Philips Teams with Rhapsody to Launch New Lines of Portable and In-Home Audio
Products
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
www.philips.com/ces.
For more information about the Rhapsody digital music service, visit
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 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).
RNWK-G
SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.
Katie Bromley of Philips, +1-770-821-3629, katie.bromley@philips.com; or Ronda
Scott of RealNetworks - Rhapsody, +1-415-934-2016, rscott@real.com
