Sonos(R) Tunes Up Wireless Multi-Room Digital Music System With Plug-And-Play Access to Millions of Songs in the United Kingdom and Germany

Sonos(R) Tunes Up Wireless Multi-Room Digital Music System With Plug-And-Play Access to Millions of Songs in the United Kingdom and Germany

HILVERSUM, Netherlands, October 23/PRNewswire/ --

- Direct Access to More Than Five Million Songs Via Napster(R) is the Biggest Thing to Happen to Music at Home Since the CD Player

Sonos(R) Europe BV, a subsidiary of Sonos, Inc., the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the digital home, today released Sonos System Software 2.5, a revolutionary software update to its award-winning digital music system. Sonos 2.5 is a feature-packed update that enables music lovers in the UK and Germany to connect directly to millions of songs and thousands of radio stations without ever installing an application or turning on a computer. This key innovation opens the world of multi-room digital music to anyone with a broadband connection.

For the first time ever, music fans in the UK and Germany can now connect directly to Napster(R) and access its library of more than five million songs all from the palm of their hand via the wireless Sonos Controller. The computer-free, direct-to-service approach of Sonos 2.5 allows users to find and play the music they want the moment they pick up the Controller.

"If there is one thing we consistently hear from our customers, it is that they enjoy more music with Sonos than they ever have before," said John MacFarlane, Chief Executive Officer, Sonos, Inc. "This new software release marks the arrival of a new era in music enjoyment in the UK and Germany by fully realizing the dream of a giant jukebox where you can find any tune and play it in any room."

"Sonos is one of the few companies that really understand that music should be easy to get and that it shouldn't require a PC to make the solution work," said Rob Enderle Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. "The next generation of home entertainment is all about multimedia services in the Internet cloud. This move by Sonos represents the next big step in making that vision a reality."

With Napster on Sonos, music lovers can enjoy music from Napster's massive catalogue, plus easy access to its music discovery tools such as Napster charts, pre-programmed playlists, staff picks, music sorted by genre, and advert-free radio stations. In addition, Napster's innovative automix discovery feature finds and plays tracks like the one you're listening to. With a single click, automix queues up hours of related music, streaming a customized playlist based on the Napster community's music preferences. Each Sonos customer in the UK and Germany will receive a free 30-day Napster Trial-no signup or credit card required. Following the 30-day trial, Sonos customers can access Napster for 9,95 pounds sterling per month.

Sonos 2.5 also features music search. Music search is a key new addition to the award-winning Sonos Digital Music System, allowing Sonos customers to fully enjoy the million-song jukebox experience. With millions of songs to choose from, Sonos search allows music lovers to find and play the songs they want from Napster as well as their own music library. With the wireless Sonos Controller in hand, you can quickly search by artist, album or track.

The new Sonos plug-and-play experience with Napster offers a variety of unique features, including:

          -- Mac and PC users can now enjoy Napster in every room. With Sonos 2.5,        Mac and PC users alike will be able to access Napster's five million        songs anywhere in the home.     -- Built-in music charts. Sonos 2.5 provides access to Napster's charts        of the top 100 songs, artists and albums across an array of music        genres, making it faster and easier to find and play great music-from        the bedroom to the backyard.     -- Create an instant music library. When you find a song that you like in        the Napster catalogue or while listening to automix, you can instantly        add the song or entire album to your music library- right from the         palm of your hand.      Other new features of Sonos System Software 2.5 include:      -- Support for long track, artist and album names via text-scrolling on        the wireless Sonos Controller.     -- Better zone management. It is now possible to drop all grouped zones.     -- More ways to queue up music. It is now possible to add a track and        clear the queue at the same time. This was one of the most requested        features by the Sonos community.     -- Improved compatibility with Windows Home Server for centralized        storage and organization.     -- Enhanced support for Apple Computer's Airport Extreme(R).  

For a flash demonstration of PC-free, direct access to music services on Sonos, please visit: http://www.sonos.com/demos/napster_demo/en_gb/. For more information about the features of Sonos Software 2.5, please visit: http://www.sonos.com/support/software_updates/.

Sonos is the first wireless, multi-room digital music system that lets you play digital music all over your house -- and control it from the palm of your hand. With a wireless Sonos Controller, you'll have plug-and-play access to millions of songs -- including online music and radio services, and your personal digital music collection. And, with Sonos ZonePlayers in the rooms of your choice, you can play the same song in different rooms, or different songs in different rooms! To learn more about Sonos, please visit http://www.sonos.com.

About Sonos, Inc.

Sonos(R) is the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the digital home. By partnering with audio services like Audible.com(R), eMusic(R), Napster(R), Yahoo! Music(TM) Unlimited, and more, Sonos gives music lovers instant plug-and-play access to millions of songs and audiobooks that can be enjoyed all over the house. Sonos is sold in more than 50 countries around the world. Sonos is a privately-held company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with offices in Cambridge, MA, Hilversum, Netherlands and Penang, Malaysia. To find out more about the company or the Sonos Digital Music System, please visit: http://www.sonos.com.

(c) 2004-2007 by Sonos Inc. All rights reserved. Sonos is a registered trademark of Sonos, Inc. in the United States, Canada and Australia, and a trademark of Sonos, Inc. in other countries. SonosNet, ZonePlayer, ZoneBridge and all Sonos logos are trademarks of Sonos Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other products and services may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

About Napster (http://www.napster.co.uk)

Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music - anytime, anywhere. With a Napster membership customers get unlimited access to one of the biggest music catalogues worldwide with more than five million tracks for a flat monthly fee.

The company's offerings also include Napster To Go, which allows members to fill and refill a compatible portable music device and listen to their music on the move, and Napster Light, a more condensed service for those who just want to purchase songs and albums a la carte.

Napster's European headquarters are based in Frankfurt, Germany with worldwide operations located in Los Angeles. Napster's services are available in markets across North America, Europe and Japan.

          Web site: http://www.sonos.com               http://www.napster.co.uk  

Source: Sonos, Inc.

Rachel Stagnaro of Sonos, Inc., +1-805-965-3001, ext. 275, cell, +1-805-450-3570, Rachel.stagnaro@sonos.com

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Profile: International Entertainment