Beatnik, Inc. - Enhanced Audio Solutions

BEATNIK ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY OF BEATNIK PLAYER 2.2

New Beatnik Player Enables First Cross Platform Compatibility For Internet Explorer Users

SAN MATEO, CA - March 26, 2001 - Beatnik, Inc., a leading provider of enhanced audio solutions and content for the digital devices, games and the Web, today announced immediate availability of the Beatnik® Player 2.2. Now for the first time, Macintosh Internet Explorer (Mac IE) users can now enjoy the rich interactive musical experience that Beatnik's audio technologies enable like Beatnik sonified web pages and Mixman® eMixes™. Beatnik has also posted an update to the Beatnik MusicObject API, version 3.4, for Web developers, which will provide support for the Mac IE version of the Beatnik Player.

Beatnik is one of the first companies to successfully create a technology that allows plug-in code to communicate directly with JavaScript on the Mac IE platform. While the LiveConnect method is available on Netscape products for the Mac, there is no equivalent on the Mac IE. Beatnik has used high-level Apple Events and will post code examples so that other plug-in developers may benefit from their experience.

"Support for Mac IE was the final piece needed to complete our robust cross platform and cross device solution suite for Mac, Windows, and Pocket PC infrastructures," said Bahman Dara, vice president of marketing for Beatnik, Inc. "We are proud to be the first to deliver such a cutting-edge solution for this rapidly changing environment."

The Beatnik Audio Engine™ (BAE™), the core of the Beatnik Player, enables users to experience CD-quality audio and music through a variety of digital devices including mobile phones, PDAs and set-top boxes using extremely small file sizes. It does not require special hardware and provides a low bandwidth audio solution for digital devices. The BAE can play back popular formats such as MP3, WAV, AIFF and enhances MIDI by adding custom samples to recreate the original sound of the music. This expanded capacity gives composers an unprecedented variety of sounds to use in their creative productions.

The BAE's true strength is its ability to play Rich Music Format™ (RMF®) files. RMF files are very compact and play back instantly when started. This technology makes it possible to create truly interactive audio environments and games on the Web and in digital devices. RMF files are typically in the range of 10k to 400K while the equivalent MP3 file would be 1MB to 4MB.

About Beatnik, Inc.
Beatnik offers scalable, high-quality audio solutions for digital devices, games and the Web through a combination of technology, content and services. Beatnik's solution includes a line of platform applications, production music, sound content and the Mixman software product line, enabling the integration of enhanced audio. Beatnik develops, markets and sells its sonification technology to a community of creative professionals, technology licensees and consumers - enabling them to build and interact with music and sound. Incorporated in 1996, Beatnik was founded by musician and composer Thomas Dolby Robertson. Mixman Technologies, Inc. was acquired by Beatnik in December 1999.

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