Disney Expands Electronics Line, Launches Mix Max Personal Media Player; New Disney Mix Max Plays Full-Length Movies and Digital Music on Tiny Memory Cards; Disney Mix Stick Now a Top 10 Brand in Flash MP3 Players at Retail

Business Wire, Sept 19, 2006

BURBANK, Calif. -- Disney today announced an expansion of its popular consumer electronics line for kids with the introduction of the new Disney Mix Max personal digital media player. The Disney Mix Max plays movies on Disney Max Clips -- tiny plug & play memory cards containing full-length movies from Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Available in several colorful styles that kids and 'tweens will love, it also plays digital music, TV shows and digital photos. Priced at less than $100 and available in October, the Disney Mix Max makes an excellent holiday gift and offers kids the ultimate digital entertainment package -- with no computer or downloading necessary.

Disney first entered the digital media player market in the fall of 2005 with the launch of the Disney Mix Stick, and it sold out before the end of the holiday season. The product continues to remain very popular and currently ranks among the top 10 best-selling flash-based MP3 players at U.S. retail, according to The NPD Group. Digital video players are also a hot technology item this year, but most products on the market are priced beyond a kids' reach.

"With the Disney Mix Stick, we proved that kids were ready for digital music," said Chris Heatherly, vice president, Global Electronics, Disney Consumer Products. "The plug-and-play experience also proved to be a winning feature for parents who welcomed the idea of not having to download music for their kids. We saw an opportunity to do for video what the Mix Stick did for audio -- make it accessible, easy, and designed for kids with a unique sense of personal style."

Given the tremendous success of the Disney Mix Stick digital music player, Disney will also expand its Mix line of products this month to include the new Disney Mix Micro player as well as 10 new music titles on Disney Mix Clips, including the chart-topper High School Musical soundtrack and music from 'tween powerhouse Hollywood Records. The Disney Mix Stick Player has also been enhanced and now boasts new features, including upgraded storage of 512 MB, on-demand "MixIt!" playlists, and new designs appealing to all ages.

Disney Mix Max Player -- Digital Entertainment On The Go:

The Disney Mix Max lets kids plug-and-play full-length movies instantly by inserting Disney Max Clips from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, including the wildly popular Disney Channel original hit, High School Musical. The Mix Max also plays Disney Mix Clip music cards featuring full-length hit albums from Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records.

Priced at $99.99 (SRP) and available nationwide in October, the Disney Mix Max comes in several chic, eye-catching styles, including two dazzling High School Musical models, floral-themed Tinker Bell styles in white or purple, Forever Princess and Princess Flowers designs themed in pink, a Cheetah Girls model with a fun, leopard pattern look and a funky, 'Tween Bling style. For those who prefer a more modern look, the Disney Mix Max is available in contemporary Ice Blue or Silver Chrome unisex models. The Mix Max comes with stereo ear buds and a wrist strap.

Like the Disney Mix Stick digital audio player, the Disney Mix Max is designed specifically for kids and offers easy-to-use navigation for video and audio playback. It features a 2.2-inch color LCD display and 512 MB of internal memory, which holds up to 240 songs or more than five hours of video (memory is easily expandable with up to 2 GB add-on SD cards). The Disney Mix Max plays video at a smooth 30 frames per second -- the standard rate for TV shows. It plays video (WMV), audio (MP3/WMA) and picture (JPEG) files and features a built-in, rechargeable battery. The device also supports Windows Media DRM 10 so that content can be downloaded from popular music services such as Yahoo Music! A typical charge provides up to two hours of video playback -- plenty of time to watch a full-length movie while traveling, and up to 8 hours while listening to music. The package includes a 3.5 mm. stereo headphone jack, USB 2.0 port for connectivity (Mac & PC compatible) and a Windows Media software CD. The Mix Max also features Disney's new "MixIt!" technology that makes playlists as easy as the press of a button.

Add-on accessories are available separately such as the Disney Jam Stand Max stereo speakers/re-charger, stereo ear clip headphones and carrying cases to hold a Mix Max player. Retailers include Target, Best Buy, Toys 'R' Us, Limited Too and DisneyShopping.com.

Disney Max Video Clips -- Full-Length Movies For Easy Viewing:

Disney Max Clips are tiny memory cards that are approximately the size of a postage stamp and contain full-length feature films from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, including some of the most popular movies for 'tweens. They can be inserted into the Disney Mix Max for up to two hours of viewing.

"Disney Max Clips represent an exciting new content platform for kids and 'tweens," said Gordon Ho, executive vice president, marketing and business development, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, a unit of Disney. "This new format speaks directly to them because it's trend-forward and offers some of the hottest titles among this demographic. This is a great way to give kids easy access to great entertainment."