Blue Wireless Licenses DaimlerChrysler Technology to Deliver Personalized Audio Over the Web
11 September 2000
Blue Wireless Licenses DaimlerChrysler Technology to Deliver Personalized Audio Over the Web
BURLINGAME, Calif.--Sept. 11, 2000--Blue Wireless today announced it has entered into an exclusive technology licensing agreement with DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology North America, Inc. (DC-RTNA) to apply DC-RTNA's adaptive personalization technology to wireless applications. When combined with Blue Wireless Hyperlinked Audio(TM), this technology will enable voice and WAP portals to deliver highly personalized audio "clips" of content from the Web to their wireless customers."DaimlerChrysler's 2,000-plus person research organization has focused on advanced in-car technologies for many years." said David Hudson, president and co-founder of Blue Wireless. "Working with DaimlerChrysler gives us access to powerful technologies that would have otherwise taken us months or years to develop. This licensing deal is one of the first under DC-RTNA's new model of partnering with start-ups to jointly develop innovative products and services."
DaimlerChrysler's adaptive personalization technology gradually learns the preferences of users by observing their behavior over time. This knowledge is used to build a profile that presents content (such as a playlist) that is more personal and interesting than a general selection of news and information.
"DaimlerChrysler's strategy is to help cultivate a fertile ecosystem of companies that are focused on mobile and in-car applications." said Ted Lewis, CEO of DaimlerChrysler North American Research and Technology Center. "Blue Wireless has taken a leading role in the emerging medium of interactive mobile audio. Our relationship with Blue Wireless helps us leverage our intellectual property to quickly bring to market compelling new services."
Blue Wireless Hyperlinked Audio(TM) technology re-purposes audio so that it works well in wireless applications. Today, most streaming audio is delivered serially with little or no intelligence about what is within a given stream, making navigation nearly impossible. In most cases, users must listen to lengthy broadcasts to find topics that interest them.
With Blue Wireless Hyperlinked Audio(TM), stories are identified by topic within the stream. This cueing allows users to "skip" from story to story and listen only to items that interest them. With the addition of DaimlerChrysler personalization technology, stories can be pulled out and served up immediately based on user preferences. This will enable wireless portals (both voice and WAP) to offer highly relevant, personalized audio "clips" of streaming media from libraries of branded content. The result is enhanced, intelligent audio that allows consumers and enterprises to sift through the wealth of audio content on the Internet to get exactly what they want.
About Blue Wireless
Blue Wireless was founded in July 1999 with the vision of merging the Internet with the exploding growth in wireless communications. The company helps extend the information, entertainment, personalization, and commerce capability of the Internet to the mobile environment through patent-pending technologies. The company's Hyperlinked Audio enables wireless carriers, voice portals, and enterprises to link streaming audio from the web to everyday devices (such as the mobile phone) in a way that is highly intuitive, personalized, and easy to use. The service is currently being beta tested with major wireless carriers and other strategic partners. Commercial services will be launched later this year. For more information, please visit www.bluewireless.com
About DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology North America, Inc.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology North America, Inc. consists of two research centers and an investment group. The Research and Technology Center in Palo Alto and the Vehicle Systems Technology Center in Portland, Ore. conduct traffic, mobile e-commerce, telematics, and transportation services related research, forge joint projects with local researchers, host scientists from DaimlerChrysler laboratories, and foster relevant research at universities and institutes. In April 1997, DC-RTNA introduced its Internet-on-Wheels concept car -- the first prototype of an operable car that's on-line -- which was introduced to the Smithsonian's Permanent Research Collection in 1998. The investment group operates an incubator of new businesses and makes strategic investments in transportation and mobile e-commerce companies.
About DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler is one of the world's leading automotive, transportation and services companies, selling products in over 200 countries with manufacturing facilities in 34 countries. Its passenger car brands include Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and smart. Commercial vehicles are produced under the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Thomas Built Buses and Setra brands. The group also offers financial and other services through DaimlerChrysler Services (debis). With approx. 470,000 employees, in 1999 DaimlerChrysler achieved total revenues of DM 150.0 billion. For more information, please contact www.daimlerchrysler.com.