ARCHOS 604 and New 704 to Be Available On Board for Watching Movies, Daily News and Popular TV Shows Featuring Hundreds of Hours of Video Content
ARCHOS, Inc., a global consumer electronics manufacturer and leader in portable digital entertainment, and IMS, a leading provider of wireless connectivity, portable entertainment and content/data management solutions in In-Flight Entertainment, announced today a close partnership to bring digital media players to the skies. IMS is working with major airlines across the U.S., Europe and Asia to put the ARCHOS 604 and ARCHOS 704 devices along with compelling video content in consumers’ hands when they travel. The new ARCHOS 604 and 704 have generated orders of more than 4,000 units so far from five airlines worldwide, and will be available in the first quarter of 2007.
IMS will introduce the ARCHOS large-screen devices to its airline partners as Portable Audio/Video players, the PAV-704 and PAV-604. The two products share the same technology platform for enjoying video, advanced screen displays with the most colors, and broad viewing angles, while the PAV-704 features a 7-inch wide-screen display and the PAV-604 offers a 4.3-inch screen. In addition to the devices, IMS will provide an exclusive, full-service content package for airlines that includes daily news, recent movies direct from the major studios, and both classic and today’s most popular TV programming. In addition to ARCHOS, IMS has relationships with the major studios and other content providers to provide a full-service portable entertainment solution for airline customers.
“With a focus on applying consumer technologies in the IFE market, IMS evaluated several PMPs for use on board with our airline partners, and ARCHOS continually emerged as the technology leader in its ability to offer customers the highest quality entertainment experience,” said Joseph Renton, IMS chairman and CEO. “The compact size of the 604 and 704, coupled with the tremendous amount of storage capacity make them ideal entertainment products even for long-haul international flights. The touch-screen display of the 704 provides very simple navigation and is a key component to enhancing customer experience and usage.”
“ARCHOS is excited to team with IMS on in-flight entertainment devices, as our players are unequaled in the industry and perfectly designed for watching video anywhere consumers go,” said Larry Smith, ARCHOS COO. “IMS has been a great partner in bringing ARCHOS products to the in-flight market, and our partnership provides the airlines with a high-quality portable device solution with varying sizes and capacities, along with compelling content in one handheld package.”
As a part of the service IMS offers the airline industry, the company worked with ARCHOS to customize the devices specific for in-flight use. Because ARCHOS products are based on open-standard technologies, the devices can be uniquely customized to provide the screen navigation and features desired by IMS and its customers. Exclusive customizations included software updates to the user interface to adapt to this specific environment, extensions to the content loading features, and content security updates as requested by major Hollywood studios.
Full Service Digital Entertainment Solution for Airlines
IMS offers a complete digital entertainment solution that includes its secure content loading system, which has been proven with the original IMS Portable Entertainment Appliances and the PAV-700, the first ARCHOS device presented by IMS. The company has collaborated with major studio content providers on the security requirements of its Portable Entertainment Appliances, and will offer an optimized encoding profile to ensure the highest quality display on each unit.
With a 7-inch wide-screen display and hard drive sizes of 80GB and 160GB, the PAV-704 offers 100 to 210 hours of video playback, and a form factor perfectly suited for both premium and economy cabins. With a smaller and lighter form factor, the PAV-604 features a 4.3-inch screen that creates new entertainment opportunities on single-aisle aircraft. On some airlines the PAV-704 is being integrated into a support arm stored in the seat, and will be supported with in-seat power, combining the best features of embedded systems on a portable platform.
IMS and ARCHOS established their partnership in 2006, when IMS offered the ARCHOS AV 700 to major airline partners worldwide. This new relationship marks the first time IMS will offer multiple products to meet specific airline portable entertainment needs.
Product Availability and Specifications
Both the PAV-604 and PAV-704 offer a colorful icon-based user interface, 16×9 format screen ratio, and a 262,000-color display. The PAV-704 weighs 22.6 ounces and offers a 7-inch screen, 800×480 pixel resolution, and 80GB or 160GB models that store from 100 to 210 hours of video. The PAV-604 weighs only 9.6 ounces and offers a 4.3-inch screen, 480×272 pixel resolution, and 30GB hard disc capacity, supporting more than 40 hours of video. The PAV-604 and PAV-704 will be available on-board five airlines beginning in the first quarter 2007.
About IMS
IMS was founded in 1996 and is based in Anaheim, California. IMS is the leading provider of wireless connectivity, portable entertainment and content solutions including the Terminal Data Loader (TDL), Portable Entertainment Appliance (PEA) Systems, and DigitalPrizzm. IMS also develops passenger crew cabin software applications, and provides data management services for the IFE industry. IMS offers content applications such as Blast!, a daily news service. For more information visit http://www.imsinflight.com.
About ARCHOS
ARCHOS is a global consumer electronics manufacturer and the technology leader in the field of portable entertainment. Committed to the most innovative technology and inventor of the portable video player, ARCHOS offers award-winning pocket-sized products that feature audio and video recording, photo viewing, and other multimedia and productivity applications for the enjoyment of the most exciting entertainment anywhere, anytime. ARCHOS has offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. More information is available online at http://www.archos.com.
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