i2Go.com(R) Delivers the Internet to the Car with the Launch of eGo(R), The World's First Portable Digital Audio (MP3) Player Designed for the Car
20 October 1999
i2Go.com(R) Delivers the Internet to the Car with the Launch of eGo(R), The World's First Portable Digital Audio (MP3) Player Designed for the Car
eGo Transforms Car Stereo, Enables Consumers to Convert Driving Time
into Interactive and Personalized Listening Experience
MP3 Player is Future-ready with More Memory, Expandability, and Functionality
than Any Other Digital Audio Player on the Market
ATLANTA, Oct. 20,1999 i2Go.com(R), a pioneer and premier
provider of digital interactive equipment, announced today the introduction of
the eGo(R), the world's first portable digital audio (MP3) player designed for
interactive use in the car. As wireless technology begins to make Internet
content available to people on the go, the eGo will revolutionize audio in the
automobile by:
-- Bringing rich media content from the Internet to the car in an
interactive audio format;
-- Transforming traditionally unproductive, unstructured car travel time
into a personalized and productive listening experience, directly
relevant to each individual consumer;
-- Offering more memory capability than any other digital audio player on
the market today and infinite ability to expand memory capacity as new
formats come to market;
-- Using scalable technology that will allow for real-time Internet
transmission of rich audio to the car as the next generation of
wireless technology develops; and
-- Allowing i2Go.com to capture "earballs," rather than eyeballs, to
measure audio impressions within the car space.
The eGo player is currently sold through a number of online outlets as
well as directly from i2Go.com's Web site http://www.i2Go.com. The player is
expected to be available via catalogues and bricks and mortar retail outlets
for the Holiday shopping season. i2Go will debut the new eGo Interactive
Portable Digital Audio (MP3) player at the Georgia Technology Forum in
Atlanta, Georgia on October 20-21 (contiguous booths #331 and #333.)
Sam Johnson, founder and Chief Executive Officer of i2Go.com, Inc., said:
"We developed the eGo to bring the Internet to the car and deliver to
consumers a listening experience that they have control over and customize
themselves. Because traditional radio broadcasts are programmed for a large
audience, they bring you a lot of content and music you are not necessarily
interested in. By bringing consumers a rich variety of digital audio content
that is relevant to them and that they can then interact with, the eGo keeps
them both entertained and productive while in the car."
Mr. Johnson continued: "The eGo is a fun, cutting-edge device for music
lovers, who want to personalize and customize listening choices. And, it's
ideal for commuters or sales reps, who wish they could use wasted commuting
and travel time more productively."
The eGo gives consumers much more than the ability to manage and listen to
music play lists. Coupled with i2Go's MP3Agent(R) desktop software
application, the new player enables consumers to plug into a personal
computer, select programming such as music play lists and other audio from the
company's Web site, and download it for later play on the car stereo. Unique
eGo(R) interactive features, such as MP3Mail(R), MP3Chat(R) and e-mail2Go(R),
even allow users to convert e-mails into audio and record responses or notes
as an MP3 file, which then can be sent attached to an e-mail when the eGo is
re-connected to a computer.
The eGo player provides the latest digital audio technology to a new
tech-savvy generation. There are approximately half a million MP3 portable
players currently in the market. Forrester Research forecasts 32 million unit
sales of portable digital players by 2003. MP3 refers to the technology that
compresses high-quality audio into a smaller computer file for easier
transmission and distribution over the net. i2Go is the first to expand this
technology for use in the car.
More Productive Commute and Sales Rep Travel Time
eGo represents the next step in the evolution of digital interactive
technology that will bring the Internet to the car, transforming the car
stereo into an entertainment, information and e-commerce tool. Approximately
100 million Americans spend an average of 37 minutes commuting to and from
work every day and 40 million workers spend more than 20% of their business
day "behind the wheel". With eGo, unstructured commuting time can be
transformed into an enjoyable and productive personalized listening
experience.
Mr. Johnson said: "Imagine being in your car on the way to work and being
able to listen to a program of audio content that you produced: you listen to
your e-mails, and respond to them, switch to a different menu and hear an
audio product briefing that you can append with dictated notes. Next in your
program are some songs you scheduled, followed by news and information on your
selected topics. Our Web site will enhance the personalized listening
experience by providing a wide variety of audio content, from financial and
business news and your hometown sports team update to audio books and much
more. It's the Internet to go, in the car."
The eGo is also a valuable tool for business, providing a new time- and
cost-efficient method of corporate, sales and employee training through
interactive digital audio. A company will be able to customize corporate and
product content and deliver it as an audio file through the Internet or e-mail
to mobile employees, such as field sales forces. Employees will then be able
to listen to the information while on the road, maximizing their travel time.
About eGo(R) Features
Easy and Convenient, Interactive Capability. The eGo's cutting-edge
technology will enable consumers to customize and interact with listening
programs and access Internet content, such as e-mails, news and sports
information, music, educational and training information while on the move.
eGo's exclusive Interact button gives consumers a host of exclusive
interactive features including the ability to:
Convert e-mail messages to voice files for easy listening in the car
Automatically hear MP3 files attached to e-mail messages, and
Respond in your own voice to e-mail and record chat messages to be sent
when you return to a computer
Also included for free with the eGo is MP3Agent(TM) software, which
expands the eGo's functionality by allowing users to conveniently download,
store, and manage, MP3 audio content on their PC, the eGo(R) portable player,
or a number of other standard MP3 Players already available on the market.
MP3Agent is downloadable at http://www.i2go.com, and is also included with the
eGo on CD ROM. The MP3Agent(TM) uses easy-to-use directories and folders for
file and play list management, replicating PC formats already familiar to
consumers. The software also includes the exclusive MP3 Download
Scheduler(TM) that allows users to schedule unattended downloads of MP3 files
from the Web. Its built-in web browser means users can not only search for
content out on the Web from within the MP3Agent software, but also to drag and
drop files without having to switch back and forth between programs.
Unique Scalability and Upgradability. The eGo player was designed with
both current consumer demands and future technology in mind. The eGo's
built-in Cargo expansion bay will enable i2Go and third-party hardware
partners to develop other accessories and upgrades for the eGo -- such as
interfaces to external devices, a wireless adapter, direct connect modems, and
even GPS devices. To give the player infinite memory expansion capability i2Go
developed the dual Compact Flash II slot, a cargo accessory that enables the
eGo to expand to twice the largest available Compact Flash II memory, or 680
MB. And as Compact Flash II memory expands -- so can the eGo.
The eGo also uses embedded technology to enable firmware and software
upgrades to the player without purchasing any new hardware. Users will be
able to upgrade their players easily for free to support new content formats,
codecs, and standards. eGo is SDMI-ready and will support future upgrades at
the choice of the consumer to play SDMI encoded music and content.
Designed for the car. The eGo comes equipped with all the necessary
equipment and accessories to make your car Internet-ready through an existing
car stereo, including dashboard mounts, car windshield and visor brackets, a
cassette player adapter, built-in microphone, audio prompt menus, and DC and
cigarette lighter power adapters.
The eGo player is compact (W2 3/4" x H1 1/4" x L4 1/2"), lightweight
(5 ounces) and comes in three different colors - black, translucent blue and
clear. The eGo will retail for $299 with a 64MB Compact Flash II memory card,
but is currently available for pre-orders for $269. An eGo player with a 96MB
CFII memory card will retail for $349. Currently memory is available in
Compact Flash II cards of 32MB, 64MB, 96MB, 128MB and 320MB, as well as in IBM
Microdrives in 170MB and 340MB sizes. A USB port makes for lightning-fast
downloads and synch-up from the PC. The player also comes with a neoprene
carrying case and free CD, which includes the free MP3Agent desktop software,
MusicMatch(R) Jukebox and a selection of MP3 music from Epitonic.com and
Riffage.com.
About i2Go.com
i2Go.com, a pioneer in bringing the Internet to the car through
interactive digital audio, was founded in May 1999 in Atlanta, Georgia.
i2Go.com enables consumers to use digital audio technology to transform
traditionally unproductive and unstructured driving time in the car into a
personalized and productive listening experience. By combining its eGo(R)
Interactive Portable Digital Audio (MP3) player, its unique MP3Agent desktop
application, and its Web site, i2Go.com empowers consumers to customize
listening programs consisting of a wide range of digital audio content and
music from the Internet and listen to it through their existing car stereos --
for a personalized audio Internet experience "to go". i2Go.com can be
reached through the World Wide Web at http://www.i2Go.com.