I know a few comments had been made about this with the release of the media player in k 5. Guess PDI waited a bit to long? Well I shouldn't say that. I don't suppose audible would have a problem with making a deal with both companies. Laura
"The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case." (George W. Bush, --Pella, Iowa, San Antonio Express News, Jan. 30, 2000) ----- Forwarded Message ----- October 29, 2003 06:00 AM US Eastern Timezone Audible, Inc. and Freedom Scientific Launch Comarketing Agreement WAYNE, N.J. & ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2003-- Audible.com(R) Spoken Word Internet Audio Service Accessible through Freedom Scientific's JAWS(R) for Windows Screen Reader Software and PAC Mate Pocket PC Audible, Inc. (OCT BB: ADBL), the leading provider of digitally delivered spoken word audio, and Freedom Scientific, Inc. today announced an integrated marketing alliance. This agreement gives blind and vision impaired Internet users the easiest access to daily audio subscriptions of national newspapers, weekly business and science magazines, and the 6,000-title audiobook collection available only at Audible.com(R). Vision impaired users of Freedom Scientific's industry-leading assistive technology products, including JAWS(R) for Windows screen reader software and its line of PAC Mate accessible Pocket PC devices, will be eligible for a free trial membership to Audible's 34,000 hours of valuable spoken word audio. More than 80,000 users of the JAWS screen reader software, as well as users of PAC Mate personal data assistant, will be introduced to Audible with a free month AudibleListener(R) membership offer. They will be able to choose between PremiumListener(TM), which consists of any two audiobooks from Audible's industry leading selection of new best sellers to classics, or BasicListener(TM), which offers any one audiobook and one-month subscription at the Audible Subscription Center ( www.audible.com/subscriptions), the only newsstand-style center for subscribing to audio editions of leading periodicals. For desktop listeners, the AudibleManager(R) software is scripted for access through JAWS and can play any audiobook from the computer's library of downloaded Audible titles. Using Microsoft Pocket PC technology in combination with JAWS screen reader running on Microsoft Windows Mobile CE operating system, the PAC Mate converts objects and text to speech so users who are blind can hear documents, images, and Web content, as well as store and play titles from Audible. Audio files downloaded from Audible are a fraction of the size of standard MP3 audio and allow for hours of on-the-go listening on any PAC Mate accessible Pocket PC. "We have heard that many blind users have joined Audible's Internet audio service because it offers equal access to the latest audiobook and audio periodical releases. Audible's broad content library provides timely audio information and entertainment in a manner previously not available through traditional audio sources. We are delighted to work with Freedom Scientific to increase awareness of our service to their savvy user base," said Matthew Fine, senior vice president, Enterprise, Audible, Inc. "For the blind community, downloading great audio directly to the PC is one of the killer applications of the Internet. This agreement with Freedom Scientific places Audible.com squarely in front of the blind Internet community, and we are committed to serving them well." "Freedom Scientific's goal is to develop solutions that provide vision-impaired users access to mainstream products and services that their sighted counterparts take for granted. Our agreement with Audible will allow us to directly offer our customers a popular and proven audio service that works with our installed and newly introduced software and hardware platforms," said Brad Davis, Vice President of Hardware Product Management, Freedom Scientific. JAWS and PAC Mate users interested in taking advantage of this offer can begin by accessing this link: http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/audible.asp. About Audible.com: Audible.com, recently named the best consumer Web service by CNet.com (April 2003), and one of the "Best of Today's Web" by PC World (August 2002) features daily audio editions of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times -- available on a subscription basis in time for the morning drive to work each day--as well as Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Scientific American and Fast Company. The site offers a powerful collection of audiobook best sellers and classics by authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, the Dalai Lama, David McCullough, Stephen Hawking, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen. There are also speeches, lectures, and on-demand radio programs including Marketplace, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air and This American Life, and original shows such as [EMAIL PROTECTED] All of the programs at audible.com are available for computer-based playback, burning to audio CD, and on-the-go listening using numerous AudibleReady(TM) portable digital audio players offered by leading consumer electronics and computer manufacturers. About Freedom Scientific: Freedom Scientific is the world's leading manufacturer of assistive technology products for those who are blind and vision-impaired including software, notetakers, Braille displays, embossers and products for the special education and learning disability markets. The PAC Mate is the first and only accessible version of Microsoft's Pocket PC applications for personal data assistants, or PDA's. It is a handheld computer that provides on-the-go access to information and computing. JAWS for Windows is the world's most popular screen reader that works with your PC to provide access to today's software applications and the Internet. With its internal software speech synthesizer and the computer's sound card, information from the screen is read aloud. JAWS is a registered trademark of Freedom Scientific. About Audible, Inc.: Audible(R) ( www.audible.com(R)) is the Internet's largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken audio services for content download and playback on personal computers, CD or AudibleReady(R) computer-based mobile devices. Audible has more than 34,000 hours of audio programs and 135 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible.com is Amazon.com's ( www.amazon.com) exclusive provider of spoken word products for downloading or streaming via the Web. Additionally, the Company is strategically aligned with Random House, Inc., to pioneer the first-ever imprint to produce spoken word content specifically suited for digital distribution, Random House Audible. Among the Company's key business partners are Apple Corp., Casio Inc., Handspring, Hewlett-Packard Company, Microsoft Corporation, Palm, Inc., Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks, Inc., Sony Electronics, Texas Instruments and VoiceAge Corp. Audible, www.audible.com, Audible Otis, and AudibleReady are registered trademarks of Audible, Inc.; AudibleListener is a trademark of Audible, Inc. and all are part of the family of Audible, Inc. trademarks. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. This press release contains information about Audible, Inc. that is not historical fact and may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements about the company. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, Audible's limited operating history, history of losses, uncertain market for its services, and its inability to license or produce compelling audio content and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Contacts Audible, Inc. Jonathan Korzen, 973-837-2718 [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Freedom Scientific Eric Vician, 727-803-8000, Ext. 1044 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Print this release Print this release Terms of Use | C Business Wire 2003 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jayson Smith Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 1:15 PM To: Blind Etext Subject: Re: [blindetext] Fw: Audible, Inc. and Freedom Scientific Launch Comarketing Agreement Just wondering if you could paste the article in a message? I think OE or something wordwrapped the link so at least for me clicking on it gets me nothing but an error. Jayson. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Erika Gilbert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "Blind Etext" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 12:41 PM Subject: [blindetext] Fw: Audible, Inc. and Freedom Scientific Launch Comarketing Agreement > I think this might be interesting to some people, but sorry for all > the forwarding stuff. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Barry Toner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 10:10 AM > Subject: Audible, Inc. and Freedom Scientific Launch Comarketing > Agreement >> Thought I'd send this to get the word out as far as possible. >> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 10:07 AM >> Subject: (Access-UK) - Fw: Audible, Inc. and Freedom Scientific >> Launch Comarketing Agreement >>> Thought some might find this venture interesting. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news _vie > w&newsId=20031029005110&newsLang=en >>> news of a months free audible.com membership for jaws and packmate > owners.
