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Consumer electronics industry

D-Link and AOL Form Alliance to Offer Expanded Entertainment Options for the Digital Home

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

D-Link and America Online, Inc. announced a new alliance to jointly offer expanded entertainment options for the digital home. The companies will collaborate to develop and deliver products and services that will allow broadband consumers to access secure, high-quality video, music, and photo content, on-demand, from virtually any room in the home. The first step of this new relationship is the extension of access to the #1 Internet broadcasting service, Radio@AOL, beyond the computer and into any room with a TV or stereo.

Key Takeaways:

  • D-Link and AOL are partnering to develop and deliver products and services that will allow broadband consumers to access secure, high-quality video, music, and photo content from any room in the home.
  • The companies will extend access to the #1 Internet broadcasting service, Radio@AOL, beyond the computer and into any room with a TV or stereo.
  • D-Link's new line of Wireless Media Players, including the Wireless Network Player with DVD and the D-Link Wireless Network Player with 5-in-1 Flash Card Reader, will stream multimedia content such as audio, photos, and video across a home network to a home entertainment center.
  • AOL is leveraging open standard technologies, such as SOAP/XML and the Liberty Alliance specifications, to allow third-party applications to easily access and interact with AOL's online services.
  • The D-Link Wireless Media Players will enhance and extend an AOL for Broadband member's experience by allowing them to listen to over 175 CD-quality Radio@AOL stations on any TV or stereo in the home.
  • AOL and D-Link plan to offer purchasers of D-Link Wireless Network Media Players a 6-month limited trial subscription to the Radio@AOL service, allowing them to enjoy the #1 Internet broadcasting service for six months at no additional cost.
  • The product and service alliance is expected to gain momentum in 2004, as streaming entertainment content over a network to and from the entertainment center continues to grow in popularity.

Statistics:

  • 175 CD-quality Radio@AOL stations available to stream on any TV or stereo in the home.
  • 6-month limited trial subscription to the Radio@AOL service offered to purchasers of D-Link Wireless Network Media Players.
  • $585 million in revenue for D-Link in 2002.
  • Over 1 million square feet of manufacturing capacity and millions of Ethernet adapters, hubs, and switch ports manufactured and shipped by D-Link.

Sources:

  • D-Link press release, January 7, 2004
  • AOL press release, January 7, 2004
  • BusinessWeek, "Top 100 Information Technology Companies"
  • In-Stat/MDR, "Enterprise and Residential Communication"

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