SONOS ANNOUNCES THE IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY OF THE RHAPSODY ONLINE MUSIC SERVICE FOR SONOS™ DIGITAL MUSIC SYSTEM CUSTOMERS
One-Button Sonos Upgrade Adds Support for FLAC, AIFF and Ogg Vorbis Audio Formats
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 26, 2005 — Sonos, Inc., the developer of the award-winning Sonos Digital Music System, today announced the immediate availability of the RealNetworks’ (Nasdaq: RNWK) Rhapsody online music service for all registered Sonos Digital Music System customers. With Sonos and Rhapsody, consumers now have the flexibility to enjoy multiple Rhapsody streams in different rooms of the house simultaneously; and for the first time, they can control it all from the palm of their hand. Rhapsody subscribers using the Sonos Digital Music System can listen to the same song in every room perfectly synchronized, or different songs in different rooms.
With a simple one-button software upgrade, Sonos owners can access an on-demand jukebox filled with more than one million songs and listen to them all over the house. Sonos customers with a Rhapsody subscription will have easy access to their personalized Rhapsody library using their Sonos Controller. Subscribers can browse and select their favorite music, playlists and Rhapsody radio stations, plus, view track information and album art.
The latest Sonos software upgrade also allows digital music lovers to play FLAC (Open Source Lossless), Apple Computer’s AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) and Ogg Vorbis (Open Source Compression) audio format files in addition to the already supported formats of MP3, WMA, AAC (MPEG4) and WAV.
“A one million plus song jukebox throughout the house, and the ability to control it all from the palm of your hand, is a very powerful experience that is unique to Sonos and Rhapsody customers,” said John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos, Inc. “The Sonos/Rhapsody relationship gives digital music lovers what they want — access to a deep music library and the ability to listen to it wherever they want in the home. By also integrating support for additional audio formats to our software, we’re meeting the needs of our avid customer base and making the Sonos Digital Music System even more attractive to digital music lovers.”
“The combination of Sonos and Rhapsody delivers the ultimate experience for music fans: unlimited access to more than a million songs with complete control over where and how they enjoy their music around their homes,” said Robert Acker, vice president of music services, RealNetworks. “It’s a revolutionary experience you can’t get with any other hardware and service combination today. Consumers can use Sonos and Rhapsody to select and play playlists, albums, individual tracks, or custom radio stations from any room and in any room in your house.”
Support for all of the new features is available to Sonos Digital Music System owners through a one-button upgrade via the Sonos Controller. As part of today’s announcement, all Sonos Digital Music System owners will receive a 30-day free trial of the new Rhapsody Unlimited service, which gives subscribers the ability to download to their PC or stream an unlimited amount of music from the service’s diverse library of more than one million songs.
For more about the Sonos and Rhapsody relationship, please visit www.sonos.com.
About Sonos, Inc.
Sonos has a team of highly-talented, music-loving software developers, audio engineers, hardware engineers, industrial and interactive designers, and usability engineers. Working side-by-side, they’ve created the Sonos Digital Music System, the first and only multi-room digital music system with a wireless, full-color LCD screen controller. The Sonos Digital Music System is available direct from Sonos or at more than 125 retailers and custom integrators, including Crutchfield, Magnolia Audio Video, Ovation Audio Video, 6th Avenue Electronics, TheaterMax, cyberManor, Metronet Safe & Sound and more. Sonos is a privately-held company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with an office in Cambridge, MA. To find out more about the company or the Sonos Digital Music System, please visit: www.sonos.com.
About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software including the award-winning Rhapsody Internet jukebox service and RealPlayer 10, the first digital media player to integrate finding, organizing, buying, playing and managing digital audio and video in a single product. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks’ consumer software at www.real.com. 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. RealNetworks’ systems and corporate information is located at www.realnetworks.com.
RealNetworks, RealPlayer and Rhapsody are registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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