Groundbreaking Gateway Music Vault by pressplay Launches Today

Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gateway, Inc. (NYSE:GTW) and pressplay are giving consumers a better way to experience digital music.

The Gateway Music Vault by pressplay breaks new ground by giving consumers the opportunity to buy a PC that's pre-loaded with up to 2,000 hit songs from the most popular music genres -- an instant, comprehensive library that can be enjoyed online or offline upon signing up for the service. And consumers have the option of broadening their personal music collection by joining the service and easily streaming, downloading or making portable copies of more than 200,000 songs from the world's top artists.

Starting today, all Gateway consumer desktop PCs will be pre-loaded and shipped with the Gateway Music Vault by pressplay application. Consumers can purchase a Mega Pack or Genre Pack of pre-loaded songs (see details below) as an upgrade to a new Gateway desktop PC, or as an add-on item to a PC they already own.

The service includes easy-to-use software to play and access content from all five major record labels plus many leading independent labels. Most importantly, the Gateway Music Vault by pressplay can save users literally weeks of downloading time: to individually download the 8.5 gigabytes or 2,000 songs included in the service's Mega Pack, for example, a PC user with a constant 56 Kbps dial-up connection working eight hours a day would require approximately 60 days. And the Gateway Music Vault by pressplay legally delivers excellent audio quality from top artists with no concerns about viruses or spyware.

"Gateway has emerged as a key supporter of consumers' right to enjoy digital music legally," said Ted Waitt, Gateway chairman and CEO. "The Gateway Music Vault by pressplay is a great example of the technology and recording industries working together to drive innovation and ultimately serve consumer demand for legitimate digital music. And we're now making it possible for people without a broadband Internet connection to get in on the fun of digital music by delivering it to them in a whole new way. People who do have broadband will enjoy the Gateway Music Vault by pressplay even more."

"We're excited to bring Gateway users a new way to experience digital music through pressplay," said Michael Bebel, president and chief executive officer of pressplay. "By pre-loading thousands of hit songs onto Gateway PCs, we are able to offer music fans immediate access to an entire collection of great music. This partnership breaks new ground for the music fans and marks the expansion of the traditional delivery of the pressplay service."

The Gateway Music Vault by pressplay gives music fans access to a growing catalog of 200,000 songs -- including rock, pop, jazz, hip-hop, alternative, R&B and country -- that can be enjoyed while online or offline, streamed, downloaded, burned to CDs, transferred to portable devices, or kept on the PC. Users will discover new music and old favorites through features including more than 30 pre-programmed music stations on Radio pressplay, exclusive tracks, recommendations and community features.

Consumers can purchase Gateway Music Vault by pressplay in three basic ways:

• Mega Pack - Music fans receive a 90-day free subscription to the service, which includes 2,000 hit songs pre-loaded and available instantly for unlimited streaming and downloading, as well as 20 free portable downloads. The Mega Pack is available through two different options: pre-loaded on a Gateway PC, or sold separately as part of a 40 GB hard drive package that costs $149.99;
• Genre Pack - Consumers receive a 30-day free subscription to the service including instant access to 150 pre-loaded hit songs from one of seven music genres of the consumer's choice, the ability to easily stream, downloading or make portable copies of more than 200,000 songs from the world's top artists, and 10 free portable downloads that can be burned to CDs, transferred to portable devices, and stored on the PC. The Genre Pack is available through two different options: pre-loaded on a Gateway PC or sold separately for $29.99.
• Basic Pack - From any new Gateway consumer PC, customers can easily register for a three-day free trial of the service, which includes unlimited streaming and downloading of the entire pressplay music catalog. The Basic Service Pack does not include any pre-loaded content.

Following the free trials, consumers can continue to enjoy the pressplay music service with subscription pricing options starting from $9.95 per month. Members can also purchase an unlimited number of portable download packs ranging from $5.95 for five portable downloads, up to $18.95 for 20.

Gateway will implement a multi-faceted marketing campaign to support the Gateway Music Vault by pressplay. The new service is planned to be featured within Gateway's national television advertising as well as in Web, catalog and e-mail marketing campaigns. On the Gateway Web site, consumers will be able to choose a pressplay music pre-load option when configuring a new Gateway PC. The pressplay offer also will be merchandised in Gateway's 272 stores.

Gateway offers PCs that are optimized for enjoying digital music. For example, the Gateway 500S Digital Music PC includes an Intel Pentium 4 processor 2.0 GHz; 256MB SDRAM; a 60GB/7200 rpm primary hard drive; a 40GB music hard drive with 90 days of Gateway Music Vault by pressplay service; a 15-inch flat panel display; a CD burner; premium Boston Acoustics speakers and more for just $1,199.

Full details on Gateway Music Vault by pressplay options and pricing are available at www.gateway.com/pressplay or by visiting a Gateway store or by calling 1-800-GATEWAY.

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Source: Gateway, Inc.

Web site: http://www.gateway.com/pressplay
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