Orb Networks Surges Past One Million Users |
Orb Software Fuels Growing Consumer Demand to Control Their Digital Media
EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Orb Networks
(http://www.orb.com) announced today that they surpassed the one million
mark for registered users of its MyCasting software. The first program of
its kind, Orb lets users stream all their digital media -- whether it is on
their home PC or on the Internet -- to any remote device that has a
streaming media player and Internet connection. Anything you can "play" on
your computer can be played on a remote computer, laptop, PDA, mobile phone
or TV using a game console. The milestone, which comes just over two years
after the first software release, represents a pivotal turning point for
the company and confirms increased consumer interest in managing their
digital media wherever they are and on whatever device they choose.
"This is Orb's coming of age moment," said Joe Costello, Chairman, CEO
and Co-founder, Orb Networks. "This is a significant milestone for Orb, but
more importantly it signals acceptance by the marketplace -- road warriors,
soccer moms, and college kids alike. People have their digital media on the
internet and on their computers, and they want an easy way to consume their
media, wherever and whenever they choose."
To reinforce this point, Costello said Orb has served up more than 55
million media streams since its inception.
Orb by the Numbers -- Usage Continues to Grow
The use of Orb in connecting people with their media on any device has
grown exponentially over the past couple of years as awareness, technology
and the use of the Internet itself has advanced.
Usage Stats and Fun Facts:
-- 55.81 million = total media streaming sessions since the service
launched
-- Pink Floyd, Linkin Park, Metallica have been the top 3 artists
streamed using Orb
-- Sports, local and national news, and marquis TV shows such as
Seinfeld, Mythbusters and Scrubs have been the most popular TV streams
-- See more usage statistics at http://www.orb.com/1million
Michael Wolf, research director who covers the connected home and
digital media convergence for ABI Research had this to say: "Orb's
surpassing of the one million download mark shows that an increasing number
of consumers are looking to eliminate restrictions in where and when they
watch their content. Since Orb's launching of their application in 2005, I
have believed the company to be innovators in the market and this milestone
is a testament to this belief."
Arne Hess, Editor-in-Chief of The Unwired said services like Orb act as
the bridge to free content from the PC onto any device and that more and
more consumers are becoming aware of these types of mobile Web services.
"One million users clearly shows that Orb is far from being something for
geeks anymore but demonstrates that personalized mobile and portable media
has become mainstream," said Hess.
To read what industry analysts, partners, media and bloggers are saying
about Orb, visit http://www.orb.com/1million.
Orb's Business Model Gets Attention
Costello also said that passing the one million mark is a breakthrough
from a strategic business model standpoint as well. "Any time you get this
type of critical mass of people and usage in one application, it makes the
digital media business community sit up and take notice."
Orb hits its stride at a time when digital media market forecasts are
strong. The Diffusion Group predicts in its "Trends in Digital Media
Storage" that by 2010, more than 160 million households worldwide will have
home networks with almost one billion connected devices. Internet use
continues to rise rapidly with consumers going online for all forms of
media consumption.
"At a time when consumers are overwhelmed by a tsunami of content, Orb
is the first company to allow them to make sense of it all and put together
their own personal entertainment guide, or PEG, for the content they like,"
said Colin Dixon, Senior Consultant, The Diffusion Group. "The PEG is the
key component of anytime, anywhere, any device access to the consumer's
media and it will reshape how content presentation and targeting is
delivered."
Orb Networks Timeline
-- October 2004: Orb Networks co-founded by Joe Costello and Dr. Luc
Julia with the singular mission to create software and services that
give people remote access to the digital media stored on their PCs.
-- January 2005: Launched product at CES, where it won CNET's "Next Big
Thing" award.
-- April 2005: The company announced the worldwide availability of its
streaming media product and first international edition with the beta
release of a French language version. Today, Orb MyCasting software
is available in 14 languages around the world.
-- June 2006: Orb partners with Hauppauge to bundle MyCasting into its
product line.
-- October 2006: Orb Networks introduces the Orb MyCasting service,
giving consumers worldwide the power to unlock their home PCs so they
can organize, share, listen to and enjoy their music, images, videos
and TV anywhere, anytime.
-- November 2006: Orb announces partnership with the 3 Group to bring
MyCasting to 3 carriers around the world.
-- November 2006: Orb takes YouTube and other internet videos mobile for
first time.
-- November 2006: Orb partners with Nokia to offer service as part of
their multi-media phone product line.
-- December 2006: Orb launches the second generation of its service,
Orb 2.0.
-- December 2006: Orb announces 500,000 have downloaded Orb's MyCasting
software.
-- January 2007: Orb Networks announces all major game consoles can get
digital media on TV screens with Orb.
-- March 2007: Orb Networks trumps Apple on Day One with free PC to TV
service for 17 million households.
-- May 2007: Orb and Amino expand partnership to deliver personal and
broadband media to the TV screen.
-- August 2007: Orb surpasses 1 million registered users and more than
55 million media streams served.
How Orb Works: Orb is a free media sharing application. Download it to
the PC where you have all your media, and then stream any of the media that
is on your PC -- or anything from the internet -- to another computer,
mobile phone, or TV via a game console. Download it today at
http://www.orb.com/download_orb.
About Orb Networks, Inc.
Orb Networks is an award-winning developer of software and services
that unlock the digital media stored on personal computers. Orb MyCasting
gives consumers secure, free, instant, and everywhere-access to everything
from their photos and video to TV and music on virtually any Web-enabled
device. The company's partners and affiliates include: AOL Winamp, AMD,
Creative Labs, Hauppauge, Hutchison, Nokia, Orange and Vodafone. Orb
Networks is a privately held company in Emeryville, Calif. For more
information about Orb Networks and the Orb MyCasting service, please visit
http://www.orb.com.
Orb and MyCast are trademarks of Orb Networks, Inc. All other
trademarks and/or registered trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
SOURCE Orb Networks, Inc.
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CONTACT:
Ann McDonough, +1-937-848-4651,
ann@eluminatepr.com, for Orb Networks, Inc.
