Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a global leader in wireless communications, today announced its new ROKR brand of music-optimized headsets and handsets, highlighted by the powerful ROKR Z6, which is expected to hit stores in May. Further delivering the best music experience for mobile consumers, the company also announced a unique marketing agreement with Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS) to give music fans even easier access to millions of songs on the go.
Style and Substance
Motorola’s ROKR devices unite Motorola’s iconic style, with full MP3 player capabilities, and the seamless capability of a high-quality operating system. Inside the clean lines of the ROKR Z6 is a Linux/JavaTM music phone with Windows MediaTM technologies, including Windows Media Audio (WMA) Windows Media DRM 10, and media transfer protocol (MTP). The ROKR Z6 lets consumers “plug and play” with any personal computer running Windows Media Player 10 or 11. With fast PC direct connectivity via High Speed USB 2.0, the Z6 lets you access music you want simply and seamlessly.
“The new ROKR music handsets are a true convergence of the MP3 player and mobile phone,” said Chris White, senior director, Mobile Devices Multimedia Entertainment, Motorola. “These innovative devices are packed with the features mobile consumers demand today, including easy PC synching and access to hundreds of music stores.”
The ROKR portfolio has a style for every taste and preference – a touch-screen on the ROKR E6 and a slider form on the new ROKR Z6.
Music Masterpiece
The ROKR Z6 music handset delivers the key elements consumers look for in a music phone, including:
- Music dedication — Making the easy transition from phone to music and back again, the ROKR Z6 allows one-touch access to your library and pauses music as calls come through.
- Put your fingers on the wheel — A touch of the 4-way navigation wheel gives immediate access to content.
- High-speed synching — Start rocking fast with High Speed USB 2.0 to side-load songs in 2-3 seconds, almost five times faster than a competitive music phone: that’s a 500 song library in 15 minutes, instead of 2 hours. Synch purchased music from over 200 music stores, including Napster, onto the device from your PC; or side-load tunes from over 200 music stores worldwide – an advantage over most other devices.
- Rocks with Windows — The Z6 makes it easy to find and manage songs using Windows Media PlayerTM on the PC, which supports playlists, album art, search by genre, artist and more. It even answers calls while you transfer. The ROKR Z6 works right out of the box; Windows Media Player automatically recognizes the device.
- Musical memory — With the external memory slot, load up 2GB microSD cards with your music collection; each holds approximately 1,000 songs and 70 hours of music1 2.
- Time to rock — With more than 10 hours of music enjoyment in airplane mode, battery life concerns are history.
Looking to provide the world’s most compelling music experience, Motorola has also created an ecosystem of additional products, accessories and services to support the ROKR family, including headphones and access to a wide array of digital music.
Wire-Free Music Enjoyment
The ROKR Z6 also features stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology3, enabling users to enjoy a wireless mobile stereo experience on the go with compatible Bluetooth-enabled stereo headphones such as the ROKR S9 wrap-around headset3, another recent addition to the ROKR family. The amazing one-ounce S9 provides a tangle-free way to groove to tunes and dance to the music without ever missing a call . For more information, please visit www.hellomoto.com/S9.
Availability
ROKR Z6 will be on sale in Asian markets starting in May. Providing a complete end-to-end music service in China, the ROKR Z6 will download and side-load content from Motorola’s music store, www.motomusic.com.cn. The ROKR Z6 and ROKR Z6m will be available for purchase in Latin America, Europe, North America and other markets beginning in June. For specific regional availability and pricing, contact your local Motorola representative.
More Music On the Go With Napster
Motorola and Napster will develop promotional efforts for North America and European markets designed to make it easy for consumers to join the Napster community and load tracks from Napster’s over three million-song catalog to ROKR Z6 and other future Motorola music-enabled handsets. The companies will also explore the creation of unique and exciting new bundled music experiences at retail for mobile music enthusiasts.
“Motorola’s powerful global brand image, music leadership and exceptional market position present tremendous potential for Napster deepening and broadening its global presence,” Chris Gorog, chairman and chief operating officer, Napster.
The first phase of the multi-faceted marketing agreement provides mobile music lovers with one month of free unlimited access to more than 3 million songs and unique content through a subscription to Napster To Go ®. The companies will offer the service through in-box and aftermarket promotions, through retailers and carrier channels in the US and Europe with further details to be announced in the coming months, along with additional promotional opportunities. European customers will also be entitled to five free permanent downloads in connection with their subscription.
Motorola A Pioneer On The Global Music Scene
Motorola has made many pioneering moves in the music arena. Earlier this year, Motorola announced a global strategic alliance with Warner Music Group to create new music-based products and experiences for the mobile platform. This global agreement provides for collaboration on the development of digital products, marketing campaigns and strategic planning across multiple devices and featuring a variety of artists.
Motorola has also teamed-up with more than 20 leading international and local music labels in China to launch www.motomusic.com.cn, a growing community for music enthusiasts.
For more information on all of Motorola’s announcements today, please visit www.motorolalaunch.com
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of seamless mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you connect simply and seamlessly to the people, information, and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering „must have“ products, „must do“ experiences and powerful networks — along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $42.9 billion in 2006. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit www.motorola.com.
About Napster
Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate interactive music experience. With an expanding roster of offerings including free, Web- based music listening and sharing, subscription and portable subscription services, and an advanced mobile music platform, Napster creates better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music — anytime, anywhere. Napster is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Frankfurt, Luxembourg, New York, San Diego, San Jose and Tokyo.
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Media Contact:
Tracey Thiele
Motorola, Inc.
+1 312-502-5432
Tracey.thiele@motorola.com
Jennifer Keyt
Fleishman-Hillard
+1 312-932-2815
Jennifer.keyt@fleishman.com
¹ The unauthorized copying of copyrighted materials is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Laws of the United States and other countries. This device is intended solely for copying non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copyright, or materials which you are authorized or legally permitted to copy. If you are uncertain about your right to copy any material, please contact your legal advisor.
2 Based on 4 minutes per song at a data rate of 128Kbps. Storage capacity is approximate and subject to available memory space and encoding method used; actual capacity varies by content.
3 This device supports Bluetooth Advanced Audio Delivery, Audio Video Remote Control, Hands-free, and Headset profiles. In order for Bluetooth devices to communicate with one another, they must utilize the same Bluetooth profile. To determine the profiles supported by other Motorola devices, visit www.hellomoto.com/bluetooth. For other devices, contact their respective manufacturer. Certain Bluetooth features including those listed may not be supported by all compatible Bluetooth-enabled devices, and/or the functionality of such features may be limited in certain devices, or by certain wireless carriers. Contact your wireless carrier about feature availability and functionality.
Certain mobile phone features may not be activated by your service provider, and/or their network settings may limit the feature’s functionality. Contact your service provider for details. All features, functionality and other product specifications are subject to change without notice or obligation.
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. The Bluetooth trademarks are owned by their proprietor and used by Motorola, Inc. under license. Windows and Windows Media are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2007. All rights reserved.
