays in the release of other products, the impact of competitive products and pricing and of alternative technological advances, and other risks detailed from time to time in the SEC reports of SONICblue Incorporated (formerly S3 Incorporated), including its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. SONICblue and Rio disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Note to Editors: SONICblue, HomeFree, Diamond and frontpath are trademarks of SONICblue. Rio is a registered trademark of RioPort, Inc. and is used by SONICblue under license from RioPort, Inc. Other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
Access More Information and Services Above
©2001 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Terms of Service |
