S3's Rio Division Ships Rio 600

Market Wire, 20050229

S3(R)'s Rio DivisionTM (Nasdaq: SIII) today announced it has shipped the Rio 600 - the highly anticipated and first member of the new family of third-generation Rio handheld digital audio players. The stylishly designed Rio 600 features a future-proof memory expansion system that supports current and future storage types in one consistent, compatible, interchangeable format. It also is the first portable digital audio player to support multiple audio formats out of the box.

"This addition to the rapidly growing Rio family will enter distribution channels much more quickly and comprehensively than any digital audio player ever has before," said S3 CEO Ken Potashner. "With the Rio 600, as well as Nike and Dell's Rio-based products, we're aggressively moving the Rio brand toward mass market consumer acceptance. According to Cahners In-Stat Group, demand for digital music players is expected to grow nearly tenfold by 2003, and the Rio brand is clearly the recognized leader in this high-growth market."

Record labels are steadily moving to capitalize on the anticipated success of the Rio 600. Hollywood Records, owned by the Walt Disney Co., has partnered with S3 to pre-load music from the "Mission: Impossible-2" soundtrack on Rio 600s as they ship.

"We are impressed by the Rio 600's new design and support for secure music formats," said Ken Bunt, director of digital marketing for Hollywood Records. "The industry has been waiting patiently for a well-designed, user-friendly player. We are pleased to partner with Rio to provide digital music from our promising new artists."

S3 is the first to develop an entire family of portable digital audio players specifically designed with styles, feature sets and price points that appeal to a variety of lifestyles and market segments. The Rio 600 has features that appeal to broad audiences with active and trendy lifestyles. And, coming later this summer, the Rio 800 will include an enhanced design and premium feature set that appeals to technology enthusiasts and business travelers.

"We've worked hard to develop a family of third- generation players where the devices are tailored to fit consumer lifestyles," said Mike Reed, vice president of marketing for S3's Rio Division. "We're no longer asking consumers to adjust to a static technology. With the Rio 600, people can simply download their favorite tunes, push play and enjoy - a particularly appealing benefit for entry-level users who are always on the go."

Rio 600 Features

S3's Rio 600 includes the following features:

Simple Access to Multiple File Formats - In addition to support for the industry's most popular digital music formats (MP3 and Windows Media), listeners will be able to easily upgrade the player's processor via Internet updates to support formats such as AAC and Audible.

"Future-proof" Memory Expansion System - Flash and microdrive snap-on memory Backpacks will be available to augment the one-hour of on-board memory. Rather than having to purchase a new player to support emerging memory formats, customers can buy new, completely compatible and interchangeable backpacks to operate with their existing Rio player. Flash Backpacks will ship with one- and two-hour storage and, through a partnership with IBM, a Microdrive Backpack will provide approximately 10 hours of additional music.

Unique Style and Design - Ergonomic shape, interchangeable color faceplates, large display and an optional remote control gives consumers the power to better control their Rio experience.

Superior Audio Fidelity - Custom-designed headphones, integrated equalizer and a fully optimized digital music processor ensures that the Rio 600 boasts outstanding sound reproduction.

Integrated Audio Manager Software

S3's new Rio players are bundled with Rio Audio Manager 3.3 software, designed by RioPort.com, Inc., enabling music files/content to be transacted, acquired and managed within a single application. Listeners can sort, categorize and edit all of their digital music tracks with the playlist manager and an integrated browser connects seamlessly to the Internet for access to online digital audio tracks. Personal CD collections can be downloaded as MP3 or WMA files, and placed directly on the Rio 600. Among other features, the new Rio Audio Manager allows consumers to burn custom CDs with their favorite digital tracks.

For Macintosh users, the Rio 600 ships with Casady and Green's SoundJam MP to manage audio files as easily as with the RioPort Audio Manager for PCs.

Pricing and Availability

The Rio 600 shipped to North American retail outlets including Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Fry's Electronics and The Good Guys with a suggested retail price of $169.95. The package ships with high-quality, over-the-ear sport clip earphones; a USB cable; AA battery; audio management software for PC and Macintosh and a user's guide. One-, two-and ten-hour memory Backpacks and additional faceplates will soon be available. More information about accessories for the Rio 600 can be found at www.riostuff.com.