Hi Bald Eagle - a little more info to illustrate where I think the industry is heading...
Regards,
Phil
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DIAMOND MULTIMEDIA : Diamond Multimedia delivers
affordable MP3 music player to Internet music market
Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIMD). a leader in the
interactive multimedia acceleration, has unveiled the Rio PMP300, a
portable music player that stores and plays-back up to sixty minutes of digital quality music.
Based on the most popular Internet music format, MP3 compression, and
flash memory technology. Diamond's Rio PMP300 portable music player
is similar to a Walkman or MiniDisk player. only much lighter and smaller. Rio has no moving parts. which means no skipping, even when subjected to heavy vibration and movement such as during extreme sports activities.
The Rio PMP300 includes Jukebox MP3 software licensed from
MusicMatch Corporation and Xing Technology Corporation, allowing
users to convert CD tracks from their personal music collection into MP3 format using their PC. Users can then create a customised mix of music that can be played back on the Rio PMP300 or on their PC. Rio will ship in the UK from November for an estimated retail price (ERP) of GBP 175 inc. VAT.
"With the proliferation of downloadable music on the Internet and
Diamond's expertise in PC entertainment devices, the Rio portable music player was a natural progression in the company's line of award-winning PC peripherals." said Karen Widdows, UK Marketing Manager, Diamond Multimedia . "The biggest obstacle to mainstream adoption of digital music and audio has been the lack of portability, and Rio solves that issue. Diamond is committed to becoming the brand-of-choice among PC users who are looking to purchase high-quality portable audio solutions for the enjoyment of digital music and Internet audio content."
Unique Design Offers Upgradeability and Ease-of-Use Diamond's new
Rio PMP300 features a compact size of only 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 5/8" and
weighs in at only 2.4 ounces. making it a truly portable device.
Additionally, Rio runs off a single 1.5V AA alkaline battery for 12 hours of continuous play-back. The device includes 32MB of onboard flash memory for up to 60 minutes of digital- quality music play-back and up to 16 hours of voice-quality audio playback. allowing users to download voice-based audio content in MP3 format such as books. news
broadcasts and more. Removable. add-on Rio flash memory storage
cards in both half-hour and one-hour configurations give users the
flexibility to easily add storage capacity and unique music mixes (exercise tracks. work tracks. etc.) to their Rio portable music player. Rio Flash memory upgrades of hour and 1 hour, are available direct from Diamond Multimedia 's online store. Pricing to be confirmed.
The Rio PMP300 portable music player will ship with headphones, a
15-pin cable, a parallel port adapter, a 1.5V AA battery, MusicMatch
and Xing Technology's JukeBox MP3 Software for CD conversion and
archiving, and CDs from MP3.com and GoodNoise containing over 100
free MP3 songs.
Users simply download digital music and audio content from the Web
using a PC' modem. or from a music CD loaded into their PC's
CD-ROM drive. The JukeBox software automatically compresses audio
files up to one-twelfth their original size, while maintaining digital sound quality, allowing users to customise playlists as well as archive and organise music files. With an included parallel port connector, MP3 audio files are easily transferred to Rio and are ready for listening enjoyment. Hardware features and high-quality sound effect options such as Jazz, Classic and Rock. a diverse playback mode with Repeat One, Random, Repeat A-B, Repeat All and Intro modes. gives users the versatility and advanced functionality expected in high-quality audio devices.
The continuing growth of MP3 By today's estimates, MP3 is the most
popular audio format on the Internet, due largely to its standard,
non-proprietary compression algorithms and exceptional sound quality.
MP3.com, the largest Internet site for licensed MP3 content. projects the user base to be over three million and growing rapidly. "One of the factors that will contribute significantly to this growth is new hardware products such as Rio that are only now beginning to surface. Users Want to be able to take music away from their computers and play it wherever they go." said Michael Robertson, President of Z Company, which includes the MP3.com website.
Strong Industry Support and Partnerships Diamond Multimedia has
received strong support from MP3 proponents and has announced
strategic partnerships with MusicMatch and Xing Technology
Corporation to provide encoding and CD to MP3 conversion technology, as well as MP3.com and GoodNoise to provide licensed MP3 content for use with Diamond Multimedia 's Rio PMP300 portable music player.
Under the terms of a strategic agreement with GoodNoise, Diamond
Multimedia will receive music samples of its artists in MP3 format to be bundled with the Rio MP300. GoodNoise will also offer sample clips and paid singles for download in MP3 format. In addition. Diamond will
bundle a CD containing 100 free licensed MP3 songs from MP3.com as
a result of its strategic partnership with Z Company.
"We believe Internet audio devices like the Rio PMP-300 will drive the
new digital era of music on the Internet," said Michael Robertson,
president and CEO of MP3.com. "The market expansion enabled by
portable devices and Internet content will be far greater than what we've seen in the past. Users want to be able to sample music, have exposure to a wide array of artists who may not have the backing of major record labels and purchase only the tracks they like. Having a portable playback device manufactured by a well-known company will enable significant growth in this market."
About Diamond Multimedia Diamond Multimedia is driving the
interactive multimedia market by providing advanced solutions for home, business and professional desktop computer users, enabling them to create, access and experience compelling new media content from their desktops and through the Internet. Diamond accelerates multimedia from the Internet to the user with products that include the Stealth and Viper series of media accelerators, the Fire series of professional 3D and SCSI accelerators, and the Supra series of modems. Diamond's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD, and its web site address is www.diamondmm.com.
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