February 20, 2006

By: Shawnee McRoberts
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

RealNetworks and PalmOne Bring Secure, Digital Music via RealPlayer Music Store to Treo 600 Smartphone, Zire 71 Handheld and Tungsten Handhelds

RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the leading creator of digital media services and software, and palmOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLMO) announced that beginning today consumers can use the Zire™ 71 handheld and most Tungsten™ handhelds to play music purchased from the new RealPlayer® Music Store.(1) Further, RealNetworks said that by Jan. 31, 2004, it intends to make available the RealPlayer for the Treo™ 600 smartphone, which will enable consumers to play MP3 and RealAudio® files, as well as music purchased from the RealPlayer Music Store, on their Treo 600 smartphones. This marks the first time a PDA or smartphone will be able to directly transfer and play secure, digital music purchased from a major music download service.

Tight integration between the music store, in the My Library section of RealPlayer 10, and the palmOne devices makes it easy for consumers to download and go. Through simple “drag and drop,” consumers can transfer secure music to their Tungsten T3, Tungsten T2, Tungsten T, Tungsten C, Tungsten E and Zire 71 handhelds.(2) With the extensive market penetration of the Treo, Tungsten and Zire product lines, music downloads from the RealPlayer Music Store will be available for transferring to more than one million palmOne™ smartphones and handhelds.

To enable support for the RealPlayer Music Store on these palmOne devices RealNetworks has integrated RealAudio® 10 with AAC and it’s Helix™ DRM (digital rights management) for Devices into the RealPlayer that runs on palmOne devices. Helix DRM for Devices enables consumer electronics manufacturers, such as palmOne, to offer consumers secure, digital media experiences on mobile and portable devices as well as connected home appliances.

“palmOne customers have shown their overwhelming desire to play music with their handhelds since we first introduced the RealPlayer for our devices. This made integration with the RealPlayer Music Store a very easy and exciting choice,” said Ken Wirt, senior vice president and general manager, Handheld Business Unit, palmOne. “The combination of Helix DRM for Devices and the availability of a vast library of songs from the RealPlayer Music Store will ensure that palmOne customers enjoy a great digital music experience on their handhelds.”

“This is a huge win for consumers who want to listen to music on the go, but don’t want to carry yet another device solely for the purpose of listening to great music,” said Dan Sheeran, senior vice president marketing, RealNetworks, Inc. “It’s also a great example of how our digital media platform is being adopted by leading consumer electronics companies who want to offer the latest digital media services to their customers.”

palmOne customers with a Zire 71 handheld or one of the supported Tungsten handhelds can download RealPlayer 10 including the RealPlayer Music Store at http://www.real.com/musicstore/. RealPlayer 10 will open directly to the Music Store where consumers can follow links to download the RealPlayer for palmOne handhelds. The RealPlayer is seamlessly integrated with the handheld so consumers can easily take their secure Music Store files on the go. RealPlayer 10 for the Treo 600 smartphone will also be available from RealNetworks at the above URL by Jan. 31, 2004.

Author Notes:

Shawnee McRoberts contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  An industry resource for the wireless industry featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of phones and service plans.