14 DAY TRIAL // Philips and RealNetworks future partnership intends to bring Rhapsody- digital music service from Real and MTV Networks- closer to its consumers.
According to Philips, the first digital audio players from the alliance are expected to hit the shelves this year. They will, however, be available for a preview starting January 7, during the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show.
"Following the dramatic growth of the global MP3 digital music player market, we have identified an opportunity to deliver high quality music content to consumers both at home and on the go. Rhapsody has proven itself to be the ideal ally to achieve this, by helping us launch Rhapsody-enabled GoGear and Streamium products to the market. This content-led direction underlines Philips' commitment to offering consumers a market leading, robust music subscription model, aimed at delivering music enjoyment, whether at home or on the go," Wiebo Vaartjes, General Manager, Audio & Multimedia Applications, at Philips Consumer Electronics, informs.
As a consumer, you're probably wondering about the main advantages of such partnership. Well, you should know that all the Philips Rhapsody-enhanced Streamium home audio products give access to over 4.5 million songs, professional music channels, customizable recommendations and thousands of themed playlists. So, yeah, it is a huge deal!
Notably, Philips' Streamium NP1100 is the first device in the line to adopt Rhapsody. However, the PMP also features a built-in PC link, a retro-like black and white display and an Internet radio connectivity plus streaming from other PCs, on the same Wi-Fi network.
"Rhapsody DNA technologies give our partners the ability to create a rich, unlimited digital music experience for consumers with their products. We are excited to be teaming with Philips to bring that Rhapsody-enhanced experience to every device in their new Streamium and GoGear products lines," Robert Williams, SVP of music products, RealNetworks, adds.
The GoGear portable players series will give consumers an interactive music experience. They will also be able to let players rate and save songs to their Rhapsody library, flag songs for later purchase and access Rhapsody's editorial content. Not to mention, the upgraded portable series of players are said to ship with enhancements ranging from a larger screen size and better battery efficiency, to built-in Bluetooth and larger memory capacity.
You might also need to know all Philips' Streamium home audio product and Philips' GoGear portable player lines will ship with a 30-day free trial of the Rhapsody service. However, consumers will be able to extend their Rhapsody service by signing up for Rhapsody Unlimited for about $12.99/month or for "throughout-the-home access" to Rhapsody or Rhapsody To Go, which costs $14.99/month.
We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is 
.
