Momentum of Windows Media Builds Among Portable Device Manufacturers

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 1999 — Today at Fall Internet World, Microsoft Corp. announced that Creative Labs Inc. will add native support for Microsoft® Windows Media TM Audio in its newly announced NOMAD II devices. NOMAD II customers will receive numerous benefits with Windows Media support, including the following:

  • Twice the music storage capacity of MP3. Windows Media delivers CD-quality audio at half the size of MP3 files. Customers using Windows Media Audio on NOMAD II with 64 MB of Flash RAM will be able to store up to two hours of music, compared with only one hour using MP3. This also means customers will be able to download music twice as fast over the Internet.

  • Preferred CD-quality digital audio. Independent testing conducted by NSTL Inc. found that consumers preferred the sound quality of Windows Media Audio over MP3 and RealNetworks G2.*

  • Secure access to the latest top-quality music artists. NOMAD II users will be able to download the latest secure music from today’s top artists using the secure Windows Media Audio format and transfer it to their NOMAD devices with Creative’s Digital Audio Center by MusicMatch. Today consumers can find a wealth of secure content in Windows Media format at sites such as http://windowsmedia.com/ , http://www.launch.com/ , and House of Blues http://www.hob.com/ .

“Portable device customers want to store more music without sacrificing quality, and they want access to the latest music from the top labels in the music industry,”
said Hock Leow, chief technology officer at Creative Labs.
“With the addition of Windows Media, Creative’s NOMAD II devices will have access to a much richer, more diverse range of mainstream audio content.”

Members of the press who are interested in viewing the NOMAD II device should visit Booth 2657 at Fall Internet World in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

*Results of the independent testing can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia
/en/compare/audiocompare.asp
.

Microsoft and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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