Audible.Com Expands Product Integration Relationship with Palm, Inc. to Palm Zire 71 Handheld

Business Wire, April 23, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WAYNE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2003

Award-Winning Internet Audio Service Provides Zire 71 Handheld Users

with Information and Entertainment

Audible, Inc. (OTCBB:ADBL), today announced that users of new Palm(TM) Zire(TM) 71 handhelds can listen to any of Audible.com's(R) 34,000 hours of downloadable audiobooks and more.

Audible is the leading provider of downloadable spoken audio that informs and entertains anywhere and at anytime with audio editions of the latest best sellers, newspapers, magazines, radio programs and original shows.

The Zire 71 handheld is an "AudibleReady (R)" Palm handheld that is capable of playing back spoken audio titles downloaded from Audible.com (Windows only). These handheld users want media services that are just as easy to use as Palm's PIM (Personal Information Management) features, such as Address Book and Date Book.

The AudiblePlayer(R) software transforms the Zire 71 handheld into a go-anywhere audiobook playback device, capable of storing and playing hours of audiobooks, audio periodicals, public radio, language learning, and more. Optional Secure Digital (SD) expansion cards maximize storage capacity on the Zire 71 handheld; a 32MB card will hold more than 6 hours of Audible.com audio.

Zire 71 handheld users are offered one free month of SmartListener(TM), a special version of Audible's membership program created for Palm and only available to Palm handheld customers. The SmartListener offer consists of any one audiobook from Audible's industry-leading collection of 6,000 titles and two 1-month subscriptions from Audible's Subscription Center, www.audible.com/subscriptions. In addition, a free 3-month subscription to Audible's daily audio edition of The New York Times is available to all Zire 71 handheld users. The companies are promoting Audible.com's audio and software to users by including free Audible software on the Software Essentials CD that ships in the box with the Zire 71 handheld, at Palm's website (www.palm.com/zire71), and in various joint marketing opportunities.

"Audible's Internet audio service on Zire 71 handhelds is a great application for media enthusiasts, delivering a powerful, cost-effective information and entertainment service to Zire 71 handheld users," said Raj Doshi, senior product manager, Palm Solutions Group. "We welcome Audible.com to the Zire 71 handheld and believe users will enjoy access to this unique service."

"The AudibleReady Zire 71 handheld is another big win for Audible and Palm handheld-based listeners," said Guy Story, chief scientist, Audible, Inc. "Audible will continue to extend AudibleReady functionality with partners who manufacture best of class, audio-enabled devices."

In addition, the AudiblePlayer software and samples from eight popular audio books are included in Palm's MP3 Audio Kit -- an excellent accessory kit for listening to music and audiobooks the Zire 71 handheld. The kit, scheduled to be available in May, includes a 64MB expansion card, an SD Card/ MultiMediaCard reader/writer, stereo headphones and a free audio book download from Audible (a $39.98 U.S. value).

Audible products also are compatible with the new Palm Tungsten C handheld, as well as the Palm Tungsten T handheld.

About the Palm Zire 71 Handheld:

Bringing multimedia capabilities to the Palm Zire product family, the affordable Zire 71 handheld offers a built-in digital camera and Palm's sharpest high-resolution color screen to date. Media aficionados also will enjoy listening to MP3s (requires the use of an expansion card, sold separately) and audiobooks, watching video clips and carrying their personal photo albums wherever they go. The all-new sliding design hides a concealed digital camera for spontaneous photo capture, giving users the ability to capture life on-the-go. More information is available at www.palm.com/zire71.> About Audible.com:

Audible.com, recently named the best entertainment software in the Internet by CNet.com (June 2002), and one of the "Best of Today's Web" by PC World (August 2002) features daily audio editions of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times -- available on a subscription basis in time for the morning drive to work each day -- as well as Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Scientific American and Fast Company. The site offers a powerful collection of audiobook best sellers and classics by authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, the Dalai Lama, David McCullough, Stephen Hawking, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen. There are also speeches, lectures, and on-demand radio programs including Marketplace, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air and This American Life, and original shows such as RobinWilliams@audible.com. All of the programs at audible.com are available for computer-based playback, burning to audio CD, and on-the-go listening using numerous AudibleReady(TM) portable digital audio players offered by leading consumer electronics and computer manufacturers.