Press Release
Roxio Software Enhances the Rich Media Capabilities of the New BlackBerry Curve SmartphoneMay 8, 2006 - Sonic Solutions(r) (NASDAQ: SNIC) today announced it has entered a licensing agreement with Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM, TSX: RIM) to provide a customized version of its Roxio(r) Media Manager software application. Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry(r), which is now shipping with the new multimedia-capable BlackBerry(r) Curve(tm), introduces a new level of simplicity, allowing users to easily manage, transfer and enhance photos, videos and music between their computer and smartphone. As part of the agreement, Roxio Media Manager will also be available to owners of the BlackBerry Pearl(tm) and BlackBerry 8800 series smartphones as part of a future update of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for those handsets.
"The customized Roxio Media Manager application is a powerful complement to other BlackBerry smartphone features. It enhances the overall mobile experience and makes it easy for users to organize, synchronize and access their music, videos and photos on the new BlackBerry Curve. Our collaboration with Sonic has helped deliver another user-friendly application that further showcases the BlackBerry Curve as an ideal mobile companion for both work and leisure," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion.
Roxio Media Manager offers a straightforward user interface and workflow that enables users to easily move content between their computer and the smartphone's internal or expandable memory storage. The application allows users to easily search for media files on their computer, view and organize them, create MP3 music files from CDs, add audio tags, create smart playlists that allow a song to be used across multiple playlists without duplicating the file on the handset, and convert pictures, music and videos for optimal playback on the BlackBerry Curve.
Roxio Media Manager also includes an innovative feature called AutoMix that instantly creates perfect playlists of complementary songs based on a single 'seed' song chosen by the user. The media manager also includes Roxio PhotoSuite(r) 9 LE, a comprehensive tool that makes it easy to edit pictures and create photo albums. With PhotoSuite, pictures can be cropped, rotated and straightened, and flaws can be fixed by removing redeye or changing the brightness, contrast and saturation levels.
Pictures can even be enhanced with color filters and special effects.
"We are extremely pleased to be associated with the BlackBerry brand - a brand recognized throughout the world for its quality and innovation - and enthusiastically support the launch of a product that sets a new benchmark for mobile multimedia enjoyment," said Dave Habiger, president and CEO, Sonic Solutions. "Our agreement with RIM is a solid endorsement of our technology and enables an ideal alliance for Sonic to advance in the mobile media space."
Based on the award-winning Easy Media Creator 9, Roxio Media Manager was specifically designed to provide mobile device manufactures and wireless carriers with a powerful PC application that complements and extends their solutions and services with the broadest possible range of digital media capabilities. More information on Media Manager is available at: www.roxio.com/mediamanager.
