FEATURE/As School Days Return, Savvy Students Look to Latest RCA Entertainment Gear for Leisure Enjoyment

Business Wire, August 1, 2002

Features Editors/Entertainment Writers

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--Aug. 1, 2002

With Portable RCA mp3 Players, RCA TV/DVD Combination Unit

and RCA Stylish Clock Radio, Students Can

Experience "Entertainment Anywhere"

While preparing for classes is at the top of their agendas as the summer break draws to a close, savvy students will also be seeking to take with them the sights and sounds offered by advanced entertainment gear. That's why Thomson (Euronext:18453) (NYSE:TMS), manufacturer and marketer of RCA consumer electronics products, has developed a new line of innovative mp3 music and TV products designed to enable students to enjoy the latest blockbuster movie or the hottest trend in music in dorm rooms or on the go.

RCA mp3 Products Send Students to the Head of the Class

Since many students know their collection of mp3s as well as their ABCs, RCA delivers a series of portable mp3 products so students can enjoy their digital audio collection away from their desktop. Ranging from a 10GB mp3 Jukebox that can hold more than 2,000 songs to a miniature mp3 player that fits in your pocket, RCA brings students choices that accommodate their busy lifestyles.

For avid music fans who want to access an entire CD library at their fingertips, the 10GB RCA LYRA mp3 Jukebox is the perfect solution. The RD2800 can store hundreds of CDs or thousands of songs on its hard drive, through a simple USB transfer of just four seconds per song. Compatible with both PC and Mac (OS X) computers, the RD2800 is also handy for carrying around files including digital images, word processing documents and presentations. The RCA LYRA mp3 Jukebox can also serve as a back-up hard drive for a desktop computer. A car kit allows students to use the LYRA mp3 Jukebox to create a soundtrack for road trips. The suggested retail price of the RD2800 is $249. A 20GB version (model RD2820) will be available in August, with a suggested retail price of $299.

mp3 Portables Provide Skip-Free Music

RCA portable mp3 players let students travel to and from class without skipping a beat. Fitting easily in the palm of one's hand, the RCA LYRA RD1080 Personal Digital Player is a compact, colorful unit, weighing only two ounces. The tiny mp3 player and FM radio has 128MB of internal flash memory, holding hours of music in the mp3 or Windows Media format. The RD1080 is also the first RCA portable player that is mp3PRO ready, which provides playback of up to four hours of CD quality music after downloading the mp3PRO plug-in (available for download later this year). The RD1080 includes a digital FM tuner with 10 preset stations, a USB connector for downloading tunes and a slot for multimedia or SD memory cards, for additional memory and music. The RCA LYRA RD1080 Personal Digital Player also includes a neck strap for convenient, lightweight transport. The suggested retail price of the RCA LYRA RD1080 is $129.

Music fans that enjoy creating their own music collections can listen to customized CDs on the RCA RP2450 mp3 CD player. The RP2450 supports both mp3 and Windows Media Audio files, and its 128-second espX skip protection provides skip-free listening for active consumers, perfect for the gym. The two-line text display shows song title and artist, and consumers can use the folder management system to program playlists - or select the shuffle function. The RP2450 also includes X-Phone(TM) stereo headphones, a car adapter kit and a Music Match music management CD-ROM. The suggested retail price of the RP2450 is $79.

TV/DVD Combo Delivers both Video and Audio Entertainment

The perfect addition to a student's dorm room or apartment is the RCA BD20TF10 20" TruFlat(TM) TV/DVD combination unit. The built-in DVD, which includes CD-R/mp3 playback capability, displays on-screen the track title and artist, and provides a quick and easy way to switch from song to song. The BD20TF10 also includes the GUIDE Plus GOLD interactive TV program guide, a free service that provides instant TV listings at the touch of a button. This set includes advanced auto channel search, which automatically scans for and locks active channels into channel memory, as well as a universal remote that operates both the TV and DVD. The suggested retail price of the RCA BD20TF10 is $449.

Stylish CD Clock Radio Makes Waking Up for Class a Breeze

Students won't have any excuse for being late to class with the sleek RCA RP3750 CD Clock Radio, featuring several wake-up options. The RP3750's dual wake function combines the Graduwake(TM) ramp-up alarm, (which gently wakes the user by gradually increasing in volume), a nap function (enabling a student to set an alarm for quick intervals of sleep without changing the main alarm setting) and a programmable snooze, which can be individually programmed from one to 59 minutes. Students can wake to alarm, radio, or any CD track, and program the unit to wake to one radio station, and sleep to another. The contemporary design of the RP3750 features a pearlized white, vertical load, CD player, which plays CD and CD-R discs, and cloth covered stereo speakers, delivering crisp sounds. The RP3750's digital AM/FM stereo tuner contains 11 presets, and it includes "no worry" battery backup. The suggested retail price of the RP3750 is $59.99.