Beatnik, Inc. - Enhanced Audio Solutions

PANASONIC ORCHESTRATES BEATNIK DEAL FOR MUSICAL MOBILE PHONES

Beatnik Audio Engine to provide audio playback and musical ringtones in the new X700 Smartphone from Panasonic

CeBIT, Hannover – March 18, 2004 -- Beatnik, Inc., the leading provider of structured audio software solutions for mobile devices, today announced that Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd has licensed the Beatnik Audio Engine (BAE) for inclusion in its new X700 Smartphone. Beatnik's audio technology will enable Panasonic to deliver an enhanced user experience by providing support for high quality, rich audio for polyphonic ringtones, games and multimedia messaging applications - all based on open industry standard audio formats such as SP-MIDI and XMF.

The BAE provides consumers with the ultimate in mobile phone audio personalisation by supporting the playback of high-fidelity music composed with samples of real instruments, voices and sound effects, all in small file sizes which can be easily downloaded over the air. It also offers revenue generation opportunities for service providers and network operators from music clip delivery and multimedia messaging services.

"Advanced audio capabilities have become a standard component of today's mobile phones, and the polyphonic ringtones, multimedia and games sounds which they power are all greatly contributing to increased operator ARPU," ssaid Tim Mui, Research Analyst, Smart Handheld Devices, IDC. "Through its portfolio of industry leading licensees, Beatnik is rapidly becoming the industry standard engine for mobile audio."

"Panasonic has recognised the importance of the standard audio file formats that have been adopted by the wireless industry, and the Beatnik Audio Engine offers a proven, fully compliant solution for them to be able to include such functionality in their mobile phones."said Jeremy Copp, Chief Sales Officer at Beatnik. "We are delighted to welcome Panasonic as the first Japanese licensee of the BAE and are delighted that our technology is integrated in the very latest X700 Smartphone."

Beatnik's small footprint, scaleable software engine supports the real time synthesis of high quality polyphonic audio. As a complete audio subsystem, the BAE incorporates a synthesiser, mixer, sample rate converter, linear audio player and support for MIDI, SP-MIDI, XMF, RMF, and WAV file formats. This gives users full control over all sounds produced by their mobile phone, allowing full audio personalisation. Beatnik has licensed its BAE technology to industry-leading wireless handset manufacturers including Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, Samsung and Sendo.

For more information on Beatnik, Inc., go to: www.beatnik.com or contact:sales@beatnik.com or .

About Beatnik, Inc.
Beatnik licenses scalable, standards-based structured audio software solutions for mobile devices, which enable rich multimedia content delivery and an enhanced user experience for games and device interaction. Beatnik markets its core software technology and audio content development tools to mobile device manufacturers and a community of creative professionals. Incorporated in 1996, Beatnik was founded by musician and composer Thomas Dolby Robertson.