SONICblue's Rio Car Takes MP3 on the Road; New In-Dash MP3 Player Puts 1,000 Hours of Music in the Car

Business Wire, Feb 26, 2001

Business/High-Tech Editors

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VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2001

Rio(R), a division of SONICblue(TM) Incorporated (Nasdaq:SBLU), announced today the shipment of Rio Car(TM), a removable in-dash digital audio player with on-board storage for up to 1000 hours of listening enjoyment.

Music fans can now listen to their favorite music without the hassle of CDs or tapes.

"Until now, the car audio experience was cluttered by plastic jewel cases," said Jim Cady, president of Rio, the company that introduced the first portable digital audio player. "By storing all the music they own in one portable device, Rio Car frees music fans struggling to sift through their music, so they can simply enjoy it."

Rio Car holds so many digital music files that consumers could drive roundtrip from Los Angeles to New York City more than 10 times without ever listening to the same song twice. Not only can music fans carry their whole collection with them, but they can also employ the player's powerful features to quickly and easily choose exactly which songs they want to hear. For example, commuters can customize playlists to listen to their favorite bass-pounding music on the way to work and soothing tunes for a stress-free ride home.

Rio Car continues the same Rio experience consumers enjoy with the company's other market-leading players. The unit is programmable to support future technologies and offers simple navigation of music files.

Rio Car Features

The Rio Car makes it easier to enjoy music on the road by conveniently storing an entire music collection in a portable, customizable in-dash MP3 player.

-- Massive -- With models ranging from 10GB to 60GB, the Rio Car can store up
to 1,000 hours of music.

-- Easy to use -- Simple navigation with the wireless remote or the ergonomic
buttons on the unit's faceplate.

-- Flexible -- Rio Car integrates with existing tape decks, AM/FM radios, CD
players and amplifiers using additional in and out ports. Better yet, Rio Car
slides out of a standard car stereo slot and can be attached to a home stereo
system via standard RCA connectors. With this flexibility, music fans can take
their music wherever they go.

-- Customizable -- Consumers can put together their favorite mixes on the PC
and transfer them to the player using the included software or they can sort
through the music by title, artist, genre, album and year on the player itself.
Additionally, listeners can assign their favorite playlists and tracks a unique
ID number to find them instantly using the player's remote. Ultimately, users
can control the music instead of having the music control the way they listen.

-- Informative -- Music fans no longer need to remember the disc and track
number for their favorite song. The high-resolution display removes the
guesswork from choosing music by displaying album and track name, artist and
song length. Consumers can also choose from over 20 cool visualizations ranging
from graphic equalizers to dancing patterns that animate in time with the
music.

Pricing and Availability

The Rio Car is currently available at the Rio e-store, riohome.com, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 for the 10 GB model; $1,349 for the 20 GB model; $1,599 for the 30 GB model and $1,999 for the 60 GB model. The Rio Car ships with a mounting tray, software, AC adapter, USB cable, serial cable, 9-to-25 way serial adapter and wireless remote control.

About Rio (www.riohome.com)

Rio, a division of SONICblue Incorporated, is a pioneer and acknowledged leader in digital audio. Focused on delivering a family of digital audio products designed for various lifestyles, Rio is dedicated to engineering superior portable, home and car digital audio products for consumers.

About SONICblue Incorporated (www.SONICblue.com)

A leader in the converging Internet, digital media and consumer device markets, SONICblue holds significant financial assets, global marketing capabilities and a focused technology portfolio that includes Rio(R) digital audio players, HomeFree(TM) home networking solutions, Diamond(TM) Internet access products and frontpath(TM) Information Appliances.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements as to the expected availability, features and benefits of the Rio Car, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, manufacturing difficulties, possible delays in the release of other products, the impact of competitive products, and other risks detailed from time to time in the SEC reports of SONICblue Incorporated (formerly S3 Incorporated), including its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. SONICblue and Rio disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.