Slacker and Devicescape Partner to Simplify and Expand Wi-Fi Access
for the Slacker Portable Radio Player
With Devicescape, Slacker Portable Users Can Now Refresh with New Music at More Wi-Fi Spots Nationally
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – April 2, 2008 – Slacker, Inc. and Devicescape Software today announced a partnership to incorporate Devicescape Connect into the Slacker Portable. From hotels and airports to coffee shops and restaurants, Slacker Portable users are now able to make effortless connections to an expanded range of Wi-Fi hotspots.
The Slacker Portable can now instantly access hundreds of thousands Wi-Fi hotspots that normally require a password or web-based login. Devicescape automates the process of accessing Wi-Fi hotspots making it simple for Slacker Portable users to refresh their Personal Radio stations at hotspots all over town as well as favorite places, such as Starbucks and McDonalds.
"What makes the Slacker Portable one of the most innovative digital audio players in the market is its wireless connectivity allowing listeners to automatically refresh their Personal Radio stations," said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. "With connectivity key to the Slacker experience, it makes sense for them to partner with Devicescape to make that connectivity easy to use and easy to find."
The Slacker Portable enables customers to refresh their Slacker radio stations with free personalized music via Wi-Fi to ensure they always have the newest hits and classic favorites at their fingertips. When connected, the Slacker Portable refreshes with the latest music selections based upon the tastes of the listener. Slacker radio utilizes revolutionary DJ technology built into the device, and a new class of radio licenses, enabling the Slacker Portable to play highly personalized radio stations even when not connected to a Wi-Fi network.
“The Slacker Portable ensures that Slacker Radio can be played anywhere,” said Jonathan Sasse, Vice President of Marketing for Slacker. “By partnering with Devicescape, Slacker listeners can now easily get new music delivered to their portable wherever they go.”
Slacker Personal Radio enables listeners to create, edit and share their own stations or personalize over 100 professionally programmed stations. Slacker’s extensive music library, associated artist profiles, album reviews and large cover art are available to customers over the web or on the Slacker Portable’s 4” vivid color display.
“Devicescape is pleased to partner with Slacker to help them deliver the revolutionary Slacker Portable with improved Wi-Fi access,” said Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape. “The Slacker Portable is a great example of a service-enabled device and by adding Devicescape Connect, Slacker can now provide its customers with easy and fast Wi-Fi access to their favorite songs anytime, anywhere.”
Current owners of the Slacker Portable Player will be able to get Devicescape functionality through a free firmware update available today – a simple station refresh will automatically update all existing players. All new Slacker Portable Players will ship enabled with the latest features.
About Devicescape Connect:
- Serves as a Wi-Fi device management system where members can manage all of their devices in one place
- Allows adding home networks and selectively and securely sharing these networks with friends
- Works on more than 100 different devices running on 10 different operating systems
- Supports over 1000 public networks, including the largest carriers in the world such as T-Mobile, British Telecom and AT&T, for access on millions of hotspots worldwide
- Supports over 100 university networks worldwide added by Devicescape members
- Registered hundreds of thousands of members in 176 countries worldwide
About Slacker Portable:
- Designed to work with Slacker Basic Radio and Premium Radio services
- Personal radio stations play anytime: online or offline
- Automatically refreshes personalized stations via Wi-Fi or USB
- Favorite and Ban buttons enable personalization on the go
- 4” color screen displays artist profiles, album reviews and large cover art
- Available in 15, 25 and 40 station capacities
- Plays your existing music collection (MP3 & WMA)
- Up to 10 hours of battery life
- Removable, rechargeable battery
About Devicescape
Headquartered in San Bruno, California, the company is privately held and backed by leading venture capital companies including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, August Capital, Enterprise Partners, and JAFCO. To learn more, please visit www.devicescape.com. About Slacker Inc.
About Slacker, Inc.
Slacker is the world's first Personal Radio company, providing a new kind of radio that enables consumers to play highly personalized music everywhere. Visit www.Slacker.com for more information.
Devicescape is a trademark of Devicescape Software, Inc., Slacker and Slacker.com are trademarks of Slacker, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.
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