MPIO MP3 Player Wins World-Renown iF Design Award

MPIO MP3 Player Wins World-Renown iF Design Award

MP3 Pioneer MPIO's FL300 Flash Player Garners Coveted iF Product Design Award; Second Design Honor for Company in Two Years

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- MPIO, a leading global brand of portable digital audio devices, has received the highly rated iF product design award from the International Forum Design GmbH of Hanover, Germany. MPIO received this honor for its elegant MPIO FL300 flash MP3 player available to U.S. consumers since October of this year.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041216/LATH014A)

"Design is a focal point of our product development, so this success is a result of our heavy investment in product development," said Marcelino Kim, U.S. president and CEO of MPIO. "The MPIO FL300 is just one example of how we develop digital fashion accessories to appeal to the digital generation." This is the second time that MPIO has won an iF product design award. Its FL100 flash player received honors in 2003.

The sleek and stylish MPIO FL300 weighs less than an ounce and is smaller than a pack of Tic Tacs(R) -- delivering high performance digital music in 128MB and 256MB capacities. With this sapphire blue MP3 player, consumers can listen, dance and sing along to their favorite tunes for as long as 10 hours with only a 1 hour charge. The FL300 also features a clock, alarm, digital recorder, and doubles as USB storage.

Nearly 750 companies from 31 countries submitted more than 2,000 product entries for the iF product design award. The 14 member-jury of the International Forum Design GmbH selected winners based on design quality, processing, innovation, functionality and ergonomics.

"There is an observable tendency for people to focus less on technology and more on style when selecting things like mobile phones and MP3 players, but also other electronic appliances as well. 'Personal products' are taking the market by storm, which is opening up new options for the way we design and use products," said Bill Moggridge, co-founder of design firm IDEO, and an iF jury member.

At the award ceremony on March 10, 2005, the opening day of CeBIT in Hanover, a further 50 products out of the 543 prize winners will have an opportunity to win gold or silver.

To see the award winning FL300 MP3 player, please visit MPIO at booth #70665 at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 4-7, 2005.

About iF Product Design Award

Since its inauguration in 1953, the iF design award has existed as an enduring, prestigious trademark for outstanding design. Companies and design studios deploy the iF seal in their communication campaigns as a visible symbol of product and service quality. And for buyers of design-oriented products, the iF seal serves as a decision-making tool in the marketplace. An iF award is a symbol of a company's commitment to innovation and its willingness to face the competition.

About MPIO

MPIO (pronounced "em-pee-oh") leads the portable digital audio market with high-performance and revolutionary designs. A global brand in portable digital audio devices, MPIO has delivered more than 40 MP3 players since 1998, leading the market. The award-winning modern designs of MPIO MP3 players combine technology and style, making MPIO the ideal digital accessory. For more information, please visit MPIO at www.mpio.com.

Press Contacts:
Jamie Ernst
Brodeur Worldwide
210.495.5757
jernst@brodeur.com

Lisa Grau
Brodeur Worldwide
760.635.8640
lgrau@brodeur.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041216/LATH014A
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: MPIO

CONTACT: Jamie Ernst, +1-210-495-5757, jernst@brodeur.com, or Lisa Grau,
+1-760-635-8640, lgrau@brodeur.com, both of Brodeur Worldwide, for MPIO

Web site: http://www.mpio.com/


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