New Streamium In-Home Audio Systems and GoGear Portable Devices to Feature
Integrated Rhapsody Music Experience
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Philips and
RealNetworks(R), Inc., today announced a new alliance to bring Rhapsody(R),
the award-winning digital music service from Real and MTV Networks, to
consumers both on the go and in the home with Philips' new portable MP3
GoGear(TM) players and Philips' Streamium(TM) home audio product line.
The first digital audio devices from the Philips/Rhapsody collaboration
are expected in early 2008 and can be previewed beginning January 7 and
throughout the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in the
RealNetworks booth (South 36200) or in Philips' booth (Central 12124).
"Following the dramatic growth of the global MP3 digital music player
market, we have identified an opportunity to deliver high quality music
content to consumers both at home and on the go," said Wiebo Vaartjes,
General Manager, Audio & Multimedia Applications, at Philips Consumer
Electronics. "Rhapsody has proven itself to be the ideal ally to achieve
this, by helping us launch Rhapsody-enabled GoGear and Streamium products
to the market. This content-led direction underlines Philips' commitment to
offering consumers a market leading, robust music subscription model, aimed
at delivering music enjoyment, whether at home or on the go."
Philips' Rhapsody-enhanced Streamium home audio products give consumers
access from their living room to Rhapsody's catalog of over 4.5 million
songs, professionally programmed music channels, personalized
recommendations and thousands of themed playlists via their home stereo
systems. Philips' Streamium NP1100, the first device in the line to launch
with Rhapsody, also features a built-in PC Link, a black and white display,
internet radio connectivity and streaming from other PCs on the same Wi-Fi
network.
"Rhapsody DNA technologies give our partners the ability to create a
rich, unlimited digital music experience for consumers with their
products," said Robert Williams, SVP of music products, RealNetworks. "We
are excited to be teaming with Philips to bring that Rhapsody-enhanced
experience to every device in their new Streamium and GoGear products
lines."
Philips' new GoGear portable players will be optimized to work with the
Rhapsody service to give consumers a seamless, interactive music
experience. The players will let users rate and save songs to their
Rhapsody library, flag songs for later purchase and access Rhapsody's
critically acclaimed editorial content, all while on the go. The GoGear
portable series of players will also ship with enhancements ranging from a
larger screen size and better battery efficiency, to built-in Bluetooth and
larger memory capacity.
Philips' Streamium home audio product and Philips' GoGear portable
player lines will both ship with a 30-day free trial of the Rhapsody
service. At the conclusion of the free trial, consumers can extend their
Rhapsody service by signing up for Rhapsody Unlimited ($12.99/month) for
throughout-the-home access to Rhapsody or Rhapsody To Go ($14.99/month) to
take music anywhere with the GoGear portable players. Current Rhapsody
subscribers can get started immediately with an enhanced music experience
with both lines of Philips' new devices.
Philips' Streamium and GoGear Model Information
Model Storage Available MSRP
NP1100 n/a May 2008 $149
SA5245 4GB Q2 2008 $109
SA5285 8GB Q2 2008 $119
SA5245 (BT) 4GB Q2 2008 $119
SA5285 (BT) 8GB Q2 2008 $129
SA6145 4GB Now $139
SA6185 8GB Now $169
SA6545 4GB Q2 2008 $169
SA6585 8GB Q2 2008 $199
For more information on Philips' product lines, please visit
http://www.philips.com/ces.
For more information about the Rhapsody digital music service, visit
http://www.rhapsody.com.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) is a
global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering
people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions through the
brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands,
Philips employs approximately 128,100 employees in more than 60 countries
worldwide. With sales USD 34 billion (EUR 27 billion) in 2006, the company
is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring
systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, as well as lifestyle
solutions for personal wellbeing. News from Philips is located at
http://www.philips.com/newscenter.
ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and
software including Rhapsody, RealPlayer(R) 10, and casual PC and mobile
games. Broadcasters, network operators, media companies and enterprises use
RealNetworks' products and services to create and deliver digital media to
PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. Consumers can access
and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer
software at http://www.real.com. RealNetworks' systems and corporate
information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com.
ABOUT RHAPSODY
Rhapsody(R) offers an integrated and immersive digital music experience
accessible to consumers via their computer, portable music device and soon
their mobile phone. Rhapsody is the exclusive digital music service for
RealNetworks(R), Inc. and for MTV Networks' music and pop-culture brands in
the United States. Rhapsody is a service of Rhapsody America LLC, a joint
venture between and MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE:
VIA.B) and RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK).
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