CHICAGO, Ill.­-(January 2, 1001)-- First International Digital, Inc. (FID), a Motorola spin-off with nearly 100 multimedia patents, and Songdog Network, Inc.(SDN), an entertainment technology and content provider, jointly announce their partnership and the arrival of the new MP3i (MP3 interactive) technology format.

"Music fans, music publishers and record labels are all eager for the wide adoption of MP3i as a means of adding interactive graphical content to MP3 files in a protected fashion." Said John Collins, President and CEO of SDN.

What is MP3i? Simply, it is a means of integrating graphical data for synchronized playback with digital music files. It provides secure synchronized interactivity between music and graphical images such as lyrics (allowing music fans to sing along with their favorite tunes), album artwork, liners notes, pictures, advertising, etc. According to Collins, the possibilities for new "virtual albums" and personalization for the end consumer are unlimited. MP3i technology offers innovative ways to monetize the Digital Music Market through unique value-added content for consumers and protection for intellectual property holders. The MP3i standard includes support for unique user-specific transaction ID's and a robust, but user friendly, encryption/decryption scheme.

"The explosion of interest in the MP3 industry, coupled with the demand for more unique and personalized digital audio content is raising consumer's expectations," said Randy Cavaiani, Vice President of Marketing & Sales for FID. "The partnership between FID and Songdog Network demonstrates our commitment to giving our customers what they want before they ask for it."

According to Cavaiani, "Using a powerful, yet simple, software tool, the 'MP3i Creator', content providers and distributors can combine their recordings with scrolling synchronized lyrics, album artwork, liners notes, pictures - even advertising - to create differentiated value-added products for their consumers. The tool is scaleable and adaptable for other digital audio formats in addition to MP3."

To take advantage of the MP3i technology, consumers need a hardware or software device equipped with an MP3i decoder. States Cavaiani, "The beauty of the MP3i format is that any device equipped with an MP3i decoder will also decode standard MP3 files." FID and SDN are currently licensing the MP3i decoder technology to hardware and software manufacturers for retail applications.
The first hardware manifestation of the MP3i technology has recently been introduced by FID in the form of a portable digital MP3 player with Karaoke (the irock! model 680), allowing consumers to listen to their favorite songs, view lyrics, and record their voice - all simultaneously. The irock! 680 comes complete with PC jukebox software that allows the user to view lyrics on the PC. See www.myirock.com for further details; view the technology in action at First International's booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 6-9.

Coincident with the irock! 680 release in January, the first commercial release of music encoded in the MP3i format will be hosted on the new www.mp3karaoke.com website, a member of the Songdog Network, for digital download of popular karaoke music files. A free MP3i PC jukebox will also be available for download.

About: First International Digital, Inc. (www.fidinc.com), a Motorola spin-off headquartered outside of Chicago, is a global multimedia company with nearly 100 patents in audio, video, speech and communications technology. With a core competence in multimedia software development, complemented by hardware development expertise, First International Digital is divided into two business units: irock! Internet audio, targeted at the consumer market, and the vip300 series of video image processors designed for consumer OEM applications. First International Digital is privately financed by a number of institutional investors including Motorola, Via Technologies, and First International Computer. The company completed its second round of financing in October 2000.

About: Songdog Network, Inc. (www.songdognetwork.com) is a vertically integrated producer and provider of professional quality music products as well as a developer of software technology for digital music applications. Utilizing strategic partnerships, content production and proprietary software, SDN has been able to create and occupy a unique market position in the digital music space. This provides for business to business contracts with established industry leaders to license software technology and associated music content as well as business to consumer distribution channels for the delivery of content to consumers via the Internet. SDN is privately funded and is comprised of these core components; mp3karaoke.com, iMusicLicensing.com, and Palladium Music, Inc.

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