October 13, 2004
Update: November 29,2004 |
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Olympus Enters Portable HDD Music Player
Market
With New m:robe Brand Products |
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New m:robe MR-500i motion music
player offers fusion of music and imagest |
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New MR-100 HDD music player offers compact
music playback |
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| FRONT |
BACK |
| m:robe MR-500i |
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| FRONT |
BACK |
| m:robe MR-100 |
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| The information contained in this news release applies
only to the Japanese market. |
| Summary |
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| Olympus Imaging Corporation (President: Hiroshi Komiya)
is pleased to announce its entry into the portable hard disk drive music
player business with the introduction of m:robe brand products that offer
a totally new way of enjoying music. The first m:robe series products to
be offered are MR-500i and MR-100 HDD music players. With these and other
m:robe series products to be released in the future, Olympus is offering
consumers a new music-oriented lifestyle and a convenient new way to carry
their favorite music and images with them wherever they go. |
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| The m:robe brand derives its name from the fact that m:robe
products can be carried anywhere, anytime, allowing users to "robe" themselves
in their favorite music wherever they go. It will be aggressively promoted
by Olympus as a new brand of HDD music player. White is used as the signature
color for m:robe products to evoke the timeless beauty of white porcelainware
that sets off the beauty of the items it contains. The m:robe also features
touch-screen / touchpad operation and a user-friendly GUI that provides
visual and emotional feedback in response to user input. |
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| MR-500i is positioned as the flagship of the m:robe series,
and incorporates a 20GB hard disk drive that allows both music and images
to be carried with the user. In addition to being an HDD music player that
allows users to enjoy music playback, it is equipped with a 3.7-inch VGA
monitor, a graphical image calendar function, and a camera function that
turns the large LCD monitor into a viewfinder that lets users capture images
simply by touching the screen. Under the concept of "REMIX YOUR IMAGES," it
also features a Remix Play mode that allows users to freely create a fusion
of music and images, by combining their favorite music and images with
a variety of visual effect templates to easily edit and play original image
content. |
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| MR-100 is a dedicated music playback model that incorporates
a 5GB hard disk drive in its compact body, allowing it to store up to approximately
1,200 musical selections. |
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| The m:trip music and image management PC software is included
with both the MR-500i and MR-100. The m:trip application software can be
used to play music captured from CD or purchased via internet download,
to view images captured with the MR-500i or a digital camera , and to playback
Remix content by combining images with. Simply by connecting an m:robe
to a personal computer it makes it easy to transfer music and image data
for a wider ranger of digital content enjoyment. |
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| Design Concept |
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| The m:robe products reflect a rigorous commitment to design
excellence. They are designed to harmonize with their surroundings, and
to project an image of cleanliness, gentleness, and simplicity. Their white
signature color reflects the timeless beauty of white porcelainware, which,
rather than making a strong style statement of its own, tends to draw attention
to the beauty of the flowers or foods that it contains. In the same way,
m:robe products are designed to be like "white porcelain vessels" that
enhance the beauty of the images and music they hold. |
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| Main Features |
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| m:robe MR-500i Motion Music Player
with Remix Play Mode for Image and Music Enjoyment |
| MR-500i is a portable HDD music player that allows user
to enjoy music, images, and — via its Remix Play mode — a fusion
of music and images. A 20GB hard disk drive is built-in. |
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1. Remix Play Mode Support |
| MR-500i features a Remix Play mode that allows various
effects to be applied to images so that they can be enjoyed in conjunction
with music playback. Remix Play mode is composed of three elements: music
data, multiple image data, and visual effect templates. These can be freely
combined and stored as "Remix Cubes." Remix Cubes can easily
be created with the included m:trip computer application software or the
remix-enabled m:robe MR-500i. |
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2. A New Shooting Style |
| In addition to displaying digital photos transferred to
it from a PC, MR-500i incorporates a camera unit for image capture. It
also offers a new shooting style that allows users to capture the world
they see on the large LCD monitor/viewfinder simply by touching the screen.
A Viewer function enables captured images to be organized into albums,
displayed in calendar format, and viewed as slideshows. |
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3. Touch-Screen GUI |
| A touch-screen GUI allows intuitive operation. By moving
a finger up or down on the screen, users can perform actions such as track
selection and volume adjustment. |
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4. Versatile Search Functions |
| Music and images can easily be searched by date, playback
history, or user-assigned keyword. You can search music by album, artist,
genre, composer, year of release, or playback history. Images can be viewed
in thumbnail, album, or calendar format, making it even easier to find
the ones you want. |
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5. Dedicated m:trip Application Included |
| An m:robe dedicated PC software called m:trip is included
with MR-500i. The software can be used to manage m:robe file transfers,
convert CD music files to WMA*1 format, and create Remix Cubes
for Remix Play mode. It also allows music, image, and Remix Cube data to
be synchronously transferred to an m:robe MR-500i simply by placing the
unit in its dedicated cradle. |
| *1 |
WMA is an audio format developed by Microsoft
Corporation that offers high sound quality and high compression. WMA
is supported by Windows® Me and subsequent Windows® operating
systems. CD recordings compressed into the WMA format offer 48kbps data
streaming for CD-quality sound. |
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6. Built-In High-Capacity 20GB Hard Disk Drive |
| A high-capacity 20GB hard disk is built into MR-500i,
allowing up to approximately 5,000*2 music selections or 20,000 *3 images
to be carried. |
| *2 |
Assuming music data only; 128kbps files in WMA
format with a track length of 4 minutes. |
| *3 |
Assuming image data only; 4-megapixel images. |
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7. Built-In 3.7-Inch TFT Color LCD |
| The 3.7-inch, high-definition LCD offers VGA (640 horizontal
x 480 vertical) quality with 260,000 colors, and can be used to view photos,
CD jacket art, and song lyrics*4 . |
| *4 |
Users must download relevant data from the Internet
for CD jacket art and song lyric display. |
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8. Versatile Preset Equalizer |
| 16 equalizer settings are provided for different genres
andplaces where users are listening. Users can set and save their favorites,
and easily fine-tune sound quality to suit their preference. |
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9. Remote Control |
| Playback, stop, volume, fast forward/reverse, and song
title and artist name display can be operated by remote control. A convenient
'Favorites' button makes it easy to add the currently selected track to
your Favorites list. |
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10. White Signature Color and Unified Design |
| Both m:robe models feature a white signature color and
unified design. Like white porcelainware, they have a timeless beauty that
sets off the beauty of the items they contain. Together with i:robe series
digital solution brand products for easier and more enjoyable digital photography,
they define a unified world of their own. |
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Other Features |
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• Support for MP3*5 / WMA File
Playback |
| Supported file formats include the popular MP3 format,
as well as WMA formats including variable bit rate WMA. |
| *5 |
MP3 is the short name for MPEG 1/2 audio
layer 3 compression. It makes it possible to achieve 10:1 file data
compression with minimal loss of sound quality. |
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• USB 2.0 Interface |
| Data transfer to a PC is possible via the dedicated
cradle and a USB cable. Hi-Speed USB 2.0 is supported. In addition,
support for storage class USB allows the m:robe to be used as an external
data storage device simply by connecting it to a PC (Windows 2000/XP). |
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• AV Output (when using cradle) |
| AV output via the dedicated cradle allows Remix Play
to be enjoyed on a standard TV, and music to be played back through
amplifier-equipped speakers. |
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• PictBridge Support |
| PictBridge standard support allows direct printing
to any PictBridge-enabled printer. |
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| m:robe MR-100 Portable Music Player |
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| The m:robe MR-100 is a compact portable music player designed
exclusively for music playback. |
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1. White Signature Color and Unified Design |
| Both m:robe models feature a white signature color and
unified design. Like white porcelainware, they have a timeless beauty that
sets off the beauty of the items they contain. Together with i:robe series
digital solution brand products for easier and more enjoyable digital photography,
they define a unified world of their own. |
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2. Unique Electrostatic Pad Operation |
| Volume adjustment and track selection are via unique electrostatic
pad-based controls. Operation is intuitive and can be effected simply by
moving a finger up or down on the pad. |
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3. 5GB Hard Disk Drive |
| Despite its compact size and low weight, the MR-100 is
equipped with a 5GB hard disk that can hold approximately 1,200 musical
selections*6. |
| *6 |
128kbps files in WMA format with a track length
of 4 minutes. |
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4. Dedicated m:trip Application Included |
| An m:robe dedicated PC software called m:trip is included
with the MR-100. The software offers management functions for music data
transferred to an m:robe, and conversion of CD music files to WMA format. |
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5. Easy Track Selection |
| Music can be searched by artist, album, year of release,
recent favorites, and other criteria. Users can also choose from a "My
Top 20" playlist of frequently played tracks, or create custom playlists
of their own. |
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6. Versatile Preset Equalizer |
| 16 preset equalizer settings allow users to control bass
and treble according to the music genre or listening environment to suit
their mood and musical taste. |
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7. Other Features |
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• Support for MP3/WMA File Playback |
| Supported file formats include the popular MP3 format,
as well as WMA formats including variable bit rate WMA. |
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• USB 2.0 Interface |
| Data transfer to a PC is possible via the dedicated
cradle and a USB cable. Hi-Speed USB 2.0 is supported. In addition,
support for storage class USB allows the m:robe to be used as an external
data storage device simply by connecting it to a PC (Windows 2000/XP).
Battery charging via USB is also possible. |
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• Remote Control |
| The optional RM-13 remote control provides additional
at-your-fingertips operating ease. |
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| New Olympus i:robe / m:robe Brand Website |
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| A new i:robe/m:robe-branded website is being set up at
URL: http://robe-gate.jp/.
In addition to i:robe and m:robe product information it will feature a
rotating gallery of works created by various creative artists using the
i:robe and m:robe. A free download of m:trip software for m:robe music
and image file management will also be offered for a limited time only.
Ultimately, the new website will serve as a one-stop information and resource
center for i:robe/m:robe digital image and music content creation. |
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*The imaging systems business of Olympus Corporation was reorganized as a separate company, Olympus Imaging Corporation, as of October 1, 2004.
*The company names and product names specified in this release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.
Please be advised that press releases and information posted on this site are current at the time of the original publication date. Please note that they may now be outdated or rendered inaccurate.
