RealNetworks and Panasonic Team to Support Secure Digital Memory Card Devices

January, 2001 - RealNetworks just announced a collaboration with Panasonic - in which RealJukebox will be the exclusive music management software for Panasonic's new U.S. line of Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card devices, including their two e-wear portable audio players.
RealNetworks' support for Panasonic's SD Memory Card technology will enable consumers to record CDs and download Internet music content to their RealJukebox, then transfer that content securely and conveniently to their Panasonic SD portable music player. RealJukebox, the world's most popular digital media jukebox software, will be the only music management application to support the devices distributed in the U.S., and will be included with every Panasonic SD portable music player sold. Panasonic contributed to this effort by providing their highly efficient AAC encoding and decoding technology as well as their secure SD Card Interface software.

"As the music management application used by more than 50 million consumers, RealJukebox is the perfect match for an electronics manufacturer of Panasonic's stature and market presence," said Steve Banfield, general manager for consumer products, RealNetworks, Inc. "We are thrilled to be working together with one of the world's leading electronics manufacturers to offer this secure, portable music solution."

"RealJukebox's popularity, ease of use and depth of features make it the ideal platform to support our SD memory card and e-wear™ portable audio players," said Sakon Nagasaki, Director of Matsushita's AV Electronic Distribution Business Development Office. "This partnership will give consumers more choices while respecting the interest of artists and rights holders. Together, RealNetworks and Panasonic are helping pave the way for the future of secure digital music portability."

Panasonic's SD Memory Cards are portable, highly secure, postage stamp-sized flash memory storage devices designed to revolutionize the way information is stored and transferred. They are solid-state devices and have no moving parts to skip or break down. They provide fast data transfer, great flexibility, and a wide range of storage capacity (8MB, 16MB, 32MB, and 64MB) that can hold up to 2 hours of high quality audio content. The enhanced security of the SD Card format has become increasingly important in the Internet music marketplace, where protection of copyrighted content is a top priority.

The new Panasonic devices will be available in U.S. markets in February and include: two e-wear SD Audio Players, the SD Memory Card, the SD USB Reader/Writer, and the SD PC Card Adapter.

Support for Panasonic's new devices underscores RealNetworks' continued leadership in the digital music marketplace. The RealJukebox platform supports the widest array of formats and digital rights management solutions, and is compatible with over a dozen portable devices and players.

About e-wear Portable Audio Players
Panasonic will be introducing two portable e-wear portable audio players this February at a suggested retail price of $399.95. The ultra-compact SV-SD75 is the world's smallest digital audio player with detachable media. It includes several accessories allowing the consumer to wear it in several ways.

About RealJukebox
RealJukebox, with over 50 million unique registered users, is the world's most popular digital media jukebox software that enables users to easily record their personal music collections to a PC hard disk, find and download Internet music, organize their personal music collections on their PCs, burn CDs and transfer music to portable devices.

About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc., based in Seattle, is the recognized leader in media delivery on the Internet. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks consumer software on the Internet at http://www.real.com. All RealNetworks systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at www.realnetworks.com.